chances early decision?

<p>I'm going to be a senior at a very competitive public high school in New Jersey. </p>

<p>Freshman year
World history A
English A
Geometry honors B-
Spanish 2 A-
Biology A</p>

<p>Sophomore year
Us history honors B
English honors A-
Algebra 2 B+
Spanish 3 honors A
Chemistry honors A</p>

<p>Junior year
Us history 2 honors B
English honors A-
Spanish 4 honors B+
Precalc/trig B+
Physics honors A-
Psych AP A</p>

<p>Senior year courses
English AP
Calculus honors
Spanish 5 honors
Physics AP
Biology AP</p>

<p>Test scores
Sat I: math 660 critical reading 700 writing 730 = 2090
Sat 2: math 2c 680 literature 720
Act: english 36 math 34 reading 34 science 25 comp=32
(Retaking act in sept. To bring up science)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars
Volunteer at animal shelter 2 hrs/wk and foster animals at my home throughout the year
Volunteer at my church's youth group
Youth group leader on retreats 2 weekends/yr
Volunteer at hospital over summer 4 hrs/wk
Member of physics team, physics team secretary, received a varsity letter
Did track freshman and sophomore years
1 club freshman year
4 clubs junior year</p>

<p>Gpa: 3.9 weighted 3.7 unweighted</p>

<p>Chances for early decision?? Thanks so much!</p>

<p>Oh and I’m a member of the national honor society and spanish honor society :)</p>

<p>Hi Keeks! Your grades and scores should not present any problems for you. ECs are so-so. UR wants to know what makes you different from the other applicants. Make sure you have a great essay that really sets you apart from the crowd. Good luck! Let us know how things progress!</p>

<p>Yeah I know my ECs are my weakness. That’s why I’m probably applying early decision, will my demonstrated interest make up for the lack of ECs?</p>

<p>I can’t speak for the Admissions office. My experiece is limited to a daughter who applied and was accepted ED this past Fall. I think demonstrated interest counts for something. Doing something counts for more. You do have very good scores and above average grades. You have a reasonable chance. A great essay can really help sell yourself. Take a look at the student profile on the UR admissions page and see how you fit into that.</p>

<p>Thank you for your help!</p>

<p>You have a good chance of acceptance–even if applying for regular decision.</p>

<p>Re: ED—Univ. of Richmond total costs are over $50,000/yr. and costs do go up every year. In other words, have a long talk with your parents about finances before applying to any school ED.</p>

<p>Luckily UR meets 100% of demonstrated need.</p>

<p>Spiders05, The OP lives in NJ and goes to a competitive public school. This usually translates into a household income that falls above the range of being qualified for need based aid.
In other words, the OP lives in a very good neighborhood (thus, the competitive public school) in NJ (incomes are relatively high as compared to other parts of the country–same goes for NY). The mention of meeting 100% need is a bit misleading in this situation.
The idea of Univ. of Richmond or any school that professes meeting 100% need doesn’t translate well into helping the typical upper middle class family in the Northeast. </p>

<p>The fact that a college has the policy of meeting 100% demonstrated is great for the low income student. They are in absolute need and without financial help, would not be able to attend college. However, for many upper middle class families in the Northeast with 2 income households and a home in a good neighborhood (competitive public high school), need based aid is difficult to come by (other than substantial loans).</p>

<p>Again, any student applying ED to any college should first discuss finances with their parents and figure out how much they can afford to spend/yr. for college. Need based aid is based on whether the college thinks you have a need and doesn’t necessarily correlate with the reality of what your parents feel they need. So, talk with your parents before deciding to apply to any school ED. </p>

<p>PS–Your stats make you a good candidate for RD. By applying RD, you have the ability to compare the bottom line costs of all the colleges that offer you an acceptance rather than being bound to one ED agreement. Definitely have a thorough sit-down discussion with your parents first before you decide to apply ED to any school. Also, make sure you and your parents read all of the fine print regarding ED applications to any school.</p>

<p>Good luck. Your stats make you a good candidate for Univ. of Richmond as well as many other schools.</p>

<p>nysmile has it right-I don’t qualify for much financial aid, if any at all. I filled out a sample FAFSA (FASFA?..not sure) and it looks like I won’t be getting anything. However, I still need to see more schools before I’m ready to make such a big commitment, and it’ll definitely be a long discussion between me and my parents. Thank you both for your help, it’s so nice to be able to get my college questions answered by people who really know what they’re talking about :)</p>