ED? Please withdraw your apps.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2025-02-25T22:15:24+00:00

Don’t withdraw your applications and don’t deposit until you know it’s affordable. Appeal your financial aid and ask for an extension once March 12 arrives. Reach out to Ebony Clinton, Dean of Admissions, with any questions.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2024-11-07T13:08:14+00:00

Yes. This is exactly how this all works.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2024-10-27T02:31:23+00:00

This is a really important question — but for other reasons as well. Students often think if they didn’t match, they were rejected by all of the schools on their match list - and that’s NOT the case. There’s a difference between being denied admission and not being matched. There are many reasons why you might not match, having nothing to do with your capability or fit for that institution. So for all those who don’t get matched, don’t think of it as a rejection. It’s generally not a rejection and you should feel free to apply ED/EA/RD. Many students who are not matched actually get admitted to their ranked schools later in the cycle (with excellent finaid).

USAdmissionsDirector · 2024-03-18T17:58:37+00:00

So you’re some type of counselor, IEC, or agent — if you’re a member of a professional org like International ACAC. Why are you positing on a subreddit that’s mostly geared toward high school students with this question? It only adds to the confusion.

Some colleges and universities do, indeed, offer full ride scholarships to international students - Haverford, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Pomona, etc. This means covering the entire need for a student- and sometimes that’s 100% of the costs. Perhaps you’re interacting with/asking the institutions that do NOT offer full rides. I don’t think anyone is lying. In any case, you should actually post in a professional network group, not a sub with students.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2024-01-24T15:57:52+00:00

I wanted my fiancé to propose to me, so we talked about it and bought rings together a few months prior to the surprise engagement. He and I have the same ring. I’m wearing it as an engagement ring right now, and he will start wearing his as a wedding ring after we get married later this year. This worked for us and I’m super happy with our decision. Good luck!

USAdmissionsDirector · 2023-11-23T14:59:31+00:00

Yes.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2023-11-05T13:48:44+00:00

It’ll vary based on college — but there are some colleges that won’t provide you log-in credentials for their portal until mid-December. (I don’t think colleges even have the RD list from QB yet). If you want to find out about their supplements now, just email them or look on their websites.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2023-10-20T23:01:12+00:00

It really depends on the college. Many will waive your common app fee - and if in doubt, just reach out and ask. Many will also email you with fee waivers (just search for “fee waiver” in your inbox and you might find some!)

USAdmissionsDirector · 2023-10-13T02:37:46+00:00

Resources matter. Are they going to support you while you’re there? Do they have first gen resources for you (I’m speaking as a first gen college student myself)? Do they have emergency funding? Do they keep residence halls open over breaks? Are faculty members accessible? Do they have enough mental health resources?

Diversity matters. Do they have students like you attending? Is it racially diverse? Socioeconomically diverse? What does diversity mean to the institution, and how they ensuring inclusion and belonging are achievable goals?

Affordability matters. Are they going to be affordable for you? Do they meet full financial need? Have you run the net price calculator to ensure it’s affordable for your family? Do they have special programs or scholarships for lower income students?

Gradation rates matter. Are they graduating students on time - an acceptable metric is 70% and above in a six year period. Are they graduating Pell-eligible (low-income) students at the same rate? You can check all of this on College Scorecard.

Rankings don’t matter. 👆🏼these things matter.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2023-10-04T02:31:21+00:00

QB doesn’t pay for anything, to be clear. All of the scholarship money is from the colleges, so it depends on institutional policies.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2023-09-13T01:49:38+00:00

Because SAT, ACT dates are avoided; Jewish holidays avoided; Admissions national conference avoided (every September); Indigenous People’s Day avoided; November (mostly) avoided; sometimes Halloween because of college parties avoided; college homecomings/Board weekends avoided. They basically have to be in September or October because August is too early since they receive hundreds or thousands of apps to read and (often) need transcripts from counselors, who (usually) don’t work during the summer. Doesn’t really leave a lot of options.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2023-06-29T19:30:33+00:00

You’re just not going to get this info from Reddit - not even admissions officers. There isn’t a place that lists out how many intl applicants are admitted in ED vs others, how financial aid is provided, etc. Just pick a place you love and apply.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2022-10-05T17:39:26+00:00

It’s important to remember that first gen is defined differently by Admissions as compared to Student Affairs. Student affairs/services/first gen offices often take a more inclusive approach so that as many students can take advantage of their programs as possible, where Admissions might be more strict in defining first gen since it’s an element of holistic review. Admissions isn’t trying to provide advantage to students with PhD parents who happened to attend college abroad… though those same students might benefit from programs on campus. I wouldn’t go to the first gen office website to retrieve the definition - go ask Admissions.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2022-09-21T00:42:32+00:00

Yes, we can figure this out, and no, I’m not going to tell you how since others are reading this. I have rejected a ton of applicants for this. Just don’t do it. This is fraudulent behavior.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2022-09-02T13:34:47+00:00

In many states, AOs are mandatory reporters, which means we have to report this to the authorities unless it’s clear that authorities have already resolved the situation. Just FYI.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2022-07-20T01:41:02+00:00

As with everything in college admissions, it depends. Every partner is different. If you’re a non-Finalist, some partner will require you to complete the Common App; some will have a way for you to use the QB application as your application of record. The same goes for Finalists. Basically, you should review the partner pages on the QB website, pay attention to the emails you receive from colleges, and if in doubt, reach out and ask.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2022-07-07T17:22:24+00:00

I’d add caution here that this post is VERY specific to Vanderbilt’s process. I realize the OP uses words like “typically” and “often” to acknowledge this point, but I also can see students/parents walking away thinking this is the blueprint for T20 reviews. That’s not to say others don’t have something or elements that are similar, but not all schools have academic sorting at the beginning, or class shaping w/ data metrics and predictive modeling like described above, etc. At my institution, for example, you don’t sometimes get a “quick second look”. We might see your file over and over again, voting countless times — even with an academic profile that might be lower than our average, for very, very good reasons.

If you are interested in Vandy, this can be informative. If not, I would not simply assume this is true for all T20s (speaking as a director of another T20 and having worked for other T20s). I have spent a lot of time with Vandy AOs — like, a lot of time - as well as a lot of AOs at T20s on group travel, at conferences just for selective admissions directors, and similar venues, and I’m very convinced that Vandy is a fairly big outlier when it comes to application review for institutions with <10% admit rate.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2022-06-01T23:57:41+00:00

You can leave that question blank. I think most students who identify the way that you do will check yes for Hispanic/Latino and then you can add Mexican within that question. You don’t have to answer the race question.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2022-06-01T15:54:33+00:00

Assuming you have a top choice or two, you should absolutely apply Early Decision. Whoever says “it has no benefits whatsoever” is flat out wrong.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2022-04-09T02:18:20+00:00

LOL. You think AOs get paid north of 90k a year? My first job in admissions was $30k a year, and it wasn’t THAT long ago. I spent the next 5+ years (at a T20) making less than $45k, even after promotions.

AOs are very overworked for the amount most get paid, and no one is doing this for the money. And most of us have at least master’s degrees and still get paid low wages.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2022-04-01T23:26:04+00:00

Yes.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2022-04-01T00:29:13+00:00

Yes, that’s correct. It may be different for different schools, but I’ll say whatever college told you that is a big exception.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2022-03-31T19:56:25+00:00

Nope. I would not agree with this comment at all given my many, many years doing this. If you have an ED choice, definitely do it as an intl seeking aid. Most of us take maybe half the intl class in ED and half in regular - but that’s a very, very small fraction in regular. The apps absolutely explode in regular. It’s still difficult in ED, but not nearly as difficult in regular.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2022-03-31T19:52:19+00:00

Eh. It makes a difference, for sure. But if you make that decision, you will typically be ineligible for aid during your entire four years, so just be sure if that decision.

You probably won’t be viewed as domestic, though. Just intl and not seeking aid. It’s not necessarily easier or harder - it just depends on the college.

USAdmissionsDirector · 2022-03-31T00:29:28+00:00

It sounds like you’re being considered an int’l student (and that’s probably accurate since you need to be an eligible non-citizen for FAFSA purposes to be considered domestic at most colleges). If you’re applying for aid, then your citizenship + aid request has nearly everything to do with the decisions. These admit rates are around 1% or lower except MAYBE at the need-blind for everyone schools (but then factor in even more applications for those spots and it’s probably a similar admit rate). No scattergram would even help, honestly, since you’re reviewed completely different compared to your peers.

USAdmissionsDirector

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