<p>Which one would be better to apply for ED II? Thanks!
Stats -
SAT: 1570, 1580, 1570
ACT: (waiting for score)
GPA: 92 on 100 scale
Rank: 73/280
EC: Track (Varsity), Equestrian
AP/Honors: 11 (4 AP's/7 Honors)
***Need financial aid
In state, white/female, No interest in Greek life
Major: Undeclared - considering something in History, Biology or Psychology.</p>
<p>Side note: I hear a lot about F&M's rigor being too much, is this true?</p>
<p>I’m not sure either one is a good candidate for you. Gettysburg is dominated by Greeks and F&M has a reputation as a hard partying school, which people who don’t want Greek life usually don’t want. Both have 25% lines around 620 for CR and M, which you don’t appear to have. (I’m assuming your SAT is on the 2400 scale.)</p>
<p>If you can break your SAT down, we might be able to give you a better idea, plus some matches.</p>
<p>SAT scores
1st- 1570 CR:560 M:490 W:520
2nd - 1580 CR:530 M:550 W:500
3rd - 1570 CR:550 M: 510 W:510
<p>Neither seems a good choice. Your stats sound too low (you should be well above median for ED) and the fit is wrong.
Look into Susquehanna, Juniata, Albright, U Scranton, Elmira, Wells, Arcadia…</p>
<p>Really? not a good fit? How so? I liked F&M a lot, with the exception of Greek Life when I visited over the summer. I was trying to decide between one of these for my “reach school” I applied to 10 others ex. west chester, penn state, temple… As for those mentioned above I have looked into those prior to this post actually but I didn’t really like them all that much. I thought Scranton & Arcadia were expensive (I need Financial aid badly).</p>
<p>well, both are big on Greek Life/Partying and it seems to be a turn off for you. Out of both, I’d say F&M, then. Have you visited Muhlenberg? No Greek Life, still a reach for you but more accessible.
In addition, you’re not Top 10% and your test scores are low so you may be wasting your ED card… :s
Do you have a hook? (URM, 1st gen, recruited athlete, legacy?)</p>
<p>What didn’t you like about Susquehanna or Albright, for instance ? (They seem very similar to F&M, except requiring lower stats).</p>
<p>According to the Penn State Bubblechart, you need a 4.0 to be admitted to University Park with that SAT score. If you have a hook, 3.9 or 3.8 but probably not below. However you’d be high, GPA-wise, for a branch campus.</p>
<p>If I am going in the wrong direction with F&M & Gettysburg, would any of you be willing to set me straight if I provide you with some additional information? For those up to the challenge, here we go. </p>
<ul>
<li>Stats (included in question) </li>
<li>Cost/Financial aid (I am poor)</li>
<li>Academic rigor (but not so much that I am overwhelmed) </li>
<li>Good History/Science programs</li>
<li>Safe campus</li>
<li>Housing available</li>
<li>Transportation available (I do not drive/nor plan to bring a car to school w. me)</li>
<li>Don’t really like rural schools (above) more urban/small town-ish</li>
<li>Diversity (I do not like preppy/cliquey schools) </li>
<li>Experience (I want to learn how to stand on my own two feet)</li>
<li>Small classes/accessible teachers</li>
<li>Jobs available on/off campus</li>
<li>CO-ED</li>
<li>Not into Greek life/Partying I am there to work (very serious when it comes to school)</li>
<li>In Pennsylvania (unless I really love it)</li>
</ul>
<p>Not all of these need to be met of course but just some of the stuff I am looking for. </p>
<p>By the way not that it means a lot, but I have a HUGE interest in maritime history it is wierd but I am very very good at what I do.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That’s fine if you didn’t care for certain schools, but the sticker prices of Scranton and Arcadia are less than Gettysburg and F&M.</p>
<p>I was admittd to West Chester & A penn state branch w. a scholarship. Neither of my parents completed college (my dad went for a little while) so this is very new to us. I don’t hate greek life I just dont care to get involved. Albright just seemed too small & not as serious as F&M and others. It also was so expensive for a school I feel like I would later transfer out of. I don’t know if this is a hook however, I wrote my essay on it. I was born premature (1 pound) with mental/physical developmental delay. I was actually placed in “special” classes (which were slowed down for kids with disorders like dyslexia, ADHD & Autism. I was even held back and had to endure multiple tutoring sessions just to make it past 2nd grade. I am now surprisingly an AP student. I may not be in the top 10% but I am doing very well in my AP’s/Honors courses. I just don’t test well, even with all of the preparation I had. I took courses and studied for the SAT.</p>
<p>Bummpppp…</p>
<p>really nothing?</p>
<p>You’re right, the level at F&M is higher than Albright, but Albright is more in synch with your profile and it promises to meet 100% need (although it may calculate “need” in its own way, but at least you’d be able to compare with the West Chester and Branch campus financial offers). F&M’s average SAT CR is 640 and their average M is 662, 88% have more than 600 in math and 76% have more than 600 CR, 25% more than 710, and only 1% 500 and less. So your odds at F&M are very low. It’s a very selective university, meaning a majority students are from the top 10% of their high school class. Even if being first generation gives you a bump, it wouldn’t be enough. You’d be wasting your ED shot I think.
Gettysburg is a tiny bit less selective, but its strengths are history and the sciences, so your math score would be a problem, and it, too, is very selective. 84% have scores above 600 in math and 82% in CR. However it meets 100% need so it might be worth it to include it on your list. I wouldn’t recommend it as ED though, rather as RD.</p>
<p>Good for you re: branch campus and West Chester with scholarship. Congratulations on your admissions! Now you can look for other schools, knowing that no matter what, you’re going to college. :)</p>
<p>You have a high GPA and a challenging curriculum, so you may try Allegheny College, a serious college (actually more serious than F&M), still a bit of a reach, but not as much as F&M on stats alone. Muhlenberg would take your first gen status into account and is test optional which would be perfect for you.
Check out: Albion, Alma, Wooster, Hiram, Ohio Wesleyan, Hartwick, Ithaca, Wells, St Lawrence, Goucher, McDaniel. All of these are serious schools, with excellent academics, and more holistic admissions so that your test scores may not matter too much (some may be test optional, so that you would submit a graded research paper instead of your SAT’s.) Women’s colleges may be of interest: Chatham, Trinity Washington, or Simmons are in big cities for instance.</p>
<p>Thank you so much. I will be sure to look into all of those.</p>