What are my chances of getting into Barnard?

<p>Hey guys.
College application time is coming around the corner, and I have my heart set on Barnard. It is absolutely my top school, but I describe it as a reach. I know it is very hard to determine whether a student will get into a selective college as it sometimes seems random but I just want to hear some opinions on where I stand. At the moment I am somewhat doubting my general chances. Any feedback is appreciated!
2220 SAT first time (760R, 660M, 800W) taking it again in October to hopefully boost my math score
SAT Subject- 740 in Biology, taking English subject test in November
4.18 Weighted GPA
AP Biology, AP Language and Comp, AP Lit and Comp, AP Psych, AP Calc AB, and the rest mostly Honors
ECs- Key Club, Prevention Using Student Help Club, Extended School Year Program for Special Education Students, Muslim Student Association, Young Muslims Club, General Choir, Vocal Technique, Honors Choir, Karate, Guitar Lessons, Literary Magazine, Theater, a few volunteered events. (I know my ECs are not very strong-- they are the part I'm most worried about.)
I am hoping to make up for my weak ECs by impressing Barnard with my essay and supplements--I want to show them that I am a driven, curious young woman with ambitious goals. I hold strong feminist views and am a passionate Civil Rights advocate-- I want to make my compassion shine through the writing.</p>

<p>I seek one more piece of advice-- Should I apply ED or RD? Barnard is my first choice, but I don't know if ED will reduce my chances or marginally increase them?!
Thanks!</p>

<p>Your stats are better than my daughter’s were so… I think the key is the essays. They are really looking for your passion to shine through. If you don’t need financial aid, go ED. If you need to weigh financial aid packages, then wait and do RD. Good luck! It’s a great school!</p>

<p>Thanks!!! But doesn’t Barnard offer to meet 100% of need regardless?</p>

<p>Like other full need schools, Barnard meets 100% of the amount of money that they determine to be “need”. Not the FAFSA EFC, and not what you or your parents think you need. And Barnard also expects students to take on loans and to contribute from their own earnings. </p>

<p>Barnard can potentially be very generous but unless you are very knowledgeable about the financial aid process and your family has a very simple financial situation (basically, wage earners & renters) - you are much better off to apply to several colleges, including an in-state public or a safety that is certain to offer generous merit aid – and then compare awards in the spring. </p>

<p>Thanks for the information!
That’s great advice-- My safety is Rutgers, which I’m sure will give me a fair amount of merit aid. Perhaps I’ll apply RD to Barnard, because my family’s financial situation is fairly complex.</p>

<p>I am a high school student as well, but here is my opinion:
If you truly, truly want to go to Barnard, you must apply ED. There is a much smaller pool of applicants, and it will make you seem like you really want to go there. If I was you, I wouldn’t bother retaking the SAT in Math. Your score is right in Barnard’s middle 50%. Your CR and W scores are marvelous! Just do the Lit SAT II, and you’ll be fine.
To be frank, your ECs are not distinguishable. Do you have any important leadership positions or initiatives? If so, push them. Or write outstanding essays. But other than that, you seem qualified.</p>

<p>Please, please do not listen to high school students who tell you to apply ED. It is not going to help you if you get accepted to Barnard in December and have to turn down your spot because of lack of financial aid. Financial aid isn’t directly negotiable (you can’t just call up and ask for more and expect to get it), but when you have financial aid offers from other colleges in hand, sometimes it provides information that you would not have thought of otherwise that provides a basis to request adjustments. Also, sometimes parents experience sticker shock because their own expectations as to college costs are unreasonably low – the decision “can we afford this” made in a single instance can be different than the decision that might be made in a comparative setting. </p>

<p>My daughter applied RD in a very competitive year- no special hooks, test scores that were a the bottom of Barnard’s score range – and she was accepted. I’ve done the math in the past - roughly 85% of students that get accepted to Barnard are accepted during the RD round. Of course the number who end up on campus is smaller – the majority of those RD students end up choosing different colleges. </p>

<p>It was a financial stretch to send my daughter to college. I was willing to do it in part because Barnard’s offer ended up being more generous than other private colleges that accepted her. But I had to borrow and she had to borrow. You would do a lot better at this point working with your parents to get an understanding of their expectations about money. </p>

<p>Thank you all for the input.
Yes, I know my ECs could have been much better; I’m afraid I dedicated myself entirely on my grades the past few years. I am precisely worried about not having a “special hook”, despite my somewhat high stats.<br>
Calmom- I’ll definitely discuss the prices with my mom–we used the Barnard Net Price Calculator, and the results seem too good to be true. If you don’t mind, could you share your daughter’s stats and anything that you think helped her get in?
I really want to apply to Barnard ED, but the extra time to spice up my essay and supplements is tempting, and if the financial risk is truly that much I might go RD. </p>

<p>My d’s stats are irrelevant. The official advice from those who claim to know about such things was that she didn’t stand a chance with her SAT score – and I wasn’t stupid enough to ask for “chances” on CC. She was a strong student - one of the top 3 at her high school at the time she applied (something her gc. noted), but definitely did not pursue the “most rigorous” curriculum. Weak on math & science, not a whole lot of AP’s. The reason for the light schedule was that she spent a semester abroad in 11th grade, which pretty much messed up scheduling of the remainder of courses at home. </p>

<p>Barnard has holistic admissions – as do the majority of small colleges and LAC’s in the US. They do not select their students based on which have the best “stats” – they select their students with an eye to bringing in a class of students with diverse interests and backgrounds, and they want students who are interesting.</p>

<p>I always assumed Barnard was a reach and that my d. had a very good chance of getting in, because I think she is exactly the type of woman that Barnard wants to have. She had a lopsided (“pointy”) profile and the confidence and sense to focus on her strengths. </p>

<p>I think you are selling yourself short when you diminish the value of your own EC’s. If your choice of EC’s reflect your general interests and concerns, then writing about your experiences and choices will give life to your application. You want the admissions readers to have a sense of who you are, and to be able to remember reading about you a day later, or a week later. Think about why you want to attend Barnard, and what personal factors you have that make you unique and different from other applicants. I can tell you that as a Muslim, you are bringing a diversity factor to Barnard – it is not a “hook” but it is something that sets you somewhat apart. </p>

<p>It’s not how big or how important your accomplishments are, it’s much more about how memorable and genuine they seem. An applicant can be Senior Class President and Valedictorian and feel that she has great stats-- but how many other applicants have the same? Sometimes the most memorable essays or bits of information from LOR’s are about very little items -something that is special to you and that you can convey in a meaningful way, something small quality of personality that one of your teachers has noticed and remarked upon. </p>