<p>Hello there, Quest Scholars of 2013! I am a current Quest Scholar at Pomona College- I was accepted last year. This is a very exciting time for all of you, I am certain. I am here to help you all out. I know many of you come from first generation families and may not have anyone to offer you college advice. </p>
<p>That being said, this Friday, around 90% of you will receive a disappointing email. Now is the time to start planning out what you want to do for the future since you have a little more than a month to apply to your colleges. </p>
<p>First of all- early decision and action is still available for most schools if you don't get matched. I have included their acceptance rates as well:</p>
<p>*Amherst- ED allowed if you ranked them. (37%)
*Bowdoin- EDII (25%)
Carleton- EDII (51%)
*Davidson- EDII (40%)
Emory- EDII and Emory Scholars (38%)
Grinnell- EDII (58%)
*Haverford- EDII (43%)
MIT- If you ranked them, you get an automatic EA decision. (10.4%)
Northwestern- ED (33%)
Oberlin- EDII (56%)
*Pomona- EDII (19%)
Rice- ED (26%)
Scripps- EDII (39%)
*Swarthmore- EDII (29%)
Trinity- EDII (45%)
Tufts- EDII (32%)
Chicago- If you ranked them, you get an automatic EA decision. (18%)
UVA- If you ranked them, you get an automatic EA decision. (?)
Vassar- EDII (42.5%)
Washington and Lee- EDII and Johnson Scholarship (40%)
Wellesley- EDII (45%)
Wesleyan- EDII (3%)
*Williams- ED (40%)</p>
<p>As you can see, for most colleges, save the EAs and Pomona, ED significantly, significantly, SIGNIFICANTLY raises your chances of getting in. Amherst has a regular decision rate of 10% so your chances almost quadruple in getting in. In other words, TAKE THIS TIME TO BEGIN YOUR RESEARCH AND SEE IF ED WILL BENEFIT YOU. The vast majority of these colleges meet 100% of need, and some are loan free, so do this research to make sure you can afford them as well. I have put * with the ones I wholeheartedly recommend applying ED for as they meet all need and have no loans for all applicants. </p>
<p>If you decide not to do ED or EA (which is respectable, but don't simply toss it out), I would recommend checking out these colleges in addition to the partner colleges. </p>
<p>Barnard- a woman's college that shares resources with Columbia. One of the few top ranking LACs directly in the heart of a big city.</p>
<p>Bates/Colgate/Colby/Hamilton- highly respected liberal arts colleges</p>
<p>Claremont McKenna- One of the Claremont colleges that specializes in law, government, business, economics, politics, and the like</p>
<p>Cornell- Ivy League school with stunning engineering programs</p>
<p>Harvard- I am not even going to explain this one</p>
<p>Duke- A research powerhouse located in North Carolina</p>
<p>Georgetown- A respected university in Washington DC. Great for aspiring politicians.</p>
<p>Middlebury- One of the East Coast's most respected liberal arts college. A parallel to Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore, and Bowdoin.</p>
<p>Harvey Mudd College- The liberal arts version of Caltech and MIT</p>
<p>Smith College- Along with Wellesley, a highly respected women's college</p>
<p>Washington University in St. Louis- A top ranked university located in Missouri. Great for the sciences.</p>
<p>Johns Hopkins- Wonderful university located in the heart of Baltimore. Great science departments.</p>
<p>UC Berkeley/UCLA- Consider the Regent if you are an instate resident! Full ride to a top private university= awesome.</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon- Even better than Stanford and Harvard in Computer Science, and highly respected for engineering.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt- A research university with a distinct Southern charm.</p>
<p>UNC- An excellent public university with one of the most respected merit aid programs (Morehouse-Cain) that many Ivy League accepted students would rather go to. </p>
<p>Hamilton/Kenyon- Liberal art colleges renowned for writing.</p>
<p>By starting early, you will find the school(s) that are the best fit for you and will have more time to polish your essays. </p>
<p>If you don't get matched, don't be upset! Just look above at how many options you still have available =)!</p>