<p>Yeah, I am become more and more unimpressed with AU. I had finally moved them up in contention with my top choice (I am a transfer…) after getting accepted… But today when I got the “big packet” I peeled through it to check for Fin. aid… Oh wait, there wasn’t any.</p>
<p>Apparently us transfers have to wait until Mid-may to hear about finances, and considering my other school will have that information to me in a few weeks, I can’t afford to wait around. Even if I did, I would probably get awful housing just for waiting that long… and have to make a special arrangement with Admissions (because they only give you 4 weeks to respond).</p>
<p>AU’s excuse was that they had to go through all the freshman FA first… now this would make sense if you guys didn’t get yours WITH your admit packet. Unfortunately, I am an obsessive CC’er ( ) and know otherwise… </p>
<p>Everyone else enjoy their time at AU next year, I was really looking forward to it, never considered it a safety… wish I didn’t have the burden of having to know finances first!</p>
<p>Interesting article gbworms. American was the only university that mentioned “interest points” to me when I inquired about the difference between an open house and a campus tour. So they definitely tracked interest by activity.</p>
<p>S was rejected but AU was not his first choice. It was a match school but a financial reach. He has other choices and one of them will let him do a semester at AU, and with the merit award from that school, it is over half the cost of AU. From reading the awards here, he probably would not have been given enough. </p>
<p>BTW, the letter said there were 18,000+ applicants for 1,500 or so spots. If we had known that he wouldn’t have even bothered applying.</p>
<p>18,000 applicants for 1,000 spots-yes. But that’s not how many students were offered admission. 7,000+ were offered spots with another 2,000 put on the waiting lists. Then, about 150 were offered Spring admission + the WMP. </p>
<p>Still, for many of the schools deemed “most selective” and “more selective,” the number of applicants jumped significantly this year. It has little or nothing to do with total population of 18-year-olds in this country; actually, the graduating class of 2008 broke the nation’s record for total number of graduating seniors that year, according to a New York Times article. That news report stated that the competition for college admittance would be at an all-time high that year, decline minimally for the next three (including this year), THEN fall off precipitously after that as teen populations dropped.</p>
<p>HOWEVER, apparently that has not happened. Many more schools than American have reported significant applicant increases. Why? Some point to the ease of the common app, which is getting much more universal use than ever before. A couple clicks of a button can send the same app to dozens of schools, some of which waive the app fee. Also, with the economic downturn, families are spread-shooting, hoping to bag the best financial deal among as many schools as they can place in their sites. Finally, many schools have already reported a significant increase in the number of international applicants this year, particularly from asian countries.</p>
<p>The first two possible causes, if true, poses real dilemmas for admissions. Sure, they can be more selective, drawing from 18,000 applicants instead of 14,000. But it is quite likely that for each PS, a school is competing with, on average, 8-10 other schools instead of 4-6. Sticky.</p>
<p>American says that its interviews are “informational,” not “evaluative,” by which they mean the interviews are intended to provide information to the student, not about the student.</p>
<p>My daughter actually skipped the interview, but she had visited AU twice and logged both visits with the Admissions Office, and done at least one of AU’s online chats.</p>
<p>I live in Northern VA (30 minutes from DC) and I still haven’t received an admissions answer. I am the only one at my school, that I know of, who has not heard back yet. So far, one girl got into the honors college with a $20,000 scholarship. Two days later, six of my friends heard back and were either rejected or wait-listed. Should I expect a rejection as well?</p>
<p>I STILL have not received anything! It’s most likely a rejection letter, but in the unlikely case that it isn’t, should I call the admissions office? Maybe I’ll just see if anything comes on Friday…</p>
<p>ACT: 27
WGPA: 3.4
UWGPA: 3.62
ECs: not tons but I have been with them for years
Essays: I did the common app essay and I’m a good writer so it was good</p>
<p>I’m honestly suprised at the people who got wait listed considering how much stronger their stats are then mine. btw I’m a white female so no major advantage there. It could just be what school you applied to. I got into the Buisiness school which may be less competative. I’m not going to AU so hopefully someone on the waitlist will get in.</p>
<p>SAT: 1940 (one sitting)
ACT: 32 (one sitting)
GPA: 4.6 weighted
Courses: IB English V HL, IB Chem II SL, IB World Topics HL, IB Calculus SL, AP Global Business, AP Debate IV
ECs: Debate team VP, World Affairs Council Junior representative, NHS, ITS, National Forensic League All American, Chinwoo Federation
Work: fashion and runway model (long story don’t ask), translator for World Vision (a summer gig)
Essays: Common App, I discussed… something political… something about China and North Korea’s complicated relationship </p>
<p>Even with Presidential scholarship and other grants I’m not loving the price tag. I’m a cheapo. We’ll see…</p>
) and know otherwise… </p>
</p>