Tips for Emory Applicants for Class of 2011

Colleges & Universities A-Z Emory University
1

<p>As a parent whose daughter will be starting her freshman year at Emory in another two months, I wanted to offer some general tips and pointers for those students who are considering applying for admission, based on experience gained by my daughter and myself. I would suggest looking at Emory’s Common Data Set <a href="http://www.emory.edu/PROVOST/IPR/CDS2005_2006.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.emory.edu/PROVOST/IPR/CDS2005_2006.pdf&lt;/a> as a good start to finding valuable information about Emory University, especially with regard to student statistical information and factors for admission.</p>

<p>While academic numbers (GPA and test scores) do not always guarantee admission, they are undoubtedly the key factors for entrance into any elite college/university. They represent the most tangible benchmarks against which the admissions staff will evaluate all applications. In general, students will be evaluated based on selected criteria, and include the following:</p>

<ul>
<li>High School Transcript (specific college prep courses/grades)</li>
<li>SAT or ACT Test Scores (average SAT Critical Reading score is 685; average SAT Math score is 700; SAT Subject Tests are recommended but not required)</li>
<li>School Profile (describes school characteristics, academic programs, average SAT/ACT scores, AP/Honors course information, special recognitions, and college placements)</li>
<li>Rigor of courses taken (they want to see that you have challenged yourself academically by taking available AP/Honors classes)</li>
<li>GPA (Emory’s typical student has been an A- to B+ range student; 48% of enrolling freshmen have unweighted GPA of 3.75 and above.)</li>
<li>Extra-curricular (examples of leadership and standout recognition)</li>
<li>Recommendations (Guidance Counselor and 2 Teacher recommendations required)</li>
<li>Demonstrated Interest (interest level is noted/tracked per each student applicant; scheduling a visit is best; otherwise, order video online and/or show up at a regional visit by one of their Admissions counselors in the fall; it does not hurt but does not help to demonstrate interest in multiple ways.)</li>
<li>Essays as part of Application (there are 3 essays; they want to hear your “voice”)</li>
</ul>

<p>Following reflects relative importance of various factors in making freshman admissions decisions:</p>

<p>ACADEMIC</p>

<p>Rigor of secondary school record (Very Important)
Class rank (Considered)
Academic GPA (Very Important)
Standardized test scores (Very Important)
Application Essay (Very Important)
Recommendation (Very Important) </p>

<p>NON-ACADEMIC</p>

<p>Interview (Not Considered)
Extracurricular activities (Very Important)
Talent/ability (Important)
Character/personal qualities (Important)
First generation (Considered)
Alumni/ae relation (Important)
Geographical residence (Considered)
State residency (Considered)
Religious affiliation/commitment (Not Considered)
Racial/ethnic status (Considered)
Volunteer work (Considered)
Work experience (Considered)
Level of applicant’s interest (Considered) </p>

<p>Overall, the experience of dealing with Emory University has been highly positive. It is an outstanding national university that merits consideration by students seeking academic breadth and depth. That said, it is not for everybody. Know yourself and your interests. For instance, it does not have an engineering school, so if your interest is in electrical engineering, Emory would not be the best choice. If you know that it is your ideal college, after visiting especially, and it stands out as Number One on your list, then consider applying Early Decision. Statistics reveal the higher percentage of acceptances by ED applicants; however, be aware that this will is a binding decision if accepted. Although Emory is “need-blind” in their admissions process, be forewarned that this does not automatically mean they will commit to providing all the financial aid you will want. The “need” is based on a combination of formulae derived from using both the CSS Profile form (for institutional aid) and FAFSA (for federal aid). If financial considerations are important, you may be better off applying Regular Decision to keep all your options open.</p>

<p>I hope this helps with evaluating your “chances”. Good luck!</p>

2

<p>Rigggght on</p>

3

<p>What Emory is actually looking for is people who are strong and will make a difference on campus. Strong academics in high school are a given in Emory's applicant pool; it's what else you will bring to campus that is important. My son and his roommate have done campus tours for a couple of years now and have become friendly with the admissions staffers--they always seem to be most excited about what students acheive out of school, they are looking for kids who are true leaders in whatever endeavors they are involved in. They aren't looking for the kid who booked a zillion hours of community service just to have a pretty entry on a college application--it's what did you DO--did you make a difference and how?</p>

<p>If you are interested in Emory, the best thing you can do with your application is demonstrate how you will make a difference in the campus and in the community.</p>

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<p>Thanks norcaldad!</p>

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<p>I feel like boysx3 has a better grasp on the application process than most on this board.</p>

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<p>What you say likely holds true for the majority of the selective colleges/universities across the land. </p>

<p>Often, prospective students offer a laundry list of their stats and qualifying distinctions without first having done the homework of finding out what, in this case, Emory is seeking and stating as categorical benchmarks to admission. Being informed about the tangible weighted factors will provide a good basis for a student to evaluating his/her "chances" for admission.</p>

<p>I absolutely believe, as you apparently do, that flowery items on the application will help -- the fact of the matter is that there is limited room to place more than a handful of extracurriculars anyway. Thus, it makes sense to think about what is truly important to the student and sharing those activities that have had an impact to the student or a community. Even better is being able to passionately articulate the significant meaning/influence within the context of one of the personal essays. It's certainly the QUALITY of an activity and not QUANTITY of activities that is being sought.</p>

<p>Thanks for adding your important points.</p>

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<p>you will ge tinto college regardless---->DO NOT OVERLOAD ON YOUR SENIOR YEAR SCHEDULE!!! If you are not interested- do not take AP PHYSICS. i regret is seriously and the class and my experience with it probably detracted from me than added.</p>

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<p>I'm glad that you understand the point I am trying to make. I generally don't post very often because I feel that most of the posters have more knowledge than I do--my oldest son's college selection process was very easy--we visited a lot of schools, but as soon as he set foot on the cmapus at Emory and talked to some students, he knew he had found his home. He applied eary decision with absolutely no angst--Emory was probably a "match" more than a "reach" to the degree that any such selective school can be a match, and that was the end of it for him.</p>

<p>The Emory applicant pool is rather self-selecting--the school is attractive to very good students who have very busy lives. There aren't too many kids who are bookworms with no other dimension to their lives--they don't want Emory and Emory doesn't want them. </p>

<p>Most of the kids I have met there amaze me with what they accomplish. They are all intellectually vivacious, they study like fiends (although they are loath to admit how hard they work) and they all seem to be committed to something important, either on campus or in the larger community. And, like college kids everywhere, they still find plenty of time for a social life.</p>

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<p>Wow! Thanks Norcaldad and boysx3! I have visited the campus and it was beautiful...I guess I just have some more thinking to do before the fall.</p>

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<p>another tip. this one on a lighter note. many times when emory says they will send you something - your admissions decision for example- it will probably show up a little later than expected. they still release decision only through air mail so, until they switch over to email access, expect december 15th to mean december 22nd. good luck.</p>

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<p>hey i visited emory last month and my dad and i knew right away that it was a perfect school for me.</p>

<p>act-30
gpa-98.5 (our school does it out of a 100)</p>

<p>-intel science fair candidate
-2nd place at long island science congress
-honorable mention at rohm haas science invitational
-editor in chief of school newspaper
-president of future leaders of america
-co-president of cancercare at my high school
-captain for American Cancer Society
-national honor society
-spanish honor society
-co-president of school orchestra
-part time job at united colors of benneton</p>

<p>Junior Year
-AP PHYSICS B
-AP US
-Math Theory (hardest math course in the school)
-Advanced Research</p>

<p>Senior Year
- AP Calc BC
- AP Lit
- AP Gov
- AP Micro
- AP Bio
- Advanced Research</p>

<p>my only thing is my sat score is crap and my act is a little better but not by much. im taking it again i just dont know what to dooo. does it look like a good chance?</p>

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<p>i think you have a pretty good shot. your act score is just within the middle fifty percent - but to be safe you should get it a few points higher - and you have a strong gpa. if your rank matches your very good gpa then you should be fine (top ten percent or so in the class is the average). it looks like you have focused ec's which is what emory wants to see in its applicants. make sure your appearant love of science shows in your essays. if emory is your top choice you could consider applying early decision. hope this helps.</p>

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<p>You might want to contact your school about ACT/SAT score reporting. My SAT was better than my ACT, so I contacted an administrator about NOT having my ACT score show on my transcript. The admin simply put the ACT stickers on the back of my transcript, so that when it was copied my ACT scores did not appear. It worked out beautifully -- colleges only saw my SAT score.</p>

<p>By the way, I think you have a good chance. Your GPA is great. Your ACT score is compettitive. Plus, you seem to be truly passionate about Emory. Also, if you can communicate the fact that you are sincerely passionate about science in your application, the admissions committee will look favorably upon that.</p>

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<p>Up your standardized test scores so that you'll be competitive for a scholarship.</p>

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<p>Hi,</p>

<p>This is my first post. I tried to e-mail you, but can't seem to get that to work. Since you are an expert on this, maybe you would be able to give me some advice about Emory.</p>

<p>congrats to your daughter. I hope she loves it there.</p>

<p>gloworm</p>

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<p>Gloworm, I would not go so far as to be considered an "expert", but I'll confess to being thorough in my research. If you have any questions, you can certainly feel free to put them on this forum, and you will have the benefit of receiving responses from anybody who cares to offer a response. If you want to send me a "private message", just click on my name and scroll down to "Send a Private Message to NorCalDad", select, and then type/submit message.</p>

<p>I will be leaving tomorrow morning (Tuesday) and will be at Emory for about 5 days, meeting with some administrators in the process. Notwithstanding that I'm not the authority, I'd be happy to offer any information that might be helpful.</p>