Fordham, Boston College and Holy Cross are Jesuit, which is a Catholic order. However, you can take a class dealing with religion in general, even studies in world religions. The requirement is probably one class.
Georgetown is also Jesuit.
OP, many schools here have required classes in fields of study other than your major, even foreign language in some cases. I would take Italian if I were you.
Ok. Lol I would continue to take Spanish and hopefully have the chance to learn either French or German.
Also keep in mind that visiting schools during the summer, while certainly convenient, gives you no genuine feel for the campus vibe, the student body, or the level of “energy”!in cEssentially you will see a campus with a few students (including some visiting summer students) and will need to return if you want to get the real flavor of the school.
Yeah I am aware of that. However summer is the only time that my parents have time and the weather can be nice in the northeast. That’s why when I had a break in Feb we immediately decided to visit the warm Cali.
So what are the students that give campus tours during summer since most of the student body is gone?
In terms of your question about theology courses, Villanova would require 2 theology courses, one of which is Theology 1000 “Christian Faith and Life.” I know that this school was not on your original list, but it is an Augustinian school and approximately 75-80% of the students are Catholic.
I’m probably not going to visit Villanova. I know them cuz they won their second NCAA championship though lol. But thank you anyway.
What are the students that guide campus tours during summer?
OP, I have a feeling that you’re still considering doing this trip by public transportation. I can’t stress how strongly I feel that would be a mistake. Public transportation within cities is good and public transportation between large cities is reliable, but if you want to see any school that is not on a main train line, it will be difficult, more costly and take lots of extra time, not to mention the hassle of dragging your luggage with you wherever you go. Many of the schools that will be safer or match options for you (which I believe are the main schools you should be looking at - as many have said, it’s easy to find reaches you love and not as easy to find safeties) are not as easy to get to with public transportation. You should think about visiting schools that track interest - these can generally be found by searching for the “common data set” or “office of institutional research” on a college website and looking at section C7, which will tell you whether a college considers interest or not. For example, on the most recent common data set for Lehigh, it says that it considers level of interest as “important.” If you have the chance to visit and sign in there, it could be helpful for your admissions chances. Generally, as others have stated, the Ivies don’t care and larger state schools don’t care. For example, University of Maryland has not listed it as a factor in the admissions process.
One more thing - in terms of Georgetown, it would like to see 3 SAT subject tests and requires that you submit the results of all SAT and ACT testing to the school. If you haven’t taken the 3 subject tests, you might want to think about whether/when you can complete such testing in the event Georgetown is a school you’re interested in.
Also, you will spend at least $1,000 on Amtrak plus taxis, buses etc. Please take our advice, rent a car for the whole trip.
Is the level of interest on common data set very reliable? If so, does that mean I don’t really need to visit the college besides seeing its campus?
And does visiting campus really have an impact on the colleges that consider applicants’ interest level?
It’s obviously harder for international students to visit any colleges in the US, so would that be a reason?
Just found that Harvard, according to the common data set, has nothing beyond “considered or not considered”. Not surprising though.
I don’t think that schools expect an international student to visit, but if you did, it could be helpful and can have an impact. Also, visiting a campus can be useful in terms of writing supplemental essays. Many schools have a “why college x” essay, and if you visited and have something specific to say, it can be useful.
In terms of whether the common data set is very reliable, that’s sort of a college by college determination. I don’t think that it’s reliable at all schools. For example, U Mass Amherst says the level of interest is “important,” but when I visited and asked a question about it, the school administrator I spoke to said it is not considered.
In general, the rule of thumb is that Ivies and state schools don’t care about interest and smaller and mid-sized schools often will be concerned.
So should I just not visit the schools that don’t consider level of interest to save time? Obviously the ones that don’t require reservation for tours don’t care for interest.
It’s perverse, but, yes. In effect, you are eliminating most of your reaches in order to concentrate on match colleges that are more likely to engage in yield management.
“You should be looking at schools . . . where your stats are above average.” (#111)
For the record, the OP’s SAT scores, at least, are above average for all but five schools in the U.S.
Sorry merci, I meant that if the OP needed financial aid, he should be looking at schools where he is well above the average given the intense competition among international students for such funds (either merit or need-based).
Most people probably understood your meaning midatlmom, so of course no worries. My post was probably more related to the general college-statistics inflation I’ve seen elsewhere on CC. I’ll note, though, that the OP’s 2230 places him within Hamilton’s middle range for attending students.
Maybe overlooked as well at times, is that quite a few “full need” colleges maintain this policy for all accepted students, regardless of origin (though admission itself may be more competitive for internationals with need).