<p>Hello all; while the masterful self-correcting-mechanism of College Confidential has served us well for quite a while, we felt it was about time to create a formal AU admissions presence at our wonderfully active College Confidential forum. So, to that end, I wanted to join the community here and offer my assistance as best I can. My name is Keith and I am a true-to-life admissions staff member at AU. I meet you all on campus, travel across these United States and make those thorny and contentious admissions decisions that serve as such great fodder for conversation here. I look forward to talking more with you all over the foreseeable future.</p>
<p>With that said, I will do my best, due to the constraints of real world work, to more or less be a fly on the wall when it comes to matters here. Sure, if there are factual matters to be corrected or “institutional info” questions to be addressed, I will respond. But I hope not to disrupt the organic flow of discussions and am in no way, shape, or form here to respond to every last post or point that is made. I sincerely doubt that I would be able to respond to all direct queries and certainly don’t want to set myself up as a one-stop-shop for everything that is AU. And I definitely will not be “chancing” anyone; you should all know by now that college admissions is far more than boards, GPA’s and extracurriculars. I will strive for benevolence while posting and you are welcome to call me out if I fall short.</p>
<p>Otherwise, this thread is just my way of saying hello and being a good internet neighbor; please feel free to post questions here or try and vet my authenticity through AU specific questions. Again, I look forward to interacting with you all!</p>
<p>It seems most of the admissions related questions have died down since most every RD and transfer applicant has received their decision by now. I’d just like to say though that having an admissions representative answering questions on CC is highly beneficial during the admissions process season and generally reflects positively upon the institution they represent so thank you.</p>
<p>I’d like to say Welcome also! My D is very excited to join the AU class of 2014!</p>
<p>One thing I was impressed with at a regional accepted students event (we went to one in NYC) was the talk given by President Kerwin in which indicated the impressive number of AU students awarded prestigious scholarships and the limited number of colleges which could boast the same i.e Truman, Rhodes, Fulbrights etc. I wish I had written down that data but I didn’t. Do you have access to those stats?</p>
<p>Thanks for the kind words everyone; I actually figured now would be the perfect jumping on point as the volume of questions on the admissions side would be quite limited (thus allowing me to ease my way into this!).</p>
<p>bhmomma, glad to hear that your D will be joining us! I don’t have all of our stats in one handy place regarding Rhodes, Udall, Boren, Fulbright, Truman recipients, etc. I would point you to the “success stories” features on our Office of Merit Awards website:</p>
<p>I have a question you may be able to answer, or help me find the answer on the AU website:</p>
<p>Does AU permit admitted students to defer matriculation for a year? I’ve heard that some schools do and some schools don’t. Also, I have heard that at some schools, if students awarded merit scholarships choose to defer, they forfeit the merit scholarship. Is this the case at American?</p>
<p>Deferrals are definitely possible, so long as it is not the student’s intent to enroll on a degree-seeking basis at another institution. Deferrals do not forfeit their scholarships, but financial aid would be reevaluated with the submission of a renewal FAFSA form. So long as the student had deposited by May 1, they can seek deferral really up until the 11th hour; call us at (202) 885-6000 to connect with the staff member in charge of deferral requests.</p>
<p>Keith, I am on the waitlist at AU for next fall and have not received any updates since the end of April. Will decisions and letters be going out soon? Would love to be at AU!</p>
<p>Hi Maizey; I’d say the best thing to do at this point would be to contact via email your Regional Director of Admissions at AU to reiterate your interest in attending the University. Who we are turning to at this point are those students (like yourself, if I’m reading your post correctly!) who are very interested in attending. Contact info for Regional Directors can be found at the website!</p>
<p>Thank you for the information. I received an email back from Kevin Krasnow on 4/19 stating he had included a note in my file reiterating my high interest in AU. When I first received my wait list letter back at the beginning of April I immediately sent a letter stating my continued high interest as well as an additional recommendation and resume. I had also received an email on 4/19 from Maggi Leduc (Undergrad Admissions) thanking me for my continued interest and I would receive a further update on or before April 27th. I have not received any further update after that email. Per your advice, I believe Kevin Krasnow is my Regional Director for Oregon. It sounds like there still may be a possibility to get off the wait list? Maizey~</p>
<p>Hi Maizey; we are admitting a select few students off of the wait list. I would encourage you to reconnect with Mr. Krasnow and reiterate your interest in AU!</p>
<p>I was wondering when students should receive financial aid package information. It did not come in the admissions packet. I had previously contacted the FA dpt. and they said they would include the package information with my admissions packet…</p>
<p>I have trouble remembering if this applied to both GWU and AU, or just GWU…</p>
<p>Does AU guarantee the same FA package for all four years? GW has the guarantee (or at least the counselor reported in the meeting) that students receive the same FA originally offered, or if it changes, it only increases?</p>
<p>How much are extracurricular activites weighed in a application at AU? Some schools weigh them a lot and some, like Clemson; don’t look at them at all (at least that was the case a few years ago) because it is all GPA and SAT. Of course this is assuming that you have no “hook”, like a star athlete or great musician.</p>
<p>@jsaj - While all of our “official” admission decision notification are released by postal mail, we do provide a sort of “heads up” to admitted students by way of email. So, if the email’s official and comes from AU and looks all happy and cheerful, then yes, you’ve been admitted!</p>
<p>@hello - If you’re a transfer candidate our Financial Aid Office is working diligently right now to get all admitted transfer candidates their financial aid package. I would say that if you were admitted prior to April 30 and do not receive info from Financial Aid by 6/1, then it’s worth giving them a call!</p>
<p>@moje - AU does not guarantee one’s financial aid package through four years as each year a family’s financial circumstances may change and this would be reflected in the filing of the mandatory Renewal FAFSA form. I doubt highly that GWU could “guarantee” a financial aid package through four years as federal guidelines regarding the awarding of federal financial aid dollars (Stafford Loans, Pell Grants, etc.) are linked intrinsically to the FAFSA form. Maybe what GWU would do is replace federal loans/grants with their own institutional dollars (maybe grants?), but their description as you relayed it is certainly not as cut and dry as it sounds.</p>
<p>@nervous - I would say that extracurricular involvement certainly does not carry the same weight in our admissions review as high school academic performance of standardized testing results. EC’s are a great way for us to determine if a student will contribute to our community beyond the classroom and if they’re demonstrating a strong personal profile “fit” for us as an institution (i.e. service oriented, interested in global experiences, been hands on in their learning). So, by that definition, a student who has 101 activities which don’t necessarily relate to AU’s values would be in a worse position, by way of admissions, than a student who has 2 activities that really speak to AU’s values. That’s not to say that every case is that open and shut; I’d say that what we see in our applicants is a large portion of the combining some solid activities with some more AU-specific endeavors. Only a small portion of our applicants are CLEARLY AU-ready by way of their extracurricular involvements.</p>
<p>““EC’s are a great way for us to determine if a student will contribute to our community beyond the classroom and if they’re demonstrating a strong personal profile “fit” for us as an institution…Only a small portion of our applicants are CLEARLY AU-ready by way of their extracurricular involvements.””</p>
<p>Ok then, here’s another two questions, please. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>How about summer job work ethic versus school EC’s and also community activities? How do you weigh them against each other and as a whole, if one is completely lacking? For example, how about an applicant that has no school EC’s, (not athletic and school was too cliqueish) but works at the local pet adoption center during the school year and works two simultaneous summer jobs?</p></li>
<li><p>Do you accept recommendations from employers, and if so, how do you weigh them against teacher recs? </p></li>
</ol>
<p>NervousParent, I’ll respond from a parent point of view. My son was admitted to AU during ED. The only school EC my son has is 4 years of track/cross country. But, he has steadily been involved in many outside activities that show his commitment toward a certain cause, work ethic, leadership, etc. He used the recomendations from these activities in his application. In fact, his essay focused on what he learned from these experiences. So, I think commitment and service are important, whether in the community or in school.</p>
<p>“EC’s are a great way for us to determine if a student will contribute to our community beyond the classroom and if they’re demonstrating a strong personal profile “fit” for us as an institution.”</p>
<p>What are some example activities that show a student would ‘fit in’ at AU? When I visited AU, I LOVED it… but I’m not sure if I really got a feel of what a typical student at AU would be or what AU is looking for in a student.</p>
<p>I am also guessing that AU regards the quality of the ECs over the quantity? (As in the commitment?)</p>
<p>I’m hoping to be an Early Decision applicant this fall. What was the admission rate for ED applicants this year? I know that in the past it has been around 75%, but I was wondering if it had decreased this year.</p>
<p>One final question… Can students under ED get deferred into Regular Decision for further consideration or is it just a simple ‘Yes or No’?</p>
<p>Sorry that I have so many questions… I just really want to go to AU. =)</p>
<p>AUGirl, my son got in under ED. He is very politically active. Most of his ECs were not school-related. His GPA is only 3.4. But, he inteviewed, did the chat nights, and emailed the area rep with questions. The important thing is LET YOUR ADMISSION’S REP KNOW HOW EXCITED YOU ARE!! Yes, I am shouting! This is SO improtant. Look at the article just posted from the Chronicle of Higher Ed. Invest in a visit to campus, if you haven’t done so already.</p>