<p>sorry to add another “can i get in” post but if i’m going to spend 60 bucs to apply, might as well try and get some free info talk is cheap, but your knowledge will be richly valued</p>
<p>i’m a jr now</p>
<p>female 3.8 unweighted gpa on 4.33 scale all honors and ap classes. big competitive regional hs
extemporaneous speaking since frosh year. have competed in states tourney every year and have gone to harvard tourn twice. 8th in state last year, squat this year
mock trial since soph., best witness award last year, attorney this year
winter track 9 10 11 jv (throw shotput)
spring track 9 10 (throw shot and discus)
youth and gov (mock congress like activity) nominated to national conference last year and nominated as an alternate this year. ran and lost contest for youth governor
french math sci natl honor society
foiunder of young dems in my town
i played piano and clarinet up to this year, now I’m only in choir
got into governor’s school of public issues
640m, 720w, 800 r on Sats (will retake)
just took french, lit, and us history satiis
and ap eng langcomp and ap us history
next year i’m taking ap gov pol, ap euro history, ap eng lit, ap french, honors global studies, choir, ap calc ab (i didn’t get recommended for calc bc unfortunately)</p>
<p>i’m wondering
is the international studies program strong
how are english, french programs
kind of unrelated-is comparative literature in any way a practical major
i have a great relationship with my speech and debate coach, he’s also my eng teacher and a great person to turn to for guidance and or a laugh
will amherst be full of teachers like these?
is there a competitive debate activity (meaning something unlike a debate club, something where you compete with other schools)
is it close enough to a train that you don’t need a car to get there</p>
<p>how is financial aid? I know this is a very well endowed school, but money is often not available to middle and upper middle class people. I live in the supposedly richest county in the nation and am middle middle class. My parents are blue collar- a nurse and a prison guard-and they appear to make a lot of money on thenational scale but the higher property taxes and cost of living offset their relative wealth. Will Amherst be able to help with this dillemma? My EFC as per the college confidential FA calculator was an unrealistic sum of money for my family. What FA methodology does Amherst use?</p>
<p>can you apply for free online?</p>
<p>thanx</p>
<p>The last question I'll answer, there are no free apps. This is only the case in which you can provide your counselor's written certification that 60 dollars is too much of a burden on your family to pay, which certainly doesn't seem to be case. When you process the application they'll ask for the credit card information, so there ya go.</p>
<p>As for chances of admission, you are obviously aware that admission process to the top colleges in the nation is just plain unpredictable. Your statistics seem pretty much qualified, no less. Since most of the applicant pool is "qualified", however, you'll need to distinguish yourself in the essay portion. Again, this is all very repetitive logic you're probably already aware of.</p>
<p>Yes, Amherst does have a very big endownment and it prides itself in meeting 100 percent of the student's needs if it is presented: but you're right, the assumption of need is based strongly on the EFC, which probably will be pretty high for you considering that you yourself said that the collective income level of your parents probably put you in a fairly high standing. The bottom line is, though, you don't know anything until you receive that financial aid package. If you're not getting aid in Amherst, you probably won't get aid in anywhere comparable to its standing. (of course, merit-based scholarships are a totally different story, amherst doesn't have those). But as of now, getting in is the first priority. you can worry about money later.</p>
<p>Your qualifications seem good, but no application to an elite school is a sure thing. You need to find your passion and a way to distinguish yourself from all the other qualified applicants. And remember, there are no interviews at Amherst, so you must put everything you have into your essays. They are crucial. Last year, D received an Early Write and the Pres was the professor who called her, and he referred very specifically to her essay.</p>
<p>As to international studies, there is no IR program at Amherst. However, there are areas of concentration through the foreign language departments, and then under the poli sci, law and jurisprudence, etc., courses. There is an IR certification available through the 5 college consortium. Since the curriculum is open, you can take classes in all these areas as you choose. </p>
<p>As to the FA - no merit aid. We also had an EFC that we felt was tremendously unrealistic, and Amherst's aid was superior to anyone else's. At the FA meeting at the beginning of last school year, we were told that Amherst realizes that the FAFSA calculations are outdated, so Amherst avoids getting kids to take any federal monies (unless they have a VERY low EFC) because under law, the college would then be bound to use the FAFSA figures. Instead, it uses its own calculations which take into account the current cost of living. It worked for us. That said, I have heard of others on this site that felt that they didn't get enough. I don't know enough of their circumstances to comment. Most people, however, have been pleased with the result of the FA packages. You won't know until you apply, are accepted, and your FA package arrives in the mail. Good luck!</p>
<p>thanks for your great suggestions sorry it took me a while to respond
i don't thnk the essays are posted yet but i was thinking about talking about how when doing public speaking you have to find the critical angle to have your message totally internally reflected into your audience. i know that sounds pretty weird and i would have to briefly explain the optical phenomenon i'm referring to. sound good?
also i got my satii scores back today
730 eng lit
770 us history
670 (ugh) french- didn't realize it would be that hard. i took a practice test that seemed pretty easy and skimmmed through the book, but the actual thing was rele pretty difficult. i heard that satii language tests are very very hard unless you're a native speaker-i was thinking of retaking.
also i'm taking the sats again on sat looking to get a 700 in math but we'll see.
i'm so happy all my tests are done for college! all i have to do is write application essays, get recommendations, do well in school, and practice springting to the mailbox to get my responses!</p>
<p>don't worry about the SAT II that much. I know it's just one precedent,
but my SAT IIs were 740 Math IC and 670 History (haha, didn't even bother studying and got screwed) and I still got in.</p>