*Demographics- Separated parents, household income of 50k, has had personal experience with food insecurity and homelessness.
US domestic- US citizen
State/Location of residency: Montana
Type of high school- Public
Gender/Race/Ethnicity : Female, Native American (non-enrolled), and Caucasian
**Intended Major(s)- Marketing, Business and Sociology
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 3.75
Weighted HS GPA: 4.5
Class Rank: 106 out of 282
ACT: 28
Coursework
Honors History and English- 10th Grade
IB English, Math, Environmental Science, History and Theory of Knowledge- 11th and 12th Grade
Currently taking Latin YR 1 and 2 through BYU Independent Study
Honor Choir and Theatre- 10th-12th grade
Awards
Local Student Theatre Board- Acting and Technical Design in 2021
Poetry Out Loud- Regional Finalist 2019
Activity Letters for Theatre- 2019-2021
Activity Letters for Choir- 2018-2021
District Music Festival Superior Solo- 2019
Extracurriculars
International Thespian Society State Board Member- 2021-2022
Local Theatre Student Board Member- 2020-2022
High School Extracurricular Honor Choirs- 2018-2019, 2021-2022
JV Swim Team-2018-2019
University of Montana Honor Choir- 2020
Poetry Out Loud Competition - Regionals and State Qualifier 2019
Learn To Be Volunteer Tutoring- (Tutoring Non-Profit)National Outreach Coordinator and Tutor- 11+ Volunteer Hours 2020-2022
Generation Ratify- (Youth Non-Profit) National Digital Projects Coordinator 2021
Project Reach- (Youth Activism Club) Featured Artist 2020
Women’s Strength- (Youth Non-Profit) Social Media Design Team- 2020
Indigenous Student Union- (Youth Activism Club)Member and volunteer-2021-2022 10+ Volunteer Hours
Montana Youth Action State Board- (Youth Non-Profit) Communications Vice-Chair- 2021-2022 7+ Volunteer Hours
National Honors Society- 2021-2022 25+ Volunteer Hours
Glacier Model Management- (Modeling Agency) 2021-2023
Essays/LORs/Other
Really strong and inspirational essay writer, my LORs will come from my theatre director along with my modeling agent, who know me very well.
Cost Constraints / Budget
I Will be applying for financial aid, along with scholarships and grants. Schools
Safety- Wagner College-RD
Likely- Fordham University- RD
*Match- NYU-ED II (Also Reach)
Congrats on your record. Well, the tile is NYU but it’s not in your list.
You must really want to be in NYC - Wagner is in Staten Island I believe. So what you have going for you is you’re part Native American and you’re from Montana. Schools love geographic diversity.
What you have against you is - you are seeking aid/grants - and none of these schools meet need - so don’t go if you can’t afford. Run their net price calc.
To me, if you study business, NYU is a no. For sociology, maybe but not really. You’ll need to apply TO - but your class rank is just too low. Barnard no as well.
Fordham - probably a match - but need to go TO.
Wagner - I agree - but if you want to be in the city, how about Pace…or something closer into the city - check out Hofstra’s net price calc…they are aggressive with aid.
There are other city schools that meet need - not easy to get into but the Montana thing will help - how bout Northeastern and BU as they both meet need, again, I don’t think it happens but…GW is another that’s a reach but not total reach especially if you apply TO. And Pitt could happen and offers the Cathedral of Learning scholarship.
Sounds like you want to be in NYC and I can appreciate that. If you really want to be in NYC, you may look at one of the CUNYs as well.
NYU will be a reach, and you should apply test optional.
The most important thing is to get a handle on your budget. What can/will your parents pay for college? At schools that require CSS Profile, like NYU, both parents will have to share income and asset information. Have you run the NPCs at any schools? Do that too and let us know those numbers along with your budget.
Of the schools she mentioned, Barnard will meet need! In addition, given Barnard’s conscious attempts to be accessible to women of diverse backgrounds, the college (and many peers) are very conscious of students who struggle with food insecurity.
I remember my daughter being part of a student-organized program where unused meal swipes and dining dollars were used for the benefit of students who were struggling.
Although a reach, given her interesting background, still worthwhile her attempt. Every year there are surprise-admissions at Barnard, for those who don’t bother look past the numbers.
Sorry missed Barnard - was focused on NYU, Fordham, Wagner.
NYU could make a great aid offer but technically don’t meet 100% of need - or doesn’t promise to.
Unaware of the food insecurity - glossed over it and not even sure what it means or how it impacts - i’ll look it up…but was looking at the #s in regards to the schools so I’d assume Barnard is out. The flipside is, you have 20 Common App spots so it’s always worth it to chase the dream if it’s not too difficult as long as you have realistic options…and wasn’t sure if she has to be in NYC or another big city would work so i threw in other ideas.
So I looked it up and OP, I’m very sorry that this is happening to you. I’ll admit I’ve never had to deal with this. This is a serious issue.
You’ve accomplished a lot without these issues - and I’m sorry for my insensitivity.
I’ll be honest I am programmed to evaluate the #s and there are other things that come into play.
The fact that you’ve done what you’ve done is incredible regardless of where you end up and I do wish you very well.
You might look at the list of schools that meet 100% of need - and run a few net price calculators. While they may not be your dream of NYC, if you find one that shows you have to pay little, perhaps the trade off would be worth it…like a Franklin & Marshall, Oberlin, Miami, or Dennison…none are easy to get in but easier amongst the list.
I wish you well and honestly, you’re a hero for pulling through!!
Although the ACT and class rank are not strong, it’s possible that a holistic reviewer at Barnard might view those figures through the lens of having experienced homelessness and food insecurity - which is much likely to (at least temporarily) impact even someone with otherwise great potential.
Comparing numeric measures of such an applicant with someone privileged, who was not distracted in his studies/learning/test-prep by those factors, or did not have to work to quite literally help put “food on the table”, would yield a false assessment of that person’s abilities to excel in college.
If the person is a strong essay writer, as she indicated, then she might have a very compelling story to tell!
Totally get it. I don’t want say I am privileged but I certainly never came from or was exposed to those issues and I think getting through to the next stage is AMAZING .
I know she’ll be able to continue her journey and I hope it’s at a school of choice.
That being said, from a numerical POV it will be tough and while they might not be in a perfect location for her, I hope she runs some NPCs at some 100% meets need because it could be there’s a trade off of less expense to be elsewhere but still get a wonderful education.
As we all know, one has to cover all bases to ensure they are not shut out academically or financially.
Thx for the education and apologies if I came off as insensitive. I certainly was naĂŻve.
I’m 53 and the OP has accomplished, in many ways, more than I ever will.
Thank you guys for all your advice! I’m aware my test scores probably aren’t the highest. I’ve never been a huge fan of standardized tests, NYC is my goal city due to my modeling career as I’m going to be working with Elite models in the spring. Due to my relatively high-paying modeling career, I should have the financial ability to get by. Any tips to ensure my admission? I understand it’s a stretch realistically but like everything else in my life I have been told I couldn’t do it, so I have a decent amount of faith in my intelligence and experience. I appreciate the support though and would love more tips on the numbers side!
That’s a great story I wasn’t aware of - so you should highlight what you are doing with them (i assume modeling) and how it enhances you and will enhance your college experience. For instance, you’ll be doing “real life” whereas people go to college to get an entry to “real life” - so you will add that much more to the classroom discussions.
My tip would be to add more NYC or easy access to NYC schools.
For example, you might look at Marymount Manhattan (a safety), CUNY schools, Pace in the city.
Manhattan College, just north, might work as a back up. Sarah Lawrence as well. Hofstra a bit farther out (on Long Island). Maybe somewhere in NJ as well (Rutgers Newark??).
You’ll get into Wagner…but it’s in Staten Island which is pretty far from what most deem NYC.
One more thing - and your counselor will put it - but I am curious about your class rank. I assume you are using a .5 honors and 1 AP bonus for each grade.
A 4.5 at most HS would be far higher than 106 of 282. So you might want to check that.
I’ll look into all those options! Should I apply ED 2 to NYU? Will it increase my chances? Or should I attempt applying ED to Barnard? Ultimately I want a school that will assess all my strengths not just the numbers, however I want to be sure that whatever school I ED to, I’ll have a decent chance of acceptance.
If Barnard is your first choice and you feel that you’ll have the income to cover the balance to whatever financial aid they might offer, then applying ED will give you the chance to be considered twice: first within the ED pool, and if that doesn’t result in an outright admission offer, then be persistent with showing continued interest for when your applications is considered a second time against the regular decision pool.
You have a great story. It will certainly be memorable for admissions readers. Despite your grades/scores, I would say to apply ED to Barnard. If you don’t get accepted, then apply ED2 to NYU. Then in the RD round, throw in apps to the other NYC colleges: Columbia, Pace, Fordham, Baruch, CCNY, New School, Hunter and Fashion Institute of Technology.
Also take a look at Stevens Institute of Technology. Stevens is based in Hoboken, a 10 min train ride to manhattan. The Stevens campus has a PATH train station very close by. Although Stevens is mainly a STEM college, they do have humanities majors. And being a private school, they might give you a good financial aid package.
I agree with others to pass on Wagner. Too hard to get in/out of NYC from Staten Island.