<p>My daughter has been accepted to Eckerd and FIT with scholarships and now, I'm wondering whether she should make a last-minute application to Rollins. What would be the advantages of one school over the other? She is planning on majoring in the sciences, and we know a couple of people who majored in Environmental Studies there and really liked it, but we know a similar number of people who say the same about Eckerd. Which is considered better?</p>
<p>Also, how is Rollins about giving money? DD got a $20K scholarship from FIT and a $13.5K scholarship from Eckerd. She has a high SAT (2050 -- 1350 CR and M), good but not outstanding grades (3.5 weighted by the state university system, 4.2 weighted by her school), but she goes to a very competitive magnet school, so I think other schools have added some points for that. Also she has good ECs such as the Girl Scout Gold Award and a prestigious summer internship. Would she be able to get similar money from Rollins?</p>
<p>Also, and finally, while we are not currently what I would call economically disadvantaged, we had less when my daughter was younger, and I have raised my children to not just have everything handed to them (For example, my daughter is currently working to earn a smartphone when, yes, I realize practically everyone on the planet now seems to feel the need to give one to their 10-year-old even if they are practically in foreclosure on their house), so she is not really comfortable with people who take wealth for granted. The hippie feel of Eckerd's website convinces me that this is not the case at that school, as does the fact that FIT is, after all, Florida Institute of TECHNOLOGY, but Rollins . . . well, it does have that reputation. I attended UM back in the old days, and I certainly met people there who weren't affluent, despite the tuition (They give a ton of aid). Is there a diverse blend of people at Rollins, or is it all a rich kid school? </p>
<p>Any thoughts on the three above issues would be much appreciated.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your D for her hard work and the payoff she is receiving in merit aid offers. She does appear eligible for a few scholarships at Rollins. She should apply to see where she stands. <a href=“http://www.rollins.edu/finaid/as/merit.html[/url]”>http://www.rollins.edu/finaid/as/merit.html</a> She could also see if they would be willing to match offers once her Rollins offer comes.</p>
<p>My S and D both attend Rollins so I can give some information. My S also had applied and recieved merit aid offers from FIT but I don’t remember the amount anymore or if it was similar to what he has received at Rollins. </p>
<p>I would say that Rollins does have a reputation for rich kids but it has not been a problem for my kids. There will be a group that will drips in money and prestige but overall there are many kids on scholarships/financial aid. My kids have not found there to be a problem blending with kids on both sides of the spectrum. Sometimes you may be hard pressed to know if someone is on scholarship or wealthy as there is a casual dress on campus. Yes you will see those dressed to the nines just to go to the library but many are just running around in shorts and tshirts.</p>
<p>If you go to the website you can pull up information about the Bush Science Center which should be completed in a few months. There is alot of money going into the sciences and since my son is a science major I can tell you that the science departments are wonderful. If you have any particular concerns I can address here or you can PM me.</p>
<p>Congrats to your D on her academic prowess. My S attended Rollins and was chosen for membership in their Honors Program. He received a significant merit scholarship which was one of the primary reasons he chose rollins. He had a very well rounded experience as a member of the honors program, a 4yr varsity athlete and a member of a fraternity. He received an outstanding education which culminated in his writing a signicant honors thesis which took up much of his time during his senior year. He was admitted into a highly competitive graduate program at a Top University.</p>
<p>Rollins rich kid rep! Are there Rich kids there? Sure there are, there are are also highly motivated kids there on significant scholarships and highly motivated kids attending on the basis of need based financial aid. In terms of the student body kids there tebd to find their niche and group. My son had his athlete friends, his frat buddies as well as many friends from his honors program. He told me that he thought that his collegues from his honors program were every bit as capable as the students in his grad program. He indicated that every Honors student that wanted to attend grad or professional school was admitted.</p>
<p>I feel S got a great education in Rollins and came out a very well rounded young man that has learned to think critically. He absolutely loved the school.</p>
<p>I know a lot about the school and would be happy to answer any questions. Feel free to PM me and I would be happy to email you back or talk telephonically.</p>
<p>Alex–My D is double majoring in Theatre and Spanish. She is doing a couple shows this semester. She also was in a dance production her first semester. She tutors in Spanish and will probably also tutor some children privately. She has taught both adults and children some Spanish through her coursework requirements.</p>
<p>Besides academics which keep her quite busy she is in a sorority so participates in all those functions. The sorority she belongs to has ties with the Girl Scouts which she really enjoys as she was also a Girl Scout although did not advance as far as your D. She is involved with sustainability/recycling program on campus and does some other commmunity service projects. This last summer she studied abroad in Spain.</p>
<p>She stays so busy but really loves her time at Rollins. She has had to pass up some opportunities but has learned how to prioritize and has some great time management skills. </p>
<p>What area of science is your D interested in studying and what kind of activities does she want to pursue? She should plan to visit the professors/classes at all these colleges to see how she likes each particular program. When my S visited the classes at Rollins and talked to various professors he knew it was the right program for him. Good luck in the process!</p>
<p>Thanks. We did decide to submit an application yesterday. But now, I have one more question. The college has three options for submitting application, Early Decision 1, Early Decision 2, and Regular Decision. The first two options are binding, so she chose Regular Decision. But it says she won’t hear until April 1. My daughter will definitely have made a decision by April since every other college she’s applied to will notify her by, at latest, February. Since you’ve said your son received merit aid from FIT and, apparently, considered it, I’m guessing he did not apply Early Decision. Did it really take months and months to hear back, or is that just their worst case scenario? I know she’s applying late, but honestly, we’ve heard from everyone EXCEPT UF and one other large state school in less than a month. But maybe they’re just hedging their bets.</p>
<p>As far as your other question, my daughter is interested in Environmental Science, but she’d probably eventually like to combine this with an agriculture field, to make farming more environmentally friendly. She’s more the artsy/activist type than the sorority or sports type. Most of her extracurriculars to date have been volunteer organizations to do with the environment or helping people (Her major projects for Girl Scouts were at a homeless shelter and a suicide prevention video). She also enjoys photography and other aspects of the arts. I suspect Eckerd is probably the place for her because it does have that hippie, offbeat rep, but I want to have a fallback in case she hates it when we visit. It is about half the size of Rollins, so I could see that being a turn-off (She liked the size of FIT, but I’m not sure about that school for other reasons). She was completely not interested in New College due to its size, but then, that is even smaller than Eckerd!</p>
<p>I remember that my S submitted his app in January and I believe he heard back within a few weeks. Our spring break was mid March and we visited the Florida colleges he was admitted to so I’m thinking we probably knew no later than the beginning of February. My daughter heard back the end of January but I think she applied in December. With your D’s stats I would imagine it will be within a few weeks and not April but I am not 100% certain.</p>
<p>Before college my D said she was not interested in Greek life but she rushed just for the sake of getting to know more people and then received a few bids. She was at first very conflicted as she is not the typical sorority girl but found out she really liked the people and decided to go for it. Nevertheless greek life does not dominate the campus life and she feels that is good because she has friends in many other areas that she spends time with.</p>
<p>Thanks. That’s good to know. I figured it was rolling, but I guess if a lot of people applied ED (though I don’t know why anyone would, at this point), they’d have to look at those applications first. I know small schools like this sometimes have tiny admissions staff. </p>
<p>Do you know if they base scholarship amounts on weighted or UW GPA?</p>
<p>Rollins admissions is not rolling, if you did not apply ED you will be notified April 1 by mail. D’13 applied in Sept but not ED and no notifications yet.</p>
<p>Well in that case, I guess she won’t be going. They really make it rough making all the earlier dates binding ED and having such a late notification date otherwise. Most schools with bonding ED are, how can I put this, really prestigious. People want to move on with their lives. Anyway thanks. Hope you’re wrong or I just wasted the application fee.</p>
<p>That said, I know people who have applied to colleges that DEFINITELY have rolling admissions (UCF, for example) and have heard in a longer or shorter time, depending how enthused the school was about them. But September seems like a long time even for that. Do they have everything? I’ve found that’s more common than you’d think and, right at the moment, Rollins online status check is saying it doesn’t have something I <em>know</em> was sent with her application (the Common App supplement) AND they’re not answering my daughter’s e-mail about whether she needs to send another one. Le sigh.</p>
<p>Yes, Rollins has everything and honestly we know my daughter will be accepted. It is a matter of their Scholarship offer…all though in all likely hood my D will attend UA.</p>
<p>I actually thought we would hear from UA much sooner than April 1, prior my first response on the thread I called, yes they have everything and she will be notified by MAIL April 1. Seems archaic.</p>
<p>Right. In our case also they’d have to offer her similar to FIT for her to go. She is waiting for UF (February 8 online) and Clemson (February 15 by mail). Clemson has notified a lot of people who received scharships, so I guess she hasn’t. So really she’s waiting for UF, likely a no.</p>
<p>Good to know. My DD applied way later than that. When she has made her decision but for Rollins we will contact them. Thanks and congrats. May I ask her stats?</p>