<p>So, I am currently a junior at a competitive public high school in NJ. I will be applying to Barnard early decision next year but I am worried that my grades are too low. I have had a very rigorous course load all throughout high school (all honors and APs). My average, without easy classes such as gym and electives, from freshman year was a 90, my average from sophomore year was about a 92 and my average from junior year so far is a 96 (I am taking 4 APs this year). It is an upward trend, but it only averages to about a 93. I don’t really have a reason for my freshman/sophomore grades (no illnesses/family drama) except the fact that by junior year I got to know myself and my study habits better. My SAT score is 2170 and I have great ECs. I know people on this thread hate “chance me’s!” but I really just want some opinions on whether or not my stats are too low. Barnard is my absolute dream school and the thought of whether or not I’ll get in next fall is seriously killing me. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>I think that that is a very good GPA. Remember that Barnard seems to look at the whole person, and you grades and scores certainly don’t see like anything that would automatically keep you from being considered seriously. If you don’t apply, then you obviously have no chance at all of getting in, so I’d suggest that you apply, do your best on your essays, and hope for the best. Obviously, I am in no way linked to the admissions committee, but you definitely seem like a good applicant. I wish you luck!</p>
<p>With a lower GPA* and a rising trend, I think your chances are better RD than ED – though its possible that you could get deferred in the ED round - so I know if it would hurt to apply ED. But unless there is something else very strong on your record, the Barnard ad com is probably going to want to see a midyear report to confirm the rising trend. </p>
<p>So whether you apply ED or not, you should plan on applying to different colleges and have RD apps ready to go – because a deferral is probably more likely than an acceptance in your situation. (You should view a deferral as good news - it will mean that you haven’t been rejected and that your chances are good for an acceptance in the spring if your fall grades are very, very good. So for you, an ED application may also fill the function of an early read)</p>
<p>Also, don’t apply ED if you seriously need financial aid (as opposed to being very flexible about aid).</p>
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<li>By “lower GPA” I mean a GPA that YOU are not satisfied with. I’m not familiar with your school or its grading system, so I have no idea if that is a good GPA – the profile your school sends to Barnard along with class rank info, if any, will provide more information to the ad com than I have here.</li>
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<p>This is actually really interesting, because it reminds me a lot of my own high school career- I ended up applying to college with a 91ish average, a 2190 SAT score (32 ACT), mostly AP and honors courses, an enormous upward trend, and strong ECs; I did explain my relatively bad sophomore year grades by telling colleges about my friend’s suicide at the end of ninth grade, which left me really depressed and unwilling/-able to do pretty much anything for a long time. I applied RD, so I’m not sure how it’s turned out yet (I’ll let you know, if you’d like), but my guidance counselor says that he thinks I have a good shot at Barnard. Because it’s so small, it really looks at the whole applicant, or so I’ve heard.
Try not to worry too much about getting in- you sound like you have a chance for sure. Save all this nervous energy for the summer, and put it into your supplements!</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies! :)</p>
<p>@trapeze37- Thanks. I think my ECs make me stand out, but you never know. I guess I’ll have to wait and see. </p>
<p>@calmom- Thanks for the insight. I do have back up schools (NYU, GW, Tufts, Wellesley) –> yes, i realize they are not a walk in the park to get into either, but I have Rutgers as my safety school. </p>
<p>@ohheyolivia- It would be great if you could let me know if you get in or not (fingers crossed that you do!).</p>
<p>“Also, don’t apply ED if you seriously need financial aid (as opposed to being very flexible about aid).”</p>
<p>Can you explain why not? Barnard meets full school-calculated need, so one would simply decline the ED financial aid offer if the family felt it weren’t enough (since Barnard is a Common Application school), and apply RD elsewhere. The poorest applicant (with EFC $0) would get the so-called “free ride” if accepted.</p>
<p>Barnard does not meet FAFSA EFC. It uses its own calculation. Some people are very disappointed. Barnard does not give a “free ride” to everyone – all students are required to contribute something – and they have a limited endowment. </p>
<p>We’ve been through this before vossron. Your kid didn’t go to Barnard and you didn’t spend 4 years dealing with the financial aid department. I did. Barnard will give a financial aid award that is probably competitive with it’s peers LAC’s – but Wellesley and Tufts might do better. So if the kid really needs the aid, she should apply RD and compare awards. </p>
<p>If she isn’t applying for aid, then it doesn’t matter. If she would like to get aid, but her parents are willing to pay whatever it takes, whether or not she gets the aid, then it doesn’t matter. But if aid is important to her, then it is a dumb thing to apply ED.</p>
<p>First, I think ED is only for the applicant who has her heart set on Barnard and doesn’t want to go anywhere else.</p>
<p>Second, at most schools “free ride” does indeed mean there will be somewhere around 10% in student (not parent) Federal loans and a work-study job, but it also means that no cash is required to matriculate. From a reading of their financial aid page, Barnard sounds typical of most schools that meet full need.</p>
<p>Third, as at other schools, if the ED financial aid offered is truly insufficient to support attendance, the young lady sadly says thanks but no thanks, and applies RD elsewhere, knowing also that she wouldn’t have been able to afford Barnard at RD time either.</p>
<p>I actually don’t need financial aid at all…but yeah, I probably wouldn’t apply ED if I did.</p>
<p>Hey abcd13. I’m from NJ and I applied to Barnard ED this school year. I got deferred, so here’s my personal opinion! I think my stats are similar to yours-- I have great ECs (several leadership positions) and teacher recs. My SATs are higher by just 60 points but my GPA is lower than yours (also took AP and honors).
Like calmon, I think your chances would be better in the RD round. I know it’s been debated around here, but I don’t think ED gives applicants a higher chance of getting in if something in their application is “weak”.
I don’t think your stats are too low, but I think you’d be happier in the RD round IF you got deferred or rejected in ED. You’d also get to show off your senior year grades-- mine really improved my GPA-- Wellesley accepted me EE, after seeing my senior year grades, if that proves anything.
Of course, if Barnard is really truly honestly your first choice school, then go for it. I think essays matter so much in the college app process-- especially for Barnard with 4 prompts— and that if you excel at it, you’d definitely have a really good chance.</p>
<p>
Since the OP says she doesn’t need financial aid, I’m not going to belabor this point – except the above statement is simply unrealistic. MOST middle-class (not 0 EFC) families who need financial aid are uncertain as to what they can expect and there is no bright line test. If the parent thinks they can afford $12K and the college requires $15K – can they come up with $3K more? What if it is $4K more? $7K more? $10K more? How does that translate over 4 years? </p>
<p>And what of the parents who decide to draw a line at $14K? The best award from an ED college is $17K … so they turn that spot down. Then in the spring, the best award the kid has from a desired college requires them to pay $22K. So its either $22K or Rutgers for that family. (Not to demean Rutgers – I just mention that because it happens to be the OP’s in-state safety). </p>
<p>That’s why it is critical that a family who truly needs aid be able to compare awards. In addition to the ability to compare, parents may learn something in the process that will enable them to appeal for better aid at the desired school. Barnard won’t “match” another award, but they certainly will consider factors related to their policies or the exercise of p.j. that they might have missed – and they probably will reconsider a p.j. decision in light of another school’s award. </p>
<p>I put “truly needs” because it is apparent to me in these discussions that there are people who come from better financial circumstances that leave them unable to distinguish between the idea of “need” and “want”. They want $X aid, but they are quite willing to go above and beyond to get what they “want”. </p>
<p>For many families, its not really a matter of finding a college they can afford. They can’t afford any college - not even the full COA at their in-state public - but it is a priority for them to send their kids for college. It becomes a matter of figuring out which is the least unaffordable college, and then going into debt for that least-unaffordable option, knowing at least that they and their kids are taking on less debt than they would have to for any other college.</p>
<p>And that decision can’t be made in a vacuum. A person needs to know their other options. Of course, its nice if the kid can also qualify for a full ride tuition somewhere … but there are plenty of kids who are competitive for schools like Barnard who can’t.</p>
<p>I just want to clarify something I wrote in post #3. I wrote " I know if it would hurt to apply ED" – I meant to write, “I don’t know if it would hurt to apply ED” . The point I was trying to make is, as Shay has expressed so well, that I don’t think ED favors someone with a weakness in their record, particularly a weaker but rising trend GPA. But I don’t know if it hurts either, because it may simply be that the ad coms will routinely defer rather than reject if that is their only area of concern. </p>
<p>A deferral can actually work to a student’s advantage in the long run because it does function as an early read. Of course I would not allow my d. to apply ED anywhere-- I knew the money question was going to be difficult – but nonbinding EA was fine. She was deferred at Chicago – I thought she would be upset at the skinny envelope, but she was absolutely delighted: “whoopee! they didn’t reject me!”. </p>
<p>That gave her the opportunity to submit supplemental materials as well as her mid-term grade report, and she was accepted in the spring. I think the supplemental submissions were very good and appropriate to her situation – so that would be one advantage of an early app that results in a deferral.</p>