<p>Don’t forget that the OP could possibly be an URM at Vandy, which is only 6% Asian. He’s also geographically different (not from the Southeast), first generation college, and economically disadvantaged.</p>
<p>Helimom,
You are right. The OP should take a good look at the financial aid and merit aid pages of all colleges he’s considering so as to get a better idea than what we can give him of what options he may have.</p>
<p>There’s some irony in your thread title! In my experience, the people who best know the process are least likely to respond to a “chances” thread.</p>
<p>From a reader/lurker mom on this thread:
I’d say there’s been lots of good advice from some of the CC heavyweights, for the OP and others.</p>
<p>Particularly, I liked the stuff about working on documentation about lack of financial support from the dad.</p>
<p>The fine print from some privates is that the custodial parent needs to share documentation of efforts to collect support from the non-custodial parent. So if OP’s mom has never pursued support, that will add costs and effort now, and is somewhat out of the student’s control.</p>
<p>Are there threads that talk to specifics? It sounds as if documentation from friends/mentors/teachers that the noncustodial parent has been absent is not enough, and that some private colleges require the custodial parent to show proof of legal action in an effort to get financial support.</p>
<p>Does the OP need to ask his mom to sue for child support now? Is that a requirement for consideration for financial aid for some schools?</p>
<p>Purplexed, I don’t know if you’ve read the entire thread, but back on 7/24, I mentioned that folks have advised my niece that she should have documentation as to attempts to collect, court orders, etc. I would err on the side of offering more documentation than needed. My guess, however, is that each school will handle things differently, depending on FAFSA vs. PROFILE, public vs. private, and professional discretion, etc. Having mom collect documents now (instead of next January or April) would be the best support she could offer the OP for his future.</p>
<p>I talked to my sister about it, and she says she has all that documentation going back to 1994, when the child support first became an issue. She even had Social Security attempt to find out if her ex is still alive in case her D might be eligible for survivor benefits.</p>
<p>Considering that her ex had no taxable employment before they split (just selling stuff at flea markets on the weekends), and has had no reported income to Social Secuity since, it’s safe to say the $100/mo. child support he owes ain’t showing up any time soon.</p>
<p>thanks, countingdown.
Yes, your post about your sister was illuminating. I suspect some parents never tried to collect support in the past, figuring why spend money trying to get blood from a stone. But if it’s a requirement in order to document for finaid, that could change the picture.
Social Security records are a good clue. Thanks.</p>
<p>Another thought that just came to mind – if the OP’s mother ever collected any federal or state benefits (food stamps, Medicaid, etc.), the custodial parent is often <em>required</em> to pursue chasing down spousal support to offset or reduce the state/fed benefits. I now remember my sister saying she was required to do this…That may be another source of documentation to provide for fin aid offices. </p>
<p>Happy ending: my sister ultimately got rid of the losers in her life, went to college, and has an accounting degree, though due to the lousy job market in her town, doesn’t make much. Married to a good guy who loves her and my niece to death. My niece is a gem. Bright, hard-working, goes after her goals. We are very proud.</p>
<p>That’s great, countingdown. Happy endings do happen.</p>
<p>J.K. Rowling has another word for those losers: “Dementors.”
They are conquerable.</p>
<p>And Rowling herself gives some advice to all those young women falling for the bad boys in a 2004 interview:
“Who does every girl under the age of 15 fall in love with? Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy. Girls, stop going for the bad guy. Go for a nice man in the first place. It took me 35 years to learn that, but I am giving you that nugget free, right now, at the beginning of your love lives.”</p>
<p>REview of your list?</p>
<p>Holy Mary: Princeton</p>
<p>Reach: Dartmouth</p>
<p>Match with money:<br>
- Pitt
- Vanderbilt
- _________ (BU, USC or Rice)</p>
<p>Safety: CUNY OR SUNY</p>
<p>Six apps. Plenty of time to perfect each of them–by writing great essays, getting critical recs from professors, winning Intel (haha), filing QB, call six Fin aid offices and find out what they need to document that your dad is out of the picture.</p>
<p>Fill in the blanks and re-post?</p>
<p>Any other advice? Can someone refer me to a website with resume templates? I don’t seem to be able to find any. Thanks.</p>
<p>You can google college application resume and quite a few sites will come up. Here is one:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.smsd.org/schools/smwest/feature472.htm[/url]”>http://www.smsd.org/schools/smwest/feature472.htm</a></p>
<p>Your resume and every piece of your application should have your name and date of birth (this includes every page, as they may get separated from the first page).</p>
<p>Use bold fonts, underline, bullet points as needed, to highlight separate sections or specific points (such as awards). If you can go into a Borders or Barnes and Nobles you could look at some samples.</p>
<p>EDIT: Also read the tips on resume writing from Dave Berry on CC!</p>
<p>^Limit your resume to one page. No admissions officer will want to read more.</p>
<p>You may want to check this excerpt and locate the book at your library.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780345498922&view=excerpt[/url]”>http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780345498922&view=excerpt</a></p>
<p>
[quote]
THE ACTIVITY LIST </p>
<p>I find it incredible that one of the most important components of the application is the one that many applicants don’t bother with. Overall, colleges judge students roughly 60 to 80 percent on their academic record and 20 to 40 percent on their record of extracurricular accomplishments.</p>
<p>Colleges do not want r</p>
<p>I think by resume he meant list of ECs, although it can be formatted kind of like a resume.</p>
<p>I think cheers’s list is an excellent one, with one caveat…CUNY (as in the CUNY Honors College) and SUNY (Binghamton, in the OP’s case) aren’t really interchangeable except for the fact that the OP will almost certainly be accepted by both.</p>
<p>The CUNY Honors College is free. Free tuition, free laptop, stipend for internships or study abroad, and (in the case of Hunter College) a free dorm room. Binghamton is reasonably priced and the OP might well get a free ride there, but it isn’t in NYC and will therefore involve travel expenses, etc. If the OP is sure about wanting or not wanting to stay in the city, he could select one or the other, but IMO applying to both wouldn’t be a waste.</p>
<p>Also, the OP has posted some data on BxSci’s admit numbers on another thread. It looks like the school is a pretty strong feeder for both Columbia and Cornell.</p>
<p>The OP hasn’t said much about what kind of school he wants, other than that he wants premed (which really can be done just about anywhere). Right now his list is pretty much all over the geographic map with a strong leaning toward the top of the USNWR rankings.</p>
<p>I looked at the BSNaviance numbers for Cornell and Columbia. BS is a feeder school but ch’s scores don’t put him in the solid match category. If he completed six apps by September, I agree that it makes sense to add another reach or two.</p>
<p>Thanks for the CUNY vs SUNY definition, Helimom. For neuroscience, ch’s interest, which of those schools has the deepest offering?</p>
<p>Columbia is definitely not a match. There are only 13 acceptances per year. However, I though Cornell was since its usually 42 to 45 acceptances per year.</p>
<p>^I think that’s a product of Cornell having more/a larger science/engineering program.</p>
<p>They may take 40 but they get over 100 apps per year? 634 for four years?</p>
<p>Their average acceptance GPA over four years is 92.75–call it 93. That’s slightly above where you are.</p>
<p>As tiny a margin as that is, that puts Cornell in the reach category for me.</p>
<p>Get the other apps done first and then add Cornell?</p>
<p>Have you made a chart indicating which schools take the Common App? </p>
<p>Have you started the Common App yet?</p>
<p>Yea but my ACT is 4 points above their average (above their 75% mark even). The accepted average is 92.5. If my senior year goes the way I plan my average could rise to a 92.4.</p>