<p>I am applying RD but it is one of my top choices. Anyone else applying?! Whitman's forum is pretty dead...</p>
<p>I am! I only like one of the essays though. I was originally gonna do the one about an unpopular opinion, but now doesn’t seem like the right time to talk about gun control…</p>
<p>I am doing the unpopular opinion one and the world issue one which I am not as fond of. It is basically the same prompt as Pitzer though so I am getting two essays out of one!</p>
<p>My son applied RD to Whitman (as a chem major). He’s an athlete and the coach appears interested, has called him several times since summer, e-mails frequently, and sent him a holiday card from the team. Honestly, I don’t know if we’ll be able to afford it if he does get in.</p>
<p>That’s one of my major concerns as well. The only thing to do is apply and wait for the award letter though.</p>
<p>Both my kids applied to Whitman, in both cases Whitman’s FA offers were quite competitive. So I agree, there’s nothing to lose by applying and comparing the offers once they come in. Hopefully the news will be good, and Whitman will be affordable. Whitman’s a wonderful school full of some exceptionally nice people.</p>
<p>I’m torn between Whitman, Pitzer, and Reed but I think I’ll apply EDII to Whitman today since I missed the deadlines for the others. We aren’t applying for any aid and Whitman is the most expensive. Does anyone know if they routinely offer any tuition discounts to good students?</p>
<p>Yes, Whitman gives merit aid (scholarship grants based on high school performance) and they do use it is an enticement/benefit for good students. Best of luck!</p>
<p>I wouldn’t go ED if you are torn between schools! That’s never a good idea. Also, reed and whitman are VERY different atmospheres and I don’t think most people at whitman would be at happy at reed and vice versa. </p>
<p>As for merit aid, they told me you can’t get it in addition to need. Is this correct? Basically one would cancel out the other.</p>
<p>thirdplanet, who did you get that information from, I can’t find any info to that effect on their website, nor do I believe it’s the case. It says that all students who apply to Whitman will receive consideration for merit aid automatically. S received a combination of merit and need-based aid.</p>
<p>When I had an info session at Whitman, an admissions counselor indicated that if I received more need based aid than merit aid, I wouldn’t get the merit. It sounded weird to me but basically she said if I got 30k in need based which is more than the top 12k merit award, I wouldn’t receive it to meet more than 100% of my need. Is this incorrect?</p>
<p>I’m no admissions counselor so I can’t say anything with complete certainty, so take everything I say of a good dose of skepticism, however, it sounds like they were saying that they don’t pile merit on top of need awards to total more than 100% of need and they do say that they don’t meet 100% of need anyway. In our experience, S was given merit plus need based aid, including Stafford subsidized loans and Federally funded work-study to meet the need we qualified for. Addieu2 isn’t applying for need-based aid, but is still eligible for merit.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. I agree, Whitman & Reed are very different. I like Reed because it is close to Portland (a city I love for its art, music, and food scene). I also like Reed’s quirky, intellectual side. I could get into my nerdy side at Reed, but am afraid that I wouldn’t easily fit in. I’m a SoCal girl, very athletic, and dress normal (something they aren’t really into at Reed). I know I would fit in at Whitman perfectly, but that’s the problem…it is too much like my HS. Whitman also has the best fit major - BBMB. The closest thing at Reed is biochem - not my favorite.</p>
<p>I’m considering EDII only to increase my chances. I’m worried that my GPA might not be high enough… 3.5 UW, 3.8 W. It is high for my HS, which is a small, private, college-prep school that sends a lot of kids to ivy leagues, Stanford, Pomona, Chicago each year. My SAT is 2320. My extras are pretty typical, varsity sports all 4 years, president of Environmental Team. I also have a studio art portfolio and have won some regional competitions. Lewis and Clark and Lawrence are my safety schools.</p>
<p>You don’t need ED II at Whitman. The admit rate is over 50%. You’ll get in. However, if FA is an issue, then ED is the worst thing you can do as you’ll never be able to compare offers. Just apply RD at all and see what happens in terms of FA offers.</p>
<p>addieu2, I have to agree with thirdplanet and rhg3rd here; if you have doubts, it may not be wise to go ED. I wouldn’t think that going RD would kill your chances at Whitman, and then you could compare schools for the best fit after being accepted. It sounds like you come from a rigorous high school and the adcoms at Whitman are probably aware of that, your SATs scores are excellent and your ECs sound good and cover broad interests. You can be accepted RD and still get a good merit offer.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your advise. That takes a lot of pressure off - because Whitman EDII is due tonight and I still have to finish my supplemental essay for Pitzer (although I am seriously considering dumping it). My parents really want me to go to a LAC in SoCal, but I am anxious to get out of CA and live in the NW. I’ve interviewed at ten schools, including Tufts, Boston College, Brandeis, Colgate, & Claremont schools - and the more I think about it, I like Whitman the most. I just read a post that a lot of kids smoke (cigarettes) at Reed, which would be a huge turn off…</p>
<p>I can attest to smoking at Reed is HUGE. When I stayed over night at Whitman, I don’t think I saw a single kid smoking cigarettes.</p>
<p>I’m also applying to Pitzer! I’m not sure I could deal with the heat though…</p>
<p>My daughter received a combination of merit and need based aid, as well as loans and work study. The cost ended up being about the same as our state school. One notable difference is that her largest class has 35 kids and her freshman Encounters class (which all freshies take) has 16 students. There really is no comparison in that regard.</p>
<p>The weather in Claremont is really only a problem in summer, when you probably wouldn’t be there. You might consider Scripps. I think it is a nicer campus and it has the best dorms on campus. It’s off the radar for a lot of people cuz it is an all girls college. But you can take classes, eat, and use the facilities at the other 4 CC’s - so it really isn’t the same as an all girls school. Scripps also has the best FA.</p>
<p>With a 3.89 UW and 33 ACT could I get merit?</p>
<p>EDIT: Definitely not applying to Scripps! Basically all of my friends are guys and I just wouldn’t like it at all. I’m sort of a hippy and very active in social causes and Pitzer is by far the best fit. I love that they are test optional also. How hot is it there right now? I mean it is below freezing here. I’m not used to hot weather at all.</p>