<p>I am a white female from an affluent area in the Greater Houston Area. I go to a very competitive public school and am in the top 18% of my class. My weighted GPA is 4.6 and I have taken the following AP courses: World History, English III, United States History, Environmental Science, and will be taking Statistics, Human Geography and English IV in the coming year. I am an active member of my school's Interact Community Service Organization and a four-year member and two-year officer of my school's dance team. I also have a ton of random service hours from town fairs and church functions. I am also a member of the National Honor Society and the Spanish National Honor Society. The first time I took the SAT's I got a 1700 but I'm not sure what I got on the second time; I will find out in about 3 days I think. </p>
<p>Considering my stats, would applying Early Decision/Action (I'm not sure what it is at Richmond) improve my chances of acceptance? Richmond is my top choice, so please be brutally honest! I'd rather hear it now before I apply rather than when I get that fateful letter in April :/ Thanks for the help!</p>
<p>Hi deejay! First, I have no inside scoop on the admissions process at UR. I only have my daughters experience and what I have heard on here and other places from students and prospective students. And, I hate the whole idea of “chancing someone”. Ok - disclaimer out of the way.</p>
<p>My daughter applied ED because she determined that it would increase her odds. Others, however say applying ED does not affect your odds. UR was also her #1 choice so we felt it was certainly worth the shot. She had a 3.9UW/4.3ish weighted. Her SAT was about a 1900. She has done considerable work for a church in Tanzania and has spent time there. She had an outstanding essay related to her work in Tanzania. Her bio though showed diversity through church, school and charity work. She had two RD applications ready to send in late december if she did not get accepted to UR. She was accepted ED and has been counting down the days since she received her letter on, I think December 21. </p>
<p>I think, and I think others will agree, that the keys to getting accepted to UR are excellent grades (which you seem to have) in a challenging curriculum (which seems to apply). Above average SATs (your first shot is borderline as 1770 is the low end of the middle 50%) and a great essay. I think admissions wants to know why you are different from the other 8000 applicants. Why will they want YOU on campus?</p>
<p>So, in my opinion, for what it’s worth, get the SAT up and write a great essay and you have a very good shot!</p>
<p>(I still hate the concept of chancing - I don’t like a person getting hopes up or hopes dashed because of something that someone outside of the admissions office has to say!)</p>
<p>Applying ED gives one a distinct advantage. The school knows you are their 1st choice and that makes a difference. Look at the Common Data Set for Richmond for stats. For the entering class of 2009, 206 of 298 ED applicants were ACCEPTED. That’s a 69% acceptance rate. Compare that to the overall. Your overall resume is excellent, but getting the SAT scores up is impt. Also, are the English classes you are taking Honors? There is no AP English IV or AP English III. There is AP Eng Lit and AP Eng Language. Do you have four years of challenging math courses? How many years of language? A lot of unknowns, but again, your overall resume looks excellent. If you have visited, and I assume you have since it is your first choice, see if you can talk to your regional counselor about your concerns and ask for input. Good luck. Our D is a rising sophomore at UR and LOVES it. Good luck!</p>
<p>@252525- I took AP Lang. and Comp. and I’m going to take AP Lit. and Comp. in the fall. Sorry for the confusion! And thank you for the ED stats, they were very helpful.</p>
<p>@PAVenturer- Thank you so much! I definitely have a better idea of what kind of student is accepted into UR.</p>