Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself here, but… Is American known for giving merit scholarships? Thank you!
Not exactly. AU offers merit scholarships to about 10-20% of its incoming class. AU is highly focussed on need-based aid.
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Thanks very much… I appreciate that priority. We just couldn’t pay all of it without some scholarship, so we’re crossing fingers and toes!
My D applied Regular Decision on October 24. Does anyone know when AU issues decisions for regular round? I can not identify the date on their website. Thanks.
4/1
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I really wish they would let kids know earlier, it doesn’t give much time for decision making.
This isn’t true. They don’t have a publish a set date, but last year’s came out around March 16th.
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They do. They come out mid-March which is standard for RD decisions since it gives over a month until the deadline.
Agreed that 7 weeks is usually ample time to make a decision but would suggest that doing so in the time of covid is different.
If students from the other side of the country find out Mar 15 that they’re accepted, but have not visited, some will scramble to find inexpensive air fare to get to DC. Usually, one has to do that 3 weeks out. That brings the student to a mid-April visit. Meanwhile, AU is an incredible university - I’d therefore guess that its applicants might’ve also been accepted in mid-March elsewhere, possibly in yet other distant locales. Consider kids who don’t have the resources to secure a last minute, cheap flight. Some high schools also end the year in late April, so while juggling even the idea of travel, these same teenagers are trying to study for finals, AP, and CLEP tests and to make the single biggest decision of their young lives.
In this very strange time, where students will have been stuck at home for 12 solid months, I’d love to see the better universities like AU extend the decision deadline.
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AU and most other colleges aren’t even allowing non-students/staff on campus, if those at all, so all the logistics you’re worried about would be pointless since they won’t be able to visit. AU has cancelled all tours for the spring semester and are not allowing entrance to buildings without valid campus ID, so there’s no point in any prospective students visiting. Not to mention the dangers and logistics of traveling anyway even without the purpose of a college visit.
So if that’s the only reason for possibly extending the deadline, it’s pretty pointless to even consider.
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Currently, Tulane, Lafayette, Sewanee, and others are allowing families on campus with safety procedures observed in full - I’m talking about now, January, 2021. April of 2021 is going to look a good bit different.
No offense, but it is not anyone’s business if a family chooses to travel in April 2021. High achieving students with a dozen acceptances, merit discounts, and scholarship awards are in a far different position with only having had a laptop’s view of the campus. I appreciate this insight into the culture of those who work there. Thank you.
Considering this is an AU thread, I am speaking of AU only. As of now, AU has cancelled all in-person tours for this semester (including later months like April), and has explicitly asked prospective students to not visit campus. Traveling to and visiting campus, per what AU has said, is not only dangerous considering the pandemic but would not be worth it unless students have an urgent need for on-campus resources. Nothing I have written is different than what the University has expressed directly.
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Understood. Your comment about “…and most other colleges aren’t even allowing non-students/staff on campus, if those at all, so all the logistics you’re worried about would be pointless since they won’t be able to visit” led me to believe you were suggesting that accepted students would be unlikely to be traveling to any colleges, so the kids’ concerns were pointless.
We have toured AU and four other schools in the DC area. Although my particular student is a very good match for them all academically, the in-person experiences radically changed his views on two of the five. We will be some of those April flyers.
Wishing you well.
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Sure most schools have canceled official tours but prospective students can surely walk-in/around campus.
While AU and other schools do have what’s known as an “open” campus, all of the buildings are closed to anyone without an official campus id, and as mentioned earlier, AU has asked prospective students not to come to campus.
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