early action/regular decsion, where to turn

Applying to College
1

<p>hi, im about to go into my senior year and I feel im a pretty good student. Im in the IB Program and think I have taken rigorous courses, but i'll let you be the judge of that. i currently have a 3.6 unweighted GPA, and a 4.31 weighted GPA, am african-american varsity swimmer for 4 years, club swim team member, have 500 community service hours, Editor in Chief as well as a member of many clubs including NHS. Im interested in many good, competitive schools, but im finding it difficult on how to apply to them. For example, like Columbia, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, Maryland, UNC-Chapel, UVA, Vanderbilt, Michigan, UCLA, USC etc. The only set back about my resume is that my SAT's are not good, only a 1740. I really like those schools, and some have EA, some SCEA, and all RD, and i just cannot find a way to apply to them where my chances are good of getting into the school. Some schools i know are easier to get in early, while others are hard, and if someone could help me out with explaining on how to apply, what to look for, my chances, and what i need to do to ensure my success. I plan on double majoring in journalism as well as medicine.</p>

<p>Schedule</p>

<p>Sophomore</p>

<p>Pre-IB English 10
Pre-IB Chemistry
IB Pre-Calculus
Journalism 1
Honors Spanish 3
Computer Programming
IB/AP Government</p>

<p>Junior</p>

<p>IB English
IB Theory of Knowledge
IB Calculus
IB Spanish 5
Journalism 2
IB History
IB Biology</p>

<p>Senior- I will take</p>

<p>AP Statistics
IB Psychology
IB English
IB History
Journalism 2
IB Biology
Honors Health</p>

2

<ol>
<li>First look at the schools and decide which one(s) are your top choices. Do early decision to your very top choice and if it is not restrictive then apply early action to the other schools that allow you to.</li>
<li>Make sure that you retake your SATs as soon as possible (i believe october is the next month they are available) so that your hopefully higher SAT grade will appear on your early decision and early action applications.</li>
</ol>

3

<p>Apply early decision / early action to the college you really want to go to and apply to the other ones regular decision.</p>

4

<p>Just make sure that if you decide to apply decision, that it is not only your first choice but, that you can attend without regard to the financial package offerred.</p>

5

<p>thanks for the info on applying, but also looking at those schools and my resume, how do you think i would fare out excluding my LOR and college essays. also can you apply early action to more than one school?</p>

6

<p>You can apply early action to all that offer it. Just as long as there is no restriction. I know some offer a first choice early action that requires that you only apply ea to that school.</p>

7

<p>Also, have you tried taking the ACT?</p>

8

<p>If you’re going to apply early, make sure you’re as ready then as you would be in January. I applied EA to my top choice, and when I looked over that application to do my RD ones, I had to redo everything on it because my essays, short answers, and the way I listed ECs were terrible since I had no clue what I was doing in October and learned a lot more about admissions during that time. So, apply RD if you feel like you need the extra time to perfect your application.</p>

9

<p>Of the schools you list, only one, Maryland, has EA (early action), if you apply by Nov 1, you will be informed by Jan but you do not have to attend even if admitted. Columbia, Penn, and Vanderbilt have Early Decision (ED), meaning if you apply to one of those early and are accepted, you MUST attend. If you decide to apply ED, you can do so to only one school, although you can apply EA to Maryland even if you choose to do ED to another. Stanford has single choice early action (SCEA) meaning if you apply early and are admitted you are not required to attend but you are prohibited from applying EA or ED to any other school, so if you apply SCEA there forget about EA or ED elsewhere The others have regular admission and you can apply as early as allowed to them and that is not considered applying EA or ED and thus not prohibited even if you apply ED to an ED school or SCEA at Stanford. </p>

<p>Next, you must have SAT IIs for Penn (2 SAT IIs), Harvard (3), Columbia (2), UCLA (2) as they require them for admission. Also, Stanford, Virg, Vanderbilt, and USC recommend two, and Michigan will consider them if submitted. Thus, if you have not yet taken SAT IIs, you need to do so by December of this year (if RD) and by Oct or Nov if you plan to apply ED to one of the ED schools, or SCEA to to Stanford. </p>

<p>You have identified your weakness, the SAT score. You might consider a retake. It will be a weakness for the ones you list. You have many other advantages including decent GPA, IB program, good EC’s, and that you are an under-represented minority will be considered as a factor (except at UCLA).</p>

<p>You need to visit the schools’ sites to see what is required for admission. Some of your choices accept the Common Application so you should go ASAP to find that and what is needed (and then they also require a supplemental app). You should be doing this research now and not waiting to fall although you probably won’t be applying before going back to school (and for some you cannot apply until later, e.g., the UCs essentially accept apps during a one month period (November).</p>

<p>You should be considering now which teachers you will want recommendations from (two) although only some of the schools require them, and you should be asking those teachers to agree to provide them the next time you see them and by no later than when you return to school in August – they need lead time and you want to choose two who will give you a stellar review (you may even give them a list of the good things you did in their classes to trigger memory and aid them in preparing a rec). You will need very good essays – common app provides topics for its app, but also check for what each school wants and it is wise to start on those essays early.</p>

10

<p>very good information from all. what do you think my chances are of getting into those schools?</p>

11

<p>“… Early Decision (ED), meaning if you apply to one of those early and are accepted, you MUST attend.”</p>

<p>Unless you also apply for financial aid, and the aid offered is insufficient to allow attendance. In that case you can decline the offer, and apply RD to other schools.</p>

<p>“Just make sure that if you decide to apply decision, that it is not only your first choice but, that you can attend without regard to the financial package offerred.”</p>

<p>No, you can decline the aid offer without consequence if it is insufficient.</p>

12

<p>if one applies under an Early Action plan, and is rejected, can you still reapply for regular admission?</p>

13

<p>^ You’d have to ask each school for its policy, but I would guess there’s not much point. If the school wanted you to still consider it, you would probably have been deferred instead of rejected.</p>

14

<p>“what do you think my chances are of getting into those schools?”</p>

<p>rh - No one wants to tell an enthusiastic, accomplished student like yourself that he shouldn’t apply to the school … especially if that student is an URM and my have some special attributes the school wants. And no-one wants to “douse the fire” with statements like “these schools are reaches for almost every student.” Perhaps an acceptable equivalent would be “it’s OK to apply to some schools that are a reach for everyone, but a smart person would balance those applications with some schools that good students are LIKELY to be accepted.” JMHO of course.</p>

15

<p>You need a safety - one that you are willing to attend and that you can afford. Have you discussed finances with your parents?</p>

16

<p>"if one applies under an Early Action plan, and is rejected, can you still reapply for regular admission? "</p>

<p>There is no college I am aware of that allows you to apply again RD if you are rejected during EA. During EA, you will be accepted, rejected, or deferred to RD. If deferred you will be considered during RD, but if rejected during EA, you are done.</p>

17

<p>im thinking of maryland as my safety. im pretty sure i could get in there</p>