@myos1634 Helpful, thanks, I didn’t know that about internationals and non-emory scholar odds
Amherst is one of the few selective SLACs that does not offer ED2 (along with Williams). This could mean that @BlueJAAAY has better odds in RD.
Yes, this is critical - having to pass the admissions hurdle to reach the full needs met part. I understand there are a number of schools who are in this category of meeting full need if admitted, but needs aware for admission. I don’t know for sure, especially for the kind of colleges being talked about in this thread, but I’d also think right now need aware is going to be more acute than usual as so many colleges seem to have hurt financially over the past year. The temptation to swing to a higher proportion of full pay internationals must be there.
wouaaaargh (didn’t check because SLACs usually do… but it makes sense now that you say so… it’s one of the few LACs that doesn’t need to secure anyone, along with Williams.)
Well, that solves @bluejayyyyyyyyyy 's dilemma about ED2.
Do let us know your results though.
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You have really great stats/resume, but getting in is always a toss up for all of these schools due to the competitive applicant pools. I would definitely recommend adding Amherst College to your list. It has the oldest undergrad neuroscience program in the country, and it’s apparently quite strong. They also have a great new science center and are need blind for international students, as mentioned above.
i am really confused rn and i am thinking of Macalester college :"
Here is my list i have prepared for the EDII, please help me nail it down:
- JHU
- Pomona
- Dartmouth College
- Vanderbilt University
- Macalester college
- Vassar college
- U Rosh
What’s your budget? What can your parents afford?
There’s a huge difference between being able to afford 3K and being able to afford 35K.
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Being a male applicant is a significant advantage at Vassar. They are generous with financial aid for domestic applicants, but not sure if that holds true for international applicants.
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My family can afford only 3K :"
I agree wrt Vassar.
I don’t think being male will offset the fact you need a full ride but it’ll give you some advantage you don’t have at all universities, and Vassar has a lot of money (endowment per student is close to Vanderbilt’s). Bowdoin, Williams, Amherst, Pomona have more and Princeton, Yale, Harvard and MIT more still.
Washington&Lee may be another possibility because not too many students of color apply there even though they have tons of money: it’s very rich, Southern White, and conservative and tries to increase geographical, socio-economic, and ethnic diversity. You may feel like a fish out of water, or a squirrel on a scooter, there.
Your achievements are remarkable but your odds are going to rely on pure luck this year, simply because funds are lower everywhere; needing a full ride makes everything more competitive and things were already extremely competitive.
75K (ie., committing to spending 300K on YOU) is a huge deal. Top LACs may admit ONE student with such high need as yourself.
I’d say to go big and apply to ALL universities for which you can do a good job on the app. Not because of prestige, but because you may apply to 20 and have one, or zero, acceptance. Next year, if you can take the SAT, you’ll have a score and will be able to apply to score-based merit scholarships but for this year, it’s going to be very tough.
People here (myself included) can try and help with essays.
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Well said. But what makes me more confused is that there are one student at my school + two students from a nearby school has been accepted to Davison college with full financial aid this YEAR through the EDI cycle!! So, I do not really know how AOs look at applicants financial need.
Davidson, like Vassar, is an “endowment rich” university.
It’s also good for you: it means your school is used to sending students to the US and your GC knows what they’re doing. Is it a UWC or an international school? It gives you an advantage.
Yep, we have 5 accepted students at different universities at the USA. We have Swarthmore, W&L, Colgate, Davison, and Babson. And the past year we had about 11 or 13 students were accepted to US universities (inculding Standford, Upenn and JHU)
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This is good news. It also means your guidance counselor should have a good idea of which type of US college you’d fit. What does he/she say?
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Ok, that really helps.
It means you can also “situate” yourself in relation to other applicants from previous years and from this year and your GC should have a good idea. What’s their advice?
(Or are you on Christmas/Winter vacation right now?)
You should limit yourself to group 1 and 2 (“richest among the rich” if you will) for your ED2. Also, in terms of selectivity, the top 4 should be seen as equivalent.
Below it’s endowment per student at LACs last year where they’d be considered “rich” LACs (before they all took a big hit due to Covid) – I did not include LACs that are OK but would likely worry even before Covid, and LACs that are not okay.
Pomona 1,486,314
Swarthmore 1,370,157
Williams 1,380,957
Amherst 1,332,588
Grinnell 1,224,100
Olin Coll. of Engin. 1,097,143
Bowdoin 953,864
Rice 941,337
Notre Dame 906,400
Dartmouth 880,658
Washington & Lee 754,980
U of Richmond
Emory 546,238
Bryn Mawr 541,752
Hamilton 523,979
Duke 517,710
Trinity 516,646
Vanderbilt 512,787
Univ. of Chicago 512,297
Davidson 478,277
Vassar 457,567
Carleton 436,145
Colby 434,964
Brown 406,615
Haverford 404,497
Columbia 394,763
Reed 393,900
Denison 389,004
Harvey Mudd 368,350
Middlebury 362,374
Macalester 358,336
Scripps 352,331
Mt. Holyoke 350,797
DePauw 340,644
Oberlin 338,768
Johns Hopkins 335,021
Wesleyan 323,401
Colgate 322,047
Lafayette 317,583
Cornell * 294,923
Holy Cross 253,337
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“They have a great profile for Pomona, but if someone from their region, a strong profile, and more money applies, the other student will get in.”
Agreed! From what I’ve read and learned so far, the applicants are compared inside their context (The applicants from their high schools or/and from the high schools in their neighborhood) and/or from the historical performance of the students from their context (for evaluating the chance of success in the college).