Schools that are similar, but less selective than CMC
CMC is everything I could dream of in a school. Because it is so unique, I'm having some difficulty finding safety schools. Unfortunately I do not have the grades to get into this wonderful institution. I am, however the type of student that has the perfect fit for CMC. I excel in classes, politically aware, and most importantly a very active leader/member of my school's drama program, show choir and CSF. I met with one of the adcoms at cmc and he said that my leadership skills are in the top 5% of applicants. Unfortunately my grades give a false representation of what kind of student I am. I took ambitious courses and am not the best test taker. My math classes really hurt my gpa. My sat scores are in the 1800-1900 range right now, mostly due to my test anxiety.
So my question is what school would I actually have a chance to get into? There are not many schools that are similar to CMC, so anything that posses similar qualities would work.
The Washington Monthly recently came out with their rankings based, in part, on their idea of what constitutes "overall contribution to the public good" and one of the things that stands out about Claremont-McKenna is its high rate of ROTC participation: Liberal Arts College Rankings 2011 | Washington Monthly
should i risk not applying ed so that I can hopefully raise my sat scores? They are ridiculously low because of my horrible test anxiety towards standardized testing. Or should I apply ed and hope that they either accept or defer me..?
I think you could take the SAT in either Oct or Nov and still apply early decision. I think the deadline for ed is Nov 15. If you took it in Nov, it would give you another 2.5 months to study.
JW, I am glad you found a ranking of which you approve, but let's not pretend it has anything to do with leadership or academic excellence. This ranking measures how many Pell grant recipients a school has or the number of students who join the Peace Corps. There is a thread in the College and Search & Selection Forum, where posters do a pretty good job explaining what the ranking is really measuring.
HannahJ65, what is it exactly that draws you to cmc? If you can figure that part out, there are many wonderful schools out there, many you may not have heard of - schools SAT optional, schools more project based, schools who value student leaders. Bet the CC folks will know of at least 3-4 with a little more data to work with (add details about your gpa, ECs).
Great suggestion Forthree. It might also help for you to post this information on the college search or parent's forums or both. Knowing what it is that you like about CMC would be key to answering your question.
