Thanks! Clemson is also on his list!
@Sweetgum thanks so much for the info. D20 is at Elon so we are somewhat familiar with NC, but Boone just seems a little harder to get to then Elon. Hoping to visit her in the fall and take him for a visit to App at the same time.
1 Like
Just curious, does your D20 fly to Elon or does she/do you usually drive?
From Elon to get to Boone just go the way I said ā Take I-40 to 421 (I recommend the I-40 bypass around Winston-Salem, rather than going on I-40 business straight through downtown Winston (you will see signs that say 421, but you can pick up 421 off the bypass and avoid the downtown traffic). Google Maps will probably set you straight. Itās not a bad drive at all. Google Maps Elon to Boone.
Iām sure kids from App would be headed home past Elon, too, if he ever needed a ride to meet up with his sister. The Triad (Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point) and the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) send a lot of kids to App.
Well I can certainly support that. Lots of outdoorsy stuff with the lakes all around the campus. What is he interested in studying?
You may already know this, but responding in case you donāt. The AO at Alabama told us last week that they did change the application this year to make it more holistic. There are a few short answer essays. She also said they wonāt be reviewing any applications until after Labor Day.
1 Like
From reading descriptions from past years, it did seem to change. Thanks for the confirmation. He did finish it. There werenāt really short answer essays, but spaces to fill in for various categories. It asked how many hours in high school you spent volunteering, and then asked for a list of your volunteer activities. He did the list and included how many years/seasons of each thing he did. Same type of thing for ECs and jobs. The only spot that seemed like an essay would fit was the additional information about activities section.
We were expecting a much shorter and number based application. Hopefully it still goes well and he hears sooner than later. After Labor Day seems like forever, but Iām sure itāll go fast!
If you are looking for an inexpensive, quick and easy, numbers based application with early notification, you might look at Northern Arizona University. They have rolling admissions so often accept students within 1-2 weeks. It costs $25 to apply.
2 Likes
How many apps ask about volunteer hours? D22ās school does not have a service requirement (some others in the area do) and she has not done a ton of volunteering. She did volunteer at an animal shelter in 9th and 10th grade I believe, but they closed to volunteers during the worst of the COVID lockdowns and she did not pick it back up. She has just recently gotten a new job and Iām concerned that her school workload (3 APs) plus work wonāt leave much downtime, much less much for volunteering. She does have her name on the teen volunteer waitlist at our local library, but itās a looooooong list so not sure she will ever be called for that. That is more her speed so I wish she could do it. We have talked about a possible career in library science, so more relevant to her interests/major too. Just wondering if she should try to squeeze in more volunteer hours this year on top of the job.
@burghdad Unsure but probably business.
I think many, many kids will be short on volunteering for the past 1-2 years. We donāt have a requirement at the school either, but S22 did a fair amount just on activities he enjoys. I think if your daughter did that, it is likely just fine.
3 Likes
Was filling in activities on the common app, there is a noticeable dropoff for 11th grade entries. COVID just shut down so much.
6 Likes
UIUC confirmed they will be available Sept. 1. Itās odd that they are not listed at all rather than being listed with a ādetails coming laterā as both CMU and UMD are. As this will be their first year on the CA, it would be easy to assume that something changed and it wonāt be available.
2 Likes
In prior years September 1 is usually when the UIUC app opened. It sounds like perhaps they just donāt have their butt in gear to have been prepared for the August 1 CA opening. It will be interesting to see how many more applications they receive as a result of going to the Common App. This is the first time they have also finally changed their essays too, so that will make that process interesting but also probably help distinguish students much better than their old application which was so generic.
2 Likes
We toured Lafayette in July 2021 and were impressed. Lovely campus, our student guide was very down to earth, seemed super smart + chill. I just wish it wasnāt so dang expensive. Iāve heard they give zero merit aid, and thereās no way weāll qualify for any financial aid.
1 Like
@burghdad Hi, Lafayette is on S22ās list. We visited in late March. Wondering if you have any insights on engineering? When we visited, the campus was ideal, cherry blossoms were in bloom, and the buildings looked gorgeous. Iām curious about the career center and how you would compare job opportunities at Lafayette to other big schools?
Lafayette does provide merit aid. I know of a couple of current students who were awarded merit aid.
1 Like
OK, itās true thereās their Marquis Award, but itās reserved for only the most āoutstanding applicantsāā¦ Lafayette seems to not need to sway your basic, above average student away form his/her state flagship w/even a modest merit award.
https://about.lafayette.edu/lafayette-at-a-glance/class-profile/
Lafayette appears to use its ED to drive its funding. 52% of its enrolling class comes from its ED but only 8.7% of its applications. Also, only 48% of its class receives financial aid. Looks like a great option for those with money that have researched schools and believe that this is a great fit.
Rather similar to Skidmore.
721 entering students at S vs. 606 at LFT.
32% acc rate at S vs. 35% at LFT
50% of class from ED at S and 52% at LFT.
57% of class gets finaid at S vs. 48% at LFT
26% non-white domestic at S vs. 27% at LFT
1 Like
I am not sure what the typical profile for the lower level Lafayette scholarships is, but neither of the two students I know got accepted to Ivy league schools or such.
In state tuition is hard to beat. Their goal is likely to sway students from other private schools.
1 Like
I missed the fact that UIUC is accepting the CommonApp! My son will be happy.
1 Like