Questions for all you experienced college applicants

<p>Dear all,</p>

<p>There are several questions that i need your clarification upon. I feel that I would get much better answers from all of you than my current school counselor. Some questions are as following:</p>

<p>1) Could someone clarify the difference between ED and EA? Can I apply to one ED university and apply to several EA universities? Or does it have to be either EA or ED? I understand that ED is binding.....if I need financial aid...lets say 70%....and the univ accepts me and offers only 20%....do i still have to go to this univ?</p>

<p>2) I took my SAT I ...i have registered to take SAT II on Oct- 4th, 08...
I definitely want to apply EA/ED which ends near Nov. 1, 08. My school requires us to turn in all app stuff for EA/ED by Oct-5, 08. Does that mean that I cannot apply early as I have no SAT II scores ready :(<br>
I know for sure that Oct test results will come on college board website by Nov. 1.....can i send it then or do they have to be written on the common app????</p>

<p>3) How many times should I take the SAT I.....i already took it twice and got above 2000 but now...i want to raise it higher....would it be a good idea??</p>

<p>4) How many SAT II's should I take...i have already planned to take Math IIC, Phy, and chem?</p>

<p>5) What are some top univ/schools to study business/marketing.....I know and will apply to Wharton, MIT.....any other reputed ones?</p>

<p>6) What is a good no. of university that one should apply to....10, 15, 20 etc ?</p>

<p>7) Is TOEFL iBT score of 113/120 good enough to apply to top american universities like MIT, ivys etc...</p>

<p>8) Do american universities give some preference to IB diploma candidates?</p>

<p>9) Does anyone know a link to some websites to study sample application essays? I have heard that essay play a pivotal part in the process and I want to make sure that my essays are good :)</p>

<p>10) How good does one has to be in order to play sports like volleyball in top rate universities like Harvard, Upenn?? Is the school varsity team member a legible student-athlete applicant? </p>

<p>Please please please answer some of my naive questions above. I am really glad that I joined this website because it will keep me on track in fulfilling my dream...my family's dream :)</p>

<p>help.</p>

<p>Thanking you all in advance.</p>

<p>Sincerely,
hoping91 :)</p>

<p>1) ED is early decision, which is binding. You can only apply to one ED school. EA, on the other hand, is not binding (except in the cases of restrictive EA), so you could apply ED and EA. The only schools I know of that have restrictive EA are Yale, Georgetown, and Stanford. Maybe some more that I'm forgetting.</p>

<p>2) You can call the individual schools that you're applying to for clarification. Most might accept the October scores, but you would have to check.</p>

<p>3) If you're absolutely positive you could do better your third time, then go ahead and take it again. If you think you're only going to improve by twenty points, then it's a waste.</p>

<p>4) This also depends on the college, but the most competitive schools take 2-3.</p>

<p>5) The Stern school at NYU is also pretty good. It depends on what kind of an undergrad business school you're looking for.</p>

<p>6) Most people apply from 5 to about 15 colleges. It's your choice.</p>

<p>7) Uh, I don't know because I've never taken the TOEFL, but it might say on their websites, so you could go ahead and look it up. If not, try calling the admissions offices.</p>

<p>8) They treat the AP and IB curriculums equally.</p>

<p>9) Look around the essay forum. They might have links to some good examples.</p>

<p>10) Do you want to play sports recreationally or in the varsity league? If so, then I think you need to be a recruited athlete to play in the latter, if I'm not mistaken. Club/intramural sports are more on the easy-going side and don't require a certain skill level. Contact the coaches at the schools you're interested in to find out more.</p>

<p>Hope this helped!</p>