<p>I need help. Everyone is telling me to have safeties, reachs, and matches. I don't believe in those. Yes I know some are more difficult than others to get into, but I don't like subjecting myself. </p>
<p>I'm only applying to 5 schools, is that too less? If you want to see my stats, you can look at my "chance me for Spelman?" thread. I'm currently a junior and will be applying in the fall. </p>
<p>Here are my schools, in order of how much I like them
1. Spelman
2. Wellesley
3. Yale
4. Northeastern
5. MIT </p>
<p>I'm planning on applying ED to Spelman, EA to Wellesley, and RD to the others. Is this a good plan? I really want to go to Spelman, I'm visiting in April, so I decided to save time/money and apply there first, hoping I get in. </p>
<p>Any tips? Should I add more (if I did, I'd choose Howard, and BU)? It's hard because I don't like anywhere else. When I visit, if I don't get that "I can see myself living here" feeling, it's no good. I want to major in computer software engineering/cognitive sciene or psychology with a minor in something that interests me.</p>
<p>Posting this here so no one else needs to go digging for it:</p>
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<p>You probably already know that Yale and MIT are virtually impossible and Wellesley is highly unlikely. However, Spelman is a safety (whether you want to call it that or not) and Northeastern is very likely. If you’re perfectly okay with the idea of only having Spelman and Northeastern to choose from, then I guess you’re set. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t apply ED to Spelman though, unless you’re 100% certain that you want to go there- it seems unnecessary to limit your options to that one school when you could easily get in RD and then compare acceptances/$ offers.</p>
<p>I understand not wanting to calculate things in terms of “reaches”, “matches” and “safeties”, but if you really like a place that you may have trouble getting into, you might want to think of similar places that are slightly easier to get into. Smith, for example, has engineering and might be a little easier to get into than Wellesley (though I’m not an expert on this and it might be a slight difference). Your scores seem to be pretty far above the Spelman median, so I also don’t see why you need to lock yourself in ED. You can learn a lot once you are accepted to several places, visit overnight, attend classes etc. and it’s a shame to miss that unless you think you are unlikely to get into your favorite place and are trying to boost your chances with an ED application. Also, I would add a few more schools. Schools that are like MIT but a little easier to get into?? If you like the urban location of Northeastern, you might want to look at George Washington. By the way, I didn’t think that Wellesley had early action but they do have a February early indication thing that they do. With your grades, if you do somewhat better on the SAT in June, I wouldn’t call Wellesley “highly unlikely”. I think they still offer on campus interviews which should help a little. Another note—I find the Fiske guide’s academic ratings (1 through 5) to be helpful in comparing schools of various sizes and types. You have three 5’s (Wellesley, Yale and MIT), a 3 (Spelman) and a 2 (Northeastern), so that’s maybe another reason to fill in a few more schools.</p>
<p>thanks Hitch123. i just need to visit spelman(april break), wellesley, and northeastern. over the summer if i’m not interning or at an engineering program I will visit classes/stay overnight at the closer schools (the MA ones, i’m from CT). I know ED isn’t necessary, but I feel like after i go to Spelman I’ll love it even more than i do now (if that’s even possible). I think ED will be good for me because 1. i don’t deal with suspense very well 2. if i get accepted, i’ll be notified by dec15 which will unload a lot of stress already there because of my rigorous course load and just plain senior housekeeping. i’ll keep what you said in mind, thank you for your advice! hopefully as goes well!</p>
<p>since 3 of your 5 schools (yale, wellesly, and mit) are really hard to get into, i would suggest adding one or two more schools that you know you can probably get into- i think howard and bu are really good ones to add, and 7 is a good number of schools to apply to, in my opinion.</p>
<p>Smwhtsslghtlydzed
I think I’ll add smith(I was already looking there), BU, and Howard, which makes 8.
Thanks for your advice!
I just want to be over and done with this whole process, that’s also why I want to do ED.</p>
<p>If you’ve considered your financial situation and/or financial aid eligibility, you may just want to apply to one school - Early Decision to Spellman. You’re a lock for admission there, and you wouldn’t need to spend the money to apply to schools that you wouldn’t attend even if admitted. Ask your guidance counselor to send recs and transcripts to the other four before your HS goes on break. You’d get an answer from Spellman (almost certainly admission - you’re above their 75th percentile on SATs and your GPA/rank are awesome) by Dec. 15, which would leave you enough time to apply to the others if you decided to. BTW, there’s also an Early Action option at Spellman, but decisions don’t come out until Dec. 31.</p>
<p>Gadad- finally somebody who understands me(:
My mom said don’t worry about tuition, she knows I’ll be successful where’ve I go, although tuition is a factor to me. Spelman is the cheapest at about 30,000 a year vs. others that are 50,000. Since the other schools’ early actions are November as well, I might just send out those that I really want to go to along with Spelman. I’ll be working on my apps all summer so there’ll be less to worry about when school starts. Thanks for the compliments and the advice!!!</p>
<p>Yes, add Howard on your list just so you have another option. You don’t need to apply ED to Spelman, just Early Action. Spelman is a wonderful school. It also offers the option of studying a semester at many wonderful schools.</p>
<p>Erin’s Dad- I don’t think there’s a tuition that families can “afford”. Right now I have scholarships already under my belt, and hopefully I get the Spelman merit aid ones that I qualify for. 30k is way less than the northern schools around where I’m from. And as for the in state schools, they aren’t an option. Although UCONN is a good school, it’s not for me, and I nor my mother will allow me to go to a school just because it’s financially better for us. Financially, Spelman is our best bet, even without scholarships. My mom is most likely going to defer the payments until I graduate which is fine with me. But thanks for your advice, I’ll take it into consideration although I do not like any Connecticut schools (except Yale). </p>
<p>Lacrossemom- we plan on visiting Howard over the summer if I’m not away. It’ll be a huge environmental adjustment from the rural Alabama/ suburban connecticut I’m used to, but I think I can handle it. As to ED for Spelman, I know I don’t actually have to apply ED, but my mother does want me to apply so we can know early and start planning, even though the notification deadline is only 16 days ahead of EA. We’ll see how much I like it. I plan on doing the dual degree engineering program and transferring to Columbia after 3 years at Spelman. Thanks also for your advice and I’ll talk it over with my mother (:</p>
<p>If you hope to transfer to Columbia in 3 years and you are interested in women’s colleges, I wonder if you should consider Barnard? I definitely understand the urge to have it over and done with, but make sure that you are really certain after the visits. It’s a bit of a wait until April, but since this is such an important decision, the chance to really weigh the options is pretty important.</p>
<p>After a long thought to myself, I decided to not to ED. instead I’ll do EA and RD to all the schools. For EA, you don’t have to have your final decision in until May right, along with RD?</p>
<p>I only applied to three schools - my top choice (baylor), a “safety”, and an out of state school… I knew where I wanted to go so I didn’t really feel the need to apply to other candidates.</p>
<p>Baylorbear2015 that’s how I sort of feel. The others school are more of a “just to see if I can get in.” kinda thing. my top I would have to say are Spelman at one, Wellesley & smith tied for too, and Howard for third. I don’t really want to go anywhere else. I want the enriching environments of HBCU and women’s colleges.</p>
<p>OP - I just want to chime in on your statement “Financially, Spelman is our best bet, even without scholarships. My mom is most likely going to defer the payments until I graduate which is fine with me.”</p>
<p>You really cannot “defer” your payments until you graduate. The only loans that are automatically deferred are the student loans (Stafford part of which can be subsidized). Any parent loans typically are expected to be repaid while you are in school. I believe you can defer some parent loans but they will continue to accrue interest while you are in school which could become a very large payment when you graduate. I would highly suggest you run your finanicals in a FAFSA estimator to see if you qualify for any Federal Aid and also take a look at student loan/debt calculators. Also check your school’s financial aid information to see if they provide any calculators. I don’t want to rain on your parade I just want you to have a heads up regarding finances before you are all set on your application list. Good luck.</p>
<p>Good point from Erin’s Dad. I know a super-smart young lady who dreamed of Dillard University, considered to be somewhat of a peer to fellow HBCU Spelman. This woman would have been admitted to many schools. She locked in on Dillard and they ‘gapped’ her, financially speaking.</p>