<p>Thank you so much! This was extremely helpful. Do you think double majoring in Bio and Neuroscience would be extremely tough at Smith or is it better to minor in one of them for less pressure? I mentioned GPA because I’m thinking of entering med school afterwards. I’ve read quite a large number of posts on this but is it true that the research experience is weighed more significantly than grades for grad school admission?</p>
<p>I think you might find it challenging to double major in both Bio and Neuroscience because of the labs and course work involved. But you know, everyone is different. You don’t need to decide your major immediately upon arriving. Start by taking some of the intro bio and neuroscience courses and see how stressed/busy you feel and what appeals to you. It’s very common for people to change their whole major once they actually start colllege, so you may find that a certain area appeals to you more than others. Once you have a better first hand experience of what it’s actually like for you, you’ll be able to better judge what you want to take on and what you don’t.</p>
<p>SmithieandProud I’ll take your advice and take a few classes and see 
I’m just so excited about Smith that I end up spending hours on the course catalogue.</p>
<p>Well, remember that the first two weeks are a shopping period, so you can put a class on your schedule, and then drop it later without penalty once you’ve been able to go to a few sessions and read the syllabus. Also, as a first year you get one “free drop” which means you can drop one class during your first semester without penalty, provided you do it by the free drop deadline, which is usually a month or two into the semester (check with the registrar for the exact date). You’ll have to make up those credits later on, but the course will disappear from your transcript. After first year you have one more free drop that is good for the remaining three years, so use wisely.</p>
<p>I don’t see the point in double majoring in those two subjects since there are several crossover courses. I don’t know what kind of rules are in place to prevent “double-dipping” – that is, courses counting for two different majors. You’ll have to wait until you get on campus. Also, you will get a much more interesting education if you allow time in your schedule to try courses in different areas.</p>
<p>As for graduate school, yes, research counts more than grades, although, as I said, your grades have still to be good. If you visit the graduate school forum on CC, you’ll see that quite a few students who graduated with, say, a 3.3 GPA end up at top programs because their research experience is top notch. Besides, graduate schools in the sciences care more about your science GPA than your overall GPA. Medical schools care more about raw GPA.</p>
<p>This isn’t the time to worry about what will happen four years from now. As S&P says, your interests may change. You want to choose a school where you’ll feel both comfortable and challenged.</p>
<p>it’s official–I am sending in my deposit and such today. I shall be a Smithie!!</p>
<p>Welcome to the sisterhood :-)</p>
<p>Kudos Mockingbird!
I’m waiting for my dad to get home to look at financial aid stuff, but my fingers are crossed. It’s close to the cheapest with only Bryn Mawr beating it by about a 1000.</p>
<p>I’m not. The aid package asked for way more than my EFC.</p>
<p>There’s a spot for you waitlistees.</p>
<p>So sorry to hear this Kenzie! How could they figure your need so differently from your EFC? This really worries me!</p>
<p>When did you get your fin aid package? We are in NY and still have not received it.</p>
<p>I got my financial aid package in WA today.</p>
<p>I don’t know how it happened. My dad filled out the FAFSA and he said they calculated our EFC as 17k but Smith (and Barnard for that matter) asked for 27k.</p>
<p>No one actually met the 17k. Maybe my dad did something wrong? Maybe they recalculated due to the rising value of my GET fund and the recent removal to tuition caps at UW? Maybe they don’t think my brother is smart enough to go to college in 2 years? Who knows?</p>
<p>Luckily I have a full tuition scholarship at my safety.</p>
<p>I’m also sorry to hear that, Kenzie. Would it be possible to talk to the financial aid office?</p>
<p>I got my aid package today, too. Mount Holyoke’s was a bit more generous, but Smith’s is definitely doable for me. Neither quite met the EFC calculated by FAFSA. I’m just happy that Smith is an option :).</p>
<p>I could probably only pay a little more than half of what they think I can, so I don’t think any amount of begging could get it down to that. I might have better luck with Wellesley or Whitman, they both sent better but still nowhere near doable offers.</p>
<p>Well, I guess it’s off to Portland next fall. So much for getting out of the rain.</p>
<p>Update…accepted Boston College and Barnard. Strange admissions this year!</p>
<p>Here’s what isn’t fair about financial aid: My parents make a great sum of money, but can only contribute 6-7 thousand dollars per year for college. What puts ME in a bind is that the college just looks at my parents income and says, “Oh! They’ll be able to give her everything she needs” and I don’t get one penny in financial aid. I’m left to borrow $45,000 per year and be in tremendous debt. This is SO not fair!</p>
<p>And my parents CLEARLY indicated in the paperwork that they could only contribute such a little amount, but still…nothing. This truly frustrates me. I will likely not be able to attend Smith (my dream school) because of this.</p>
<p>@alexpappas – I’m sorry you’re in such a bind, that must be very difficult. If your parents have extenuating circumstances that prohibit them from meeting their EFC, you or your parents can always try to call the student financial services office and ask to be re-evaluated. Make sure to have all the paperwork at hand so you can make your case, and be prepared to justify extenuating circumstances, like being out of work, losing income that is not reflected in last year’s W-2, etc. It’s almost always worth it to try, the worst they can say is no and then you’ll be no worse off than you are now.</p>
<p>@kenzie – I would probably give you the same advice. It may not make a big difference, but if you ask at least you won’t be leaving stones unturned. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that FAFSA doesn’t take into account things like equity in your parents’ home, parental retirement accounts, etc. A lot of times people aren’t willing to borrow against those things, but private colleges calculate that they are ABLE to do so, and then let them make the call. That can be why your FAFSA and your offer don’t match up, even at 100% need schools like Smith. It can be very hard on the kids for sure, I wish there was a less mysterious formula for figuring this out so you could have some time to absorb, or at least be sure from the outset, but it is what it is. </p>
<p>Again though, asking never hurt anyone.</p>
<p>Denied by Smith but accepted by Georgetown, talk about random decisions!</p>
<p>@TheNovelSage: Lol, I’m vice versa</p>