My List, write accepted, rejected or waitlisted next to them...(stolen from doogie)

Duffman28 · August 26, 2005, 11:47am

BU (RD)
BC (EA)
U. of Richmond (RD)
GW (RD)
American (RD)
Tufts (RD)
Brandeis (RD)
Wake Forest (RD) Note: big on debate, meeting with head coach and admissions while competing at tournament there next month.
Catholic U. of America (RD)

SAT: (EEK!)
1910
710 CR
600 M
600 W (9/12 Essay)

ACT:
30 Composite
26 English
28 Math
29 Science
35 Reading
26 English/Writing (9/12 Essay)

Note: Sending my ACT's to all schools as it is better than my SAT's, with the exception of Wake, who only takes SAT's.

Stats:

GPA: ~3.477 unweighted, ~4.02 weighted, these will hopefully be a bit higher by the end of first semester Senior year.
Rank: 65/592 (Top 10.9%)

Classes last year:
AP Psychology (A's)
AP US History (A's)
AP English Language & Comp. (A's)
Precalculus Honors (C's and B's)
Physics Honors (A's and B's)
Debate VI Honors (A's)
Government Honors (A's)

Note:
Brought Physics from a "B" to an "A" from 1st to 2nd semester, and brought Precalc from a "C" to a "B" from 1st to 2nd semester, so, rising GPA...

Extra-Curric:

Debate Team (~326 NFL Points, Varsity Letter, Distinction Member of NFL...for those who know what those are), this is my passion, I've competed in 5 different event categories as well(Student Congress, Oral Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Public Forum, Policy), and placed in 3 of them (Congress, OI, and Duo)
President of Debate Team
VP of Law Club
Co-Captain of Mock Trial Team
Social Studies Honor Society
Treasurer of JETS

Community Service:
Camp Counselor at local summer camp: ~125+ Hours
helping with middle school debate team: ~15+ hours

Work: Public Library (20 Hours/Week), hope this looks good since it's for the state.
Previously was a Lead Graphic Artist and ran my own PC Repair Company.

Background: Single-Parent Home, Dad pays no child support, etc. Roman Catholic, Irish-Italian, Public School in Florida

Looking to major: Poli. Sci., Government, Political Media
Minor: Journalism, International Studies

Courses for this (Senior) year:
AP Euro
AP US Gov
AP Microeconomics
Independent Study (AP World History)
AP Lit
AP Stats
Debate VII Honors

Thanks!

GreenDayFan · August 26, 2005, 12:02pm

BU (RD) - Accepted
BC (EA) - Rejected
U. of Richmond (RD)-Accepted/Waitlisted
GW (RD) Accepted/Waitlisted
American (RD) - Accepted
Tufts (RD) - Rejected
Brandeis (RD) - Rejected
Wake Forest (RD) Waitlisted
Good Luck!

Duffman28 · August 26, 2005, 12:12pm

^ Thank You!

Any other insight?

A2Wolves6 · August 26, 2005, 1:44pm

Isn't this your 4th thread on your chances? Don't you have a decent enough view of your chances yet?

Duffman28 · August 26, 2005, 2:26pm

^ lol, clearly not.

Duffman28 · August 27, 2005, 12:56am

BUMP,

Any more opinions?

A2Wolves6 · August 27, 2005, 2:49am

Duffman-

Haven't you gotten opinions yet? It's not worth constantly doing each week of the summer. You should know by now with all these other threads whether you have a chance at each of these schools. We don't need any more threads about your chances when you have 6 already made, and one at each individual school.

I'm as excited as you are about applying to college, but honestly, it's not worth the stress and anxiety you are making it to yourself. I don't know why random strangers coming on and assuring you of schools is going to help you.

BTW - for my one comment. You have way too many schools. I don't know why your parents are going to pay for the $500 in applications, when there is no point. There is VERY, VERY little difference in selectivity between every school listed, with the exception of Catholic U and American. If you get in to one, you'll get into all, and vise-versa.

You need to re-think about your colleges. Which ones do you TRULY want to apply to. Which ones are your dream colleges that you wish you could attend. Which ones stand out. As of now, you have 8 match schools and 1 safety. Don't do that.

rogracer · August 27, 2005, 7:59am

The thing Ben really needs to be concerned with is how he is going to pay for college. He seem to have the attitude "I can't begin to afford any of them, so it doesn't matter....i'll just take loans out". Meanwhile, he ignores his states flagship univerity...the Univ of Florida, which has programs superior to many on his list, and a school that he can realitically afford. Addtionally, Ben will throw away any Florida Bright Futures scholarship by going to any of these OOS schools. I wish Ben luck, but I think this is a decision he is going to really regret when he is 100K in debt and still has graduate school staring him in the face.

Duffman28 · August 27, 2005, 10:36am

^ UF has a lackluster Poli Sci program in the middle of a swamp. I'm not living in this backwards state that affords little opportunity to progress towards my full potential. I will never be $100,000 in debt due to the fact that I have hardly any money, I don't mean, oh, well, I only have like $10k for college, I mean, we have ZERO dollars. In the end, I'm applying to NINE schools because it will allow me to compare financial aid packages, and I will simply go to the best one that won't put me $100,000 in debt by graduation. Furthermore, the average indebtness at private colleges is at most $25k, not 100, big gap. I'm not trying to argue with you or anything, I just don't find Florida to be good enough for me, I won't throw away opportunities for great internships and experiences elsewhere for the "swamp" with 36,000 undergrad students, it's just not for me. So, don't try to force me to go to a school I DESPISE for four years of my life.

A2Wolves6: My applications will only cost me 300 something, which is a chunk of change, but worth it to me, since I can't afford having only one or two financial aid packages to compare. Furthermore, those schools aren't anywhere near the same, Wake Forest is definitely harder to get into than BU, no matter how you look at it. If you think Brandeis, Tufts, and Wake are match schools than you're seeing some golden shining light on my app. that I simply cannot see.

I appreciate both of your concern, and disdain, but I'm going to apply to these schools, it gives me the opportunity to choose, the greatest american freedom.

If no one else wants to comment due to my excessive posting, I'll understand, but I appreciate anyone who has helped me.

Thank You,

Ben

rogracer · August 27, 2005, 12:40pm

Ben, I admit I was a little offended by your prior remarks generalizing your disdain for the UF student body. In reality, the UF student body is very diverse, and the top 25% (...which is a lot of students...) have ivy-league credentials. There are world-class athletes. All ethnic groups are present, as are all religious groups....including Hare Krishnas, if that's your thing. Only Harvard has more NM finalists in its freshman class. Sorry Ben, I don't buy your generalizations about the UF student body.

On the other hand, as a tax payer, I do not want to pay for you to attend a school you "hate." So, I wish you luck. But I hope you have a realistic plan about paying for your education....I could easily see you dropping out after a couple of years under a crushing debt with little hope of graduation...let alone getting into a decent grad school.

I'll leave you alone now, and I really do wish you luck.

monkey266 · August 27, 2005, 12:47pm

WOAH WOAH, i didnt know u had to pay so much money to apply. 300 bucks, wowww...

A2Wolves6 · August 27, 2005, 12:53pm

I don't see them all as matches. I see them as match/reaches. Your grades just aren't good enough to make colleges that are as selective as the 8 you have to get you into all of them. You have a good ACT (don't submit your SAT), that fits into every school.

Wake's SAT range is 610-700 (Verbal) and 630-710 (Math). In comparison, the SAT range for Boston U is 600-690 (Verbal) and 620-700 (Math). Nearly the exact same, +/- 10 points. Wake's admittance rate is 47, to Boston's 55, not a significant enough difference to make them much different. So why apply to both of them, as well as schools like BC, Brandeis, Richmond, Tufts, and GW? You sound unsure as of which school you actually want to go to, so you want to waste money on all the applications, as well as time.

Duffman28 · August 27, 2005, 2:47pm

^ I've already finished every application, it does not take much time when you start in July. Wake's admittance rate may be similar to Boston, but they are very different in what they want and what type of school they are. I know where I want to go, I just want to have similar schools to increase my chances of getting into a school I like, doesn't that make sense? Rogracer, I apologize for my dislike for UF, but don't make ridiculous comments about my dropping out under crushing debt, it simply will not happen.

rogracer · August 27, 2005, 4:06pm

Ben...I don't see you getting more than 20K per year of aid at any of the schools on your list. That will leave you with crushing debt, especially if you factor in grad school and your earning potential as a poly-sci major. I hope I'm wrong. Since you are not applying to any Florida state schools, I suggest you find some alternatives where you are a true academic stand-out...schools that are more likely to give you the aid you require.

willmingtonwave · August 27, 2005, 5:12pm

What does it mean that you stole them from doogie?

A2Wolves6 · August 27, 2005, 7:07pm

LOL, you're a smart kid... yet you are uneducated about college apps.

My deepest sympathy towards your parents who are paying for these apps, and your schools, who will be taking money out of their retirement due to the debt you will have.

Duffman28 · August 28, 2005, 12:01am

rog: How can you say that, no offense, but you're not a financial aid officer at any of the schools I'm applying to, nor do you know my exact financial situation, their assessment of said situation, or the ratio of grants:loans each school gives out, which I have researched, so don't give me numbers that have no foundation.

Wolves, my schools will be taking money out of their retirement? I somehow doubt that, and please, I'm not uneducated about college apps, when you want to go to school in 2-3 separate areas, it becomes far more difficult to keep the selection down to less than five. In the end, I don't know why I bothered, you guys are just kids in college who have gone through the process once and simply have no idea how things will work out for me, perhaps I should visit the oracle at delphi.

Thanks for the positive responses...lol

~Ben

A2Wolves6 · August 28, 2005, 3:04am

[quote]
you guys are just kids in college who have gone through the process once and simply have no idea how things will work out for me

[/quote]

LOL, yeah, since they haven't gone through the EXACT same situation you have gone through. There's a contradicting statement if i've seen one.

And if you are interested in 2-3 different areas, then why not take one schools from each area, rather than 3 from each area that are all the same?

willmingtonwave · August 28, 2005, 6:55am

BU-Admit
BC-Admit
Richmond-Waitlist
GW-Admit
American-Admit
Tufts-Waitlist
Wake-Waitlist
Brandeis-Admit

If you got your SAT's up you could probably consider Duke, Georgetown, maybe a Virginia school. Your list is pretty good, but I'm not sure you have a true safety, although you'll probably get into AU and BU, you may want to have one sure-fire safety, just in case. My stats are similar to yours I'm considering Wake and American as well, but American won't really give me a lot of aid so get a safety that will give you a lot of aid. IMO if you don't get into one of your top choices then go to where your getting the most $$$$ gl hf.

iamtheshoshie · August 28, 2005, 7:23am

I think you need to take a deep look at what you want in your college. These are all very different schools. BU, for example, is pretty large, while a bunch of others on your list are <5000. Also take a look at the aid policy of the schools you're applying to. Maybe also look at branching outside the east coast. I think, what it comes down to, is that many of these schools have average GPAs a bit higher than yours. If money is an issue, apply to some schools that may give you merit scholarships. That may mean some less selective ones, but bite down on your pride and just do it. I ended up attending and loving one of those schools on my list, and I'm very happy and challanged by my classes. Also FIND OUT YOUR EFC! This is so important I cannot even begin to stress it enough. I was originally going to apply to all ivy schools along with Chicago until we found out we had an efc of, like, $50,000 (yay for Chicago's high cost of living). If you plan on going to graduate school, you do NOT want to be in debt up to your eyebrows. I would have had substantially more that $25,000 in debt by the end of 4 years at one of those schools without the merit scholarships that I got. Now I will actually have a surplus of money after 4 years that I can put towards grad school (since my family did save up money and aren't having to use all of it).

"my schools will be taking money out of their retirement?"
Also...this is true. The schools looked at everything we own, including my parents retirement and home equity...which was unfortunate since house values have gone up substantially in our area since my parents paid off their mortgage 15 years ago. Go and calculate that EFC.

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My List, write accepted, rejected or waitlisted next to them...(stolen from doogie)

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