<p>Does the blue ribbon application factor into your chance of admissions, as in, are you more likely to be accepted if you use their application rather than the common application? I’ve found the common application to be much more flexible due to the additional information section, but now that I’ve had my interview I’m having second thoughts and now I think that maybe I’d be better off with the blue ribbon application. Are you put into a completely different pool of applicants than you are with the common application? Also, December 15th is the postmark date for blue ribbon, right? I don’t want to use the common app and then regret not using their own later, but I also know that my common app is fine the way it is already. The waiving of the fee is still a plus though, as is the early notification - please help!</p>
<p>I guess the main thing is - are you considered under the same pool of applicants and the common app is grouped with the blue ribbon app all under RD under a level playing field, or is it different in such a way like the difference between ED and RD? Do they pretty much review all RD (common app or blue ribbon) in the same pile on the level playing field and just mail out the blue ribbon decisions earlier, or do blue ribbon people get the decisions in the middle of Feburary because their apps were looked at differently and at different times than the common app?</p>
<p>I don't know the official answer to your question, but I would guess that students who have been invited to apply through the Blue Ribbon application will be at some slight advantage. Since they have already been targeted in a positive way, their applications will at least be given a very serious reading, and, I would guess, in a separate "pile" from those who are applying through the regular application. </p>
<p>My son had the same concerns as you, and felt reluctant to forgo the 2nd teacher recommendation and the extra-curricular activity essay, which the Blue Ribbon app basically asks you to do. But since he didn't apply to any schools ED or EA, he felt it was worth doing the Blue Ribbon app in order to get a decision by February. He figured that the Blue Ribbon app wouldn't hurt but might slightly help his admission chances.</p>
<p>It seems to me that in order for the Admissions folks to make their decisions by February, they would HAVE to review the Blue Ribbon applications separately.</p>
<p>i was looking through their website and they didn't mention the priority filing date for CSS profile so can we just assume that it has to be completed by Dec 15th, the day that the blue ribbon apps are due?</p>
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i would guess that students who have been invited to apply through the Blue Ribbon application will be at some slight advantage. Since they have already been targeted in a positive way, their applications will at least be given a very serious reading
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<p>This is false.</p>
<p>The only difference Blue Ribbon applicants have over RD applicants is timing and a waived application fee. The criteria is the same, the reading process is the same, the review process is the same, and that's about it. It's true that Blue Ribbon applications are read at a different time than RD applicants, but that's merely because of when the Blue Ribbon application decisions are due. Sure, these applicants were targeted at first, but once they apply to Brandeis, they're considered a Brandeis applicant, and will be held to those same standards.</p>
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i was looking through their website and they didn't mention the priority filing date for CSS profile so can we just assume that it has to be completed by Dec 15th, the day that the blue ribbon apps are due?
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<p>This is correct. And "priority filing date" means that if you have the paperwork in on time, you'll get your financial aid decision at the same time as your admissions decision. Otherwise, you may have to wait a bit.</p>
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I've found the common application to be much more flexible due to the additional information section, but now that I've had my interview I'm having second thoughts and now I think that maybe I'd be better off with the blue ribbon application.
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<p>Apply using the Common Application, then call the Office of Admissions and tell them you want to be considered as a Blue Ribbon applicant. You can have your cake and eat it too, so to speak.</p>
<p>Actually, the Blue Ribbon application states specifically that if you want to be a Blue Ribbon candidate, you must forgo the Common App.</p>
<p>Spike, thanks for all the feedback. Where did you get your information?</p>
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Actually, the Blue Ribbon application states specifically that if you want to be a Blue Ribbon candidate, you must forgo the Common App.
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<p>If that's true, that's new. For the last few years, we had allowed students to call in and change their status to Blue Ribbon.</p>
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Spike, thanks for all the feedback. Where did you get your information?
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<p>I'm a Brandeis graduate (class of 2001), and worked in their office of Undergraduate Admissions from 2002-2006, as Department Coordinator. I left the university in September to pursue another career opportunity.</p>
<p>Does Brandeis have to invite you to apply with the blue ribbon app or can anyone use it? If so, where do you get it?</p>
<p>People are invited, based on various criteria set by the university. In the past, anyone could call up and say they wanted to be considered as a Blue Ribbon applicant; however if Skie is right, then that policy may have changed this year.</p>
<p>i got mine via email. i assumed it was either because of SAT scores or that i signed up to their mailing list at a college fair or something.</p>
<p>i think that the policy may have changed b/c the impression that i got from the e-mail and some news article from Brandeis was that it was by invitation only
..here's the article </p>
<p>I just submitted my application the other day (Jan 15, the deadline) and a got an email yesterday saying that i am qualified for blue ribbon, and giving me a Feb 15 deadline and a 2-week admission decision. I'm happy but i already submitted the c-app. Does this mean anything and can i do something?</p>
<p>What do you mean by a 2-week admission decision? I was under the impression that Blue Ribbon candidates would be notified in mid-February but still had till May 1 to make a decision. Does anybody know otherwise?</p>
<p>I just got the same email that fireside got and I'm wondering the same thing too.</p>
<p>I got the Blue Ribbon invitation after the deadline and was told if I applied I would still hear the decision by mid-Feb. Anyone else get this mid January?</p>
<p>My D received this also, even though she had already applied previously using the common app. When she contacted the admission department, she was told the "blue ribbon" email was sent in error. Apparently quite a number of students who had already applied received this email by mistake.</p>