<p>In at Elmira on the $18,000/year Trustee scholarship.</p>
<p>Skulldruggery, CONGRATULATIONS!</p>
<p>Thank you again. ^_^</p>
<p>Ah! News! Evidently, my unweighted academic GPA (not including band, gym, etc) is more than a 3.5, not a 3.2! Elmira only gives my scholarship to students with greater than a 3.5 academic. This is a good sign.</p>
<p>Different schools can recalculate gpas differently. For example, some high schools include everything (ie: 4 years of PE, 2 years of pottery classes). A college might only consider courses that are required for admission, only core classes, or all classes, etc. when recalculating gpa. Also, some colleges weight gpas, and some do not. So if a school weights your gpa and you have a few APs/honors that helps. If you have APs but have lower grades in those, and the school does not weight, that could hurt.</p>
<p>I have 11ish honors/dual credit classes that have not been weighted at my high school. I don't know if they weight when recalculating, but Elmira, at least, only considers academic classes, and I haven't had many that aren't; only band and gym, really.</p>
<p>I want to go to a really nice school, and I hate having the grades that I shouldn't.</p>
<p>Okay, I didn't do my research terribly well now and found out a lot of things about the social lives, etc, of schools that I applied to. I might pull out a lot of my applications, and I still have to bribe guidance for Goucher. My list looks more like this now:</p>
<p>Amherst
Bard
Beloit
DePauw
Elmira
Goucher
Penn State
SUNY New Paltz
Vassar
Virginia Tech
VCU</p>
<p>Can anybody elaborate much on these? I'm wicked terrified that I'm going to go somewhere and be miserable -- I'm not a partier at all, and I'm sort of an alternative sort of person but not THAT alternative as to smoke pot. I'm absolutely clean, don't drink or do drugs and have no interest. Can you really find that crowd anywhere?</p>
<p>You can find what you're looking for at any of those schools. By far the worst reputation for what you're NOT looking for is Bard and my non-smoking, non-drinking, non-druggie, slightly alternative D loves it there, now in her second year. She's very involved with lots of activities on campus and has found plenty of friends there. Don't condemn an entire school based on some silly review. Most schools are more like the real world and have a good cross-section of humanity there; warts and all. </p>
<p>Why is a bribe needed for Goucher?</p>
<p>Vassar's not that hard to get into, thought it's much easier for guys than for girls. :(</p>
<p>Ah, I only need a "bribe" for Goucher because my guidance office had a deadline for all forms to be in on Tuesday, and my counselor is already ticked off that I've applied to sixteen places. Still, it's not hard to print out two or three more copies of what she already has written and on file and put it in the mailbox, is it?</p>
<p>It's good to hear about Bard, I'm rather enamored with the idea of going there at the moment. And Vassar! Those are two of my top five, and any chance of getting in would make me thrilled.</p>
<p>Oh great. My GC is making me pull applications because of fee waiver difficulties, and I was unable to take the SAT II subject tests because my parents -- well, let's not go there. Um, my dad wants me to apply to Carnegie Mellon now? So my list looks like this</p>
<p>Bard
Beloit
Carnegie Mellon
DePauw
Elmira
Goucher
Penn State University Park
SUNY New Paltz
SUNY Potsdam
Vassar
Virginia Tech (maybe)</p>
<p>Do I have any chance at Carnegie Mellon, with this newly discovered information that my unweighted GPA is a 3.5, not a 3.2? Also, when I send my updated resume to these schools, should I mention the circumstances as to why I was unable to take the SAT II subject tests (couldn't pay in May, got fee waiver for SAT I in June and October, parents icky in December)?</p>
<p>Deferred by Bard. Dang. But it's not an outright rejection!</p>
<p>Suny New Paltz is a beautiful school... They are like my #3 choice. I believe you could get in there.</p>
<p>You don't have to worry about attending a community college. ;) You should be good at <em>most</em> of these schools.</p>
<p>Bard - low reach
Beloit - in
Carnegie Mellon - reach
DePauw - in
Elmira - in
Goucher - match
Penn State University Park - match
SUNY New Paltz - match
SUNY Potsdam - match
Vassar - low reach
Virginia Tech - match</p>
<p>Hello, my first post at College Confidential ;-))</p>
<p>I attended DePauw a long while a go. It was sort of conservative, in that most folks there came from well-to-do families. But I was a poor scholarship guy. Academically, I think you would like it a lot, especially with your music interest. it's a good science school BUT mostly liberal arts, future lawyers, doctors writers and future MBA's. </p>
<p>Biggest thing to consider is social life. It is a SMALL town and as stated, most students are Greek (I wasn't). Being wanted is a VERY GOOD THING, I rate that highly. But be careful about making sure you could live with the small town place, and being far from home might limit your chances to go home often (although in my case that was a psoitive ;-))</p>
<p>I think a visit is crucial. If you go, be prepared to study. </p>
<p>good luck!</p>
<p>Ron</p>
<p>Hey, Awaretek -- you posted both here on my Xanga, and I really, really appreciate that. It was very kind and outgoing and it makes me think better of the student body at DePauw. What do you mean by "being wanted," joining a sorority? I probably won't be able to visit unless accepted, because we're so far away from Indiana, but it seems like an awesome school (also, going home twice a year or so is fine with me).</p>
<p>Is it too awfully preppy?</p>
<hr>
<p>Throwing in an application at Eugene Lang. Why not?</p>
<p>Hey, Awaretek -- you posted both here on my Xanga, and I really, really appreciate that. It was very kind and outgoing and it makes me think better of the student body at DePauw. What do you mean by "being wanted," joining a sorority? I probably won't be able to visit unless accepted, because we're so far away from Indiana, but it seems like an awesome school (also, going home twice a year or so is fine with me).</p>
<p>Is it too awfully preppy?</p>
<hr>
<p>Throwing in an application at Eugene Lang. Why not? Thanks for the chancing, Soulside Journey.</p>
<p>On "being wanted," I may have misread your post. I thought you meant that someone at DePauw's music department faculty really wanted you to attend DePauw. Now I think you meant a friend of yours who is going to go to DePauw is really after you to go there, which is still pretty cool because you'll have at least one grateful friend to start off with if you go there ;-))</p>
<p>As for sororities, do realize that DePauw is 70% Greek. To me, that was actually a negative. I was a dormie. I attended a weekend with SAE fraternity the year before I went, and I loved the SAE guys and all, but it cost extra and I couldn't really afford it. I liked the independent life fine though. </p>
<p>A sorority might be good for you , maybe they have worked on the costs since I went. Or being independent is fine, but realize you will be in a minority. </p>
<p>As for Preppie, I think some of the Greek houses could be described as VERY preppie. A lot of rich kids go to DePauw. Other Greek houses have different styles though. If you go Greek it is VERY important to pick a good fit for yourself. You don't want to be in a house that parties all the time if you don't want that. Is your friend who will attend DePauw Greek? Is she (or he) already there to give you pointers or is he (or she) a freshman to be next year also?</p>
<p>I think DePauw would be very good for a biology major, or a music major.</p>
<p>I also think your love of writing would be well nurtured there.</p>
<p>In my case, for example, I majored in physics and math, but I nurtured a secret desire to be a writer. So I took a lot of courses in English literature. I really enjoyed them. But I figured I'd be able to make a living as a science graduate (so I sold out :-)). It worked out OK though. I made a good living in high tech electronics industry and enjoyed myself and raised a family and wrote on the side!</p>
<p>Anyway, your manga touched me because from some of the writings there I thought I recognized a kindred soul from my younger days ( I am now on this list because my kids are college bound) Good luck...</p>
<p>Ron</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Ron,
I probably wouldn't join a sorority unless it was a last resort; it's not like me to join groups for the heck of it, there's typically too much drinking, and living in a dorm seems like generally more fun, really. Like you said, nothing wrong with the independent life! My friend is a current freshman (sophomore standing) music ed major, dunno if he's interested in being Greek or not -- he was toying with the idea during the semester, but hasn't mentioned anything else about it in a while. And even though I like the idea of a music minor rather than major, it's good to know someone there anyway.</p>
<p>What do you know about scholarships, if they're good with financial aid? Would a quirky student like me be ousted for purple hair and odd hobbies?</p>
<p>ur chances are good at these schools and you should've explained that you had things going on with your mom and that caused your grades to drop</p>
<p>Regarding Carnegie Mellon: Two years ago, when my daughter was applying, the college required the Math SAT II. She refused to take it, and didn't apply. I don't know if the requirements have changed, but you should check into it. Don't waste your time applying if you don't meet all the requirements. Also, CMU's financial aid is supposed to be not so hot. I got that information secondhand; maybe someone else can confirm or refute that.</p>
<p>Also, I disagree with the poster who said that Vassar is not that hard to get in to. My daughter, who was a NMF with a 1480 SAT (M/CR) and a 3.7 from a very competitve high school, was denied. However, you do have the strong ECs that Vassar loves. So that might balance out. Such a wonderful school! I was very sad she didn't get in, but she is very happy at the college she attends.</p>