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Hi! I am brand new to this board and am finding it to be extremely helpful, insightful and a bit scary all the same! :wink:
I apologize in advance for such a long first post!

I have applied ED to BU and am so nervous about 1) being accepted, and 2) what, if any, fin aid I may or may not receive. It was a very hard decision whether or not to apply ED because of financial reasons. Everyone I talked to though, (counselors, teachers, etc) suggested I do it. I have my heart set on BU because of the program I am applying into. I fell in love with the program Iā€™m applying to and havenā€™t found any other like it. I also want to be at a diverse school where I can meet and interact with people from all over the world. Being in the city is not where I ever pictured myself, but Iā€™ve toured and researched a lot of other schools and I just kept coming back to BU. I also attended a specific open house and was so overwhelmed (in a positive way) by all the wonderful, kind, and sincere students I met!

Here is a little bit about my stats:
rank in class 1/260
GPA: 4.886
SAT 1420
ACT 30

Honors: MASS Superintendentā€™s Certificate of Academic Excellence, Dartmouth Book Award, Faculty awards in all subject areas since Freshman year, nominee for Girls State, attended Ryla junior year, 1st place Science fair Freshman, 2nd place Science fair sophomore and junior year
EC: VP National Honor Society, VP National Art Honor Society, VP Interact Club, member of Spanish Club, member of Habitat for Humanities, piano player for Jazz Band, volunteer at nursing home (play piano for the seniors), volunteer for various other community wide activities, math tutor for middle and high school students.

Senior year: AP CALC, AP BIO, AP PSYCH, AP LIT, Honors sociology.

Junior year: AP CHEM, AP PRE CALC, AP LIT, AP HISTORY

Personality: quiet, humble, hard working, determined, friendly but rather shy

Basically, my questions are:

  1. What are my chances for fin aid (family income is around 32,000)
  2. What are my chances for a Merit Scholarship
  3. Is it possible to receive both or just one or the other
  4. Is room and board ever included or does merit and aid only apply to tuition
  5. I know being in the city will be a big change and a lot to get used to, but in your opinion how easy will it be to adapt?

Okay, this one may sound awful, but coming from a lower income family, am I going to feel ā€œout of placeā€ at BU? Iā€™ve read so many wonderful things about BU on this site (and on others as well), but Iā€™ve also read posts that BU is filled with rich, stuck up girls and that is the last thing I want to believe or be surrounded by. I think I am a good, kind person who has worked so hard to get where I am. I accept people for who they are, not by what they wear or by how much money they came from.

Thank you in advance to anyone willing to answer my questions! You are all so kind to be willing to take time out of your busy lives to help prospective incoming students!

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@hopeful129 I think you will get fin aid! I canā€™t really say anything about merit aid since I am not an admissions officer/whoever gives merit scholarships. You can receive both! I know friends with both merit and fin aid. I donā€™t know about room and. I thought the transition to BU was super easy for me. Itā€™s honestly not hard to adapt to Boston and BU. You wonā€™t feel out of place at all! Youā€™ll meet people from all different incomes/backgrounds and honestly no one cares what your familyā€™s income is.

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@hopeful129

Donā€™t believe everything you hear, especially on social media where many if not most posts are made by bitter disappointed people, likely rejects from BU. With 16,000 undergraduates you will meet all kinds of people.

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@hopeful129

  1. I canā€™t answer much about financial aid questions since I did not apply for it, but all of my friends I know who applied for financial aid got it and seem to be decently happy with the amount they have received.
  1. Also can't answer too much about this considering I didn't receive/apply for any. Make sure to apply for the Trustee scholarship on the BU common app.
  2. You can receive both
  3. I am not 100% sure on this
  4. I grew up around Boston and I found it very easy to adapt. I did not know anyone coming in and I made friends pretty quickly. The campus is very easy to get used to considering it is one long street.

And as to your question about rich kids, BU is an expensive private school, this will get them many rich students. I have met people here who have more money than they even know what to do with. My roommateā€™s sister is actually like a C list celebrity. Some people here do have money. That being said, the vast majority of these people are extremely humble and you would never know that their parents make seven figure incomes. I also am friends with tons of people who are here on scholarship or financial aid. There is a strong variety of students here, you wonā€™t feel out of place as long as you make the right friends.

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Thank you so much for your reply! @lolog123, @TomSrOfBoston and @laurrodes
I appreciate it! :slight_smile:

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do applicants who get scholarships typically get their results earlier?

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No, except for Trustees scholarships.