I am so scared.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>NYU is my dream school and I've spent a lot of time on its application. I'm doing Early Admission I (meaning it's due November 1st). I've given my essays to quite a few people and none of them have gotten back to me yet, I'm worried if I submit them as is, it'll be detrimental. So if someone could critic the two essays I'm doing, that'd be great. Please just PM me.
Another thing is, I'd like to be chanced by the public. So please let me know what you think.</p>

<p>I plan on being an English major because I want to go into publications and be an editor at a major (or alternative, doesn't matter) magazine or newspaper. I'd get a Journalism degree but I've heard it's useless. And Communications seems so boring to me.</p>

<p>High School Type: Public, a little competitive in the top 10%, below that nobody cares.</p>

<p>My classes - I'm giving what grade I'm pretty sure I made because my school district no longer shows me my old grades.</p>

<p>9th Grade
Pre-AP English I: A
Pre-AP Algebra II (I took Pre-AP Algebra 1 in eighth grade): B
Pre-AP Biology: A
Pre-AP World Geography: A
Journalism/Newspaper: A
Speech: A - (1st Semester)
Intro to Debate (I know, waste of time, but I thought that's where I was headed): A - (2nd Semester)
Spanish I: A</p>

<p>10th Grade
Pre-AP English II: A
Pre-AP Geometry: B
Pre-AP Chemistry: B
AP World History: B - Exam grade: 3
Journalism/Newspaper: A
Spanish II: A
Debate: A
Dual Credit Psychology class (Pre-requisite to other dual classes, which I never really took): A - (2nd Semester)</p>

<p>11th Grade
AP English Language and Composition: A - Exam grade: 4
Pre-AP Pre-Calculus: C
Pre-AP Physics: B
AP US History: B - Exam grade: 3
Journalism/Newspaper: A
P.E.: A
Problems and Solutions (Career Choice class, another waste of time - I have a crappy counselor): A</p>

<p>12th Grade - current grade (only two-thirds through the first semester)
AP English Literature an Composition: A
AP Calculus: C
AP Biology: A
AP US Government: A
AP Economics: Haven't taken it yet, I'll probably hold a high B.
Journalism/Newspaper: A
Pre-AP Spanish III: A
Art History (PLATO, online course): current F because I haven't had time to start, will be an A soon.</p>

<p>PSAT: I do not remember.
SAT: I took it three times. The first time was in January 2013 - composite: 1740 (R: 620, M: 530, W: 590), second in May 2013 - composite: 1760 (R: 610, M: 530 (UGH), W: 620) and third in October 2013 - I'll find out on the 24th (I hope it's better, I really don't know).</p>

<p>Extra: I was a section editor on my school paper for three years (end of 9th grade to 11th grade). I am now editor-in-chief of the paper.
I am a class officer of our senior class - Historian.
I am an officer of our NHS chapter - Historian/Parliamentarian.
I am a chairman (not quite an officer) of a section in our Student Council.
I'm not sure the total number of hours I have volunteered just yet, but combined with Student Council, NHS and my own separate work - I'm sure it's over sixty.
My GPA is currently a 3.5.
I am 32 out of 400 students in my class. (Top 8% exactly.)</p>

<p>Background: I am an African-American female. My mother got her associates degree at a community college, so I'm not a first generation student. And my brother went to LSU but transferred to a religious college and then kinda/sorta dropped out. I live in Texas. I don't currently have any awards. :/ My family isn't well off and I'm depending on aid to help me through school. I take a few odd jobs a year - seasonal stuff - to help out when times are super hard but I can't keep one up for a long time because of my involvement and grades.</p>

<p>I feel like a very basic student and I've done all I can to remain impressive. My counselor doesn't really care because she focuses on students who already seem to have everything on lock. I wish I could go back in time and take the proper classes so that I'm not rushing to finish the right way but what's done is done.</p>

<p><em>If I don't get in, I plan on submitting my applications to Amherst, Wellesley, USC, UT, and Texas A&M. Feel free to chance me on the first three as well because I know I can get into UT and A&M. It's just NYU is most important right now.</em></p>

2

<p>If I don’t get into NYU, I’m applying to Northwestern as well.
(Bump.)</p>

3

<p>You ARE first gen: for most top schools, that means neither parent has graduated from a 4-year college. Check with NYU but I think it’s the definition they use.</p>

<p>HOWEVER, students who need a lot of FA should not apply ED since it prevents them from comparing financial aid packages. Of course you could get out of the ED commitment if the financial aid weren’t sufficient, but if the total amount is OK but all loans, you’re stuck. :s</p>

<p>Don’t forget to note how you’ve held jobs throughout the week, even during school time, as the EC you spent the most time on. It’ll “explain” a lot to admission officers.</p>

<p>A school that’s very welcoming to 1st gen applicants AND is awesome for Writing is Hamilton. One of the most famous schools for Writing is Kenyon.
Beside Wellesley, apply to Barnard and Mount Holyoke.
A school that’s more reachable than USC is Occidental.
BTW if you want to go into journalism, a minor in new media might be useful; and a major in POlitical Science or International Studies/relations might be as useful as English/Writing.</p>

<p>Are you sure you can get into UT with top 8%? It’s now 7%, isn’t it?
However you’re right, you’re auto admit at TAMU - although I’m not sure it’d be the best for your intended major.</p>

<p>A direct match would be University Missouri Columbia’s school of journalism, ranked top for undergraduate. However I don’t know how it’d be financially.</p>

<p>Colleges that meet 100% need:
[100%</a> Meet Need Colleges | CollegeGreenlight](<a href=“Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students”>Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students)</p>

4

<p>Your family wouldnt be able to afford NYU even if you got in. Your scores aren’t strong enough for most of your schools, including Northwestern… </p>

<p>Don’t be so sure on UT Austin either.</p>

5

<p>@MYOS1634 - Thanks very much for the detailed advice. The only reason I’m doing NYU ED is because I’ve read so much about how applying at that time shows the school you’re serious.
I know I’ll need quite a bit of FA but I’m really determined not to let money hold me back from something I really want. My entire family has done that and they all live unhappy, plain lives and that’s definitely not the path I want to take.
I am going for reach schools, I’m aware. It’s really to see what I can make it into. But you are right, I do need to make sure I’m applying to more.
Yeah. UT is now top 7% but tbqh, I don’t really think I’ll be denied. Maybe I’m being too haughty but I don’t see that happening. I could be wrong. I will apply to more Texas schools if need be but I don’t fit in here, I’m trying to get out.
@jibler - Like I said, I’m really not letting money hold me back from trying. That’s a big mistake IMO and I feel like there are ways around it.
I know the schools are a stretch but I’ve always admired the best.</p>

6

<p>It’s good not to let money hold you back… except that it could.
Your strategy is not well thought out even though its goal is correct.
By this, I mean that indeed you can’t let lack of funds dictate that you won’t shoot for the highest you can reach, but you MUST plan carefully so that no matter what happens you end up at the highest possible school for you. For most students, it doesn’t matter where they go - but for 1st gen and URM students, it DOES (the only exception that the research found) since the college and its network replace the family connection that middle class and upper class students take for granted. </p>

<p>However, betting ONLY on reach schools is a recipe for disaster. Don’t be one of these students who, come April, cry here “I didn’t get in anywhere!” (often meaning “I have to go to my state school where I really didn’t want to go!”) </p>

<p>For example, UT is auto admit for the 7% at every high school in Texas. That’s numerical. If you’re 8%, you’re not automatically in. Period.
To increase your odds as a non-auto admit, apply now since the application has been open for a while, and indicate your class rank. Don’t wait. The earlier you apply the higher the odds that you’ll get in not based on rank but based on your whole record.
And while TAMU is an excellent school, I wouldn’t go there for English. I think Austin, Trinity or Southwestern would nurture excellent writing better, due to smaller class sizes with lots of editing and write/rewrite. so, apply to one of them at least. For true safeties, check out UT Dallas or UT Tyler, apply NOW, have your safeties in hand.
If they admit you and NYU admits you too, then you turn down your safeties. :)</p>

<p>However, I must say NYU is a very, very long shot. If you got 1900 on your SAT, you’d still be in the bottom 25% of all applicants. Since you also need financial aid and NYU is need aware, it’d further decrease your odds of getting in. Being first gen and URM would help you somewhat but odds are still pretty low. To top it off, NYU is infamous for its lousy financial aid packages, so if you get in but have more than $5,500 in loans, please come back to CC to discuss your options. (More than $5,500 in loans for your first year just isn’t reasonable overall, and it’s even more important not to go over that amount if you plan to go into a field that’s nearing extinction, ie., journalism, or that out of college is essentially unpaid/low paid internships.)</p>

<p>Your strategy should be to find schools “like” the ones you admire, but easier to get into. Getting into a Top 30 national university or a Top 50 LAC is nothing to scoff at.
A good example in California would be Stanford/CalTech/Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for engineering, with the closest CSU as a safety. Getting into SLO would still be amazing and a great experience, similar to the others even if it’s not nearly as selective and prestigious as Stanford, and would still lead to recognition and a good job.</p>

<p>I recommend that you fill out those “inquire”/“request info”/“join the mailing list” cards at Hamilton, Kenyon, Mount Holyoke, Barnard.</p>

<p>Now, what do you like about NYU, so that we can help you find similar schools?</p>

<p>BTW being from Texas means that if you applied to Midwestern, Midatlantic and Pacific Northwest schools you’d get a big boost both for admissions and financial aid since many Texas students stay in state and for those who choose to go out of state, East Coast big cities, New England, and California are the favorite destinations.</p>

7

<p>To a lot of young people, NYU is a big draw because it is in NYC. I would like to point out that NYC (or any big cities) is a very expensive place to live. A student on FA will find it difficult to have fun. My daughter’s best friend is on FA at NYU. She is struggling and very unhappy because it is hard for her to go out with friends without a lot of spending money. Yes, there are many free things to do in NYC, like museums, street fairs…but most things cost more than other other places. On the other hand, at a school like Cornell (rural), there are more activities on campus (recitals, lectures, parties) which are either free or cost very little. My nephew, who is freshman at Cornell, said he has spent very little money and he goes out every weekend.</p>

8

<p>Journalism is not nearing extinction! OP I am in your boat, first gen and doing this all by myself. I liked NYU because it was in the city, but NYU’s financial aid is the worst I’ve ever seen anywhere. I was the same way about money at first, but then I realized there are a lot of other schools that would give me GREAT financial aid, often even more prestigious. To give numbers: my family makes $46K per year. NYU could only knock my out of pocket cost down to $33K, while at BC I would pay 15K and at Amherst College, only $4,000. I don’t know if your numbers are similar, but NYU is notorious for the horrible aid it gives for everybody, and living in NYC is incredibly expensive. Forget visits home if you’re paying tuition that high. There are a lot of schools who will make it much easier for you. It’s easy to fall in love with a given school (I’m from MA and spent my whole life in love with Harvard, now I’m not even applying). If you like NYC you might like Fordham, easier admissions, much better aid, same job opportunities. I’m not religious by any means but I like Fordham for its humanities program (I want to major in English too, but not for communications). Amherst is very selective I don’t know if you want to waste your time there, my advice to you if you want internships is to get yourself into the city. That being said, you seem like a determined person with an idea of what you want, you don’t have to listen to what people say to you on a college forum. Apply to NYU, but I think there are better schools out there for you, and they’re not always lower tier schools either.</p>

9

<p>NYU would be extremely hard for you to get into, and like others said, if you got in, it would be difficult for you financially (I read somewhere that a student who was accepted at NYU only got $1000 in scholarships and FA).</p>

<p>Also, UT is far from a sure thing. Even if you are one percent outside of the auto-admit range, it would be hard to get in. Remember, you are competing with OOS students with great test scores and in-state students with the same qualifications as you. I knew somebody who was one percent outside of the auto-admit range and he was denied. He got in later with the CAP program, which you might want to look in to.</p>

<p>It seems like your list is full of too many reaches. Make a list of safeties, and apply to them. TAMU, TX Tech, Mizzou, and OU (I heard that they give great aid) are all safeties for you, and all of them are good schools.</p>

<p>Best of luck to you.</p>

10

<p>I actually know somebody at NYU as well, and she’s paying a lot of money - so much money that it got to the point where she didn’t think it was worth the money and she transferred to a lesser known school on a full ride. </p>

<p>You have to consider money. What good will 200k in debt do for you?</p>

11

<p>Man, y’all are really scaring me away from some of these. :expressionless:
The only reason I am so desperately in love with NYU is because it has that unconventional campus feel - I’ve never been one to like the whole frat/sorority/typical ABC Family college scene. It’s also in a city of opportunities - granted I’m going to miss how friendly some of the people in the South can be (save the racists and ignoramuses) but why stay down here when I want to go into publications? The northeast (mainly NYC) is a mecca of newspaper and magazine headquarters. I could get an internship/job before I even graduate. I feel like I’d be wasting my time anywhere else.
And in general, the reason the schools I want are big names is because I want to be taken seriously. When you get a degree from a particular place, you have to admit, if it has a certain stigma, a lot of employers will scoff at it.
I am a reputation snob, I won’t lie. My thing is, if I’m spending that much time in school, I want it to be a legit education - I don’t want to be a warning to others about wasting their time at a sub-par school because of lack of funds.
I do need to take my need into account but I’m super worried about getting into a waste-of-a-school.</p>

12

<p>@MYOS1634 - Barnard has piqued my interest. It is in the city. It is all-women (which I think would come in handy when helping me focus in school; believe it or not - some of my grades aren’t what they could be because of boys :/). It does meet all financial need.It seems to have LA education on the top level. However, I’m a little worried about its reputation - looking it up, I’ve seen people talk about how when you say you’re from Barnard, people are shocked. They think it’s a Columbia reject school. My main question is, if I walk out of it with a degree and apply to jobs, will people constantly ask me “Why not Columbia? Couldn’t get in? <em>fake sad face</em>”
@oldfort - Honestly, I’m pretty much a loner. When I do go out, it’s either because I want to forget about something bad and just be wild teenager or it’s a special occasion. I won’t be going out often and sometimes the best things in life are free. :slight_smile:
As for the cost of living, I am so aware. I figure years of (involuntarily) living on such a low budget has made me a bit money savvy. I don’t spend like a maniac and I’m usually the one balancing the budget in our family - no joke.
@brm114341 - Thanks! I love that field and I want to be a part of the growing number of kids who wish to save it from itself. It is headed in the wrong direction - money- and gossip-driven - but I think it has a chance. I FORGOT TO MENTION my mother is a single parent. I’ve never known my father and I don’t think I’ll ever make plans to meet him - maybe later in life but right now I couldn’t care less about him. Therefore she makes about half of what your family does.
@everyone - NYU’s crappy financial aid has scared me but I’m applying to scholarship after scholarship - with Gates Millennium being the most important - so I’m hoping I’ll be able hold my head above water. I am having second thoughts though, which is causing me to FREAK because NYU’s ED I is due in less than two weeks. And it is binding.
Jesus. I really don’t know what to do now.</p>

13

<p>“if I walk out of it with a degree and apply to jobs, will people constantly ask me “Why not Columbia? Couldn’t get in? <em>fake sad face</em>””</p>

<p>So no college grads from schools with less employer-perceived prestige than Columbia are finding jobs?</p>

<p>“NYU’s ED I is due in less than two weeks. And it is binding.”</p>

<p>If the ED FA offer is insufficient (often at NYU!) you decline the offer and apply RD elsewhere.</p>

14

<p>@vonlost - That’s not what I meant but touche. I was trying to say, will I have the same opportunities as those who graduated elsewhere in NYC if I walk out with a Barnard degree? Or does it even matter?</p>

15

<p>Why not try applying to SUNY schools? They are in the state of NY and they are usually pretty good with financial aid; and many of them have summer internships in NYC. You should be able to get in with your EC’s. Although, you really need to improve your grades to get into the habit of doing well in classes.</p>

16

<p>Apply to NYU ED, sicne you really really want to - but prepare for the worse. And if they offer you a ‘bad’ package (more than $5,500 in loans), come back to this forum and/or the financial aid forum. People will help you.</p>

<p>What you need to do, though, is plan for alternatives. You’re right that Eastern cities tend to be headquarters to publications: look into other schools in DC and Boston. Why not apply to Simmons, for example? Why not Clark (granted, not in Boston, but nearby) and Holy Cross? Why not Fordham?
Build a list with at least 3 schools you like, where you’re within the middle range and meet 100% need. Fill out the “request info”/“join the mailing list” forms (you may get a free application out of it) and email the admission officer in charge of your region, being careful with greetings and polite leave-taking, and ask about internships in publishing or newspapers, how often a freshman can get involved into the college paper and whether the college paper has won awards, and if you could chat with someone involved in the college paper. :slight_smile:
As for Barnard - yes you’ll have snobs who will look down on Barnard because it’s not Columbia. They’re the same who look down on Columbia because it’s not Yale. They’re the kids who say “why should I be friends with poor people, they don’t even have a private jet to fly us home on weekends?” (true story) Arrogant, entitled jerks shouldn’t decide where you go to college. :slight_smile: In NYC, Barnard is very respected, more so than Fordham, which itself is respected too. </p>

<p>SUNYs: it depends how much your mother can afford. Unfortunately, they don’t have financial aid for out of state students. Upper Middle Class families find them cheap because cost of attendance is about $20,000 a year (compared to $40,000 out of state public universities elsewhere) but I am guessing this is half or more of what your mother makes a year, so it wouldn’t be doable.</p>

<p>BTW I was kidding about journalism being extinct, but I wasn’t kidding re: unpaid internships etc for college graduates in the publication field. Living in NYC without being paid isn’t possible if you have debt. In addition, it’s very precarious – just think: how many people do you know pay for their news? If they don’t pay, newspapers don’t get money, and they fire journalists, shut down entire operations/desks, etc.</p>

17

<p>have you run the Net Price Calculator for NYU?
Before you apply ED, look at what they have to offer.
If what they post looks confusing, come back here or post in the Financial Aid forum, someone will help you make sense of the “potential offer”.
This is the link to NYU’s NPC:
[Net</a> Price Calculator](<a href=“http://www.nyu.edu/admissions/financial-aid-and-scholarships/financial-aid-calculator.html]Net”>http://www.nyu.edu/admissions/financial-aid-and-scholarships/financial-aid-calculator.html)</p>

18

<p>This is what the school says it could offer me.
<a href=“http://s13.postimg.org/sid89rw3r/Screenshot_55.png[/url]”>http://s13.postimg.org/sid89rw3r/Screenshot_55.png&lt;/a&gt;
I’m 17. My mother makes under 25k, if even. Though my brother lives with us temporarily, she doesn’t list him down when counting the members of our household. She just counts us two so I did as well. I plan to live on-campus, as it’d be cheaper.
The 18k looks much better than the 50k but it’s still pricey. I have until January to let them know my decision but I won’t know much about scholarships until early 2014. If this is their final offer, I’m afraid to accept it. :s</p>

<p>And when it comes to journalism, I know people don’t really pay for it and it seems to be a dying field. But that doesn’t mean editors aren’t needed. I’m thinking in terms of editorial magazines but I’m definitely not leaving out any other publication options. It’s just something I’m so comfortable with and I love to create things that make people think. As for internships, I see it like if I’m staying in the city I might have a chance to snag externships (or short but sweet internships that give me a lot of experience) faster than students that have to come from out of the city. I don’t plan on working long-term unpaid jobs because I know I just can’t afford it but it’d be nice to have that advantage.</p>

<p>Barnard is looking very attractive right now but I’m afraid if I decide to chose its ED over NYU’s, I will definitely hurt my chances at NYU. So I think I will submit my ED app to NYU, and in the meantime apply to UT, Barnard, Amherst, Hamilton and Wellesley. If I don’t get in or if their FA is not sufficient, at least I’ll have the rest in the works.</p>

19

<p>1634, my dd from california got a full ride to SUNY Buffalo. Has the FA changed at the SUNY’s?</p>

20

<p>The more I think about it, the more Barnard seems right! Ugh. I’m really scared to make this last minute decision but I think I’ll talk to my mentor and my counselor and maybe a few friends to confirm what I’m thinking. Because if I can get hold of a full ride at a LAC in NYC, I think I should jump at the chance. :confused:
I might apply to Barnard ED instead.
<em>sigh</em> I’m such a worrywart. There’s a reason this thread is called “I am so scared.”</p>