<p>I’ve been going through the CUA EA decisions thread. It’s pretty clear they don’t want to be seen as a student’s safety school. Our high school junior daughter’s stats are Ivy League level. I suppose in some respects CUA is my daughter’s safety school, but not really. Our daughter needs merit aid or she’s going to state school. Her very first choice is Boston College, which she shouldn’t have too much trouble getting into, however, that’s not the problem. Our family doesn’t qualify for financial aid, so in order for her to go to BC, our daughter needs to win one of BC’s very few merit scholarships which are awarded to exactly 15 students. And that’s a HUGE longshot. So huge, that we’re tossing around not even applying so as not to hurt her chances of merit aid at other colleges who may assume she’s planning on going to BC. In that case, Catholic will actually be her first choice.</p>
<p>Our daughter’s real love is Irish Dance. She saw Catholic compete at the Villanova Irish Dance competition and that’s when she began to consider CUA. Upon researching Catholic on the internet, CUA has become her top choice right after BC. </p>
<p>We hope to go visit Catholic at some point in the next couple of weeks - what can we do while we’re down there to show them we’re serious?</p>
<p>Are you planning to do an interview when you are there? I heard definitely that the interview shows interest and you can tell them then that it is her top choice. You can also ask at that time what else she can do to make her application stand out and be accepted. If they say nothing than you know you’re pretty good. They do take notes about the interview and refer back to them if needed.</p>
<p>She should definitely set up an interview with her admissions counselor. I would go as far as to say she should just deal with the elephant in the room & acknowledge that CUA does not want to be seen as a safety school & that it is her # 1 choice, if that is the case. She probably should show interest in the Honor Program, & she should definitely tell the story of what hooked her into CUA to begin with.</p>
<p>It is a really nice school, my son is having an amazing time. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks! We’ll definitely do an interview. I’m sort of hoping that when we get down there she’ll realize CUA is her number 1. She already sees some positives to it over BC. It has a lot to offer a kid like her.</p>
<p>Hi onthecollegehunt…my daughter is an Irish Dancer as well. She was admitted into the honors program (EA) at CUA and received a very substantial scholarship. Her first choice is Georgetown, which she was deferred. Catholic is her safety school, but it is on the table because of the money they have awarded her, and she plans on transferring to Gtown if she does not get in as a freshman. She did visit Catholic, but other than that, did not show much demonstrated interest. She did not interview. Her stats are excellent…I wouldn’t say Ivy League because her SAT’s were 2100, considerably lower than Ivy League standard. She is in the top 5% of her class, with many APs and challenging courses and her extra-curriculars are very strong, World Qualifier in ID, student council, 2 Varsity letters, work experience and much volunteering. Some students who have had similar stats were deferred from CUA…go figure. I think a lot of it is a numbers game, but demonstrated interest definitely helps.<br>
I don’t know if you know the DC area but I think my daughter plans on guest dancing with the Culkin School while she’s in college…from what I understand it is fairly easy access from the Metro. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your daughter! Sounds to me like she may still get into Gtown. </p>
<p>Thanks for the info about the Culkin school. We go to their feis every year. I don’t know if our daughter will continue to compete except among the colleges. She didn’t qualify for World’s at this year’s O and I think it took the wind out of her competitive sails, so unless she qualifies next year, I think she may hang up her solo shoes. At this point, she’s kicking around going for her TCRG, so if she decides for sure to do that, she’ll need to practice with the Culkin school.</p>
<p>My daughter qualified for the first time ever this year and barely squeeked in at 16th place…we’re in the Mid Atlantic. Your daughter still has another year…enjoy it! As for Gtown, we’re not optimistic. Her SATs are a bit too low. She’s a hard worker so I think she has a better shot as a transfer. First1 she received $20,000 a year until completion of her major, which is more than my son received from any school when he applied just last year. He chose Penn State (of course the one that gave no money) I don’t recommend doing that at all. It wasn’t smart because it’s one hefty price tag, especially when more than one is in college. He loves it and he is doing well, but when it’s time to pay those loans back, it’s going to hurt.</p>
<p>We’re in this same situation - we have a high stats Irish Dance daughter. Realistically, we can’t afford full price at any $50k+ schools, so we’ve been researching merit granting schools and CUA has risen to the top of our daughter’s list. Her school’s guidance counselor told us that there was a danger Catholic would reject her because her scores were “too high”. Googling how to improve her chances led me right to this thread - Apparently, a girl with really solid stats from her school was rejected last year and my daughter’s stats are higher. We’ll be sure to interview. </p>
<p>Our daughter is perhaps not as accomplished a dancer as the other two girls on this thread. She didn’t even recall this year at the Oireachtas, but she does love the dance. In addition to Boston College, she likes the idea of Notre Dame, but the chances for merit money there are also practically non-existent, and it’s so far away from home, I’m not even sure we’ll look at it. One of the reasons our daughter likes CUA is that she can be more of a contributor to the ID team - she saw BC’s team in action and pronounced them “Beasts” (that’s a compliment ). Notre Dame’s team does seem to have more of a range in ability than BC’s but it’s still a huge team, at least that’s the way it appears on youtube. D’s an Opens dancer, so I think she’d make BC’s and Notre Dame’s teams (if there’s even tryouts) but she’d just be one of many champ dancers there. CUA’s smaller team appeals to her. </p>
<p>We’re going down in February to look at Catholic. So far, it looks great to us. Our daughter likes the DC location and the idea of a small honors college. My husband and I like that she’s got a great shot at merit (maybe even an Archdiocesan Scholarship)so we’re keeping our fingers crossed that she loves it down there.</p>
Apparently, a girl with really solid stats from her school was rejected last year and my daughter’s stats are higher. We’ll be sure to interview. </p>
). Notre Dame’s team does seem to have more of a range in ability than BC’s but it’s still a huge team, at least that’s the way it appears on youtube. D’s an Opens dancer, so I think she’d make BC’s and Notre Dame’s teams (if there’s even tryouts) but she’d just be one of many champ dancers there. CUA’s smaller team appeals to her. </p>