2010 Acceptances and Decisions Thread - Page 5

djdietz · 10-17-2009, 12:50 PM

Hi,

Some interesting results in this tread. My daughter is a freshman at UW this year. I would say she felt that UW was a somewhere between a maybe safety and a pretty sure. She did have a somewhat different set of stats than many hear.

She had a 28 ACT with extremely high written score, 3.9ish uwgpa (her school doesn't weight), no AP's (not many offered and the one she took she didn't score high enough on test to count). Her transcript had math trough algebra II, science through Chem II, English equivalent of 5 years (started in sophomore level), and 8 semesters of Art.

I think where she really shined was in her teacher recs, and her essay. Her essay had somewhat to do with why art is so important to her (considering Art Therapy as Major) and was VERY good (if I do say so

), and also 'explaining' why she had 8 semesters of Art and not as much science, math, and AP's as many of the other applicants. Her writing has been featured in national/regional writing journals for HS kids, and her writing tends to be very heartfelt, inspirational, poetic, and authentic. In other words, enjoyable to read.

Her best rec letter was from her English teacher of several years who is an outstanding writer herself. She actually got 4 rec letters because of different schools that she was applying to, and at her school the student get them from the teacher and get to see them before submitting. The English teachers was FAR better than the others although they were still very nice. Reading the English teachers rec letter made me think how could you NOT want her at your school type of thing. She had what I would call pretty typical EC's - not the leader of anything, no super this or that contest or project, or volunteer of the year type stuff.

She also follows directions to a 'T' so to speak, which certainly can't hurt one's chances.

So I guess my point is for those out there who don't have all the "stats' of the extremely high ACT's, a ton of AP's, etc.... there is still a good chance of getting in, but you have to personally 'sell yourself' to explain why you should still have a shot at it. Don't think I shouldn't apply because A,B, or C, think how am I going to tell MY story, and do it well.

Just my .02

DJD

scubasteve1119 · 10-17-2009, 07:10 PM

Good post djdietz. Couldn't agree more on those fronts.

I know two people from my school who have gotten decisions back from UW-Madison.

First person:

31ACT
3.7GPA

EC's: Captain Softball Team, Volleyball
NHS
Took all AP/IB classes offered.

Denied Admission

Second person:
26ACT
3.3GPA
Took some AP classes and IB classes.

EC'(s): Robotics Build Captain, Debate Team

Accepted

Hmmmm..

I believe they are starting to look for a more rare type of person. Somebody who doesn't have the usual Baseball team/basketball team/soccer team captain stuff. If you think about it, that truly is what everybody does and isn't anything special anymore.
Likewise, a student who is on Robotics team; much more unique. That brings me to say a student who follows his/her own interests in a unique way is more likely to be admitted. Think about it-usually a group of friends gets together to join the "Football" team or "Volleyball" team, generally speaking of course. I'm sure that the college won't get a large amount of applications with "Robotics" on it vs. "Football Captain" on it. Think of how many damn football captains there are in the United States and beyond. All with the same old same old. Everybody has got the 30ACT and the 3.8GPA nowadays. Everybody has got the sports team captain position and National Honor Society member roll. I want to predict that these decisions will continue to be based more and more on the uniqueness of a person and the person as a whole rather than the good GPA and ACT.

annoyingdad · 10-17-2009, 08:23 PM

Since these are other people, there are other factors you can't give us. Class rank, did they submit recs and were they any good, how good were the statements. Wonder if those are uw GPAs. It's ACT and GPA/class rank that benefits school in the rankings so I don't think they are losing their influence. But sometimes we need to know the rest of the story that you probably wouldn't know.

ilovefhf · 10-17-2009, 09:28 PM

does this mean its ok if i dont fulfill the requirements for science?

annoyingdad · 10-17-2009, 09:56 PM

You don't have the minimum of 3 science credits?

ilovefhf · 10-17-2009, 10:15 PM

im an international student and the system here is different!

annoyingdad · 10-17-2009, 11:15 PM

You're giving us minimal explanation and I don't know that anyone will be willing to spend the time to drag more out of you one sentence at a time.

I'mOnABoat · 10-18-2009, 12:05 AM

This thread has made me lose all hope of getting accepted. (3.0 GPA, 27 ACT)

Some of this is just ridiculously weird.

Coolbrezze · 10-18-2009, 12:25 AM

^
I know right. Wisconsin is a really great school, and although its selective you should have at least some luck in getting in then none at all.

scubasteve1119 · 10-18-2009, 01:05 AM

I'mOnABoat,

Your in somewhat of the same boat i'm in.
I've got a 3.2GPA with a 27 ACT. I'm taking it again this month anticipating better, but just be sure to write a good essay and I hope you have good extracurriculars.

I've visited Madison many times myself, I've taken tours, gotten on their lists etc. I hope this will increase my chances as well. Make yourself stand out, be unique. If you are meant to go there, they will accept you. I know many seniors from my school last year that got in who were under average for this school. Don't loose hope!!

I'mOnABoat · 10-18-2009, 01:42 AM

^ Good luck to you. I really hope things work out for you.

I really hope we find out soon too. This has been the only school I've ever wanted to go to since I was a little kid, and now the waiting period is going really really slow. I don't even care if it's a rejection.. just tell me if I'm in or not.

scubasteve1119 · 10-18-2009, 02:05 AM

I hope you get in too, believe me. I have found that the people that care enough about a college to post about it online have higher chances of getting into the college of their choice also. It's kind of just how things work out. I just hope that we both get in and maybe one day while we are on campus we walk right by each other without even knowing it. I hope everything turns out the way it should.
I do think I made it clear in my application that I was going to attend in the chance I get accepted. I also feel like that the admissions personnel would really stuggle to NOT accept me becaus there are more reasons to let me attend than not let me attend. Let me just say there are very few people that understand how badly I want this to happen for me. If there was 1 thing I ever want, this might be it.

I'mOnABoat · 10-18-2009, 02:24 AM

^ You better get in. If you want it that badly, they'd be insane to say no. Good luck again.

Cody2010 · 10-18-2009, 02:49 AM

Without trying to be cocky, I think both ShampooSwallower (especially her) and myself both deserved to be accepted.

This woman here: Meet Your Counselor - Office of Admissions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

..was the one who made both of our decisions. She must be biased or something, because especially in ShampooSwallower's case, she had no legit reason to reject that application. I think someone needs to take a closer look at her and how she makes admission decisions. I dont want this to happen to other people too.

EDIT: I just read somewhere else that it takes 2 admissions counselors to reject an applicant. So mabye what I stated above isn't true.

I'm just really confused and frustrated.

annoyingdad · 10-18-2009, 10:19 AM

Cody, you wrote this before:

"Yeah, there is. I think I got rejected because:

- No Recs
- Class rank was 212/501
- I wrote the essays in roughly 45 minutes
- Grade trend was bad (ok freshman year, excellent sophomore year, awful junior year)"

I think you know why.