<p>So, back in April , my youngest daughter visited ( for the second time ) her first choice school. It is Northeastern University , which is the school her sister graduated from last year. The program she wants to apply to is very small and the choices or her to apply to in an area she is comfortable geographically are few. There are no schools in our home state that offer anything with the exception of a couple of community colleges , not close to us.
She met with the director of the program last October and he was very helpful and arranged for her to sit in on a class, which she did on the April visit. We also took a formal tour since I thought that it should be noted that she has actually been there.
While we were waiting for the group to convene and sit through the information session and power point , we met with a representative for admissions. Sister who is an alum was with us and some of the students who were involved with the tours knew her since she was pretty involved with various groups…I asked the rep if there were any advantages for her as a sibling of an alumni and the rep ( who's name I noted ) told us that my daughter would be considered a legacy and as such , would be able to have an interview.
This was welcome news for us, since we are well aware that NEU has become even more difficult to get in to than it was back in 2007 when older daughter was admitted.</p>
<p>My daughter who will be applying sent an email to admissions to see about what she needs to do to arrange and interview and received a reply that pretty much told her that they rarely give interviews because of the volume of applications they receive .</p>
<p>So , my question is, should I contact them and clarify whether or not she is considered a legacy , mention the name of the rep who gave us this information or just stay the heck out of it and let the cards fall ?</p>
<p>My daughter is NOT a top student, but she is a solid B+ . A- student with solid commitment to community service and volunteering with two children that are deaf , as their interpreter in their after school activities.</p>
<p>She intends to apply to NEU ASL interpreter major. She got a lot of attention this past spring for a video she produced for her ASL class …it was recognized and featured on a handful of local media , ranging from radio , newspaper and also Fox news in Philadelphia</p>
<p>I should add that the community colleges that DO offer ASL in our state are not commuting distance and she is not the kind of girl that would be comfortable living in an apartment , alone .</p>
<p>Do you think the interview would give her an edge in admissions? Unless she has a superstar personality, it probably won’t help her much anyway. I assume you have seen this, but here is what the website says:</p>
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<p>Evaluative interviews are a double edged sword. They can hurt as well as help an applicant. I have one kid who was definitely helped by the interview, and one that could have been hurt by them (extreme introvert). If you are certain she would be helped by an interview, then I would follow up (super politely, of course) with what the rep previously told you. I would say something like that you might have misunderstood the policy, but you wanted to check because this is what you had heard when you visited previously.</p>
<p>Thanks intparent…I do think the interview would help her. For one thing, she is articulate and speaks well with adults .Although she can be shy, she projects her voice well and does’t get nervous when put on the spot…I think her job in our family business has helped with that. She was presented with an award for the video she produced from our school board and administration. It was a ceremony that included a motivational speaker and she was called up on stage spontaneously to describe the project and she did very well . Her SATs are not super high, her APs are few , her GPA is good, not great. She doesn’t play sports , she isn’t a captain of anything but she has committed to volunteering for way more hours than any of her friends who are in NHS. I know her letters of recommendation will be really strong and she also has volunteered with a local church run food pantry on her own, not our church, not as part of a club requirement .
Hoping her video project can be utilized with her applications as it is pretty darn good for someone self taught and it brought a lot of attention to the program in her high school. Her teacher also got a lot of recognition ( well deserved ) as a result</p>
<p>You have great supplemental information the school accepts. They do not seem to care for interviews - which I think is great, by the way. </p>
<p>I am not sure why you need to worry. The school will pay attention that this will be a sibling application. Don’t they accept about 15000 students with only 20 percent accepting the offer? Chances are they will KNOW the intent to enroll your second child. </p>
<p>I would contact the rep to remind her of the conversation you had. Even if she mis-spoke, she may still set up an interview for your D2. With an interview, your D2 maybe put in a different pile even if she didn’t wow them. An analogy I will give is it doesn’t matter how you got to fly first class (using points or paid with cash), but once you are there you’ll get the same service. Since NE doesn’t give that many interviews, the fact that someone got an interview it must mean he/she is special.</p>
<p>Yep, but the airlines also give free upgrades. They rarely go to the people begging at the counter. The airlines know who is flying and what their file contains. </p>
<p>You do not want to become a pest. They already declined the request. </p>
<p>@xiggi , I worry because based on the threads of accepted / denied students for NEU, it has become extremely difficult to get in….the posts from students who have perfect SATs , all APs and honors, presidents of everything getting rejected is daunting…my daughter’s situation isn’t like others who might be upset for being denied when they have several others to choose form. Her intended major has limited accepted students in any and all schools…not like the typical CC applicant / parents</p>
<p>Oldfort, I did not say the OP or the student was begging. I was following up on the airline analogy for whom gets a seat in first class. Being pushy works in certain places, but respecting rules might work better in other places. </p>
<p>There are plenty of ways to show interest in a school. The video appears to be a great tool to score points. Fwiw, I think that contacting the faculty of the targeted program might be more helpful as it shows direct interest in a specific area of the school. </p>
<p>I think having a unique interest like that makes the student very appealing to the school, and I think her application will receive attention, interview or not. I have heard Holy Cross in Worcester also has a good program in this field if Catholic is ok with you. </p>
<p>Interviews are not that helpful, and using her status of legacy to get one seems a bit much, honestly.</p>
<p>I would focus more on this:
“She intends to apply to NEU ASL interpreter major. She got a lot of attention this past spring for a video she produced for her ASL class …it was recognized and featured on a handful of local media , ranging from radio , newspaper and also Fox news in Philadelphia”</p>
<p>This is what will get her in. Ask admissions if need be but by all means find a way to send in a package with the video, transcript of radio and tv coverage, copy of newspaper article, and documentation of award. Since this is related to her intended major, it is even more potent. The package could also include a letter of recommendation from any mentor involved in that project and anyone for whom she has done interpreter work.</p>
<p>Are you sure her interest in ASL is going to hold over the long term? Many students enter with an idea of what they want to study or do, and change. Don’t represent possible rejection by Northeastern as a disaster leaving no options. She can study ASL at other times and get a great education at many schools (I always suggest reading “Colleges that Change Lives” by Loren Pope, also a website, and his other book “Looking Beyond the Ivies.”)</p>
<p>At my kid’s very large U, legacies get their “Red Carpet” (name of the program) treatment. They get private campus tour, on campus interview, and if he/she is very special then the application may be put in a special pile. </p>
<p>I personally do not believe OP’s kid should forget about the interview. NE does not give interviews to every applicant, only to legacies, which means legacy status is important and interview may give someone a leg up.</p>
<p>I would have OP’s D write an email to this rep - remind the rep of the conversation they had, let her know that she was turned down for an interview, maybe there was misunderstanding on her part about definition of legacy and ask the rep for clarification. If the rep had made a mistake, she maybe embarrassed enough to set up an interview for OP’s D, or she’ll just apologize on her mistake. Either way, there is nothing to lose by emailing the rep.</p>
<p>OP’s D should send in her package, as suggested by others. But I think any constructive contact with adcoms will be positive.</p>
<p>and this may not even include colleges that offer courses in ASL that are not part of a program or major in it.</p>
<p>I still think pushing for an interview poses enough negatives to outweigh any positives from the interview itself, which are not certain anyway. Besides, it’s nice to get in on one’s own merits.</p>
<p>She should definitely interview the rep who told her she would have an interview. She should have contacted him to begin with. In addition, this year they are offering an early decision option (binding) that will greatly increase her chances if she applies. At the interview she should make it known that it is her first choice and she will be applying ed.</p>
<p>Legacies are not getting interviews on their own merits. They are getting it because they were born into it. In OP’s case, her D could very well be a legacy because of her sister, but if not, then the rep made a mistake. The rep could give OP’s D a free pass or she could just simply say she made a mistake. </p>
<p>I think the suggestions for my daughter to contact the admissions rep herself is a good idea. She is sure she wants to study ASL , interpreting in particular. Our high school has an excellent teacher and she really inspires students who are serious about it. 10% of the program’s recent graduating class are going on to study it in college . Some of the schools have majors that are for interpreting, some deaf studies, some audiology.
I will have her get in touch with the rep ( thank goodness I saved her name ! ) </p>
<p>Just a word of warning – my friend’s daughter, a double legacy to Northeastern, did not get accepted in 2012. I don’t know what her grades were – I think OK – but she did not get in. On the other hand, I don’t know whether she had as unique an interest and passion as your daughter. (I have a degree in Audiology from NEU. There is very little interaction between Speech-Language Pathology/Audiology and the ASL/Deaf Studies program, BTW.)</p>
<p>@LBowie , good to know. I realize it is a crap shoot all around . I know they get flooded with applicants that apply to their business, engineering and health care related majors. I have no idea how many applicants they take for the ASL program , but I DO know it’s very small. I hope she stands out , but for all I know , she might not stand out when compared to others trying for a spot. I really wish there were more schools that offered it , or that she would be okay going further away from home in order to pursue her passion</p>