I’m in between choosing which schools to apply for either regular decision or early decision. I’m an international student from the city so initially I thought the only place in the states that would suit me would be NYC. I completed my personal statement and the supplementals fro NYU but my sister and I are applying for college at the same time and our family isn’t likely able to cover the tuition of NYU without scholarships. My sister is applying to Stern (business) and I want to go the art route, applying to Steinhardt’s Studio Art (Wellesley Art and Carnegie Mellon’s BFA-interdisciplinary program with art and humanities, and also Cooper Union Art-but I’m also into international relations so maybe I’ll doubel major or just take some poli-sci classes ) I’m doing the IB and my predicted score is 40/45 (all 6s and 7s with one 5-scores are out of 7) So I started to think about applying Wellesley, and initially was going to apply ED for NYU, but now I’m leaning towards EDing Wellesley but that means I only have a couple days to write their supplemental “Why Us” essay. I’ve done my research and Wellesley meets 100% of all admitted students’ financial needs whereas I’m not so sure for NYU. Living in NYC would also have higher costs than Boston I assume?
Also, I’m not too sure about Wellesley’s art portfolio requirements because I thought that I would have to write a short artist’s description for each artwork I submit, but it says "be sure to indicate title, medium, and dimensions (height x width x depth). Please also indicate whether the work was made as part of a class assignment or under the direction of a particular teacher. Also, please indicate if the work was collaborative or if it was installed within a particular context. " So should I be adding artist’s descriptions?
Then based on my research ( I may be wrong) , Wellesley looks for students that are more extroverted and outgoing, those who are always in the front. Whereas I have always been more of a behind-the-scenes person. I do have leadership activities, such as clubs and such. But I don’t know if I come across as the student Wellesley typically looks for. Although I may not be super outgoing and stuff but maybe it’s because I haven’t tried? Perhaps if I’m in that environment I could actually find it super fun and get involved in a lot of school related activities.
Can anyone provide some or any advice? (in terms of scholarships, living costs, art portfolio, etc.) What do you guys think based on my scores (No SAT or ACT taken) are many chances of admission and getting scholarships?
These are very, very different schools. Wellesley is not in Boston, but 30 minutes outside the city in an affluent suburb. It’s also very small in comparison to NYU.
Honestly, I think it’s too late to be shifting gears on ED, especially to a highly competitive school that you would need to rush writing supplements and amend your portfolio. IMO, do more research and apply RD.
It seems late to make this change, and it doesn’t seem like you have done all the research you need to. NYU cost of living is greater than the suburbs of Boston.
NYU does say they meet full need for students ‘who file on time’. It’s not clear this includes international students though…it’s worth a call to find out for sure. NYU will also require proof of funds for 4 years (many US schools do that).
Have you run the net price calculators to get an estimate of costs (although sometimes they can be inaccurate for international students)? Please do this for all your schools. Cooper Union will not meet full need, they won’t be close. Their student health insurance (which will be mandatory for you at all US schools) is $5K.
For students who file on time, NYU meets the full demonstrated need of admitted students as determined by your expected family contribution from information that you provide on the CSS Profile.
Do you have other schools on your list, ones with higher likelihood of admissions? You need at least one affordable safety school…do you have that in your home country, or elsewhere?
You mention your family will need financial help for NYU, but the full cost of attendance at Wellesley is also more than $80K. While Wellesley meets the financial need of the students it accepts, it is not “need blind” when considering international applicants for admission.
You should know if you can afford a school before applying, and the student visa process for the US will call on you to demonstrate that you can cover the cost of four years of undergraduate education at your intended school.
Making sudden, reactive moves this late in the application cycle is tough, especially with an EDI deadline less than a week away. Wellesley offers an EDII option with a January 1 deadline.
I am not a big fan of ED when you are undecided this close to the deadline.
Have you run the NPC for both schools? What the schools computes as your ability to pay does not necessarily agree with what you or your parents think is your ability to pay. I would not take on any debt in order come to the US as an international student to study art.
One thing about Wellesley College is that they have an agreement that allows Wellesley students to take classes at MIT and Harvard. Wellesley is also in an attractive suburban location.
Is that true, that there’s cross-reg between Wellesley and Harvard? I looked for this on Wellesley’s site recently and could not find any mention of Harvard. MIT, Brandeis, Babson, and Olin are all mentioned, but not Harvard.