What schools should I look at? NJ Resident, 92 UW GPA, 1280 SA, undecided major, maybe public health or political science

This is from their website but I think the confirmation date for early decision is not correct!

I’m generally fine with it I’m just not exactly sure how cutthroat it is. Like everyone who normally gets in is the perfect student, etc etc. The person I talked to (and I have her number) said that some ppl are weird like that but she intentionally finds a collaborative community. She was like « I’m not the perfect student
I got 1 B » and then I realized we in fact were not the same

I do love everything about Barnard, even if it is kind of close, but I’m just scared about falling behind if I miraculously get in

I know georgetowns EA doesn’t reject and just defers but Georgetown is apparently cutthroat :sob:. I don’t mind competition but it’s also never that serious.

I think I’m afraid of rejection because while my mom does put pressure on me, I also put a ton of it on myself.

I forgot who said it but the EA rate was higher than ED???

I don’t know if there’s a specific correlation but would Early Action not be safer all around?

The only other ED 2 schools in my list is Scripps, bryn mawr, vassar (counselor suggested this one, she said it reminded her of me), Wellesley, smith, and Agnes Scott

Anything else either doesn’t have it or I’d rather not be bound to. I didn’t realize how many it was before I started typing :sob:.

1 Like

I don’t think not rejecting EA is a good reason to apply to a school. An early rejection is actually better than being strung along if you’re not going to be accepted later. Consider Georgetown (which is essentially equivalent to Emory in terms of prestige/rank/competitiveness, but arguably a worse fit for your interests) if you truly want the school, but deferring everybody who doesn’t get in EA isn’t a reason. (Also, you can’t apply test optional to Georgetown.)

1 Like

Barnard is only cutthroat if you want it to be. There are plenty of women there who go to class, have jobs, get involved in the arts, have friends and a social life, and whose lives do not revolve around grades. Ditto for Georgetown. If you get in, you can do the work. SO much of the “cutthroat” reputation is based on a minority of students who are “gunning” for med school, jobs in investment banking and a few other things. Trust me- there are entire departments at both schools (art history, foreign languages, political science, anthropology, literature, Classics) where you won’t find a single cutthroat student.

You have enough on your plate without going down that rabbit hole!

4 Likes

You’re right. I’m sorry.

Wait so if Emory is that competitive why would I apply? :sob: let me look at their CDS

Emory is like Barnard in that your only semi-realistic shot would be an ED app, but since they have ED2, it could be a second ED school after Barnard.

I think you need to get the purpose of ED apps clear in your mind. Do you only want to apply ED if you think you’ll get in, or do you want to apply ED to satisfy your mom, so that maybe you get in, but more likely you satisfy her that you tried and then you can move on to other schools that you love?

The fear of rejection is looming way too large here. A well-targeted application strategy is likely to produce some rejections. If you get in everywhere you apply, Mom (and maybe even you) will feel that you didn’t “aim high enough.” Plan your list so that rejection at the top of the list is to be expected, and acceptance will be a pleasant surprise. You don’t have to tell anyone outside your family where you’re applying, if you’re worried about people knowing you got rejected.

5 Likes

This helps a lot. Thank you.

I really want to go to a women’s college but does somewhere else make sense or is Emory the better choice. I could always do the semester thing with Spelman if I supposedly got into Emory: I want your honest opinion. And I’ll stop being afraid of rejection

I’m sure it depends who you ask, but I think Spelman would be a great choice. Agnes Scott would be terrific too. If you think you’d be happier at a women’s college, and you can get at least half-baked family buy-in, go for it!

My thinking was the Emory could be a great (as I said earlier) “decoy” school that you could portray as your goal, for Mom to fixate on, and it sure wouldn’t be a bad place to end up if a surprise acceptance occurred. And it would pave the way for Spelman or Agnes Scott, if you could be all “OMG, I wanted Emory so badly but I didn’t get in, now I guess I’ll have to go to one of these nearby women’s colleges that will allow me to take classes at Emory OH WELL!!”

But of course, if you truly prefer Spelman and can sell the idea of an ED application there, you can skip the whole decoy exercise. :slight_smile:

1 Like

Would you ED to Barnard? It is a reach, but if you get in you would be happy. If not, at least you pleased your mother.

Please make sure your parents know the annual costs of attendance at these colleges. They might not realize how very costly they are. And you have younger siblings in the college pipeline at some point.

Just clarify this.

6 Likes

She’s well aware. If she sold only two of her homes she’d have a substantial amount as she’s paid a lot of it off. I searched up the Zillow estimate and one of them is like 300k while the other is close to 500k. She’ll be fine.

ED1 to Barnards the goal

My mom asked for barnards financial aid calculator awhile ago

Yes
 and you’re more likely to get merit at Agnes Scott than at Spelman, and it could be a great fit too (and no lack of diversity, with a virtually equal percentage of Black and white students, at around 34.5% each).

Anyway, I think some really productive brainstorming has been going on here, but do remember to breathe and pace yourself - it’s only April, so you have 4+ months until you can apply anywhere. You do have time to fine-tune the plan and get the various family members on board.

4 Likes

What about Scripps? Not going to lie I saw a dorm with a patio/garden on TikTok and that’s the main thing that made me add it to the list :sob:

I know they also have a consortium and it’s a women’s college.

2 Likes

I saw Agnes Scott has the 100k promise that everyone will get at least 100k worth of financial aid (or only 100k of debt? I forget which one)

Does your daughter go to smith? I’ve been trying to figure out your profile picture for the longest time.

Just beware. Your family owns real estate in addition to your primary residence. That could mean inaccurate results from that calculator.

Plus
those calculators are set up for students starting college fall 2024
and that is NOT you.

If your parent does try the current NPC, they need to use 2023 income tax info because that is what the 2025-2026 financial aid forms will use.

If the equity in those other homes is $800,000, that will likely add about $45,000 to your family contribution and that doesn’t include any other assets or your parent income.

4 Likes