<p>I applied Early action on December 1st. I know it says decisions will be out by Feb. 1st but that seems like a long time. Does anyone know if there is a possibility they will be released earlier?</p>
<p>As for scholarships, I am wondering if I will be given enough money to attend. Basically the most my parents can pay per year is 20k. My gpa is 3.89 UW and I got a 30 on the ACT although that might go up after taking the December test (crossing my fingers!). Our EFC last year was 16k for my sister and it will probably even be going down this year, especially with two kids in school.</p>
<p>Basically, I believe I am eligible for need and merit aid at Earlham. Does anyone have experience with their financial aid department? Would raising my ACT help any with merit aid? Any specific insight you can give me would be possible as I can look at statistics a bunch but it definitely depends on the specific applicant. Thanks so much! Also I am a female interested in majoring in science and from the Pacific Northwest if this helps at all.</p>
<p>Don’t sweat your ACT too much. That’s a very respectable score, and your GPA is great. Earlham, as you probably know, doesn’t do admissions by the numbers. They want to know that you can do college work – and it looks like you can – but they are also very interested in what kind of person you are. ECs and essays are important to them, because they show what you’re excited about, and what you’ll contribute to the Earlham community. They care about that a lot more than an extra point on the ACT. :)</p>
<p>As far as financial aid, I can tell you in general terms what our experience was. My D is a senior now, so I don’t know if things have changed significantly since the class of 2009. </p>
<p>Our EFC was sort of in your range, but Earlham (at that time) used the institutional method of calculating need, which actually resulted in our having a slightly lower EFC than FAFSA produced – so that’s good news. And they offered enough financial aid to meet that slightly lower EFC. So that’s what we pay – the Earlham EFC. </p>
<p>My D’s financial aid consists of a scholarship and a grant (plus federal student loans and work study). Her stats weren’t quite as good as yours, so IMO you have a good shot at the scholarship. The grant is a “plug”, as we call it in the accounting business. They take the total cost, and subtract the scholarship, loans and workstudy. Then they look at our EFC and the grant makes up the difference. In other words, they make sure that we don’t pay more than our EFC.</p>
<p>My daughter applied and was accepted Regular Decision, so it may be different for Early Action. She got the financial aid package about 3 weeks after the acceptance letter (and yeah, that was a l-o-o-o-o-n-g three weeks). Come to think of it though, don’t you get everything online now? If so, it may be different now because of that. </p>
<p>Don’t hesitate to call the Financial Aid Office. They’re really nice and I bet they’ll tell you when to expect the financial aid letter if you’re accepted.</p>
<p>Let’s hope it doesn’t take that long because then it could be almost march by when I figure out if it is a possibility of attending or not! I have to visit also as I never have and there are other schools in the Midwest I will probably visit on the same visit.</p>
<p>Hi thirrdplanet! I also applied to Earlham EA on Dec 1. February seems so far away! Based on previous forums about Earlham acceptances and scholarships, I think you have a very good chance of getting a substantial amount of merit aid but I’m not an expert.
I have some questions for anyone (students, parents) who can give me some information on Earlham:
How strong are the psychology/political science departments at Earlham? I’ve heard rave reviews about the biology and Japanese studies majors but not a lot about the psych/politics majors.
I know Earlham is known for its quirky students and I feel like I identify with quirky students but I am also more of a nerd. Are there students at Earlham who are considered more “nerdy” than “quirky” (think more Carleton-esque)?
What are the best and worst things about Earlham?
Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>I would consider myself very quirky but also a closet nerd. Like I am obsessed with science but a lot of people don’t know it at my school. I definitely want to have very intellectual conversations with people that don’t really happen in high school.</p>
<p>In college, I definitely want to be able to party and stuff. Not an excessive amount but it seems some LACs don’t really party at all. Do parties happen at Earlham that involve alcohol and drugs even if these things aren’t allowed? I was just wondering. I am not saying I do them but I want to know if the campus is pretty against these things as a whole.</p>
<p>thirrdplanet, alcohol and drugs are on every college campus in America, with the possible exception of fundamentalist schools like Liberty U. So, yes, there are alcohol and drugs at Earlham.</p>
<p>The official “dry” status make a difference, though, both in behavior and in attitude. I went to a large public flagship, and there was a lot of hard-partying there, and non-drinkers were considered a little odd. It’s the opposite at Earlham; there are a few hard-party types, there are lots of people who don’t drink at all, and there are lots who drink occasionally. Drinking till you puke is considered uncool, and there’s lots of support for abstinence.</p>
<p>hey, my stats are a little below yours but I was strong in terms of extracurrics and essays. Earlham offered me a Faculty scholarship ($12,500). Im sure you’ll hear back from them with good news in the next few weeks.</p>
<p>Do you actually think I will hear back in a few weeks? It says Feb 1st but do people usually get the decision before that? It would be so helpful because then I could plan travel a lot earlier.</p>
<p>I believe that last year the EA letters arrived in the last few days of January. My recollection is that it was the same in 2010 when my older son was applying, he received his letter at the end of January. And he received a merit award letter in the same envelope.</p>
<p>When we visited with my older son in 2009, he was told that the campus is “pleasantly moist.” Our impression was that alcohol is there, though probably not the the degree it is at other LACs and certainly not to the degree as at big State schools. Also, I believe there is a discussion going on now at Earlham about changing the no alcohol policy.</p>
<p>Oh man it looks like I might be going there during spring break. Basically I might have to hit Grinnell and Macalester at the same time but I won’t know if I get in there yet. Either that or wait until April and miss school. Ugg dilemma.</p>
<p>I just left a message responding to your other question. You sound like you’ll fit in pretty well. All their programs are good and best part, the classes are small and the teachers are there to help in any way. In the beginning, each adviser takes their advisees out to dinner to get to know them. Of course there will be parties, dry or not dry campus, but you do have to work pretty hard too. Nerds and quirky kids are the norm it seems!</p>