American University is my absolute dream school. As a result I have decided I will be applying early decision. I think I should be a very competitive candidate however there are some questions I still have…
Rather hard for someone to help you find safeties without knowing what you and your parents can afford, and what your college application credentials are.
Your other post at http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/2135159-where-should-i-apply-undergrad.html says 3.9 HS GPA, top 4% rank, and 1370 SAT, but does not mention financials. Those stats do appear to be around the high end of American University’s frosh profile, and you intend to apply ED (American University considers “level of applicant’s interest” to be “very important”, and applying ED is the strongest way to show interest), so it looks like your admission chances are good there (of course, the subjectively graded stuff like essays needs to be good).
But talk to your parents about college costs and check affordability (net price calculators on college web sites) before you make your application list.
American has like an 80% acceptance rate ED so I wouldn’t worry much about being accepted if you’re in their 25-75% range.
Agree with @collegemom9 . At a 3.9 GPA and with ED, it’s as close to a sure thing as you’re likely to get.
Still, it’s always prudent to have a backup. What area of study are you interested in?
If you are looking for EA schools, maybe consider University of Miami or Elon. UM would be more of a match, but Elon would be more a true safety.
I recommend OP demonstrates interest prior to their ED application as well…it’s easy to do and shows sustained interest across more than one activity. I expect American doesn’t love ‘stealth’ ED applications…stealth meaning the applicant has had no contact with American U prior to sending the ED app.
Make sure the NPC results for American show it to be affordable.
It’s difficult to make other recommendations without knowing what you want to study…I would add Fordham EA as a possibility in addition to the schools already mentioned. Good luck.
@SJ2727 I most likely want to major in international relations, poli-sci, or communications
Can you afford AU? Have you run the NPC for AU and discussed with your parents what they will be paying?
Where a lot of ED applicants lose out is in consideration for merit money. Though most all colleges that have merit awards say that all applicants are considered for merit money, it’s been my observation that ED students rarely (if ever, I don’t know a one ) get it. Why should they pay for a student already committed?
In addition to AU, please look at colleges that you know you can afford and that you know will accept you. They may be local schools that are generous. Where you can commute. Yeah, I know it may not be ideal, but what safety schools do is give you safe harbor and meet your academic desires and prepare you when lottery tickets don’t pan out.
I agree that AU acceptance looks good for you. The financials are what concern me.
@cptofthehouse , I think that’s way too pessimistic. I followed a few ED threads this year (the college where my daughter applied as well as the others that she was going to apply to if she was denied, which included AU) and all of them had some posters here saying they had been offered merit with their ED admits. (None of the schools concerned was meet full need IIRC.) That said, getting merit from a school that is not normally overly generous with merit anyway may still leave a gap even with needs-based also factored in, and from what I can see AU falls into this category - their merit awards seem to range from $8k-$22k per year, far below COA. So while I would be less pessimistic than you on the prospects for $$, I definitely agree that @btownrumble should run the numbers properly before applying if his/her parents are not intending to be full pay.
I’d rather be a bit more pessimistic than optimistic in this regard. I think that applying ED does give the applicant a better chance of getting full need met. It makes no sense to accept a student early, knowing you are not meeting need, even at a school that does not guarantee to meet full need. I also believe you have a better chance of discussing your award directly and seriously with the financial aid director if it is not doable, and comes down to having to withdraw from ED if more money cannot be made available. The FA directors have more time to address this issue early, and the school has a strong incentive to keep all of their ED accepted students.
But merit money doesn’t come from the financial aid office at many schools. It comes from admissions. It often isn’t even offered ED. It is usually a sweetener offered up at the end of the app season to try to get the most desired students. ED kids are a done deal. No reason to throw money at them. There are merit awards that blindly consider all students regardless of when they applied, but a lot of merit money is used pragmatically. I do not recommend ED for those who need or really want merit money. I do recommend it for those who need financial aid as long as they have done their homework with NPCs and know what they can expect to get in terms of aid from a number of colleges, including peer schools to the ED school.
Ideally, OP would pair AU app with a few EA or rolling ones that are even less selective and where merit money might be in the picture. Maybe a peer school too. I’d throw in Tulane, St Joe’s, Lasalle, UMD, Pitt. Some other EA, And rolling schools, especially if there is financial need.
I think OP will get into AU but get zero merit money. If financial need is in the picture, I think AU will meet full need as they define it even though they do not guarantee to meet full need, nor do they meet it for everyone. They also state that ED applicants are treated the same in regard to getting Fin aid as RD applicants. AU claimed to be need blind in admissions last I heard.
I do not know what OP needs in terms of money for college, whether Fin aid is in the picture at all
But at AU it is… if that’s even a consideration.
Not sure I understood the comment about Tulane being lumped in with the “less selective “ schools or even a peer. It’s certainly not less selective than AU, and at 13% admit rate it’s not exactly a peer… and it’s also not really an obvious choice for OP’s stated preferences for location and major.
@SJ2727 Good points. The thread title is a total oxymoron; it really doesn’t mean anything. If you don’t get in ED to your first choice school, then you apply ED2 to your second choice and RD everywhere else. But interpreting the OP intended meaning to be “where could I apply EA at the same time as my ED application?”, then the pickings are somewhat slim. I think that’s why Tulane was mentioned, just because it’s a good school that takes EA applications.
Hm, for OP if I was looking for a peer-type school that does EA (given preferences of in the northeast, for a politics/IR/comms type major) I’d probably go with Fordham rather than Tulane. (Or maybe both, Tulane doesn’t have an application fee). George Mason does EA and is probably a proper safety admissions-wise for OP and possibly again a better fit for preferences than some of the others mentioned.