<p>My daughter and I toured University of Richmond earlier this week and she fell in love! This is now definitely her top choice, but I'm a little concerned that she might be setting herself up for heartache as I read more about the impressive stats of Richmond students. She has a 3.6 weighted, about a 3.4 unweighted. Her SAT right now is 1910; high Reading and Writing, not as good Math. She is taking ACT in Sept. and SAT again in October to hopefully bump that Math score up a bit. She will have 6 APs by graduation and her extracurriculars/ awards are strong, including participation in VA Governors School this summer. We spent time with the director of the theater dept. and she is excited about the opportunities for theater, English and creative writing that seem to be available at Richmond. </p>
<p>Any tips from current students or parents of current students on how to present herself in the best possible way for admission and, hopefully, merit aid (particularly in the arts?) Is University of Richmond high on demonstrated interest? Is the informational interview they offer something she should pursue? </p>
<p>It was so fun to finally see her excited about a school and I was super impressed as well. I know she will end up just where she needs to be, but I want her to feel that she pursued her top choice to the best of her ability, so we would appreciate any tips you might have from your experiences.</p>
<p>Richmond is also my D’s top choice. We’ve visited twice and have met with our admission counselor when he was in our area. According to the CDS, demonstrated interest carries no weight. However, I do believe that all the contact we’ve had will help her nail the CA supplement. </p>
<p>The BIG merit aid packages at UofR are called the Richmond Scholars. These appear to be VERY competitive. The stats and EC’s of those invited to compete are really impressive. My D has stats that place her firmly in the top 25% of accepted students and I still don’t think she’ll be invited! It’s that tough. Now,I’m not sure how the other smaller merit awards are doled out.</p>
<p>Can you afford to pay the full cost? If so, think about applying ED.</p>
<p>Candidates with good, but not outstanding credentials, (GPA, test scores,) will likely need to bring a little something extra to the plate to increase their chances. Admission to UR seems to be getting slightly more difficult with each passing year. Im pretty confident that a portion of this years senior class at UR probably wouldnt have made the cut if they were applying for admission in todays more competitive climate. In my opinion, there are really no secrets to the admissions process. I would say that UR, like all schools, is interested in increasing diversity in its student body, both ethnic and geographic. This said, a candidate on the bubble that fits the stereotype of the typical Richmond applicant, (white and hailing from outside Philly somewhere), will have a tougher go of it than someone with the very same academic credentials that might be part Native American and live in an under represented locale like North Dakota. Your chances are also somewhat enhanced if you have some sort of unique passion or skill set that might captivate the folks in Admissions. For example, lets say you play a mean banjo and are part of a family bluegrass band. Thats something a little out of the ordinary. Also, a really compelling and heartfelt essay might help push the needle in your favor… if its truly authentic and something different than every other cookie cutter essay. </p>
<p>I would also agree somewhat with the earlier posting that stated that committed applicants might have a slightly better opportunity to make the cut if they apply Early Decision, as this shows the school that Richmond is your first choice. The drawback of ED is that you cant compare and contrast competing need based financial aid offers from various schools. If youre accepted at UR, you get what you get in the way of aid and agree to withdraw pending applications elsewhere. </p>
<p>Lastly, as Ive posted before on this forum, interested applicants should have VERY modest expectations of getting any Merit based aid at UR. The Richmond Scholars program is ultra-competitive and only the elite, top 2% of candidates will benefit. While there are some merit scholarship opportunities for upper class students pursuing select majors, interested inbound applicants need to rely primarily on URs need based aid to put a dent into the retail price tag. I cant stress this enough.</p>
<p>Whatever happens, do reach for the stars, but keep your feet on the ground. I think Casey Kasem used to say that. (A shout-out to parents on that reference). </p>
<p>I agree mostly with what the good doctor says. We are moving my daughter in for the fourth and final time tomorrow. Time sure does fly! I don’t recall her exact numbers but she had a very high GPA (u3.9/w4.3 +/-), a 1900 or so SAT and a 31-32 ACT. She was accepted ED. She was not Richmond or Bonner scholar. This year she is receiving over $40k in scholarships. The first year was a grant of about $34k. Each year the scholarship money went up and the grant money came down. UR does meet 100% of “need” and much of that will be in “free money” in the form of grants and scholarships. It has been suggested by others here that applying ED hurts your chances of a Richmond Scholars award. The belief is that they can use those awards to attract undecideds later. I hope that is not accurate but I haven’t seen anything that would suggest otherwise.</p>
<p>I have told many others here that I believe your essay is critical. There are going to be 500 students applying with numbers that look just like your daughter’s. Think of the essay as her first job interview. It is an opportunity to set yourself apart from the crowd. It will show admissions why they want your daughter on campus. My daughter had an awesome essay and I think that weighed heavily in her being accepted. She was also very committed to a couple of EC’s. Her essay was about those programs. </p>
<p>My daughter had an informal interview that really didn’t seem very beneficial. She went very prepared with her own list of questions designed to show her interest in UR. The interviewer was a student who didn’t ask much more than, “so, like, why do you want to go to UR?” Others may have more positive experiences with the interview. We did not.</p>
<p>We love UR and my daughter is very sad that she will be done after this year. The faculty has been great. Admissions and financial aid are very helpful. With very few exceptions, other students have been terrific. But the good doctor’s Casey Kasem quote is very applicable. Good luck!!</p>
<p>Just to reinforce my opinion on the importance of the essay, when we attended accepted students day, we met a person from the Admissions office. When my daughter introduced herself, the Admissions person said something like, “Oh, you had the essay on Tanzania. I remember that. It was very good.” The essay was good enough to leave an impression. I believe it was a factor in her acceptance.</p>
<p>No doubt in my mind that the essay’s are critical. The “why Richmond-type” essays are more difficult than they sound at first blush. My D would much rather write from an interesting or though provoking prompt. Hopefully she nailed it!</p>
<p>I am a current Richmond student, and I definitely second the essays part. I have had someone on the Scholars committee talk to us about our essays after we have been accepted. They do remember essays personally (which is awesome!). Be honest in your essays, the admissions counselors can sense authenticity and sincerity and they like that.</p>
<p>I also have a wild theory that they changed the Richmond Supplement because they are trying really hard to bump their retention rate and hence want to know if a candidate will be a good “fit”. They are also probably trying to lower their admission rate by reducing the number of non-committed applicants by having an essay that you can’t just recycle other admission essays.</p>