Where should I apply ED/EA? (HYPSMC) Concerned about financial aid.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I posted this chances thread in the Caltech forum, but I'm interested in (another) reevaluation of chances. I requested one over the summer, but now that I actually have a college list, and I'm a junior... I'm becoming more concerned about financial aid than about where I want to apply.</p>

<p>Princeton is my first choice, and I would definitely want to apply ED. However, applying ED would eliminate my chances everywhere else, and even though P-ton is my dream school, I would be willing to attend a school further down my list if they offered me a better financial aid package. I don't think I qualify for any major need-based aid. Moreover, my school district has a scholarship program for students who decide to stay in California for college, and if I win a scholarship, I would be far more inclined to stay. </p>

<p>So in short, I don't really want to be stuck with a gigantic tuition fee, but I also don't want to give up the huge admission advantage at my dream school. My question is, then, what are my chances at RD Princeton? What about my other schools? (I'm thinking that if I can afford to not apply ED, then I could use my EA somewhere else.)</p>

<p>From the top down: Princeton, Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Caltech, Columbia, MIT, UCBerkeley, UCLA, USC.</p>

<p>STATS</p>

<ul>
<li>Rank 1 of 504 </li>
<li>4.0 UW GPA in high school </li>
<li>4.0 GPA in community college (currently have about 30 units) </li>
<li>4 completed APs by application time, taking 5 more senior year. Projected 5s across the board. One completed AP now: Chemistry - 5 </li>
<li>SAT I : 1580
Math: 780
Verbal: 800</li>
<li>PSAT: 240</li>
<li>New SAT: June
Critical Reading:
Math:
Writing:</li>
<li>SAT II Chem: 800</li>
<li>SAT II Math IIC: 800</li>
<li>SAT II Writing: 800</li>
<li>SAT II US History: May</li>
<li>SAT II Physics: May</li>
<li>SAT II Literature: October</li>
<li>AMC 12: 102</li>
<li>ACS Local: 55
Misc: Asian female in California</li>
</ul>

<p>EC:
- 3 years newspaper [staff writer (10), news editor (10/11), editor-in-chief (11/12)]
- Chemistry Olympiad national qualifier, 3rd highest score in SoCal. (I have a pretty good chance of making study camp next year.)
- 3 years naginata (obscure ancient Japanese martial/combat art -- also the name of the 7-foot long weapon used)
- built website, brochures, posters for University of California Library Bookbindery [11]
- Science Club [member (9), intercommittee councilmember (10), treasurer (10), president (11,12)]
- 3 years Engineering Fair Overall 1st and 2nd place (shared among 4), 1st place Impromptu Design (11)
- lab assistant for physical chemistry professor at UCLA (11)
- 3 years Science Olympiad: silver in Tower Building (11)
- 2 years Academic Decathlon [11, 12]; 3rd place Interview (11)
- Bay Math League (inter-committee councilmember, 1st place final meet 2004)
- ~350 hours community service (tutoring community college nursing students, teaching immigrant neighbors English, library stuff, Relay For Life)
- 3 years Write-Offs (editorial writing, several 1-3rd places)
- CSF (9, 10, 11, 12)
- PTA Reflections: 2nd, Literature (10); 3rd Literature (11)
- Spartan Laurel Nominee: Science, maths (10)
- 1 year Chinese Club (9)</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>sorry your post is too long for me so i just skimmed it.</p>

<p>on princeton... why don't you fill out their financial aid estimator (online somewhere) and see if your family's willing to dole out that kind of money? the way i see it, princeton has one of the best financial aid programs around, even for those who are well off (i.e. they eliminate student loans for everyone, don't hold home equity against you, etc.), so applying ED might be prudent. i personally would've applied ED even tho i'm dirt poor had i known better (and had princeton been my first-choice).</p>

3

<p>I think you're a rare applicant in that you excel in every subject but you still show a strong chem focus. I wouldn't be surpised if you got accepted at all of those schools, although you can never really predict decisions with HYP and the other elites.</p>

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<p>i wouldnt take the new SAT, they accept the old and u have a 2380....lol. </p>

<p>u definitely have nice stats =P</p>

5

<p>she got a 240psat, i'd say 2400 sat. your class rank is a little low (hehe). your sat2 scores are also low (hehe).</p>

<p>anyway, i think you have a very good shot at princeton rd, so dont necessarily restrict yourself to ed.</p>

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<p>Your post made me think of something. Why don't places like Princeton, Columbia, UPenn, and other selective schools with ED give out financial aid estimates ahead of the ED deadline? There could be like a fin. aid deadline, say September 1, for all students interested in applying ED to those schools. A fin. aid estimate would be given by Oct.15th, and then the students would have two weeks to decide whether the aid package made it worth it to apply ED. In keeping with the ED rule of "only one school", each applicant would only be able to file for a fin. aid estimate from one ED school.</p>

<p>It doesn't seem that hard to do, especially since the number of fin. aid applications to process wouldn't be high. Only those who were very on the ball in terms of college application would even ask for estimates.</p>

<p>I don't know, is it not a feasible idea? Makes sense to me at least...</p>

7

<p>Wow. Your academic stats are top-notch, and your ECs are also very strong. With good recs and interesting essays, I will not be surprised if you are accepted everywhere. Also, do ED if you really really want to go to Princeton. You will have very good chances RD, but just to be on the safe side, I think you should do ED. HYPSCM have very similar financial aid packages, and I actually think Princeton has the best among them.</p>

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<p>Asterstar, you're a genius. Why can't the people at Princeton, etc. think of that? I don't see how such a policy could significantly hurt them. Besides, for those whose finaid calculations have been done and who decided to make the ED, the school wouldn't even have to recalculate it again.</p>

<p>Hmm... Princeton's financial aid calculator says my EFC is approximately $34,000, and I qualify for about $8,000 aid. I think it's mainly because my parents have an educational IRA for me, and because I'm an only child who lives with both parents.</p>

<p>Depressing...</p>

<p>I read on CNN (I think?) the other day that Caltech has the best aid package in the country; on average, tuition after merit and need-based aid is around $18,000. A friend of mine who went to Caltech got a free ride, from merit + need + school district scholarship. Ivies don't give merit aid, and Stanford doesn't seem to give much of it, though it's definitely worth a try. </p>

<p>Or maybe I should just start working on independent scholarship contests...</p>

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<p>Apply early to the school that you like most. All six of those schools would give you superb financial aid.</p>

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<p>dayymmmm ur in with all the money u want pprolly...its gonna b like an all u can eat open buffet for u ... congrats and good luck</p>

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<p>If financial aid is at all important for you, do not apply ED. Apply nonbinding EA at a top school, and if you get in, use that EA to negotiate a full scholarship at a place like Vandy, Wash U or Emory, which are extremely generous with students that they most want. Those students are the ones that are also in demand by the Ivies.</p>

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<p>Thanks, Northstarmom! Just out of curiosity, however. How would you go about negotiating financial aid?</p>

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<p>Princeton offers the most generous financial aid of those. In fact, they are the ONLY school that will meet 100% of need entirely with grants, no need to take out loans. If you are going to do ED somewhere, Princeton would be the right choice.</p>

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<p>Good god. Schools only require two SAT IIs now that the SAT I has a writing component. You have three 800s. Why in heaven's name would you want to take three MORE? No, they won't improve your chances (which are excellent) one iota. I was an Ivy interviewer, and if you ask me, this resume is excessive. I know many kids are super-overachievers, but the time commitment involved in all of this seems crazy. And ask yourself deep in your heart - were you really, truly interested in "naginata," or did you read that Princeton article (I forgot where, but I read it awhile ago) about how Japanese sword fighting really warmed the admissions' guy's heart because it was so unique?</p>

<p>I don't dare ask, "Why not take some time off and have a little fun?" because I will immediately get flamed by people who say that working your tail off to get into college 24/7 IS fun.</p>

<p>I guess I am the only nay-sayer in the whole bunch, but if I were interviewing you, I would be extremely suspicious. That'll get me flamed too - but no, I don't think excellence and achievment are suspicious; I just think this particular resume is. Sorry to all I will offend.</p>

<p>That said, you'll get in anywhere you apply, but I guess that was the point.</p>

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<p>What professions are you looking into? Just curious...</p>

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<p>You have super chances RD. I retract my previous opinion. While your financial aid award may be sufficient applying both ED and RD, if you apply RD, you can negotiate for a better package and they will use aid to encourage you to enroll. So id say go RD pton, EA Harvard/yale. And luc- wth?</p>

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<p>Voronwe - "Japanese sword fighting really warmed the admissions' guy's heart because it was so unique?"</p>

<p>That seems so bizarre to me that I don't even know whether that's a joke... Naginata is fun, stress relieving, and inspirational, and I originally began to study it because I thought it was incredibly awesome that such a martial art actually existed -- one of my favorite characters in a childhood favorite book uses a naginata, and I had until then believed the naginata to be a wonderful yet fictional art (Keladry of Mindelan from Protector of the Small by Tamora Pierce). A bonus is that it gives me an opportunity to practice and learn Japanese from native speakers, because my full AP/cocurricular schedule forced me to give up Japanese at high school. I still think one of my weakest points is that I only have 2 years of foreign langauge, one of which is in two semesters at a community college.</p>

<p>Chemistry (which is the major I'd like to pursue in college) is fun, and I'm willing to lose sleep over reading chemistry unrelated to olympiad/school just because I enjoy it, I read a book all about phosphorous for an English book report. Newspaper is my life.</p>

<p>What makes all of this "work" not really work is all of the awesome people involved; my best friends and I have some of our best times on bus rides/car rides to the various competitions. And when you think about it, how can some people balance three varsity sports every year? There are seasons for many of my activities as well; for instance, reflections is a fall contest; Academic Decathlon, engineering fair, and science olympiad are winter competitions, and chem olympiad and write-offs are in the spring. Naginata kyu and dan (rank) testings are in September, so we focus on it over the summer.</p>

<p>And about the 3 more SAT IIs -- Writing is no longer an SAT II, and I need a non math/science test for my MIT app. Physics... I'm not sure I'm going to take it; it's tentative. And Literature I want to take in October or so to get those four free score reports, which are actually worth more than the actual test.</p>

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<p>By the way, Lena? Luc? Thanks, good luck, and <3s!!!</p>

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<p>Yeah, don't take what voronwe said seriously. No one is going to be suspicious about the fact that you've excelled at your activities; Chem. Olympiad for sure is something that cannot be BS-ed. I didn't comment on your chances before, so here it is: great shot at all the schools you're looking at. You're not just strong academically, you're an interesting applicant. Be sure to write some interesting essays that convey you as a human being, and the rest is up to the college.</p>

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<p>Aserstar, you misunderstood me. I AGREE that she'll get in everywhere and will be perceived as an interesting applicant. By "suspicious" I did NOT mean to impy that I think she "faked" anything - I never said that. I simply meant that while as an Ivy interviewer I appreciated drive and passion, some things begin to look like they border on obsession (for example - and this is NOT about the OP - I would give a lower score to someone who repeatedly took the SATs trying to move up ten or twenty points, as opposed to someone who spent their Saturdays doing something far more interesting - even lying on your back watching the clouds go by is saner than this utterly insane test-taking hysteria). I did NOT impugn the Chem Olympiad, either.</p>

<p>I fully understand not wanting to take an old lady seriously, but I have had thirty years experience at the college level and 15 interviewing, with friends and colleagues in adcom departments as well. Go to the MIT admissions site and see what THEY are saying about obsessive-compulsives! (no flames please - I am not necessarily just using the term in its medical sense).</p>