<p>I checked my admissions decision online and i was accepted as a january scholar, meaning i can come to washu in january, but must go somewhere else before then or get an internship or something. did anyone else get this too?</p>
<p>One of the kids at our HS had the same thing happen two years ago. She did choose to go to Wash U, not sure what she did for the fall semester. If you've got enough AP's and stuff, once you've been there for a semester it won't matter one whit whether you started fall or spring.</p>
<p>I was accepted as a January scholar as well. I think I'm going to call the admissions office next week to see if january scholars can get moved up to start WashU in the fall instead. I mean, if kids are on the waitlist for the fall semester, I feel like January scholars should have the chance to start in the fall too since we're already guaranteed admission. If I decide to go to Washu, and still have to start in January, I think I might travel or volunteer for a semester. Do you know what you might do?</p>
<p>Oh wow! I didn't think anyone on CC would get this letter too since it seems like it's pretty uncommon. I'm calling WashU next week as well with the same request, I fully agree with you. I want to go in August! But, I'm still waiting to hear from a few other schools. If I do end up going in January, I'm looking into getting an internship. I'll probably go to the FSAP program and the fall program too if I can.</p>
<p>Haha you're not the only one! Knowing there's other people that got this makes me feel better. I'm going to be away next week so if you end up contacting admissions before me, can you post what they said about it? I also started a similar thread on facebook and there are 2 other people that got it so far. Yeah I wish I could just go in August too. My only worry is that we're going to be behind on integrating into the WashU community and will be exposed to a college life later but whatever, at least we got in.</p>
<p>I found your thread on facebook and I responded on that too. I'm glad there are other people in the same boat. But, I will definitely be calling admissions on monday and I'll let you know what I find out.</p>
<p>Kk great! Feel free to friend me on facebook because I check it way more often than CC lol.</p>
<p>It appears that WUSTL keeps the Jan. Program a secret as it's not mentioned anywhere on their website and never mentioned during a visit. They've got to be joking to think that a very desirable student is going to sit and wait for Jan. That's an insult to the student! Who wants to pay $5000 to fly to St. Louis 4X and learn everything they didn't want to know about St. Louis?????</p>
<p>knowledgeispower- lol that is exactly what i thought when i got the letter. after being deferred ED i was so angry. i felt like they were using me, which is kind of true. but then it all changed when i got my financial aid package - 1 scholarship + 2 grants + 1000 work study = full ride. Now, I have to fgure out if it's worth it to have loans and an EFC at my other schools or just wait it out to go to washu in january for virtually nothing. i have fun decisions to make in the next few weeks. were you admitted under this program?</p>
<p>Most schools that I have heard of admit a number of students in January to fill the slots of freshmen who end up leaving for various reasons after the first semester. Very few that I have seen advertise this as an option, although some do. While Im sure it is frustrating not to have been admitted in the fall, at least you have a sure opportunity to attend Wash U if you decide to enroll in January. While the waiting list may sound more appealing now, a good portion of those people will never get the opportunity to attend Wash U as much as they would like to. </p>
<p>Soproudofkids makes a good point that since the school provides credit for many AP courses taken in high school, depending on which classes you took and your AP scores, you could end up with a full semester of credit anyway. (You would obviously need to check this out further with the particular program you would be attending at WU.) </p>
<p>A semester off with the guarantee of admission to a great school in January may not be as bad as it initially sounds. Students have the opportunity to work, volunteer, intern or travel. Concerning knowledgeispowers comment that They've got to be joking to think that a very desirable student is going to sit and wait for Jan. That's an insult to the student!, with over 20,000 applicants, many, many desirable students are simply rejected. Wash U offers the January plan not as an insult but an opportunity that you can, but dont have to, accept.</p>
<p>??????</p>
<p>There is NO other top-ranked university I know that has a January admission plan. I'd love to see your list, CCpost.</p>
<p>I'm not aware that even Wash U has done this until now.</p>
<p>I know that USC has a January program. Middlebury, too.</p>
<p>I have a lot of friends who are in the Wash U January program this year, and it's a great program. They all had a great first semester doing their own thing, and now they're well-adjusted and pretty much on-par with the rest of us with credits and requirements. In my opinion, Wash U does a very good job integrating J-progs with the rest of the freshman class and with each other. If you really like Wash U and were offered a spot as a J-prog, it's a really good opportunity so don't rule it out just because you wouldn't start until January. It's not a bad deal at all.</p>
<p>"Most schools that I have heard of admit a number of students in January"</p>
<p>Again, ??????</p>
<p>You mention USC but you bypassed all top 25 ranked national universities (other than Wash U). A January admission plan for freshman is virtually UNHEARD OF at this academic level. Your only other example is Middlebury, a LAC, not a university, by the way. Their policy is longstanding, well known and well publicized with a lengthy Q & A related to this program prominantly posted on their web site. Middlebury's reasons lie in the near 2/3 participation in study abroad among students (about twice the level at Wash U) leaving a ton of beds unoccupied come January. Even still, it's a policy that regularly comes under fire.</p>
<p>Where is Wash U's posting of this policy on their web site? Where is its explanation? Wash U's refusal to post a Common Data Set and open up about admission's data has been long under fire. This one's a new one on me. Whitewashing this by arguing that January freshman admissions are routine is pure misinformation.</p>
<p>I know nothing else about the January Program, but I met several JProgs in my classes last spring, so they at least did it for the class of 2010 if not every year.</p>
<p>Thanks, wbwa, I'm aware that Middlebury is not a university. Anyhow, the unoccupied beds is a big part of the reason at Wash U as well. I'm not claiming to be an expert on January programs so please don't attack me for offering up the little information I know about other schools which have similar programs.</p>
<p>Adding to what eleph said, Wash U has J-progs every year as far as I know... around 40 I think.</p>
<p>So maybe I am missing something.</p>
<p>You have been admitted to one of the top 20 universities in the country. You can't attend until January, which means you have nothing else to do in the interim. Your parents have to be so excited and proud they are perfectly willing to support you until then. </p>
<p>So where is the bad part of this?</p>
<p>yeah they said there are about 40 of us. what i dont understand is that they say they dont have room for us in the fall. but, when we go out for 4 weekends in the fall for the "fall program" we get housed in freshmen dorms- empty beds. also, i dont understand why we can't have the the empty freshmen dorms in the spring when we come. instead we live in the unoccupied junior dorms from the kids who studied abroad. i'll probably be doing the program, but it's just frustrating because i feel like they are hiding things from us.</p>
<p>HartinGA- the hard part is figuring out how to be productive in the fall, and also the disappointment of not being able to go to college in the fall. i have looked forward to college since the beginning of high school. knowing that college was coming soon was the only thing that got me through high school. the january kids miss out on the cool orientation programs in the fall, moving in and meeting other freshmen, and living on the south 40. although i am excited to eventually attend, this odd conditional acceptance has put a damper on things.</p>
<p>Yeah, I can undertsand it is a very weird situation, but you seriously need to consider the thousands upon thousands of people denied admission. Most would gladly trade places. And it is a very, very unique opportunity. Ideas:</p>
<p>If you are pre-med, use the six month gap for EMT training</p>
<p>If you are a language major, try to travel to native speaking areas (volunteer/mission/etc)</p>
<p>If you are a science person, find a lab to volunteer, or do your own research project. </p>
<p>If you are a business major, then find an internship, or better yet, start your own business. </p>
<p>If you are an art or music person, the opportunties are pretty obvious. What is that one piece you have been wanting to work on but just couldn't devote the time? DO it.</p>
<p>And so on. Lots of people take a gap year, so you have a gap semester. Do the same things gap year people do. Your prospective grad school/professional school/employer will love it. The more I think about it, maybe I will quit my job and join you!</p>
<p>sparkle28swim - You won't be staying in empty beds when you visit in the fall, you'll be sleeping on an air mattress or on the floor in a freshman room. That's how it worked this year, at least.</p>