AU programs and selectivity

So, I am interested in working in the Intelligence Community or the United States Foreign Service and am interested in AU and schools in the greater DC area. At AU, International Studies and Political Science with a minor in Arabic Language Studies. So, if someone can tell me a little bit about these programs, AU’s extracurriculars, the admissions process (EA/ED), and the school’s rep/selectivity. That would be great, thank you.

Specifically, I am looking for EA/ED competitiveness. I believe I am in the 50% for SAT and 75% for GPA, but am still nervous.

AU does not have EA only ED 1 & ED 2. ED 1 is 89% admission rate and ED 2 is low 80%. RD is very competitive at 29%. AU wants to be your top choice not your alternative if you get turned down from GTown or GW. If you go RD make sure you express interest - top three criteria GPA, Rigor of Coursework and Interest. SAT is just considered. Their school of International Affairs is the second largest in the world and is ranked 9th in the US and World. Have you visited the campus? They have an app that has really great information - Tour AU. FYI the Department of Homeland Security is two blocks away from the campus.

I really love AU, but I haven’t seen the campus. Also, my counselor is really against me applying ED for financial purposes. I am applying EA to all of my schools because my, very small, school has our app deadline in late Sep. Is there any benefit applying RD early around that time, which I believe is before their ED 1 deadline, or would I be better off applying ED 1?

@Daydreamer2018 How can you apply in September when the FASFA & CSS are not released until October 1st? I went to the ED discussion at Preview day and the Admissions & Financial Aid representative said that they are 100% committed to meeting financial needs as determined by the combination of CSS & FASFA. That commitment might include both student and parental loans, so that’s something that you have to consider before applying ED. The only reason you are “allowed” to decline ED is if the financial package is not feasible for you. So run some different NPC’s to see what AU or other institutions give as your EFC. Note that these are not guarantees but ball park figures. Have you spoken with your Admission Counselor for AU? Applying RD without expressing interest through a visit or other contact is going to drastically effect your admittance chances. Top three admittance criteria are GPA, Rigor of Coursework and Expressed Interest in AU. If you go RD use your additional information section and/or AU essays to explain why AU is your top choice and why you could not visit the campus.

I have spoken to their office and a counselor a few times and have expressed interest in an interview, but am waiting for my region’s counselor to be assigned and the interview schedule to be released. My counselor wants us to just have all application material completed by that deadline, I believe. I may have misspoken earlier. We do not submit, but rather cease application work. In stead like you said we focus on FASFA. Does anyone know if you would know if you can’t afford it before you rejected and withdrew from the other universities if you were accepted into AU ED? I am sorry if that made little sense. It is just a major concern for me. And thank you by the way @sahmkc for your advice. I appreciate,

You are welcome. I have spent a year researching colleges for my son and AU is his top choice. I’m happy to share what knowledge I have gained. If you are accepted, you will receive your financial aid package with your acceptance. The only exception is Fredrick Douglas (Full Ride) and AU Honors ($30,000) scholarships. These are HIGHLY competitive scholarship and are open to ED & RD so the decisions are not made until after RD and their is a separate application that you submit with your common application. There are only 25 AU Honors students accepted a year and some of those are FDS. I’m not sure of the number of FDS scholarships awarded. Your financial aid package could include Merit Scholarship ($10,000 - $20,000), AU Grants (need based free aid directly from AU - they did not give a range for this), Pell Grants, Work Study & Subsidized student loans and Non-Subsidized parental loans. If going to AU was contingent on the FDS or Honors Scholarship, you should not apply ED. There is no separate application for Merit Scholarships, it’s based on your common app.

I see I appreciate it, I don’t believe paying should be too difficult. I might just be overly optimistic. I am only inquiring because of the potential outcome be a possibility. Plus I am/was considering applying ED to another school. However, doing so would mean not applying to AU, and I just can’t do that.