My daughter ended up applying to 11 schools… 6 LACs and 5 Research Universities… So far, she has only heard back from 3 schools, all LACs… with 8 more to go…
She was rejected by Pomona but accepted by Haverford (great FA) and Hamilton (not so good FA)… So Haverford is definitely on top… Even if Carleton and Grinnell can come close to the FA package, Haverford will win because of its location… Her last LAC is Swarthmore…
Meanwhile, she is also waiting on 5 universities… Georgetown, Northwestern, Hopkins, Vanderbilt and UPenn… Most of them should be coming out in the next week or so… But we may try contacting them for an “early read”… She has until 5/20 to reply to Haverford…
As I mentioned before, she has no official transcripts as her final exams are to be held in late June… She applied with tutors’ recommendations and predicted grades from 7 courses… Converting back to the US system, a very rough estimate of her GPA will be between A/A-…
Again, no actual grades at all, just rough estimations from her tutors… so we are grateful for any acceptances… the great FA she received from Haverford is of course a great bonus… She was going to go for Haverford or Georgetown last year, so definitely happy to get in the second time…
See how things go in the next 10 days or so… She does not have high hopes for the universities as she has no leadership positions and no significant ECs…
Congratulations! I’m delighted that Haverford not only had the good sense to accept your daughter, but gave her generous aid. Good luck with the rest of her decisions.
I should add that while we are still waiting for Haverford’s transfer credit evaluation, Hamilton has offered her a full year worth of transfer credits… Hope Haverford and other schools will do the same in affirming her coursework at Oxford…
Yeah, perhaps the true measure of FA is the amount of grant / scholarship money given…
In our case, Haverford’s grant exceeds that of Hamilton by more than $25,000 per year… The gap is so large that we won’t even bother to ask Hamilton to revise their FA…
FYI, Haverford’s total price tag is higher by two to three thousand per year…
So in the last few days, my daughter got into Georgetown and UPenn… Still waiting on FA from both… and still waiting for decisions from Northwestern and Vanderbilt…
But you can see how her choice may be down to Haverford (great FA), Georgetown (probably poor FA) and UPenn (hopefully comparable to Haverford)…
Personally, I think Haverford may be a better fit, but she is weary of its being too small, with too much emphasis on community, thus too pressurizing when it comes to fitting in…
She is actually quite comfortable socially at Oxford (big uni with separate residential colleges)… nobody bothers her and she just hangs out with whoever she wants to… single room helps also… She is an introvert who just wants to be left alone (when she want to be alone)… So she was leaning a bit towards Georgetown before UPenn came into the picture…
Knowing that she would need time and energy to process her identity as a third culture kid, my wife and I would like her to be in a less competitive, less oppresive, and more supportive academic environment… That makes us a bit worried about UPenn… perhaps more so than Georgetown…
Her chosen majors are Classics and Linguistics… but she will venture into other subjects also though she is not career-driven and will likely stay that way…
For now, she is happy to know that she is heading back to the US… with more choices than she has expected… But choices also make decision more difficult (especially without campus visits)…
Let me know if you have any thoughts and experiences (Haverford, Georgetown, UPenn) to share… Thank you for all your support!
There are plenty of quirky, introverted kids at Penn. The U is big enough so that the “work hard/play hard” or “I’ve wanted to be an investment banker since I was six years old” folks absolutely do not represent the entire university. There are kids who spend their free time in the music rehearsal spaces and kids who spend their free time writing short stories and kids who go to class and study and otherwise are volunteering in the community and barely notice or care about “campus social life” and kids who are regulars at the Barnes Museum and have a rich inner life focused on academics. I would not worry about her socially at Penn.
Only you can decide what’s feasible once you see the aid packages. But there’s no shame in taking the best financial deal and then figuring out the rest afterwards. None of these three choices strikes me as a terrible fit based on what you’ve written about your D.
Penn IS competitive for a kid on the Wharton/Pre-Med/Gotta get into a top 14 law school track. For everyone else- it’s just you, your professors, the subjects you care about. I don’t think kids are clobbering each other for grades in your D’s disciplines!
Yesterday, we paid the enrollment deposit for Penn, concluding our daughter’s transfer journey (at least for now)… Due to mixed reviews of recent Penn grads who are family friends, ranging from toxic to positive, she actually leans towards Northwestern, but Penn’s FA wins out…
Here is a recap of her journey… for others with similar backgrounds…
Born and raised in Philly… moved overseas during early teens…
Homeschooled with online classes all the way through high school…
Introvert, few and non-substantial ECs, zero leadership… in high school and during college…
Got into some good US colleges (Georgetown / Haverford) mostly on the strength of academics (GPA 4.0 UW, ACT 35, 4 SAT Subject Tests of 770 or above, 7 APs) and essays…
Followed older brother to University of Oxford… majoring in Italian & Linguistics…
Had to make a choice between Classics and Linguistics… later decided that she wants to continue studying Latin, plus other liberal arts subjects…
Did not like living in the UK… desired to return to the US to find herself…
Because of the Oxford system, has to apply without an official transcript / grades, relying on high school credentials, tutors’ recommendations, and predicted grades (A- to A range)…
Applied to 11 US colleges for transfer… 6 LACs and 5 Research Universities…
Applied as Classics / Linguistics majors…
No hooks… needs substantial FA (85-100% of Tuition & Fees)…
Did NOT Apply: Cornell & Brown (must have grades), Columbia (non-US system, has to apply as Freshman)
Accepted: Penn, Northwestern, Georgetown, Haverford, Hamilton
What we learned:
Better luck with Research Universities than LACs… More spots? ECs less important?
Got back into schools which accepted her as freshman (Georgetown and Haverford)…
Got into schools (Penn and Northwestern) she would not be able to get in as freshman (she did not apply to any Ivies for freshman, did not apply to Northwestern also)… Oxford effect?
Haverford gave the best FA… Penn was willing to increase FA to come close to Haverford… Northwestern would not consider competitors’ FA package…
Georgetown and Hamilton’s FAs are poor and have too much loan components…
Penn is going to be as toxic or as life-altering as your D chooses to make it. If she expends zero effort finding her peeps- it could be an alienating or lonely experience. If she jumps in with both feet, there are going to be tons of like-minded students, too many activities going on for a single person to enjoy, a plethora of mind-expanding/challenging things to explore.
I also know a couple of the “Penn is toxic” recent grads and although they were all in different disciplines and had different experiences, there seems to be one commonality- expecting a group of like-minded friends doing cool stuff to magically materialize with no effort expended. I would suggest things like “find someone in your art history class who wants to wander the Barnes museum for an hour with you on a Sunday afternoon” and get back “No, I have to study”. Or “volunteer for the tutoring program in an inner-city Philly elementary school” and hear “I can’t commit an hour every week- with transportation time, that means two hours a week out of my schedule!”
That’s when Penn becomes toxic. When the GPA is more important than the learning (and yes, learning takes place in museums and working with disadvantaged kids). So encourage your D to see this opportunity as a true reset for her!!!