For context: I have an 89.46 GPA (Valedictorian has a 100.65, but apparently I’m second decile in a school which sends over 30 kids to T30s a year - class of 344), and a 34 ACT. I just sent them my AP Exam scores and SAT II scores, which I’m hoping will go over well (5/5/3 AP Exams and 730/700 SAT IIs), and I’ve had sporadic contact with admissions since January.
The only reason I’m even entertaining this is I somehow wasn’t flat-out rejected after getting a 2.10 GPA first semester in dual-enrollment, and I feel like if I’m able to show improvement (looking at around a 3.7-3.8 this semester based on grades received/professor evaluations) then I’ll have a solid chance of getting accepted.
Am I dreaming, or is there a legitimate chance that this could happen?
how many enroll by May 1 (if they even go to their wait list)
if you tell them (honestly) that it is your absolute first choice and if they accept you, you will absolutely attend no matter the cost (and do not expect a penny of aid other than the Subsidized/unsubsidized federal loans).
I can tell them 2… dishonestly. Are need-blind colleges need-aware when they are looking at waitlisted students? Is that even legal? I have parents who make over six figures each with a 25k EFC due to having twins and not saving much.
Of course its legal. They only have so much money to give out, and if its gone, its gone. Don’t lie to them. If you cannot say you will attend NO MATTER WHAT, don’t say that. Most schools are need aware when they go to their wait list.
I know the article is seven years old, but it appears as if they are need-blind for waitlisted students. I could write “I would definitely attend if admitted if awarded sufficient financial aid.”, but $ talks more than me.
What’s the upside to giving a dishonest answer in this case? Dishonesty is a bad plan anyway, but in this case, the net result would be the same: If you can’t afford it, you can’t attend, even if they let you in. So you give them the best info you can, let them know they’re your first choice, continue to do good work in school, and then move on to your second choice unless you hear back with good news. There is absolutely no way to predict. It’s generally a good sign that you were put on the wait list rather than flat out rejected, but whether they even get to their wait list depends on how many kids decide to matriculate, and once they hit their waitlist, there’s no way to know how many kids are still on it, or what the school is looking for. If they get to the list, they’ll be looking for kids who balance out the matriculated students in some way, but you have no way of knowing whether they’re looking for more boys or more girls or more musicians or more athletes, etc. It’ll either happen or it won’t.
Grinnell meets demonstrated need for everyone who’s admitted; I can’t imagine there’s an “except for people admitted from the waitlist” asterisk (wouldn’t be much point for them to waste time offering spots to people who can’t afford to attend, and at any rate the website states that they meet need for “every student” so if that’s not true than the dishonesty problem here would be Grinnell’s). Merit aid is a different story, of course. Whether the waitlist is need blind or not is a different issue; if Grinnell isn’t need blind for the waitlist then you’ll be less likely to be taken off it in the first place if you need aid. If you’ve run the NPC and are comfortable with your EFC as Grinnell calculates it, I think it’s fine to say you’d definitely attend if admitted without adding a disclaimer about funding.
The net price we got from the NPC is manageable. I did write they would be my first choice if I got off awhile ago. For now, I will commit to either Alabama or South Carolina and hope for a spot off a waitlist or take a gap year.
Deposited at Bama last night. I’m not going to transfer out after going for a year - I would just finish CC if I wanted to pay $75k a year after transferring.
I might ED somewhere during a gap year - possibly somewhere like WUSTL. We shall see.
Finished with a 3.40 GPA second semester with several 200-level classes. Made the Dean’s List, and certainly better than the 2.1. Should I send that to Grinnell ASAP?