<p>Hi everyone! My daughter has narrowed her list down to 8 schools and sent in all applications but 2 (Duke and Wake). She has already received acceptance to 2 schools, with Honors College acceptance as well. Her top three choices are Duke, Wake Forest and University of South Carolina (Honors College). Please let me know what your thoughts are on her chances. Here are her stats:</p>
<p>3.9 UW / 4.875 W GPA
31 ACT
Top 5 % of her class (only 108 kids, so somewhere between 1-6) <strong><em>School does not rank</em></strong>
All core academic courses have been either honors or AP level (all other classes have been Honors after year two)
Has taken 5 AP's (school has small selection of classes and only allowed to take 6) and done well on exams
Member or NHS, Spanish HS, Art HS and Math HS
VP of Art HS
Has been involved in Impact (faith based club since 9th) and is President this year
Show Choir 2 years
Marching Band 3 years (2 years Color Guard, 1 Percussion)
Varsity Cheerleader
Very involved and active at Church
Over 300 service hours since Freshman year
75+ hours mentoring with Oncologist and 50 hours at local hospital
Working with Jeff Gordon Children's Foundation this year to raise money for Pediatric Cancer (her Senior Project)</p>
<p>Recommendations should be stellar; One for Duke is coming for a Social Studies teacher who is a Duke Alum; also receiving recommendations from the oncologist who has been her mentor (she intends to go to med school)</p>
<p>Essays are great (especially the one for the USC Honors College)</p>
<p>She is a 1st Generation college student. How much of a hook is that at most colleges? We live in NC and she plans on applying for the Robertson Scholarship as well.</p>
<p>Thanks so much!</p>
<p>It’s really very difficult to say, as these things depend heavily on how many other students with such credentials are in the pool. How strongly first generation alone counts is difficult to assess DOes she qualify for a lot of financial aid? It’s been my experience that well to do first generation kids don’t get as much consideration as those who come from struggling families, for example. IS she also URM at those schools? </p>
<p>How well has she done on the AP exams? For Duke, just as taking a glance, I dont think she’d cut it. I know first generation kids with her stats from son’s school who have not gotten accepted with those numbers and with very good recs, and ECs.But then, there is a lot your narrative may not be covering. It’s realistic for her to give the schools a try. Just make sure some good safeties are also in place.</p>
<p>I’m a Duke alumni interviewer. Her ACT scores will place her at the 25th percentile for Trinity:</p>
<p><a href=“http://admissions.duke.edu/images/uploads/process/DukeClass2018Profile.pdf”>http://admissions.duke.edu/images/uploads/process/DukeClass2018Profile.pdf</a></p>
<p>So her chances are tough at Duke, unless she gets her standardized scores up. The first generation status is definitely a plus, so she still stands a good chance. Being a NC resident also helps. The Robertson scholarship is extremely competitive. Not sure her stats would put her in the ballpark, but doesn’t hurt to apply.</p>
<p>Thanks. One thing we have learned is that she does not test that well (although a 31 is still great); she tends to get 34 and 35 on every practice test she takes, and then during the actual test, her nerves get the best of her. She is not a URM, but although we do well financially, we are not considered well to do in the scheme of things. She really also likes the other two schools listed, but Duke has always been her top choice. </p>
<p>I missed the NC residency. That would help a lot. We don’t live in NC, son’s school has lot of first gen kids and I know a number of them over the years who applied to Duke, and those numbers don’t cut it from what i"ve seen in their records that indicate who applied with what test scores/grades and special features. But Duke HAS to take so many Carolina students and that is another draw.</p>
<p>I wish we could have let her apply ED, but financially we need to know numbers before we can decide where she will go. I do know that if she were to get into Duke we would do everything possible to make it happen. I feel pretty confident about Wake and USC, but she really only wants to go to USC if she gets into the Honors College. </p>
<p>Have ;your run the NPCs for Duke? Do you know what you can afford and are not looking for the best deal? RUn the NPCs for all of her schools and see where Duke stands in terms of financial aid. If you are willing to do whatever’s possible, know what the likey awards from her schools and DUke, are, ED might be the way to go. If you can’t do it,then you get a release. I don’t recommend ED for a lot of people who need fin aid, simply because they are often looking for the best deal, and have not confronted what they are willing to pay.</p>
<p>I have ran the NPC for all of the college’s that she is applying to. We would most likely be paying the same range (give or take 2-3k) at any place she went, however she is more competitive for scholarships at the public universities that she is applying to. Since she has plans of going to med school, we would like her to have as little debt as possible coming out of undergrad. If it were not for the fact that we have to withdraw all other applications if admitted, we would most likely go the ED route at Duke. Another factor is that my husband is self-employed and it is not a cut and dry situation. Our income on paper looks a lot higher than it actually is. </p>
<p>"I do know that if she were to get into Duke we would do everything possible to make it happen. "</p>
<p>That is what confused me.^ If it did not matter what the other offers might be, just if you can do it or not and you are committed to doing what you can, I’d say go on ahead with the ED. You get the offer and you either can or cannot make it a go, and it doesn’t matter if she got better financial deals from other schools. You would still go with Duke so it doesn’t matter that you have to withdraw the other apps. When a better deal would change the situation, absolutely ED is not a good way to go.</p>
<p>That is our intent, should she be admitted. However, with my husband’s self employed status we are unsure how it will play out. We have not been able to get a clear answer on our main question. He owns distributorship rights to a territory. Although it is worth quite a bit, it is only worth this amount if he sells the rights back to the company, thus ending his employment. We have not been able to get a answer on how is is considered on the FAFSA and CSS Profile. It is not like typical equity in a business. That is what makes it hard to get rid of other schools where she could get significant merit aid. </p>
<p>Just got my daughter’s October ACT scores back yesterday and she did so much better. She now has the following:</p>
<p>Math 32
English 31
Reading 34
Science 36
Composite 33</p>
<p>Yay for the 2 point composite improvement!!! Hopefully this makes her more competitive!</p>