Chance me for Early Decision Barnard class of 2016?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Barnard College
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<p>School Type: Competitive NYC Public. Sends 20% of graduating class to Ivy Leagues
GPA: 89
SAT I: (CR 740, M 680, W 750) and (710/710/710) 2200 Superscore.
SAT IIs: 790 Literature, 720 U.S. History.
APs:
5- U.S. History self-studied,
5- English Literature self-studied,
5- English Language self-studied
5- Microeconomics
5- Macroeconomics</p>

<p>Senior Year Course-load:
AP Calculus AB
U.S. Constitutional Law
Physics
A 300-level economics class at Hunter College
The hardest english class offered at my school</p>

<p>Common App Essay: If you’re willing to read + critique it, PLEASE message me. I talked about domestic violence, calling the police on my dad, how my mom blames me. Tried to put a feminist twist on it as well. Please let me know if you are willing to give me some feedback on it. I know I should ask people to read it, but there is alot of stuff I feel uncomfortable with showing to people that I know in real life, so I don’t have alot of reviewers. </p>

<p>Teacher Recs: I asked for recs from teachers in whose classes I didn’t do so well in, but they liked me and saw how hard I was trying. I think they’ll both be great. </p>

<p>Supplemental Recs: I’m hoping to ask for a rec from a current professor at Barnard and one from my manager at work. Also one from my professor at the College-Now class at Hunter College in the fall, since I wont have a 1st quarter grade from him yet. I might not get a rec from the Hunter College professor and instead a short blurb about the class. </p>

<p>Awards/Recognitions:
Scholastic Art & Writing Awards (Gold and Silver Keys in Personal Essay and Journalism)
Questbridge College Prep Scholarship (this thing for low-income high-achieving students).
Nominee for Women’s Independence Scholarship Program Inc. (for survivors of domestic violence)
Got a scholarship to travel abroad to Europe for 2 weeks in February with all-expenses paid, from my school. </p>

<p>Extracirrics:
I have a job and I work 30 hours a week to help pay the bills and the rent.
Model U.N.
Selective Social Studies/Government member.
President and Founder of United Students Against Sweatshops at my school.
Bella Abzug Leadership Institute (a summer debate-intensive for high school girls)
An Econ leadership summer program. </p>

<p>Weaknesses: My GPA is really dreadful. I have Cs in 9th and 10th grade science and math respectively. This was mostly because of the stuff going on in my family. However, my Junior Year grades are mostly B+s with a few A-s and one B.
I really don’t know if my essay, recs and test scores can make up for my poor GPA. :(</p>

<p>I will chance back if you give me your feedback. I would also appreciate it if anyone is willing to critique my common app essay.</p>

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<p>It seems to me that you have been through a lot and that your grades have been improving, so that is great. </p>

<p>There is no way that I or anyone else can truly assess your “chances” for admission to Barnard. But I will caution you that applying ED does mean that you may well be faced with some very, very difficult economic circumstances if you are admitted. Yes, Barnard does guarantee to meet 100% of your demonstrated need, but that is according to THEIR calculation of what you “need” and some percentage of what they give you will be in student loans, most likely.</p>

<p>So please think this through carefully and discuss the implications of an ED app with your parents. Do you have a good list of colleges to apply to that will include a range of options? </p>

<p>All that being said, I do not think there is anything to prevent you from applying to Barnard, and they may well accept you. I am just not sure that ED is what you should be doing…</p>

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<p>Thank you very much for replying; I understand that Barnard ED is risky, but I’ve thought it over and decided that I want to do it. </p>

<p>I’m even willing to take out loans to cover the difference in cost. </p>

<p>Additionally, I’ve been saving up for college ever since I started working. </p>

<p>Furthermore, I don’t have much of a choice between colleges because I absolutely must stay in the city since I need to take care of my mom. I am obviously applying to CUNY Macaulay Honors as a backup, but NYU doesn’t give any financial aid at all and Columbia is too much of a reach for me. </p>

<p>I have my heart set on Barnard. I have an EFC of 0, I’m willing to take out loans to cover the remaining costs. </p>

<p>I just really hope I have a chance.</p>

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<p>Do NOT apply ED if you need financial aid! ED will NOT give you a boost if you have a low GPA – the BEST thing you can do to improve your chances is to have a strong schedule with straight A’s (or close to that) your first semester, so Barnard can see a mid-year grade report.</p>

<p>And with your financial situation you ABSOLUTELY NEED to be able to compare awards in the spring. On the off chance that you were accepted ED despite the weakness in your GPA, you would be given a tentative award that potentially will be cut back substantially in the spring after you submit your 2011 W-2’s or tax return showing the income from that 30-hour-a-week job. (Even if you are only being paid minimum wage, that’s more income than most college applicants have).</p>

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<p>I appreciate the advice, but I feel like I’m very willing to make sacrifices in order to attend Barnard. </p>

<p>Theoretically my ED package should be the same as my RD package. Either way, I want to go to Barnard and am willing to pay/take student loans. </p>

<p>They pledge to cover all my need, so the worst is that I’ll have to take out loans. </p>

<p>Excluding Columbia, of the non-public colleges in the city (Fordham, NYU etc), Barnard will probably give me the best package. Of the colleges in the city, an education from Barnard will probably get me farther in life. </p>

<p>I’ve been self-studying and taking APs and plan to graduate college a year early; I feel like a degree from Barnard will help me more than a degree from Hunter College or NYU, which is why I’m willing to do take out loans.</p>

<p>Additionally, I failed to mention this in my first post, but I have substantial outside scholarships from various essay contests, including a savings bond that I received from school when I was very young. I’ve forseen the cost of college and have been putting money away, so the financial burden will probably not be so intense that I’ll be trapped.</p>

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<p>I love your optimism. I assume you will live at home. You do realize that Barnard is about $55,000 this coming year and will probably go up each year. They have a very low endowment. Is being in debt for even $100,000 or much more worth it to you? And that is an undergraduate degree. I agree with some of the other voices here and you might consider regular decision. You will have more bargaining ability.</p>

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<p>

NO. Your ED package will be based on financial information submitted in October, 2011. It is a tentative package, subject to receipt of 2011 financial information. You have a 30-hour a week job and are earning money. If you did not have that job in 2010, or worked less hours, then your income from 2011 is going to be much higher than the previous year, and that can impact your financial aid. Even though you are working to help pay your parents’ rent, the financial aid system doesn’t look at things that way: they consider you to be a dependent of your parent, and they will assume that your earnings are available to help pay college expense.</p>

<p>Packages can and do CHANGE. The only time you can be reasonably assured that the package will stay the same is if you know that there is no difference in your financial situation between 2010 and 2011. How much money did you earn in 2010? How much do you expect to earn, total, in 2011? </p>

<p>

There are only a limited dollar amount of student loans available. Maybe $5500 for the first year, maybe a little more if your parents apply for PLUS loans and are turned down. Barnard’s definition of “need” is not necessarily the same as your sense of “need”. Their promise to meet full 'need" does NOT mean they will meet your FAFSA EFC – it means they will use their own formulas. With your earned income, your FAFSA EFC might be higher than you would expect in any case. The loans are NOT available to meet the EFC part – they are there to meet need. </p>

<p>So let’s say that Barnard decides you should pay $10,000 - and then they give you work study of $1500 and loans of $4500 – and a grant to cover the rest. Where are you going to come up with the other $10,000? You will NOT be able to take “student loans” for that whole amount – you will either have to take private loans or come up with another source of money.</p>

<p>That’s why you NEED to wait until spring and look at all of your options. My daughter qualified for a Pell grant for two out of 4 years at Barnard, but Barnard still expected us to come up with $15-$20K those years. </p>

<p>In any case, as I already pointed out, it is is self-defeating to apply ED when you have a weak GPA. I don’t know why people somehow believe that ED is a time when the admissions committee decides to do favors for the weakest students in their applicant pool. GPA is very, very important to Barnard and you are depriving yourself of the opportunity to demonstrate a continued rising trend by a strong showing from the first semester of senior year.</p>

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<p>My total family income (on 2010 tax forms) was about $16,000, and that will probably be the number that will show up on the forms that I submit to the Barnard FA office. </p>

<p>But now I’m really worried. </p>

<p>With a total family income of $16,000, might they ACTUALLY ask me to pay around $10,000? :O</p>

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<p>When you say total “family” income – whose income are you talking about? Are YOU the wage earner? Because if a student under age 23 earns $16,000 they are looking at that a LOT differently than if the parent earned that money. </p>

<p>Why are you so set on applying ED? Why not apply RD to Barnard and other schools, including some that are likely to throw merit aid your way – and see what your options are in the spring?</p>

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<p>I am the mom of thearts and would like to address your comment that Columbia would be too much of a reach for you - if that is true, then Barnard is too much of a reach for you.
The few young women who post their scores, and knowing my daughter’s, are equally qualified for Columbia and most will be taking some if not a lot of course work there. Barnard is not a step down to Columbia. It is a different environment but academically equal to Columbia. I think you should work with a counselor at your school and take a realistic look at what you have going for you and what school would be the best match.</p>

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<p>@thearts.
I appreciate your input and understand that your good intentions, but my dream school is now down the drain. A large part of the reason I will not apply will be because of you and your last post; it was pretty convincing. I am jealous of your daughter and I hope that she appreciates how nice it is to have an encouraging parent to help her with colleges and to have had support throughout high school to be in the elevated position she stands in today. </p>

<p>If I could delete this thread, I would. It kind of makes me embarrassed 'cause I realize only now that I was so naive. </p>

<p>But now that i have input from parents who can get their kids into the college that I want to go to, I realize that I’m probably just not on the same level as any of you guys or them. </p>

<p>I don’t even know why I bothered. I feel really stupid now. </p>

<p>What a pipe dream Barnard was. I feel so stupid for having created this. </p>

<p>After reading these responses, I’m planning to save the application fee and stop aiming so high. It was silly of me to even consider trying. BMCC will probably be the most realistic choice for me. Money-wise and location wise, manhattan community college seems to be what im assigned to. </p>

<p>Its okay. i was saved heartbreak. At least now i don’t have to waste my money and tears.</p>

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<p>I don’t think you should feel embarrased or stupid! You should still apply to Barnard if you think that it would be a good fit for you. No one knows what the adcoms want or how they think, so that’s why no one here can give you an exact answer on what your chances are. No one’s advising that you shouldn’t apply; they are advising that you apply RD instead of ED so you can apply to many different schools & weigh your financial aid options and continue to raise your GPA. If you truly want to go to Barnard, I think you should continue to work hard and apply. :)</p>

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<p>noloserhere – You CAN get into Barnard. You have a great profile. My daughter graduated phi beta kappa from Barnard, but I don’t think she would have had a chance at getting into Columbia, simply because her test scores were way too low. But she wouldn’t have wanted Columbia anyway, so it really didn’t matter.</p>

<p>The thing I took issue with is the concept of applying ED. ED will not help a weak candidate. That’s a myth generated because published stats of ED admitted students are a little less than those of the RD students, but that’s because ED is the best time for reasonably strong, hooked applicants to apply. (Legacies, recruited athletes, etc.). The reason ED exists is to help the college lock in strong candidates, preferably those who are full pay or nearly full pay.</p>

<p>You DO have a chance during the RD round and you shouldn’t give up on yourself. But it is really dumb to apply ED. Your chances ED are LESS than your chances RD because of your GPA situation – and if by some fluke you did get accepted ED, you could find yourself in trouble financially.</p>

<p>A SMART application strategy would be to apply to a range of colleges RD, including Barnard and one or two other reaches, with the other colleges being good matches or safeties. Be sure to include some safeties that are likely to offer merit money. Your test scores are pretty good, so that may draw in some good offers of merit aid.</p>

<p>And don’t worry about the application fee – my daughter paid 0 to apply to Barnard because she got a fee waiver. </p>

<p>The post from thearts is correct about course rigor – my daughter feels that Barnard is MORE rigorous than Columbia, so definitely not a place to apply if you think the work will be easier. But in terms of admissions, the Barnard process is more holistic and there are many students who are admitted to Barnard who wouldn’t be likely to be admitted to Columbia because of the differences in the admission process. Quite simply, Barnard values things that Columbia will overlook, and focuses a lot more on the person than the numbers. But because of the course rigor, they also take a very long hard look at the GPA. And again, they like to see a rising trend and first semester grades from senior year from students who have lower GPA’s. When they see a combination of high test scores,middling GPA they need evidence that take your work seriously and not prone to slacking off.</p>

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<p>noloserhere: I am sorry that your feelings were hurt and you were discouraged by the posts here. That is one reason that I really do not like “chances” threads…we are just parents and students who are trying their best to offer good advice, but it IS an anonymous board and we don’t know all there is to know…</p>

<p>That being said, Calmom is very, very wise. And the only thing you DO know is that if you don’t apply you cannot get in. I don’t think anyone here is saying that you should not apply. Thearts’ mom, I think, interpreted your statement that “Columbia is too much of a reach for me” as your saying their academics would be too challenging. And to that point, she is correct: once admitted, Columbia and Barnard students face equally challenging academic loads (if not more so at Barnard). </p>

<p>But Calmom is correct to point out that in terms of ADMISSIONS (which is what I think you were referring to in your OP), Barnard and Columbia Colleges look at different things. And, yes Columbia WOULD be a huge “reach”. And Barnard may well be, but in my opinion (and Calmom’s), in the RD round and with well- thought out essays (and if you want to PM them to me, I will be happy to read them) and great first semester grades, you of course have a chance.</p>

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<p>Noloserhere, you’re NOT alone. I’m on the same boat as you!
So what I’m hearing from everyone is that if you have a low GPA, it’s better to apply RD?</p>

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<p>I meant to add more to that, sorry. Noloserhere, DON’T GIVE UP. Barnard is my dream school too and even though it’s gonna be hard, WE CAN DO IT. There’s no harm in just applying. If we don’t, we’ll always ask “what if” and that’s possibly worse than not getting accepted. Just go for it. :)</p>

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<p>Yes. It is best to apply with the strongest record possible. GPA is one area where a rigorous fall schedule with good grades can be very important. </p>

<p>Both the ED and the RD pools are very competitive. There is possibility that you can get deferred ED, thus turning it into an RD application, but there’s also a risk that you get rejected ED. Of course there is also a risk that you get rejected RD… but if you have a good fall transcript, at least you would know in that case that the ad com had the best information possible about you in hand.</p>

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<p>You should apply because applications arent all about how well you did… Your family situation will be taken HUGELY under consideration, don’t get discouraged by these people. They don’t know hoot because non of them are Barnard admissions officers</p>

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<p>I agree with Calmom…applying RD is the best idea. </p>

<p>However, as the mother of a stressed and anxious High School student who was sweating through those months before RD decisions came out, I surely did wish (as did my D) that she had applied ED!! Her GPA was great, though. It was her test scores that were not outstanding. Not BAD, but not fabulous. And we were absolutely committed to her going, though a bit naive about how much we’d REALLY have to end up paying. So, I do understand the tremendous lure of hopefully knowing early that you are IN.</p>

<p>Resist that temptation, though!</p>

<p>And, mediocrestudent is correct:

.</p>

<p>Good to remember in all cases when reading or writing “chances” threads on here. All we can do is give you our best advice based on our own experience.</p>

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<p>I am giving 2 SAT subject tests in Nov(math level 1 AND 2)
I am giving world history subject test in dec</p>

<p>so that means if i ED anywhere, only my math scores can go.
so is it advisable to ED OR RD keeping this scenario?
i am looking at Barnard and Columbia</p>

<p>plz help</p>