My chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z American University
1

<p>So my girlfriend of a year and a half was just admitted to AU, our dream school, early decision. I am now kicking myself for not applying for ED because I am almost 100% sure that if I am accepted, I will go there. I have sent in my application and now I must wait until March to hear back. So please, chance me if you will.</p>

<p>Intended Major: Literature</p>

<p>High School: Public High School, pretty renowned academically, for being public and all.</p>

<p>GPA: 3.3 Unweighted, 3.8 Weighted (Class Rank 140/500)
<em>Upward trend since grade 9/10</em></p>

<p>January 2009 SAT:
CR: 630
M: 590
W: 640
Total: 1860</p>

<p>October 2009 SAT:
CR: 690
M: 530
W: 730
Total: 1950</p>

<p>Superscore SAT:
CR: 690
M: 590
W: 730
Total: 2010</p>

<p>SAT II In December:
World History: Score Pending (Between 720 and 780)
Literature: Score Pending (Between 740 and 800)</p>

<p>Coursework:
All Honors in academic classes throughout high school. A’s in both AP European History and AP Psychology Junior Year. Taking AP Biology, AP Literature, AP Statistics, and AP Language this year. My GPA is so low because of poor performance in math and science courses.</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities:</p>

<p>Club Rugby Team, 3 years
Varsity Football Team, 1 Year
Junior Varsity Football Team, 1 Year
Job Held, Span of Junior Year
Member of SGA, Senior Year
Journalist for school paper and magazine, 1 Year
Creative Writing, 4 Years independently</p>

<p>Essay: Satisfactory
Recommendation: Excellent, written by the English Department Chair at my school.</p>

<p>Thank you for your time, I appreciate any feedback you may have to offer.</p>

2

<p>number wise, you are in the dead middle (your GPA is a little low though). This means, it could go either way. BTW: AU only looks at CR+M.</p>

<p>What is still left up to you is how much enthusiasm about AU you demonstrate. They care a lot about this.</p>

<p>Read some other posts of mine on this board. I discuss various ways to show such enthusiasm.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

3

<p>What lizmane said. </p>

<p>College board for American University ranks enthusiasm about going in the top tier with grades and test scores. You live near the district so there are a bunch of kids at your school applying to but AU, GWU (and probably University of Maryland, George Mason and possibly Georgetown). You need to show that you aren’t just making the rounds – and also not just applying to AU to hedge your bets for GWU.</p>

<ul>
<li>Schedule a campus tour AND a day visit</li>
<li>Make a personal connection with your regional admissions advisor – because ultimately they have the final say on your application.</li>
<li>Also schedule an interview. They won’t swing your chances either way based on your answers, but the fact that you make one shows that you have an interest in the school. With as close as you are to American University, there is little excuse for you NOT to make one.</li>
</ul>

<p>There’s also a good chance you’ll hear back before March.</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the insight, guys!</p>

<p>A few more things:</p>

<p>I have made contact with my regional representative, I sent her an email last week with some questions.</p>

<p>I neglected to mention that I am a white male, which may just be the reason I DON’T get in! :/</p>

<p>I am in the process of scheduling a visit and registering for Preview Day</p>

<p>And now a few questions:</p>

<p>I know that on college board they don’t have scores for the writing portion of the test, but does that mean that they do not take it into consideration at all? Even for a Literature major?</p>

<p>How much bearing would my SAT II tests have on my admission?</p>

<p>Does my intended major elevate my chance of acceptance at all?</p>

5

<p>the regional admission officer said she does not even see the W score or SAT II results.</p>

<p>However, I did not have a chance to double check on this.</p>

<p>One way to “sneak” these scores in may be to talk with your guidance counselor or somebody (English teacher who is writing a rec letter for you?) to insert a line about your writing ability and mention in passing your high score as an example.</p>

<p>I am shooting from the hip you know. So this idea may be far off. So, take it or leave it.</p>

6

<p>Are you sure about that? On every website I’ve seen they list SAT II as “recommended” for AU.</p>

7

<p>I may be wrong: maybe my memory is failing me.</p>

<p>The best thing to do is to call the regional admission officer directly. </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

8

<p>I think that being a male would be a reason to get in, not the opposite!</p>

9

<p>that’s what I thought: given how lope sided their gender balance is (male: female - 38:62).</p>

<p>I thought, Whoa, they would love to have more boys - maybe they will give some boost?</p>

<p>Then, I looked at the acceptance rate for M:F. The acceptance rate for boys: 50%, for girls, it is 55%.</p>

<p>So, it looks like AU is not making any effort to give some “boost” to boys to “correct” their gender imbalance problem.</p>