String of rejections/waitlists from LACs, need advice!

Applying to College
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<p>Some information:</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2240 (800 CR, 700 M, 740 W)
[</em>] SAT II: 770 Lit., 800 French
[li] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.99</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[list]
Good ECs, VERY strong essays (writing is my forte), excellent recs</p>

<p>[<em>] Country (if international applicant): ITALY
[</em>] School Type: Boarding school in NH.
[<em>]Income Bracket: Needed a small amount of FA
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None!</p>

<p>So, as an international asking for FA, it wasn't easy. In any case, I figured my app was good enough for the top LACs, but applied to Holy Cross and Skidmore without financial aid just in case. Here's the outcome:</p>

<p>ACCEPTED:
Skidmore
Holy Cross</p>

<p>WAITLISTED:
Colby
Middlebury
Bowdoin</p>

<p>REJECTED:
Trinity
Williams
Amherst
Dartmouth</p>

<p>Although it is somewhat economically feasible for me to attend Skidmore (as in, it will be a bit stressful for my family but it can happen), or maybe Holy Cross (Which is better in your opinion? I've yet to visit), I would really like to aim higher, and I know the 6 LACs that didn't take me are all better fits for me than these two. </p>

<p>Firstly, how should I maximize my waitlist opportunities? I've heard that the best course of action is to send a succinct letter saying I'll absolutely attend if admitted, is this true? Should I add recs and a transcript and EC updates?</p>

<p>Secondly, would it be possible for me to transfer from Skidmore to Amherst in 2014? Can an international transfer student get financial aid? Is it as hard as RD to get admitted?</p>

<p>Sorry for the lengthy post! I know the questions are all over the place but I'm really lost right now.</p>

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<p>Really, you haven’t visited, but you KNOW that the 6 schools that didn’t admit you are all better fits than the ones that did? Seems to me that you’re relying on prestige and rank to tell you where you’d best fit in, instead of first-hand information about the schools themselves.</p>

<p>I know you’re disappointed with the results . . . but perhaps it’s time to take your blinders off and see if you can’t find something you like about the two schools that accepted you. Visit the schools’ forums here on CC, go to the schools’ Facebook pages . . . learn as much as you can about these two schools!</p>

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<p>For questions like this, always go to the college website first:</p>

<p><a href=“https://www.amherst.edu/admission/apply/international[/url]”>https://www.amherst.edu/admission/apply/international&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>And then the CDS, transfer rates are lower than fr admissions:</p>

<p><a href=“https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/glance/common_data_sets[/url]”>https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/glance/common_data_sets&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>@dodgersmom: Well, more than pure prestige, which is pretty useless to me as LACs are not at all known back in the homeland regardless of selectivity, I am thinking of how I’ve heard these places are like. Skidmore seems too liberal/artsy, Holy Cross too just-outside-of-Boston preppy, while Midd, Bowdoin, Amherst, Williams all seem like traditional yet liberal and highly intellectual environments. In any case, it’s very true that I can’t really know until I visit.</p>

<p>It seems like transferring is very hard… Any advice for the waitlist?</p>

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<p>You haven’t even visited the schools, and are only going by what you’ve heard about them, so I don’t think you can be so sure you’d be happier at the other schools. You should visit with an open mind, not thinking you can do better. Those are great schools, give them a chance.</p>

<p>I don’t think you’ll have much of a chance as a transfer, honestly. Getting into Amherst is difficult, but it’s even harder for transfers.</p>

<p>If you really don’t want to go to the schools you got accepted to, then take a gap year and next time apply only to schools you’d like to attend.</p>

<p>And by the way, since you asked for our opinions, I’d go to Skidmore. I don’t think my opinion will be particularly useful to you, though, since I excluded schools with religious affiliation from my search. I’m not saying it’s better, though, I think both schools are great.</p>

<p>For the waitlist, inform the schools of any additional awards you’ve gotten, perhaps? And I’d also send a letter saying I’d definitely attend if accepted, but only to my top choice.</p>

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<p>I just did my research on Holy Cross and it’s a much better school than I thought academically, so that looks good. And Skidmore seems cool. I’ll visit with an open mind.</p>

<p>Is it possible to enroll at one of these, defer for a year and then apply to colleges in Europe? Is this totally illegal?</p>

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<p>Depends on what you agree to when you defer, ask the school.</p>

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<p>Holy Cross is a top school academically and ranked higher than some of the schools you were rejected at such as Trinity. If you can afford to go there, it is a solid choice.</p>

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<p>I know, but I would still like to do all I can to have the admissions officers at Bowdoin give me a second look (even though I know it’s tough with the school’s yield; last year they picked a whopping total of 0 from the waitlist).</p>

<p>My GC is telling me to send an additional rec by this one teacher who adores me, but I’m getting the feeling from CC that it’s redundant to do this… After all, Bowdoin says “Should updates to your candidacy become available (new grades, honors, or awards), feel free to contact Bowdoin via email with that new information. Such updates are not required, however.” This doesn’t seem to include more recs…</p>

<p>Also, I keep reading advice to contact the admissions representative in my area to ask how my application is lacking or to sell myself… This seems awkward. Should I? Also, as a European at a NH boarding school, should I contact the representative for the state my school is in or for Europe? Should I call or email?</p>

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<p>HC is a great school. Harder to get into than some of the NESCAC’s. Skidmore is good but not quite as competitive. </p>

<p>My son is going to Trinity next year. They take almost half of their wait list in the final analysis.</p>