Some of you may know me if you followed my prior thread. Due to wonky issues with that thread, and a desire to document to my college admissions journey, I decided to start a new thread at the suggestion of @aquapt. Below is the list of schools I applied to.
Some context: I am a visually impaired student, low income and first generation college student, and need financial aid. As a result, I applied to schools that would meet my need.
Yale University
Princeton University
Dartmouth College
University of Pennsylvania
UCLA
UC Berkeley
UCSD
Swarthmore College
Amherst College
Williams College
Pomona College
Carleton College
Rice University
Colby College
University of Southern California
Wellesley College
UCSB-College of Creative Studies
UCSB- regular admittance
Dickinson College
Scripps College
Pitzer College
Cal Poly SLO
Some basic stats: 1580 SAT, 3.78 UW GPA (had most rigorous couseload) Scored 5s on APUSH, AP Chemistry, AP World History, and AP Lang. Scored a 3 on AP Bio.
Had extenuating circumstances such as family responsibilities, death of family members, etc.
I applied to Princeton SCEA and was deferred.
I was admitted to CSULA, CSU Long Beach, and Cal Poly Pomona. I also received a Chancellors Invite from UCSB, and an Alumni Scholarship invitation email from UCLA (I read on CC that it was given out to the top 20% of applicants? Not sure…)
I received a possible evaluation from Wellesley through their Early Evaluation. (Disappointed about that one, as Wellesley is one of my top choices)
So happy that you are keeping us updated as there are many here in your cheering section! It’s gonna be an interesting March, glad to see you have a couple in your pocket already. If it would be a UC, what is your favorite of them? I think you have mentioned being interested in Chemistry, even food science - what did you end up applying for at most schools?
Thank you for continuing this thread.
Congratulations on the two very impressive UC admits.
Alumni scholarships definitely aren’t offered to 20% students. It’s a pretty good award - money, but also networking, mentorship, and leadership development.
In addition, I know that UCLA has a special scholarship program for really strong, lower income kids, and it sounds like you’d be a great candidate for receiving it.
@MYOS1634 I think they meant that the email for the Alumni Scholarship is supposedly only sent to the top 20% of applicants, not actually awarded to all of them.
@MYOS1634 no I don’t think I’ll be able to visit any of the schools until spring break. But I really like Cal Poly SLO’s hands on philosophy and the small class sizes.
@CADREAMIN If it were a UC, I would probably lean towards UCLA or UCSB. (I love UCSB’s College of Creative Studies. If I were to be accepted to that, it would be awesome). I applied as a chemistry major to all of the schools.
Also accepted as an Elks Most Valuable Student Scholar, and have another interview for a 40K scholarship coming up. Praying for the very best.
Congratulations on the Elks scholarships!
I don’t think Cal poly’s classes are especially small though. I hope you get to visit, attend a couple classes (freshman English and introduction to chemistry would be good examples to compare), visit the library, eat in the cafeteria (not just for the food but to see if people talk to one another), read the campus paper…
Also keep in mind that it’s systemically more difficult to graduate from Cal Poly in 4 years than from the other schools you’re considering - the 4 year grad rate has been creeping up but hasn’t topped 50% yet. (And many of those who do get out in 4 years are accomplishing that by staying for summer sessions, which then precludes other opportunities to have worthwhile experiences and/or make money.) So, while SLO appears very cost-effective on the surface, there can be a hidden price in terms of time and opportunity cost. (And given your financial aid profile, it may well not even be your best financial option on the surface, much less when these drawbacks are taken into account.) Congrats on the scholarship! https://content-calpoly-edu.s3.amazonaws.com/ir/1/images/Persistence%20Analysis%20-%20First-Time%20Freshmen%202017.pdf
Congrats! Williams is a tough admit - very GPA-focused - so as MYOS said, even getting waitlisted is a feather in your cap. It’s going to be exciting to see all the choices you end up with!
