Any tips from current U of R students about the application process?

PAVenturer
Fri, 23 Aug 2013 11:16:10 +0000

I agree mostly with what the good doctor says. We are moving my daughter in for the fourth and final time tomorrow. Time sure does fly! I don’t recall her exact numbers but she had a very high GPA (u3.9/w4.3 +/-), a 1900 or so SAT and a 31-32 ACT. She was accepted ED. She was not Richmond or Bonner scholar. This year she is receiving over $40k in scholarships. The first year was a grant of about $34k. Each year the scholarship money went up and the grant money came down. UR does meet 100% of “need” and much of that will be in “free money” in the form of grants and scholarships. It has been suggested by others here that applying ED hurts your chances of a Richmond Scholars award. The belief is that they can use those awards to attract undecideds later. I hope that is not accurate but I haven’t seen anything that would suggest otherwise.

I have told many others here that I believe your essay is critical. There are going to be 500 students applying with numbers that look just like your daughter’s. Think of the essay as her first job interview. It is an opportunity to set yourself apart from the crowd. It will show admissions why they want your daughter on campus. My daughter had an awesome essay and I think that weighed heavily in her being accepted. She was also very committed to a couple of EC’s. Her essay was about those programs.

My daughter had an informal interview that really didn’t seem very beneficial. She went very prepared with her own list of questions designed to show her interest in UR. The interviewer was a student who didn’t ask much more than, “so, like, why do you want to go to UR?” Others may have more positive experiences with the interview. We did not.

We love UR and my daughter is very sad that she will be done after this year. The faculty has been great. Admissions and financial aid are very helpful. With very few exceptions, other students have been terrific. But the good doctor’s Casey Kasem quote is very applicable. Good luck!!