iowejf

i'm applying to many top schools, and my safety is SMU. i'm a junior, and this past october i sent them my act, on which i got a 31. i took it in february and got a 33 which they have not yet seen. about 2 weeks ago, i got a letter from them:

"Dear ******:

My name is Ellen S. Pryor, and I serve Southern Methodist University as Associate Provost for Honors and International Programs. I am writing to you personally because you are among a select group of students with high potential for admission to SMU and our University's honors program. Additionally, I am writing to provide you information about merit scholarship programs at SMU..."

i'm wondering if i should take getting in there as granted and only have the one safety so i can add another reach to my app list. in the current "crap shoot" admissions world, does even such a letter make that a good idea?

mj93

Hmm.. the letter *might* be a bit of a gimmick, you never know. Better safe than sorry!

suze

Does money matter?

iowejf

it shouldn't, suze, because if i don't end up with any other sort of aid i'm going to try to do a rotc scolarship.

suze

I don't understand. Different schools can give you vastly different amounts of $$ so a school needs to be a financial safety to be a safety. Have you run calculators and taken a look at what % of need SMU usually meets?