Chance Me! American University ED1 🤗

Colleges and Universities A-Z American University
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I stand corrected. I just went back and check our spreadsheet from his college application days. He applied ED to American. Deferred to RD, then denied. But thinking back, I’m not sure if it was ED. Either way, the decision was “no”. lol

He ended up at University of Dayton, which is working fine.

We needed a significant amount of FinAid to make a private university affordable and UD was one of about 8-12 that did so for us. The funny thing is all the urban schools on the backend of USNWR T125 list have low admit rates … because they are in famous locations and made the T100 (or are close.) Want to go to any city (city with a capital C) on the East Coast and attend a top-100 school? Better bring great stats and, for some like American, expect little FinAid.

However, my search of hundreds of schools (and applying to dozens) revealed little academic differences between the two groups of schools. Of course, everyone’s opinion may vary and some will insist there is some sort of significant difference. I checked graduation rates, employment rates, and salary outcomes, and I found no meaningful differences or differences that favored the “other” schools.

So, Fordham U is a difficult admit for your stats, but Marquette is not so difficult. American U is difficult, but maybe Rollins or Marist are less difficult. Howard and Spelman are difficult admits, but Clark U or NCA&T or Hampton U are less so - and Clark shares a campus with Spelman/Morehouse and some classes.

If you still have slots open on Common App, check out schools like Dayton, Marquette, Rollins, Marist, Manhattan College, Christopher Newport, Emerson, St Joseph and even SMU (which accepted my son for Jan admission and offered enough FinAid to be affordable.) They’re all in decent sized to large cities, if you’re trying to avoid rural locations. And all are seemingly within your search radius, though Marquette may be a bit further out. But if Marquette is workable, also check out St Louis U, Butler, Depaul and U of St Thomas.

In our case, negligible FinAid (somewhat expected because CNU is an OOS public) eliminated CNU from our consideration though he was offered admission. In your case, CNU would be affordable.

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Also, FWIW, U of St Thomas has dedicated scholarships for both FG and/or LI students, and URM students. Some are very substantial, up to full tuiton or full-ride.
https://www.stthomas.edu/admissions/undergraduate/financial-aid/scholarships/index.html

UStT is a mid-size University in Minneapolis/StPaul which is a large urban area with tons of internship opportunities, and lots to keep a student interested/busy over four years. The campus is in a great neighborhood, and near Macalester College and a short pubic transportation ride to UMinn. And because you would provide Geographic Diversity for them, you might get a boost.

That’s just one of many overlooked schools that have great opportunities for students.

But if Temple is your clear top choice behind your reaches, maybe you just relax and end the application process with what you have.

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Thank you for sharing that list! There are some universities on it I have never heard of. I’ll do some research today. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Overall solid application for AU

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You may mean Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, rather than Clark University in Worcester, MA.

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I was going to suggest St. Thomas also. It has a lot of good things going for it in addition to what you mentioned including 1) a gorgeous campus 2) a law school and business school and all the resources those bring, but main focus still undergrads 3) consortium with other schools nearby: Macalester, Hamline, Augsburg and St. Catherine’s. Macalester has a well deserved national reputation, but the other 3 are solid schools too. Hamline has a law school with a social-justice focus. St. Catherine’s is a women’s college with a number of unique programs. Augsburg provides amazing student support. 4) Location in St. Paul, the state capital, so lots of internship opportunities for poly sci/econ/policy students.

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I did. Thanks for the clarification! :+1:t4:

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FYI for current ED applicants, according to an AU webinar this fall on ED, they will be “accepting” or “rejecting”. They said they will not defer ED applicants to RD this year.

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Thanks for letting me know! It actually sounds less stressful this way :rofl::crossed_fingers:

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Hi! I don’t know your admissions chances, but I am also applying ED1 to AU and wish you the best of luck! My GPA is 3.3/3.5 ish so I’m worried too :frowning: Let me know if you’re accepted and good luck!!

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Thanks for reaching out! The wait is so tough. Hang in there & best of luck! :heart:

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