<ul>
<li>What can we do to improve our chances? </li>
<li>Are we in a bad situation? - do people get rejected?</li>
<li>Should I send more stuff?</li>
</ul>
<p>Yeh I need to be in on this too, though not my "top" school, it has consistently been one of my favs...until I was deferred</p>
<p>EA is a numbers game for good-looking stats for them. It's about high SAT scores and high GPAs.
Show why you want to go there. One of the comments made by Michael Gaynor, head of admissions, at one of the speeches during admitted students day this past year, was that those students had clearly articulated "why Villanova" in their applications. Particularly in the Villanova essay, they had used specific examples of either a program, courses, profs that they were interested in and why, and had shown alot of knowledge of the school/academic programs.
Also, community service is huge- most students enthusiastically participate in some way there. Highlight it if you have done it, and maybe a program you'd be interested in joining at Nova (lots of info on website on these). The new President is a charismatic priest with a theatre background, and he gets right in there with students for service. He is really beloved on campus.</p>
<p>Good luck. My dd loves the professors she has had so far- excellent teachers, and very accessible and friendly.</p>
<p>One of the biggest things I picked up last year when one gets deferred is to send a letter explaining why Villanova is right for you. It seemed as though last years "waiting" list was rumored to not even be looked at by the end of the spring. So, if this is your number one choice and you still have time -- write them reasons why this is for you. Make yourself stand out.</p>