vandy, tulane, etc... would appreciate any advice!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm a senior, pretty new to this whole CC thing, and still undecided about where to apply... my (vague) list right now consists of Vanderbilt, Tulane, Emory, and several safeties and in-state schools. I would greatly appreciate ANY insight that any of you guys could give me as to any schools that I could match. I talked to a rep from Brown recently and it would be my dream school, but I know I'm an average student with no Ivy hopes and no legacies. Anyways... I'm pretty muddled about college and whatnot right now and would appreciate any advice you could give me!</p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>Live in Kentucky, Public High School with 2100+ students
Class Rank: not sure but most likely in top 5-10%
Sri Lankan American
GPA: 1 B freshman year, all A's soph, 2 B's junior year... not sure but I think it works out to a 4.6something weighted, 3.8something unweighted
Classes: all advanced, AP world history (4), AP english lang (4), AP calc ab (5), AP us history (5), currently taking four more AP's (english lit, calc bc, biology, spanish)</p>

<p>Orchestra 4 years, violin
NHS, Beta
Culture Club
Young Democrats
Student Council
Lexington Mayor's Youth Council
Active volunteer, at least 100+ hrs... math tutor, habitat, meal serving, volunteering at my mosque, etc
Currently working on a mentoring project involving architectural designs, houses, hopefully for implementation in New Orleans (main reason for considering Tulane)</p>

<p>SAT & ACT I took once without prior prep so I'll probably retake them in oct/nov after doing some studying... but as of right now ACT 33 and SAT 2260
PSAT 225, national merit semifinalist
Kentucky Governor's Scholar</p>

<p>I know I'm definitely lacking in the EC department... I play tennis but on an individual basis, and other than a note from my coach, it doesn't amount to much. I'm an okay student but I didn't try as hard as I could have in high school... I'm definitely working hard this year. I am considering pre-med but I would love to do some study abroad. With KY governor's scholar and national merit, I'm eligible for a full ride at the University of KY but I'd like to broaden my options...need some advice here, thanks for taking the time to read this!</p>

2

<p>Why not apply to Brown? I'm not really very knowledgeable about such things, but your stats seem strong enough that it would at least be worth a shot, especially if it's really your dream school. You never know about these things.</p>

3

<p>Exactly.. it never hurts to try. I would definitely apply early to Brown.. many people have been surprised at an acceptance letter from some where they didn't expect. It's worth a shot for sure - you never know.</p>

4

<p>I think you could get considerable merit money at Tulane.</p>

5

<p>Chocolate89,</p>

<p>If you are a senior now, the time to finalize your list of colleges is now. For each of the schools you are interested in, look carefully at their admissions websites and identify admissions requirements and timelines/deadlines involved with each school’s admissions process. You’ve demonstrated that you’ve worked hard for 3+ years in H.S., and though you admit to being “muddled about college”, it will serve you well to immediately organize your admissions application strategy for each school you are sincerely interested in applying to. Research thorough the admissions requirements of each school – you will find that some schools may recommend SAT Subject Tests, which it appears you have not taken, although you satisfy well the testing requirements of most schools via your ACT, assuming you took the writing section also.</p>

<p>Assuming you have identified the “several safeties and in-state schools” that match up well to your admissions chances and your academic interests, I won’t address this more than making mention of it. Regarding Vanderbilt, Tulane and Emory, I think you are competitive at each school, especially at Tulane (relative Safety). Your chances at Vanderbilt and Emory are good, but not assured. Each of these schools will want to see demonstrated interest by you. This can come in the form of established contact with their admissions offices, including official on-campus visit, ordering video/DVD through their admissions websites, or meeting with admissions reps at regional events. BTW, I think your EC's are just fine.</p>

<p>Regarding Brown, you have a chance, but again it is hardly assured. If you have not visited the school and compared its programs to your academic interests, do NOT consider applying early (Brown has an Early Decision plan which carries a binding commitment to enroll if admitted.) I do not recommend that anybody apply ED to any school without first having visited. Very often, students have been surprised to find that impressions gained from websites and college brochures do not match up to the realities they find when they actually visit a campus. Conversely, many students have been pleasantly surprised to find a college to be well beyond their initial expectations. It’s like a blind date – you don’t know what you’ll get until the date happens. Also, given the timeframes involved and your being in a “muddled” state, it may be overly aggressive of you to attempt to apply Early Decision to any school at this juncture. This should not be an issue for you, as I think you would fare as well as a Regular Decision applicant as an ED one.</p>

<p>You make mention of the potential for a “full-ride” scholarship at University of KY, which implies that financial aid may be important to you. (Incidentally, you may want to confirm the “full-ride” aspect of the Governor’s Scholars Program; it may extend only to in-state tuition, and not include room/board, books, etc. – still a good deal, though.) Because each college has its own peculiarities regarding merit scholarships and need-based financial aid, you will want to research thoroughly for each school. The process of applying for financial aid is usually concurrent with applying for admissions. Keep this in mind if financial aid is important to you. Many students (and their parents) find that financial viability is as important as being able to be admitted to a school.</p>

<p>At UK, the financial aid applications requirements require submission of the FAFSA form. For many private schools (e.g., Tulane, Vanderbilt, Emory, and Brown), they require both the CSS Profile form as well as the FAFSA form.</p>

<p>Good luck to you!</p>

6

<p>You seem to focus on medium sized southern universities. How about Rice? Sounds like a good high match/low reach for you. I agree- apply to Brown. How about Wake Forest? If you want merit aid, looking at liberal arts colleges with great records in med school admissions would be a smart move. Many of them need more male and/or minority applicants.</p>

7

<p>I just learned about this new merit scholarship at Tulane, which provides full ride tuition, and is renewable. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.tulane.edu/%7Efinaid/dean%27s_honor_scholarship.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.tulane.edu/%7Efinaid/dean%27s_honor_scholarship.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>According to the site: </p>

<p>"Deans' Honor Scholarships are merit-based scholarships offered to approximately 100 incoming freshmen by the Office of Undergraduate Admission. The scholarships cover full tuition and are renewable for four years (five years for Architecture students) provided the student maintain a 3.00 cumulative grade point average and continuous enrollment in a full-time undergraduate division.</p>

<p>Students with SAT I scores of 1450 or higher or an ACT composite score of 33 or higher are encouraged to apply for this scholarship. Typical scholarship recipients rank in the top 5 percent of the class, have a rigorous academic program with honors and advanced placement courses, and have an outstanding record of extracurricular activities."</p>

8

<p>wow...thanks for all the replies! I think I will give Brown a shot, because although I'm definitely not relying on getting in, I might as well try--I plan on visiting in October. As far as SAT subject tests go, I was hoping to get by without taking any by taking the ACT with writing, but I'll have to double check with some schools. </p>

<p>Financial aid isn't too huge a deal for me and I'm fairly certain that I wouldn't qualify, but UK's scholarship for national merit is appealing because it covers everything and then some (tuition, room and board, stipend, etc)... if I do become a national merit finalist then that would be a tempting offer. And that Tulane Scholarship certainly couldn't hurt either, thanks so much for bringing it to my attention; I plan on discussing it with my mentor, an architect, to see if I'd be a good fit there... It would definitely be nice to graduate with money already saved up for good grad/med school rather than to graduate with a loan, but if I happen to get into a really good school, I won't turn it down simply because of tuition costs.</p>

<p>Rice sounds like an excellent school, I never even thought about Texas, and I've looked into Wake Forest Hanover and some liberal arts colleges as well that sound good to me-- again, a round of college visits in October. </p>

<p>Applying regular decision will give me some time to think things over, especially as I'm still unsure about whether to go north or south for college... Vandy, Emory, Tulane, etc are good southern schools, but Brown has piqued my interest in northern schools...I'll have to do some more visiting up north.
Any northern schools in mind that I might possibly fit? I'll be looking up info online and planning visits, etc, but if you know anyone with similar stats to mine who has gotten into a good northern school, I would love to hear more... again, thanks!</p>