The common app is out so I’m on my way completing it. However, I am
vacillating between 2 colleges for the Early Decision Deadline. I put
Washington and Lee and Tulane University as my dream schools. Tulane
only has Early action so it isn’t counted. I will apply to W&L for the
ED. But there is another reach school, which is Berea College (it
attracts me because of the no-tuition policy). Both W&L and Berea are
attractive and have my intended majors. One is among the top of the
usnews rankings and the other is among the average. Considering my
case, could you give me some advice. Which school should I choose for
the ED?
My academic performance:
-GPA: 8.9/10
-Class rank: 8/46
-Class vice president
-Certificate of Honor for Regional Essay Competition
-Certificate of Honor for Science for Youth Science and Technology Competition
-Top 2 during 4 years in secondary school
SAT 2030 (540 read, 750 math, 740 wri) (will retake in October)
Extracurricular activities:
Co-founder and leader of a project providing books for secondary students in a remote area. (have already raised 1000 USD)
6 months teaching in the orphanage (member)
2 years joining an organization celebrating the Children’s Day for HIV-positive children(member)
1 year in the PR Team of a volunteer organization specialized in bringing Art to children(member)
Cultural and Science Exchange Program (representative chosen by high school president)
2 years playing the piano
Selling second hand stuffs every year, using the money to celebrate the traditional holiday for the homeless and the poor in the city.
I want to major in Communication and Journalism or Business and both of the schools attract me. Which should I choose?
For tuition purpose, Berea is NOT safety because there are so…many poor(financially) kids who apply their in hopes of free tuition. How much can you pay per year?
Does it have to be Berea??? If you really want to have safety school with free tuition, retake SAT first and at least get cr+math 1400+ or ACT 32+. What is your state residency?
U of alabama has pretty good Mass Communication and business program, AND offers free OOS tuition for the score aformentioned
@paul2752 : thank you for the very helpful information.
I will retake the SAT in October and I’m an international student. I can contribute no more than 20 000/year. @happymomof1 : yes. financial aid is the second thing I consider after the programs offered in colleges.
@paul2752 :
University of Alabama
Name of Scholarship: Academic Elite Scholarships
More Info: http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/elite.html
Value: Full tuition + $8,500 per year + iPad
Determining Factors: Academics, extracurriculars, service, and leadership experience
Minimum Requirements: 32 ACT or 1400 SAT, 3.8 GPA
Does it have to be exactly 3.8 GPA? I don’t have this
Also, University of alabama sets pretty generous requirements for scholarships. It’s guaranteed as long as you have right GPA ans SAT! How easier can it get? That means, if you DON"T HAVE either, you can’t get it because the requirements themselves are generous but the schools is strictly giving out these money for people who meet the criteria, not the one who are close enough.
Where do you live? 8.9/10 seems good enough but you need 3rd party to translate your transcript to see what your American GPA would be.
@paul2752 I’m from Asia. Yes I have searched about the procedure of applying school in the US for international student. Thanks for the info about U of Alabama. Do you know any other schools that have similar scholarships like those of U of Alabama? I mean their requirements are really solid
There are only two schools I know that offer guaranteed AND generous merit scholarhsips with GPA+SAT/ACT.
Another one is Howard University, historically black college/university.It’s called “Harvard of HBCU”.
However, you have to assume you are going back to Korea after undergrad(unless you are going graduate school) because it’s really hard to find jobs in US for foreigners.
@paul2752 : thanks. Yea I have no intention of working in the States. The reason I want to study abroad is that I can experience new things and receive the US’s education, which is totally different from that of my country. It will be a nice chance for me to broaden my knowledge to a global scale also. I also know about Howard but I prefer a school with a more diverse student body.
If you can pay $20K/year then I don’t think you would be eligible for Berea. It sounds like your family makes too much money. Berea is only for low income students.
@paul2752 : but if I apply to Washington and Lee for the ED, get accepted but does not receive enough aid, I can
still refuse right? The worst scenario is that all schools that I apply for the RD do not give me as much money as W&L does. But does it usually happen to students?
By the way, the RD deadline is in January. So can I apply for the Johnson Scholarship in December before sending my full documents through the Common App?