My son visited AU a couple of weeks ago and really liked it. I was hoping some of you had more insight to the admissions process. I had read on some of last year’s posts that students with high stats were being waitlisted, while other students with lower stats were being admitted, possibly in a move to protect their yield. Could this really true? My son’s superscored SAT is a 1450, 4.0 uw, and really good extracurriculars. I’d hate to see him waitlisted at a school he’s seriously interested in and qualified to attend simply because the school is worried about their numbers
Also interested in any input on the Frederick Douglass Scholarship Program (does he stand a chance?) and the Honors Program if anyone has any input!
The three things that AU says are the most important are rigor of curriculum, GPA and…demonstrated interest. Standardized tests are not ‘most important’, not ‘important’, but ‘considered’.
You will hear anecdotes about ‘higher’ stats students being passed over for ‘lower’ stats students at most schools that are more than moderately selective- and yield protection is just one of the reasons. Schools like AU don’t admit on pure stats- the famous ‘we are building a class’ thing is reasonably true. Also, outsiders only know the headlines: they don’t for example, know that an LoR dropped broad hints that the ‘higher’ stats student was [insert less than desirable trait], or that somebody flagged their tmi social media, or that their essay was dreadful- etc., etc. Or that the ‘lower’ stats student was the famous needed tuba player, or had lower stats for an objectively good reason, or had LoRs that made the case that that kid was who the school really needed, etc, etc.
As for the Frederick Douglass, if your son is 1st Gen, from an historically underrepresented minority, or if your family is economically disadvantaged, then with a 4.0 and good ECs (esp. w/ leadership), he stands a chance- but obviously it is very competitive. The honors program is really focused on students with inter-disciplinary interests. It’s a small group (~25?) and also competitive
Fun fact: of the almost 20K students who applied to AU last year, fewer than 1000 applied ED, and 85% of them were accepted (v 26% RD).
@collegem!om3717 - thank you for the response. He visited the school and has signed up for a local info session. Is that considered sufficient “demonstrated interest” or do you think he needs to show even more?
As far as rigor, he’s coming out of a notoriously difficult high school, a 75 is a D there, and every class is taught at a minimum of honors level (with zero grade inflation) - but for the first time ever, they’re introducing AP classes this year and seniors are not allowed to take more than 2. So 2 AP classes is all he’ll have. Does he need to explain that on the common app so colleges don’t think he’s lazy?
I hear what you’re saying on the anecdotes so I’ll take those posts with a grain of salt. He’s been interested in the sciences and has consistently taken biology or DNA classes over the years, and he completed a cancer research internship on metastatic breast cancer this summer. He has a book coming out on Amazon next week, he’s been very involved with the Nature Conservancy for the past three years, and has been on varsity track all four years. He doesn’t seem to have the “plethora” of Ec’s that some students have (no President of a club or treasurer of a committee, etc.) but the things he’s done have been very consistent. We’re not a minority, nor economically disadvantaged (but not independently wealthy either), my husband never finished college, and I did by the skin of my teeth. Do you think it’s even worth encouraging him to apply to either program?
FDDS is highly competitive and there are only 5 awarded a year. Those 5 scholars are also automatically put into the Honors College, which is a total of 25 students. The Honors is also highly competitve. I would compare these two programs to getting into to an Ivy/Highly selective school. The students who apply will have similar profiles to your son. I would say apply because you never know how they will be building the “class”. Also, the AU Scholars and Community Based Research Scholars pull heavily from the Honors applicant pool and those programs are really good also.
I will say that I think it is more than anecdotal that AU disproportionately (at higher rates not just outright denying high stats students altogether) waitlists or denies high stats students in the RD round. To mitigate this I would focus on the AU essays being specific to AU and compelling. Your son can also attend online seminars to demonstrate interest. Attending more than one type of event at the school would also be good if it is possible from your location. I do wonder if the new calculations of the USNWR ranking that no longer includes admit rates will change their approach. I do know that AU is very sensitive to being a back-up school to Gtown and GW. In our admission talk, the Rep said that they admit so many of the ED students because they tend to become their best and most involved students.
His HS will send a school profile that includes info such as #of APs available, and will also tick a box on his common app indicating whether his course load would be considered in the ‘most rigorous’, ‘typical’, ‘less’ or ‘not’ rigorous (been a while since I looked at the GC form, but that’s the gist of it) at the school. Note that ‘most’ is a category that each school defines for itself, but your son can ask his GC if his schedule qualifies for the ‘most’ category.
@sahmkc - Thank you for your input. It’s funny you mentioned Gtown - he found it annoying that the ivies accept the common app, but that Gtown insists on their own application, a supplemental essay AND a third SAT II !!! Although he liked GWU, he still liked American best. It’s going to come down to dollars and sense I guess.
@collegemom3717 - thank you - I had no idea how that worked. I’ll ask him to talk to his GC.
AU contacted him to see if he wants a personal interview. Part of me says “Yes - MORE Demonstrated Interest!!!” but my son is so quiet, reserved, and very modest. It might go really well . . . or it could be super awkward and the interview winds up being an unmitigated disaster that hurts more than it helps. Any suggestions?
Take the interview! Have somebody practice with him, and remember: they aren’t looking solely for extroverts!
Do practice the usual interview questions. Remind him that one way to flag something that you are good at without saying “I’m really good” is to simply say that you really enjoy something, and then include an achievement piece: ‘I really enjoyed this aspect of X, especially when result Y is achieved’.
AU doesn’t have a reputation as being especially generous with FinAid- be sure to run the NPC, and if your circumstances are atypical, contact them directly to help you run it. One of the awful things that happens every spring is students getting into their dream college and then the family works out that they can’t afford it.
@collegemom3717 I actually shouldn’t say he likes AU best - he loved GWU too; if he got in at GWU he’d be very happy, but he’d need a merit scholarship at either school for us to swing it so I’d like him to be as prepared as possible. We’ll try an interview intervention and show him your post
Thank you again - your suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Your son should definitely do all he can to demonstrate sincere interest. I am convinced that AU practices yield protection… but that does not mean that they do not admit some exceptionally talented and high performing students, because I am sure they do, and some of those students get the big scholarships and get into the honors program.
At our local high school, for the graduating high school class of 2018, the students admitted to American University had lower stats than those waitlisted, although the students who were admitted were still strong students. It was especially disappointing for one top student for whom AU actually was one of his top choices. But it worked out okay for him in the end because he got into several more competitive colleges (including GWU with merit) AND he got some truly fantastic merit scholarships; he ended up attending another college that will be paying his full tuition plus room and board for four years and even gave him a stipend to buy equipment related to his major.
No one understood why American did not admit him. It might not have been yield protection, but it sure looked that way, even to the parent of one of his best friends who was admitted to American. Who knows? It may have been that they had already chosen some strong students who were interested in his major and had offered them honors/merit, and felt that they did not want to admit another top student without honors/merit on the risk that the student then would not choose them. And they would be right in his case, because merit money mattered to his family. But who knows? Speculation is only speculation.
But no one should try to use American as a safety school, because its admissions are not predictable.
@TheGreyKing - thank you for the insight. I guess ED shows the greatest interest, but we just can’t go that route without knowing how the financial situation shakes out. It’s encouraging to hear that the student you know got an amazing scholarship.
My son’s best friend went to GWU this year. They gave him a great Financial Aid package. In fact, he even appealed the initial package and they came back with more money that made GWU cheaper than his in-state University.
I agree your son should go for the interview but do make sure you practice with him. My son was a debater who specialised in Foreign Extemporaneous speaking for four years of HS so he felt he did not need to practice before the interview. After his AU interview, he told me that I was right and he should have practiced the interview questions with me. It wasn’t like he “failed”, but afterward he realized that it was more of an interview and not just a conversation. I do think it really shows demonstrated interest, especially if your son can point out things about AU that separates it from other area colleges. My son’s was the CLEG major that only AU offers.
I believe applying for the Honors program is also a compelling way to demonstrate inteset, but there are several separate AU specific essays to write. FWIW - GW was way more generous with merit aid than American for my daughter with similar stats. She was offered AU Scholars, not Honors at American. She was disappointed as AU was a serious contender.
Would getting him to list bullet points on paper first help? examples of things that he specifically likes about American and how they connect to his experience, examples of things that are particularly important to him, a couple of ‘best’ and ‘worst/hardest’ examples etc.
Just so you know, if the offered ED financial aid is insufficient to support attendance, you simply say thanks but no thanks and apply elsewhere; you’re not locked in. Running the Net Price Calculator can tell you if there’s a realistic chance of getting enough.
