WineLover, thanks for the kind words. I am not a legacy at any of the schools I applied to. Not sure yet where to go but definitely leaning towards Notre Dame. Going to visit in two weeks to do an accepted school tour to get a better feel for the environment and opportunities. ND has done a really good job of trying to make you feel a part of the community with the follow up correspondence since my acceptance, I think I will need a better winter coat!
@Gooder Notre Dame is a great choice. That is where my son will be going no question! Yes, they do a great job with courting the applicants. Last week he received a handwritten note from the admissions rep. It’s a nice touch and they do make you feel valued. Good luck to you. And yes, it will be very cold there in February!
ACT: 32 (sent one test but might send another which would superscore me to a 33)
SAT: n/a
GPA: 4.44 weighted
Rank: n/a
Rigor (APs/honors): APUSH & AP Lang junior year (only 2 offered), AP French, psych, and lit senior year. Mostly honors classes besides math, full senior course load with no free periods
Extras: NHS member, president of French Club, member of advanced band for 4 years, outside ensemble and private flute lessons, 9+ hours of dance weekly, volunteer dance teacher, competition team, member of touring ballet company, captain of dressage show team, 3 riding lessons per week, volunteer counselor at riding summer camp, personal assistant job, part time job at barn in summer
State Residency: MA
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Applied date: 10/29
Decision date: 1/11
Decision/College: Deferred, Liberal Arts and Sciences
Major: Arts Undeclared
I agree with the people saying that all the emphasis they put on course rigor isn’t the most honest way to go. All through high school and the college process I heard about rigor and how it was better to have a B in an AP than an A in a regular class, but when it comes down to it I’m getting denied from colleges, probably because my GPA is lower than the average and my ACT is above, which makes it look like I didn’t try in my classes.
Yes, sorry I forgot that
Accepted!
Biochemistry major
GPA: 3.66(Weighted) - small, private school
Class Rank: 5/23
SAT:1510
Strong Extracurriculars and Essays
I am so happy to be accepted, but I chose PSU already. Good luck to all other applicants!
@Oneiota - I am with you. My daughter was denied with the below stats. Having said that 'Nova was very low on her list, never visited or emailed, I assume is a factor. Hearing people getting into Georgetown and not 'Nova is preposterous. People saying they should apply ED if they really want to go obviously have no financial concerns.
DENIED: Villanova Business School
ACT: N/A
SAT: 1460
GPA: 3.99
Rank: N/A
Rigor (APs/honors): 7 AP Classes, 11 Honors Classes
Extras: Class VP, 4 Years, Jefferson Scholar Nominee, Hispanic Heritage Foundation Gold Medal Scholar, National Hispanic Scholar, Coca-Cola Semi-finalist, 4 Years ADL, SADD, about 10 other groups. Part of 5 charities and volunteer groups, National Honor Society.
State Residency: MA
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: F
Applied date: 11/1/18
Decision date: 1/11/19
Decision/College: DENIED
Major: Business
ACT: 33
SAT: N/A
GPA: 3.95 UW/4.92 W
Rank: Top 10%
Rigor (APs/honors): All honors core classes, 7 APs (Spanish, Bio, Chem, Calc AB, Lang, APUSH, Stat)
Extras: varsity swim team, mock trial president, GSA president, intersectional feminism club vp, NHS, and national merit scholar. I coach outside of school as well as working, tutoring, and teaching CCD.
State Residency: PA
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Applied date: 10/24
Decision date: 1/11
Decision/College: Accepted, Arts and Sciences
Major: Biology
I was also wondering if any accepted students were interested in exchanging instagram/snapchat to get to know each other. Nova is my top choice right now so I’d love to talk to other potential students.
@ProAssassin I think you were upset that you could have gone EA to Notre Dame? If that is the case, you actually might be better off applying RD there. They are known to reject during the EA round and if this was a tough round, you may not have gotten in and now might have a better chance RD. I think they say right on their website that EA is reserved for the tippy top and if you might stand a better chance RD. So you probably did the right thing.
@WineLover I think you are right on the money about yield protection, that is the only thing that makes sense. So if anyone was deferred with high stats and was asked to apply to the Presidential Scholarship and didn’t, that definitely would suggest you got in somewhere “better”…and looks like they were probably right?
I think if anyone was deferred that is in this category and Villanova is your top choice, you need to let them know this. I would update them with new accomplishments or whatever you can do to make them realize you are indeed very interested in attending. Good luck!
Was anybody invited into the honors program when they got accepted? I got in, but didn’t see any mention of honors in my acceptance letter. I also didn’t see anybody on here talking about it. Did they delay notification this year?
@sandy8 my son was also nominated for the Presidential Scholarship and did not submit the essays once he learned he got into his first choice school. We were wondering if he would be denied based on that, however, he was still accepted. Did your son write the essays and submit them for the scholarship?
From last year’s EA thread, it looks like finalists (58-60 applications) for the Presidential Scholarships were notified on their portals the afternoon of January 25th. Interviews were mid-February and scholarships awarded in late February.
“Demonstrated Interest” at Villanova is also clearly important - not visiting, not logging on to view the virtual tour, not requesting information online about the school or contacting the admission’s officer with a “thoughtful question” sends the message that Villanova is most likely a safety. In this day and age, they track everything so the more points of contact they see from a student, the better.
@familyfromLI Actually, Villanova does not track demonstrated interest. This is very clearly stated on their website.
“While we are very excited to roll out the blue and white carpet for your visit, please know that any trip to campus is for your informational purposes only. Villanova does not conduct interviews as part of our admission process, nor do we track demonstrated interest. Prospective and admitted students are encouraged to visit us on a weekday when campus is most active and vibrant.” https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/admission/visit.html
Still, it cannot hurt to show interest using the methods you outlined.
@winelover - that’s what they say, but if you were directed to check in . . . .I’m not so sure!!! Better to err on the side of caution 
@marcerino we are supposed to find out about honors program in late January.
This is what their website says:
Honors Program Consideration
Admission Application Deadline: November 1
Notification: by the end of January for Early Action and Early Decision and by late March for Regular Decision.
For anyone bewildered by the fact that “I got INVITED to the presidential scholarship, but I was DEFERRED!!!” I don’t think anyone actually gets invited. At my school, you had to tell the guidance counselor that you were interested and they would nominate you. Going out of your way to essentially nominate yourself for a scholarship doesn’t guarantee you admission.
@oneiota i disagree. i got accepted w a 1430 and 3.9 (typo earlier i said 1390 but thats w out superscore), and my TWIN SISTER w the SAME EXACT STATS got deferred. this just goes to show it comes down to the essay i think, bc stats can b misleading. when i went to nova they said the thing they value the most is your voice. so don’t regret taking more rigorous classes, i think that shows ur character, just know it doesn’t always have to do w stats
@tkdqueen035 Ahh, ok, thanks. I must’ve been looking at old sources, because they were saying that students are notified at time of admission.
@Gooder I’d say yield protection given your stats. If nova is your first choice I’d let them know that’s the case.