Furman chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Furman University
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<p>has made what she says is her final list. What are her chances at Furman?</p>

<p>D is a rising senior from a relatively small, relatively poor, rural district in Texas. </p>

<p>2160 New SAT, 730CR, 740Math, 690W (same sitting), 32 ACT w/ a 36 Math. Currently 1/140. 4.64w,4.0/4.0uw.</p>

<p>Toughest courseload available including several college level (and EPGY BC Calc). School only offers two AP's for junior year, 4 in Lit and a 5 in AB Calc. 7 best in school awards: for Math (3 times), English (2), Physics (1),and Chemistry (1). (all honors sections, or AP)</p>

<p>4 year Varsity Basketball starter, 2 year Co-captain on Area Championship Team. Extensive Summer Basketball experience every year.</p>

<p>Marching Band and Symphonic Band Section and Line Leader on State Ranked Band (2 years officer, member all 4), State Qualifier -UIL Solo and Ensemble as a Tuba Player in a Bass Quartet.</p>

<p>Girl's State delegate, and minor elected official.</p>

<p>Regional Sixth Place Math UIL Competition and Math Team Co-captain (2 years)- District Champion (1), 3rd place large Invitational Math Tournament. </p>

<p>Hospital Volunteer (100 hours), community volunteering , school volunteering including tutoring at risk kids and hearing impaired kids for several hundred hours.</p>

<p>Part-time work: Raises sheep and goats of her own for her spending money. Lives on a ranch and performs general ranchhand activities for additional pay.</p>

<p>Normal boring Student Government, club, or organization stuff that probably won't make it to the app.</p>

<p>Rec's should be very good to exceptional, essays will be good.</p>

<p>Thanks, 5 more to go.LOL</p>

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<p>She's a shoo-in. My son is a junior at Furman and his stats were nowhere near your daughter's. Of course, if you need merit money, that's a different story. We're paying the full boat!</p>

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<p>I just finished my freshman campaign at Furman and she is mosdef in to the school.</p>

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<p>Thanks folks, I wonder what it would take for merit aid at Furman? Anybody know? I know the Lay Scholarship is way out there but there are others.LOL.</p>

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<p>Hi, curmudgeon. I sent you a pm about this. I have every confidence your daughter is a great candidate for Furman.</p>

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curmudgeon, we had a chat about another great LAC recently. However, Furman is my undergrad school. She is competitive for the Lay and they draw so heavily from large cities in Fla, Charlotte, and Atlanta that her residence might also be appreciated. Furman classrooms are superb in terms of high expectations and full professors all the time who know you by name. The facilities are excellent and Greenville is an upbeat city on the road to Atlanta but still serene where Furman is located. The school has a warm friendly vibe in the Uplands of SC and would like to be more diverse re students. I am always hoping kids from other regions and backgrounds will sign on as I think it is on the cusp of moving forward to a national draw status at admissions as Vanderbilt has in recent years. My fellow grads have had outstanding outcomes as adults, docs, a Bishop, lawyers, authors, musicians, college profs. Furman gives a strong foundation.</p>

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<p>faline, D has been looking at schools in person since sophomore year and online since 7th grade. Furman has been on her list that whole time. It gets buried sometimes when D thinks of basketball (can't play at Furman,too slow /too short ). She loved the kids when she visited springbreak of 04. I would be quite pleased. I already have my sweatshirt. When we made the turn onto the campus it was all I could do not to say-"Well, that was easy."LOL. She has a real good list of schools. Furman ,Centre , and Rhodes MIGHT throw her significant aid, Scripps, Hamilton, Wash U , and Rochester might throw her bone and I will move heaven and earth if she gets in at Bowdoin with a decent EFC (probably can't happen, but I'll be definitely huffing and puffing when I tell her no.)</p>

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<p>Feel free to PM me with any questions down the road re Furman. I know several Centre and Rhodes grads as well.</p>

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<p>Does anyone know what the stats of last spring's Lay recipients were?</p>

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<p>crumudgeon in my sons case he was admited to both bowdoin and furman. the aid package from furman was better by a couple of thousand than what bowdoin offered. for some reason he and I suspected furman would have a crappy fin aid offer and after he did not get an invite to interview for lays ( I suspect his essay was not his best effort as it was done at the deadline) we figured furman was going to be out of the running. we were pleasently suprised at how good the aid package offered by Furman was and did a visit. like you my reaction at the gate was WOW.
Bowdoin wanted him to play division 3 football and it was hard to pass that up but in the end He chose furman.....botom line is that thier fin aid is a lot better than you suspect.....its a long drive from westren nebraska to south carolina but we are looking forward to making it come sept</p>

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<p>gadad I have no idea. but I can tell you that sat 1430 act 32 3.9 gpa did not draw an invite. I think the essay your kid writes is very important</p>

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<p>I have also heard from good and recent sources that the Lay scholarship has a substantial "community service, citizen of the world, leadership" component (as does Belk at Davidson, Bellingrath at Rhodes, Danforth at Wash U.).</p>

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<p>Furman has four full rides, 10 full-tuitions, 30 half-tuitions and 35 quarter-tuition scholarships for an entering class of about 700. That should cover about one out of every nine freshmen.</p>

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<p>Appreciate all the info, folks. Furman has just come on S's radar screen due to a coach call. S thought he was set on the northeast, but after what I am reading here I think it worth a look.</p>

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<p>The number of Lay's is absolute, but the Duke numbers can vary somewhat (pm me about this if you would like embellishment). As for the importance of the essay, I know that when my D went for the Lay interview, everyone involved was able to match her to her essay content...so, yes, I'd say that the essay is very important. As for stats, we know 1430 who were offered Duke's, and 1460 who were not given anything. So, for those in the mid-1400s (old scale), it is even more important to have a great essay and something distinctive. I think overall, however, they are looking for outgoing, pleasant, mature candidates who come across with confidence without ego, focus without obsession, especially if the student clearly wants to attend Furman.</p>

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<p>I've no idea about the other candidates' stats for the Lay competition for 2005, but as an entering freshman, I received a Duke with a 1540 old SAT and 3.9 unweighted GPA. The numbers, however, are not as important as the essays and the interviews: my application included three or four written responses. There are only 4 Lay scholarships given each year, 3 in Regular Decision, and 1 in Early Decision. The number of Duke scholarships varies; the dean of admissions told us that a candidate that has a good interview will most likely receive a Duke. On top of the full ride, full tuition, and half-tuition scholarships, there are also many quarter tuition awards. The music department is also generous with scholarships. Furman is also need-blind in its aid decisions.</p>

<p>I will quote the application form:</p>

<p>"The committee works with two applications: the application for admission and the Lay application. As committee members work with these two applications, they consider the following factors:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Academic record. In past years, finalists have taken the most challenging curriculum available to them, including honors and AP classes, IB or other advanced curriculum choices. A's dominate the transcripts, and standardized test scores are typically above 30 on the ACT or above 1350 on the SAT I.</p></li>
<li><p>Extracurricular involvement. Finalists typically are involved in many activities outside the classroom. They hold significant leadership positions in their school or community and display exceptional creativity, commitment and enthusiasm in all they do. Often, they have been involved in activities on the county, state, or national level.</p></li>
<li><p>Personal achievement. In all they do, these students seek challenges and make the most of opportunities presented to them."</p></li>
</ol>

<p>So yes, I think your daughter would be very competitive for the scholarship. I wish her the best of luck; message me if you need anything.</p>

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<p>Ouch! Furman is quickly moving from Target/Reach to solid Reach for S!Good for them, looks like their star is really on the rise.</p>

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<p>As for being a reach, remember the stats being listed here are for the top merit scholarships. The SAT average (old scale) for admission is just above 1300, so that is a good 150-200 point difference. And these merit scholarships are based on far more than stellar SATs. Many recipeints have earned them because of superb performance at other acitivites (such as independent research or for national academic achievement while in HS). Additionally, Furman has many scholarships in the 1/2 and 1/4 tuition and for preset amounts. If money is an issue, talk to the nice people at financial aid.</p>

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<p>FYI, average SAT for Furman's incoming freshmen (class of 2009) is 1344. And more than half of the 580 students put on the waiting list this year had SAT scores above 1300.</p>

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<p>Good info, Knve. Thanks.</p>