@momofsenior1 About Wooster, a coincidence just occurred. I just got emailed today about how I will “receive an invitation this August to apply with a streamlined application reserved for standout students” and how I should “submit this application as early as possible so that * can take advantage of priority benefits.”
Does this increase my chances of acceptance and/or scholarship opportunities?
That is just marketing stuff. Don’t read anything into that.
Well, it sounds like you have a very strong application!
In terms of the reaches, there are several on your list that heavily favor ED applicants. (UPenn, Rice… I think Duke also) Are any standing out as sufficient favorites to play the ED card?
As a Rice parent, I’m a little biased but it sounds like a great fit for you - terrific for your major, terrific for premed research/shadowing opportunities through the nearby med center, unbeatable need-based aid for middle-income students, fantastic social/residential experience for undergrads with an inclusive residential college system, diverse and inclusive student population. (Also, my d really liked the French department, and there are excellent study abroad opportunities if that’s a desire.)
But you should have lots of good options. What schools do you think you’ll be able to visit?
@aquapt Sadly, out of my list so far, I won’t be able to visit Duke, Vanderbilt, Rice, and Notre Dame due to the finances already used in visiting some of the other schools. My parents say that it will only be until after I get accepted that I will be able to visit those schools.
@aquapt Also, I am kind of surprised that you said I have a “very strong application.” I feel a little too “well-rounded” and without a “hook.”
You have a very solid profile ! In the 2019 college process, being an AA male is definitely a strong hook at many schools.
The competition is fierce but you will have solid options to choose from imho.
You will also face rejections and waitlists with the names you are considering.
I don’t think you will be shut out.
Also, Howard has a tremendous record of placement for medical schools although not a very ethnically diverse environment, it may have some appeal to you perhaps and it will be certainly a good match to safety for you as an option.
Rice has a two fly in programs for students who might bring more diversity to the student body, one in the fall Seeking Opportunities at Rice (SOAR) and one in the spring. The one is the fall is by application, and the one in the spring is by invitation after the RD applications are in. You could apply to SOAR to show interest in Rice, and you might get a chance to visit the campus at Rice’s expense. Here is a thread that discusses SOAR. http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/rice-university/2093458-soar-2018.html
You could contact Rice admissions to find out when the applications for next fall will open. That will get you on Rice’s radar screen. In the past the deadline has been in early September. and the application required an essay. Duke and Notre Dame might have similar programs. I know Vandy has MOSAIC.
https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/insidedores/2018/03/my-mosaic-weekends/
@brobdingnagian17 I need to correct the post above. The SOAR application deadline was in early August last year and decisions came out around August 25.
The fly in program is an excellent idea. Quite a few colleges have them. I would contact the colleges you are interested in to inquire about any diversity fly in program they might have. I think you have a great chance for those programs.
D16 discovered her top pick college in the June before applications were due and the application deadline for their diversity program had already passed.
@privatebanker expressed my feelings well, about your competitiveness. If you did not have the URM hook, you would still be a very strong and highly-qualified candidate, but your odds would be longer at super-reach schools simply because there are many more such candidates than they can take. Personally, I feel like you’d do just fine even in a race-blind process; you may not have one particular “spike” but there’s a level of initiative across the board that stands out, and if your essays frame that by fleshing out what you care about and where your motivation and energy come from, I think you’ll stand out. But all that in an AA guy becomes an automatic stand-out that doesn’t hinge as much on nuance, if that makes sense. (I know this can be a sensitive topic, but IMHO people need to ask themselves why so many barriers exist in this country, that prevent young URM’s from being as successful as you are, in sufficient numbers that top colleges wouldn’t have to fight over them.) You offer representation of life experience that is essential to building the class and community that top colleges want. That’s a real thing that you’ve earned through 18-ish years of living the experience of being an AA male in this society. It will make a difference in your admissions chances (albeit a difference that’s impossible to quantify and even if you could, that number wouldn’t be reliably predictive in the individual case) and there’s nothing wrong with banking on that by taking your shot at top colleges with a bit more optimism than otherwise, particularly those that would give you the best possible financial packages. (Which brings me back to Rice.) @Houston1021 took the words out of my mouth - apply to SOAR. Even if you don’t get it (which is possible - you might not be low-income enough, and you’re not a 1st-generation college student, correct?), it will put you on their “showing interest” radar which is very important. And look into funded diversity fly-in programs at other schools as well.
The Morrill at OSU is a terrific full-ride opportunity. Perhaps be thinking about what population your “handshake” initiative and other projects served, and the potential for presenting that through a lens of diversity/advocacy work, which is what Morrill is looking for as I understand it.
The admissions process is this paradoxical world where you have to believe in and promote yourself while also projecting groundedness and humility. I think you’re underestimating yourself a little but think it’s terrific that you’re not overimpressed with yourself. Don’t sell yourself short, shoot the moon… and as privatebanker says, not everything will pan out, but you can only go to one school anyway and I predict you’ll have more than one great option!
@Houston1021 @bouders Thanks for the fly-in idea, I will most definitely be on the lookout for those! I knew that some smaller LACs did this, but I didn’t realize the top dogs did so too.
@aquapt Wow, that was one heck of a pep talk! Thanks for all the words of advice, and I will make sure to look into the Morrill Scholars Program. And don’t worry, I’ll try to keep my head up but not hold it too high.
I’d recommend that you exercise thoughtfulness in your classifications. It’s easy to work yourself downward from a top school for biochemistry such as, say, Swarthmore to a “top dog” that you may know better because of its size, but which may be less rigorous academically.
@merc81 My bad, I just meant the “top” schools on my list like Rice and Vanderbilt and such. I have mainly heard of fly-in opportunity from smaller LACs, that’s all. As far as I have researched, the schools on my list give a good bang for your buck, regardless of size or prestige.
@brobdingnagian17: That makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.
@brobdingnagian17 If you do an internet search for college diversity fly in programs, you will see there are many top ranked institutions that have such programs. Many programs require some sort of application or essay, but with your stats I bet you will be in the running for many of them. Check the deadlines and what is needed such as transcript, test scores, etc. Some of the deadlines for application to the fly ins are pretty early.