<p>As of now, i have a unweighted cumulative 4.0 GPA and 2030 SAT score. my essays are pretty creative and my senior year courseload is mostly APs (still maintianing the GPA). the only weakness i have is in my extracirriculars. my freshman and sopohmore years were fairly uneventful, but junior and senior years, i really found clubs/activities i love and have committed myself to. problem is, the admissions people might think i was being lazy freshman/sophomore year...</p>
<p>i want to apply today for scholarship consideration but i feel like i won't make it. do i have a chance at any merit aid? or should i polish my application and essays a bit more before sending them off at a later date?</p>
<p>I’ve sent in UC applications and some other privates are occidental, claremont mckenna, pepperdine, and whittier.
i know for clarmont mckenna, it’ll be a huge reach, but i hoping that UC’s, whittier or pepperdine will ensure i get accepted somewhere.
oh one other thing i forgot to mention is that my school is ranked fairly low academically and many people here choose the community college route.</p>
<p>oh and im also considering apply to the school of gerontology. im genuienly interested in it, and am planning on pursuing a career closely related to it. is this going to help/hurt me?</p>
<p>Well, if you haven’t already applied, the chance for merit aid is zero as far as I know, because today is the deadline for submitting your application to be considered for merit aid.</p>
<p>i have the application ready, i just havent pressed submit yet…
but i think my essays/supplements might be a bit better if i take some more time on it… so if the possibility of actually recieving merit aid is low, i’d rather not send it at all today and just focus on making it better</p>
<p>Claremont McKenna is harder to get into than USC, just saying… It is now the most selective liberal arts school (I think… Amherst may be more selective, but CMC now beats Williams and Pomona.) Anyway, I think you’re on the fence. For schools like USC, not just any intelligent kid can get in anymore.</p>
<p>USC’s merit aid is for applicants with the highest ACT/SAT Scores as well as high GPAs. If you’re looking to be considered, USC looks closely at your EC’s. There are some high scorers who get the scholarships, and there are plenty who don’t. Scores are not everything.</p>
<p>You say that you’re lacking in your EC’s, so applying by tonight may not be the best option for you, giving you more time to work on your essays.</p>
<p>alright. thank you guys! I’ve decided not to apply today. my friends keep telling me “you never know what they’re looking for, you might get it! just give it a shot.” but i dont think its worth the risk (?) i can probably get much more frrom need-based aid so it’d be better to hold off applying, i think. (:</p>
<p>and about CMC, yeah, i heard how competitive it is there, but i love the school soo much, so i figured it doesn’t hurt to try. (:</p>
<p>Have you taken SAT Subject Tests? UC schools don’t require it, but some of the UC’s (like UCLA and UC Berkeley), strongly recommend these tests. (Particularly Math II and Physics/Chemistry, I’m not sure about Biology. UCLA does not accept Math Level I.)</p>
<p>I’m from Virginia and I was accepted to USC last year with 4.0 UW and a 31 ACT. Subject scores were not impressive (680/650). ECs also weak but strong essays and attended an academic governor’s school for math/science. I’d say you have a decent chance.</p>
<p>congrats and thank youu! that’s extremely encouraging to hear (: i would love to attend this school because it’s hard to find other colleges that has such a great program in gerontology ahahaa</p>