Chances for RD?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Kenyon College
1

<p>I just got rejected from Cornell a few days ago, so I'm probably going to be going to OSU, but I wanted to look at a few more possibilities just in case. I come from a low-end family (<$3000 annual income), so financial aid will be a MAJOR concern. Anyway, any thoughts on my chances? Here's my profile:</p>

<hr>

<p>Korean-American male; 1st generation born in America; born & residing in Ohio
I attend a fairly competitive school; we certainly have a lot of smart people, but we're not elite or anything</p>

<p>GPA weighted: just slightly over 4.0
GPA unweighted: about 3.6~3.7 (I calculated 3.69, but I might not have done it quite right, our school only actually reports weighted GPA)
My class rank was not reported, but I fell out of the top 10% (just barely) during my junior year, which upset and depressed me severely later on.</p>

<p>freshman year I did pretty much nothing except a few basic honors classes that were offered
sophomore year was pretty much the same; could have taken AP US History but was intimidated out of it (later my history teacher told me I should have taken the AP course)
junior year I took AP World History, AP Lang, and AP Biology
senior year I'm taking AP Chem, Latin Literature (AP Latin wasn't offered this year; our school alternates between the two courses each year), AP Calculus AB, AP Environmental Science (thought it'd be a nice blow-off class; oh how wrong I was), AP Literature, and AP Gov.</p>

<p>SAT: 2210 (720 Critical Reading, 740 Writing, 750 Math)
SAT II: 740 Math I, 760 Biology-E (unfortunately I was quite depressed that day, plus I took it at a bad time during the year, so I'm really not happy with them)
ACT: 33 (I don't remember my subject scores for sure, but I think they were 31 Math (lol), 33 English, 35 Reading, 34 Science, 8 essay (terrible, I know))
AP exams (it's a miracle; I barely studied for these):
Biology: 5
English Language & Composition: 5
World History: 5</p>

<p>Extra-curriculars, et al:
volunteer at the hospital (150+ hours) -11th, 12th
summer volunteer at the library - 10th (maybe 9th, I can't seem to keep my summers
straight)
summer Vacation Bible School volunteer teacher at Korean Church of Columbus - 9th, 10th
tennis team - 9th, 12th (sort of 11th, but I didn't put it on the app since I wasn't
technically officially on the team)
Latin Club - 10th, 11th, 12th
Japanese Club - 11th (I was sort of a guest)
National Honor Society - 12th (didn't apply as a junior)
Youth Group senior officer - 12th</p>

<p>Honors, Awards:
AP Scholar
National Merit Semifinalist
local Rotary Four-Way Test Speech Competition - Honorable Mention/3rd place (11th grade)
National Latin Examination Silver Medalist (10th grade)
Academic Plus Pin award (12 consecutive quarters on honor roll)</p>

<hr>

<p>So, any input? I have a sincere love of learning, but unfortunately I was not blessed with any particular talent like many of my peers, nor an affluent family. I still really want to go to a school with a respected academic program for pre-meds. Any consideration would be appreciated. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Being super poor and really talented (and motivated) is the cheapest way to get a college education, you are sitting on a goldmine!</p>

<p>I think your family income was meant to say less than 30,000? If that is the case then Kenyon will be a very good deal for you. Kenyon is also very strong in the sciences…the only class that might help you for med school that they don’t offer (or didn’t a few years ago at least) is anatomy. I think you could take that at another university in the summer if you think it will make the MCAT easier for you.</p>

<p>Please apply to Kenyon, you are the type of student they are looking for :)</p>

3

<p>It is imperative that you visit the campus, btw.</p>

4

<p>Also this:</p>

<p>Newman’s Own Foundation Scholarships
Newman’s Own Foundation Scholarships will be awarded to selected students who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, with priority given to those from underrepresented backgrounds, including first-generation students. Students are selected on the basis of their intellectual engagement, creativity, community service, and leadership to Kenyon. These scholarships eliminate the loan portion of the financial aid package. No special application is required.</p>

5

<p>Be aware that Kenyon does not fill Full Financial Need. You will probably get a nice scholarship but you will probably have to come up with a good amount on your own. I would also look at Denison U. It’s not far from Kenyon, almost equal in student quality, and they offer full tuition merit scholarships to NMFs. With your need you should get some need based aid to cover the room and board. Please visit both schools and see what they are like. Kenyon has beautiful English traditional architecture in the middle of the corn fields while Denision has a mix of building styles right in quaint Granville.</p>

6

<p>Sorry Erin’s Dad, but you’re totally wrong on this one - Kenyon DOES meet full demonstrated financial need. Where they tend to fall short is with the merit money (scholarships) - they just don’t have the endowment dollars required to go out with big offers, plus their applicant pool is so strong that there’s plenty of competition for scholarships. </p>

<p>FireAdept24, MolBioAce06 is right on when they say that you’re sitting on a goldmine. LACs love the “super poor and really talented/motivated” students. You’ll receive great financial aid at Kenyon if you’re in fact as needy as you say you are, and you’ll be a contender for some merit. But MolBioAce06 is also right in saying you should get yourself to campus for a visit, they expect prospective students to show that kind of interest especially if you’re from Ohio. </p>

<p>Don’t settle until you’ve looked at some of the Ohio LACs (like Kenyon and Denison), you’ve got plenty of potential. Kenyon was very affordable for me, and I was nearly as needy as you are. Good luck!</p>

7

<p>Thanks for the insight, everyone. It turn out I only have four transcripts left, so I need to consider carefully where I’ll be applying… I have three decided, but there’s still one toss-up. I’ll definitely consider Kenyon; it’s great to hear that they offer financial aid (I always grew up hearing, “If you don’t get a scholarship, you won’t be able to go to college” and such from my mother, so it’s a huge blessing that even someone like me can go to college).</p>

<p>And also, yes, I meant to say <$30,000, haha. Guess I’m kind of bad at math…</p>