Please chance me!

miss_murd3r · 11-01-2009, 12:04 PM

Sex: Female
Race: White
Ethnicity: Russian
Major: English or double major in English and Economics
Career goal: Lawyer
High School: Located in NYC, public. Some graduates go to good schools (Columbia, Cornell, Northwestern). A lot end up in the CUNY system.

GPA: 97/100.
Class Rank: 2/162

SAT: 1870 (580CR/630M/670WR)
SAT - retook in October: 1960 (640CR/630M/690WR) - 11 on the essay.
SAT II: Taking Bio, Lit & USHistory this month.
ACT: Waiting on the score.

Sophomore year: Honors English and Global
Junior year: AP English, AP US History, AP Calc AB, AP Chem
Senior year: AP Lit, AP Euro, AP Bio
-I basically will end up taking all the APs in my school except for Spanish

Notable EC's
Yearbook (photo editor), SLT (School Leadership Team, Co-Chair) NHS, Student Body VP, Science Olympiad, Brain Bee Competition, School Leadership Team, Handball, Model City Council, 100 hours of community service, 120 hours of unpaid internship at a law firm, Academy of Finance. Currently a summer intern at Deutsche Bank.
-Lot more ECs but I can't remember all of them.

Letters/Essay
Recs: Should be good.
Essay: I already wrote my supplement and I think it's very compelling and speaks to who I am.

Additional Info:
Middle income
Brother is a freshman in college
Parents didn't go to college in the US.

Amherst is #1 on my list. Please chance me!! Thanks!

Loquitur · 11-01-2009, 05:28 PM

Your secondary school record is outstanding. Taking the highest level of courses possible and achieving a 97 average serves as excellent testimony to the fact you are a hard-working student. Your internships show the kind dedication Amherst is looking for.

As you are probably aware, your SAT scores do not reflect the same work ethic as your transcript. Only 11% of last year's class had scores in your M range, and only 13.5% of those who applied in your SAT range were accepted. Can your strong transcript bring up your weak scores? I don't know. It depends on your CA essay, your supplement essay and your Recs. If Amherst is your top choice, there really isn't a reason NOT to apply, so I'm guessing you're just looking for reassurance. Unfortunately with the kind of discrepancy you display your app will be up in the air. Unless you are an athletic recruit or discover a hidden pile of legacies I'm afraid it's impossible to predict the success of your endeavor. Frankly there isn't anything you can do at this point except hope you get a 33 or higher on your ACT

.

miss_murd3r · 11-06-2009, 03:58 PM

Hey Loquitur,
Thanks for the reply. And yeah, I needed reassurance. Haha.

Does it help if I've been in contact with the admissions rep who is actually going to read my application? I met her when she came to visit my school and we've kept in contact since. So, she knows who I am.

I'm taking subject tests tomorrow.

OldbatesieDoc · 11-06-2009, 04:47 PM

I have to agree with Loq. My son , an athletic recruit, was told by the coach he should retake the ACT to improve his 31 score "to be competitive" His SATs of 690M/670CR/580W were poison despite his GPA of 95 in IB, with double sciences(Honors Chem and Honors Physics) and double honors languages (French and German) in his sophomore year, fab ECs in multiple areas, fab recs, etc etc etc.
I wish you luck, you sound great, there just is a LOT of competition...
I don't think knowing the admissions person helps much, but I don't think it can hurt.

miss_murd3r · 11-09-2009, 10:47 PM

Dang...improving a 31?

Well, I find out what my ACTs are tonight. I intend on staying up till 1am just to find out. HAHA.

Thanks Doc!

& your son sounds pretty awesome. How does he like Amherst?

OldbatesieDoc · 11-09-2009, 10:51 PM

Oh Miss M, he will go elsewhere-I hope you aced your ACTS.
My other S was wait-listed last year with CR800/M760/W690 and 760+SAT2s...He's going to Midd this year.He liked Midd better anyway.
Good luck!

miss_murd3r · 11-11-2009, 09:21 PM

Oh man...
I'm screwed.

I got a 27 on my ACTs. Stupid Science section...which is ironic, because I ace all my science classes.

Oh well. Not using those scores.

However, I was thinking that since I'm using my SAT scores, an interesting essay would be about like...how my SAT scores are a 1960, an awesome decade in history, and how that decade was all about change and how it reflects the kind of person I am.

I know it sounds kind of odd and weird, but I dunno. It was just an idea I thought was pretty original.

Man, this whole process is depressing. I'm just going to write kick ass essays, send out my apps and forget about it. The way I see it, everything happens for a reason anyway.

Thanks Doc!

P.S: I'd think that your son, based on his SAT scores, would be a shoe in for Amherst! But then again, last year was pretty wild in terms of admissions because of the economic crisis. My brother graduated HS last year and he got screwed with college admissions because of that.

OldbatesieDoc · 11-11-2009, 09:27 PM

Great essay idea-sorry about those stupid tests.I'm sure you shine in so many other ways, and you should apply, just have a back-up plan. If your SAT2s are better, that could help. Several great schools(like Bates and Macalaster)do not require standardized tests.

hohum · 11-12-2009, 08:34 AM

Bowdoin is also a great school that's test optional. Conn College and Dickinson are too. In fact there's a list of test optional schools at Optional List | FairTest

miss_murd3r · 11-12-2009, 10:29 PM

Doc;
Haha...about those tests!
Amherst only requires two...but I took 3 - will they only look at the top two scores? I think I totally bombed Lit. Or maybe not. Haha.
And I have some test optional schools on my list.

Here's my full list:

Macaulay Honors (you might not have heard of this one, it's in the CUNY system in NYC)
Barnard
Amherst
Smith (backup to Amherst. I'm pretty sure I can get into this one...unless I totally screw up)
Williams (it's a long shot, but it's a great LAC)
Vassar
Bard (test optional)
Sarah Lawrence (test optional)
Wesleyan (HUGE long shot...haha. But I won't be devastated if I got denied.)

That's the whole lot. 9 schools.

& thanks for that list Hohum!

Oh, and the big issue with my college list is that I couldn't exactly pick schools too far from NYC. Parents. Haha. If I could have, I would have applied to Pitzer. But yeah.

Thanks for the confidence boost. Haha.

miss_murd3r · 11-12-2009, 10:35 PM

Oh & does it help that I got bumped up to "Editor in Chief" in Yearbook? Haha.

OldbatesieDoc · 11-13-2009, 10:46 PM

Well, waitlisted son was rejected by Williams, and he was head of the newspaper which won best editorial and best editorial page for New York State, and head of student gov.Son told to increase his scores was told the same thing by Williams, and he is an athletic recruit.

You know, some people get in with your scores, so I am not trying to dash your hopes. But after seeing my son so upset all April, I wish some one had told him that even with his stats, it isn't a sure thing. The Princeton and Harvard interviewers BOTH told him that he would "have his choice" and instead he got 5 waitlists. Personally, I wanted to strangle both of them

So I don't mean not to try. But have a back-up, and don't expect too much.

I'm familiar with Smith, Vassar, and Bard, and you should get in to all of them...

I would only submit my top 2 SAT2s. They ARE only supposed to look at the best, but...

'rentof2 · 11-13-2009, 10:54 PM

My son was told by a coach at Amherst that the admissions office wants to see all SATs at 730+. He was not being heavily recruited, so maybe if he was the coach would have hedged his comments more... I don't know.

He was below that in one subsection of the SAT, though, and he got in anyway (790/690/730, SAT IIs 770 and 730.) He was from an under-represented area though and had an unusual academic background. Still, with his SAT scores he felt like he got in by the skin of his teeth.

OldbatesieDoc · 11-13-2009, 10:57 PM

That sounds consistent with what we were told.And we are from New York, white, and not poor, so there's a lot of other similar folks applying for a few spots.

miss_murd3r · 11-14-2009, 07:56 PM

Hmm, I understand exactly what you mean.

Basically, my plan is to go to the school that will give me the cheapest options. I don't want to spend more than 20k a year. All the schools on my list are schools I wouldn't mind going to.

I know applying to Amherst is kind of a long shot, but I'll never know if I don't try, right?

& I guess being white, from New York and not poor doesn't help me either. Haha.

And, if anything...I guess Smith is kinda sorta the next best thing to Amherst. SORT OF.

I'm kind of shocked at the fact that your son got waitlisted by so many schools. Then again, college admissions were really crazy last year. But, at least he's happy where he is, right?