<p>“the packet shows that the ED acceptance rate is about 4% lower than the RD. Why would this be?”</p>
<p>How did the number of ED and RD applicants change from the previous year?</p>
<p>Despite my low GPA, if I raise my SAT score to at least 2050, take the ACTs twice, take the SAT subject tests (literature + us history) and do pretty well on those, get a good UW gpa (3.7+) the first semester of senior year, and apply ED, do you all think I will be admitted?</p>
<p>You still haven’t answered why your gpa is so low–unweighted? It is a red flag.</p>
<p>My GPA is so low due to messing up in math classes. My mind cannot wrap itself around math, and, in freshman year, I was paired with a teacher who I was incompatible with, and then had him until junior year. I did extremely poorly in mathematics throughout high school.</p>
<p>Your Guidance Counselor can explain your difficulties with math if all the other subject areas are strong. My daughter only got 27 on math ACT, but did well on remaining sections. Try boards again. Play up EC’s. Do ED to show strong interest. Talk to Guidance. Bring up grades for senior year. Probably still a low reach. Prepare yourself with backup schools where you can comfortably get in in the event you get rejected in ED.</p>
<p>Thanks, I will be talking to my guidance counselor asap. I will also be taking the SATs once more and the ACTs twice, as well as bringing up my grades for this last semester and doing ED. </p>
<p>You mentioned I should play up my ECs, as did a few other people, but how do I do this?</p>
<p>On the Common App you list your EC’s. Then I think there is space to expand upon them. Also last year one of the questions was why NYC campus? Talk about what activities you would take advantage of–you seem quite active and a leader so integrate the two. If they have a club that matches something you have done before then talk about how you want to continue at NYU. Do you want to volunteer–maybe they have a program you would be interested in. Don’t make it generic–look up the names of these clubs. NYU has exploration dorms-you can talk about a perfect fit with one of their theme floors and ou would like to live there. Show you did your research.</p>
<p>I agree. Use the supplemental essays to bring up some of your EC’s or skills that haven’t been brought up in your main essay. Also make sure that you provide a supplemental resume that shows the importance of these EC’s and gives more detail than on the common app.</p>
<p>For example the main essay showed how my daughter saw the small details that people overlook in life. It illustrated how she has an artistic eye and values things that others may not notice and incorporates them in her art. (She applied as a studio art major.)</p>
<p>However, her supplemental essays highlighted other things. Like how she was the leader of an accapella group, and was in student government</p>
<p>Her supplemental resume was divided into “leadership activities” “Special Honors” and “Art Experience” and " Music and Theatre Experience". So from even a quick glance at her resume, you could discern that daughter is an artist, singer and that she had leads in her schools shows. You could also see right up top that she had good leadership roles.</p>
<p>Basically, you want an admissions person to read your app and come up with a few words to describe you. For D it was creative leader with talent in art and music.</p>
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<p>You have 3 areas you need to focus on: (1) Math, (2) GPA, (3) Timing.</p>
<p>(1) Math.
Run to the library, grab an ACT test book, practice, study and take a mock test on your own or have someone time/test you. Because by the time the first test rolls around (Sept) and when you get results back, time has already ticked away… So try to do a mock test on your own (or several). If let’s say after doing the mock test you do know that ACT is right for you, drop the SAT testing and focus all your energy on that. If you take the ACT in sept and need to retake for a bit higher score, refocus on that for Oct. If you have ACT + writing scores, you don’t need to take SAT subject tests. [Standardized</a> Tests](<a href=“Standardized Tests”>http://www.nyu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/apply/freshmen-applicants/instructions/standardized-tests.html) Fall time of senior year is not the time to think about whether SAT or ACT is right for you. Decide that this summer going into fall, and then laser focus on just one test.</p>
<p>(2) GPA.
If you apply ED, unfortunately there won’t be enough time to show upward trend in stellar grades to AOs. Your GPA at the end of junior year is 3.14, your GPA going in to apply for ED would still be 3.14. You will also be competing amongst applicants with better grades (not stellar but better grades) plus as shown above, the acceptance rate is not that much different. For someone who needs to prove that grades are on the upward trend, I would apply RD together with a first term grades in hand to help give your GPA a boost. </p>
<p>(3) Timing.
As posted above, I recommend RD instead. Though your GPA won’t go from 3.14 to 3.7 with one semester of senior year, it can be closer to 3.2-3.4, depending on your grades. Also, if you happen to earn any awards, leadership roles, you will then also have more time to make your application stronger.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. I’ve already started to work on my supplemental essays (I’ve finished my common app essay a while ago…), and I’m figuring out ways to work some of my ECs into the essay.</p>
<p>@ognopgod</p>
<p>Point 1 is a great idea, and I’m going to start doing that immediately. In regard to point 2 and 3, I’ve decided I will apply Early Decision II, that way I can still show that NYU is my #1 school, while still applying by the RD date (01/01/2014). Would you say that this is a good idea?</p>
<p>I sincerely appreciate the advice guys…do you all think I actually have a legitimate chance of getting in? NYU is honestly my dream right now, it’s the only school I really want to attend.</p>
<p>EDII and RD are both on 1/1 so that would be the latest you can apply, but EDII would show commitment which is what you wanted to convey.</p>
<p>Also, have you looked at their General Studies program? In the past, they (NYU) have referred students who are not as strong to this program but recently you can apply directly to the program on your own. So in a way they are not rejecting applicants but giving them the option to go through a general studies program for 2 years to help strengthen their background. After the two years are up, they have the option of applying to the regular school. Read up on this as there have been mixed reviews posted about this on here. Since it seems you are dead set on NYU and finance does not seem to be a problem otherwise I would not personally go this route.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/new-york-university/1470369-nyu-poly-general-studies-program.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/new-york-university/1470369-nyu-poly-general-studies-program.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“General Studies Moves to the Mainstream - The New York Times”>General Studies Moves to the Mainstream - The New York Times;
<p>Yes agree apply EDII. Also agree with strategy of concentrating on ACTS or SATs not both. Don’t need SAT IIs with ACT.</p>
<p>I would advise to take as many tests as you can fit in (both ACT and SAT), but I agree with ognopgod that you should see where you stand with ACT math. Older D struggled with the trickiness of SAT math. Her grade on the ACT was considerably higher, because the answers were more straight forward and she was able to plow forward and do very well. For younger D, her math scores were fairly equivalent on both the SAT and ACT (610). She got fewer wrong on the ACT (it wasn’t tricky), but she was unable to finish the test on time and so had a lot of random guess at the end of the test.</p>
<p>If it seems you can do better on the ACT math than on the SAT math, I would do all my math practice using the ACT format, but I would still take the SAT again, because you never know if a section will go up even without practice. Both D’s had random jumps on both tests (in all sections–sometimes going up 80 points or so), so I think it’s always worth the effort. If your scores do not improve over prior scores, just don’t send them.</p>