Hi there! UW is my dream school and I am awaiting my decision that is supposed to come out on Friday 3/12 (today is Tuesday 3/9). I have been dreaming of UW for about 3 years now and would sell an arm and a leg to attend. Here are my stats/demographics: Background:
White female, out of state applicant (California). Daughter of a single mother (divorced parents, then dad died), income is fairly low. Not first gen. Application Details:
*Applied Public Health/Global Health (dream career is CEO of a hospital, by continuing education at UW for Master’s in Public Health Administration), second choice was Business Admin (said yes to pursuing second choice if not first)
*Cumulative GPA listed at 4.0/5.0 (about 4.1 W, 3.8 UW)
*60/500 students at somewhat small high school
*8 AP classes total (2 pre-AP classes, 1 AP sophomore yr, 3 APs junior yr, 4 APs senior yr)
*Scores: AP Euro (2), AP US History (3), AP Environmental Science (2) AP Lang & Comp (5)
*AP Lit, AP Stats, AP Psych, & AP US Gov currently taking senior year
*No SAT/ACT taken/submitted (COVID)
*Essay: talked about father’s death in 2019 & his advice to pursue a career that won’t be taken over by computers & how I want to continue my education at UW (decent, could’ve been better tbh, A- grade), Other essay question: spoke about my travels yet being from a small town & how I can my experiences to the cultural diversity at UW
*Extracurriculars:
Varsity soccer (3 yrs), JV soccer (freshman yr & captain), Club soccer for 10 years, ASB Secretary, ASB Publicity Commissioner, AIM leadership class for 2 years(for promoting academic achievements & first ever freshman in a leadership class at my HS), Founder & President of chapter/club of national organization for period (menstrual cycle) equality. Member of 3 other clubs: 1 with 3 years of leadership position as secretary. CSF Lifetime Member, Renaissance Gold Award (4.0 GPA), Hostess at a local restaurant since August
**Other Admissions from Various Schools:
Admitted to Cal Poly SLO as a Recreation, Parks, And Tourism major,
University of Oregon w/ 10k/yr scholarship & direct admission to Lundquist College of Business to study Business Admin,
Chico State as Health Administration major
I am extremely nervous about my admission decision & would do anything to attend UW. I’d appreciate any feedback & I apologize if I post this to a place it shouldn’t be as I am not well-versed with College Confidential. Thanks!
Your credentials look very consistent with UW standards. The test optional is throwing us all for a loop. I’m sure whenever you end up will be a good fit - and not long to wait now.
I’m sorry I really don’t know anything about UW admissions (I’m applying too this year) but I just wanted to say good luck!!! My background is very different but our stats are very similar so hopefully we both get in. It’s one of my dream schools. You must be as anxious as I am for Friday!!!
I think based on ur information, it’s really consistent and widely spread out, which, in my opinion, is extremely important. I don’t really know the competition level for Public/Global Health, bu tin general science and computer science at UW are extremely competitive majors. One thing I do want to say is that both ur majors are pretty popular these days, but I think you do have a good chance of getting in! You got this!
For me, I also applied to UW, but I’m not into STEM, so my first major was communications, and the second was drama. These both interest me, but also they’re not STEM majors, so it might be easier.
The admissions process seeks to create a diverse student body, and it’s also somewhat dependent on the space available in your major. Some applicants with perfect stats will not be admitted…and some applicants who may be solid “B” students will. It’s impossible to understand the thinking at the time an admissions member reads your application. So, as long as you are not unrealistically applying to schools there is always a “chance”.
Your stats wont be what holds you back from UW. What will hold you back is the price of admission=$61K. How will you pay?
It’s a state public university, which means that funding is prioritized for instate residents. Your aid may be limited to only FEDERAL funds. Federal funding is really limited. The big bucks come from In-State funding. If you are not a resident, you won’t get instate tuition.
If you receive federal funds you may expect:
A Pell grant: $6K per year.
Federal loans from $6K to $7.5K per year. That’s $13K.
Federal Work Study will bring you about $3K per year but that’s strung out throughout the year as you work.
$61,000 - $16K still leaves you with a balance of $45K.
You can apply and see if you get WUE (Western Undergraduate Exchange), but it probably doesn’t include UW.
Central Washington and Eastern Washington Universities appear to have space. The costs there would be just under $11k per year. If you are going to Grad School, you need to save your money. How do I know this?
Our daughter was a good candidate and was accepted at UW. She was impressed with their medical schools. The cost was the same as some of the privates in California. She didn’t get WUE. When we told her how much Medical school was going to cost us, she decided to go to a UC. She got into UW’s School of Medicine, but she decided on UCSF in San Francisco.
You don’t qualify for most of Washington’s scholarships. The Purple and Gold Scholarship is very competitive.
A dream school would be great if all of the other factors lined up.
You will do well wherever you land.
You can’t borrow $61K a year. Your parent would have to borrow that and she may not qualify for a loan if she is low income. Some of these loans are “Pay as you go”, so she would have to pay several thousand per month as you go to school.
My niece received her MPH. The major and jobs are a saturated market. She doesn’t have a degree in nursing, so her MPH employment opportunities and pay scale are limited. She’s paying a lot back in Grad student loans. You may want to further investigate your return on your investment if you plan for this to be your major.
Good Luck!
I’m sorry that it’s such a bummer as I am trying to be realistic because it’s better that she hears it here and now, rather than be excited about the admission, and then realize she has no money to pay. If she receives the Purple and Gold, then she would be in good shape for UW.
We could afford to pay for our daughter’s UW full costs, but when we told her that paying full undergrad (out of state) fees, at UW, would diminish her future funds, she decided to go to a UC for her undergrad. She would have had to take out loans for med school. When she was admitted to UW’s School of Medicine, she decided, instead, to go to UCSF’s School of Med. We have been able to pay her fees because she saved us money going instate.
OP’s Mom would be in complete debt later, and an MPH degree wont pay the bills, for those kinds of loans.
First of all congratulations on all that you have accomplished during your years in high school! Wow! Your stats are amazing. As a mom of 3 and living in Washington state, my two oldest applied and got into UW. I believe you should have no problem getting in. However, I’m going to have to agree with aunt_bea. She makes a valid point on money. Why not do undergrad at the amazing schools you have in CA? Then apply for the masters program at UW. Going to UW is like my youngest going to UCSD at over $60k a year. BTW, she was accepted to CPSLO too, but for Mech Eng. One of the issues I have about UW is that they admit you but you don’t declare a major until your junior year and then you have to compete with all these phenomenal students that are there to get your desired major. My oldest D, got in but didn’t want to be so close to home and went to Boise State because she got a scholarship. She went in as Applied math major and then changed to Comp Sci. She wouldn’t have been able to do that had she gone to UW. It’s too much of a competitive major. My son, a valedictorian, also applied and was hoping for direct admit to the CS program. They have now since started doing this. He got in but didn’t get in the program. Hence, decided not to go. They pretty much said in the letter he received to ask if there was another major he was interested in. So now he is at WSU and after his freshman year he is now in their CS program. I would only consider going to UW if you get a direct admit to your desired major! I know of too many kids who have had to settle for something other then their first choice and if you are going to shell out all that OOS money to them, well you should get what you want. Right? Also, check to see how many of those AP classes you will get credit for. I know sometimes they won’t give full credit unless it’s a 4 or 5? I believe UW should have something on their website for that. You can save money if you don’t have to take as many classes and shorten your time there. Other than that, UW is a fantastic school! My husband has many relatives and my kids have many friends who have gone there and bleed purple and gold. Good luck and I know you will make you shine where ever you go!
Hi everyone, me again. Just thought I would update you all to say that I was waitlisted Definitely have been crying but hoping that I could possibly be accepted off the waitlist later. Thanks for all your feedback!
Don’t give up hope. Many universities are using “waitlisting” to ensure they have enough numbers for the 2025 class. This year students applied to many more schools, and admissions cannot accurately predict how many offers will be declined. So, they create a long waitlist so they can hedge against the possibility of many students declining their offer. You have a good chance. But, it’s best to consider other offers just in case.
Sorry to hear that. It is definitely their loss. Don’t let that get you down. From what you wrote, you have been through a lot of adversity and if you can get through all that, you have the “tools” to get through anything life throws at you. Plus, if you don’t get off the waitlist, you have a lot of great schools to fall back on. Good luck to you and you’ve got this!
Definitely have been crying but hoping that I could possibly be accepted off the waitlist later. Thanks for all your feedback!