chances? your opinion, input, advice??

merkur
Fri, 30 Sep 2011 07:44:23 +0000

My 2 cents as another Elon parent: Try to re-calculate your GPA as Elon will; you may be pleasantly surprised, as they weight honors and AP courses pretty well, but you don’t need a perfect GPA. Keep at your studies to maintain your best GPA. Next, prepare well for the SAT, and plan to take the ACT as well. Some do better on the ACT, and a good score on either or both will certainly help you.Take both more than once, and prepare seriously.
As for FINAID, we found Elon to be very helpful. Work with your folks to complete the FAFSA and CSS Profile carefully, using on-line stategy guides and realizing 2012, if you are HS class of 2013, is the year that counts for the “picture” of your family’s finances. And apply for every outside scholarship you can find- Fastweb is good search resource. Every little bit helps, believe me.

Lastly, never get fixated on one school. Give yourself a broad range of options; there is more than one college where you can be happy and succeed. ED increases your admission chances, but decreases your FA chances. The school knows you are committed, so there is little need to entice you with FA. I recommend applying EA, and working hard to get the aid you need. A visit to Elon, which you should make if at all possible, will probably make you more determined to go there, but make other visits, too.