mflevity

What’s yours?

I’m looking for general chances...but I also have a few specific questions that I’d rather not bug my counselor with (she’s seen way too much of me already this year ).

Brown
Carleton

^I may apply ED to one of those; I haven’t visited Brown yet.

Kenyon
Oberlin
Amherst
Pomona
Connecticut College
Wesleyan
WashU?

School: Public school in Missouri
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: White

GPA: 4.0 UW 4.22 W
Class Rank: 3/450

ACT: 35 (36E/34M/36R/33S/10 essay)
SAT I: 2200 (780CR/680M/740W/10 essay)
SAT II: US History - 720

AP Classes:
Sophomore year: US History (4)
This year: English Lang, World History, Chemistry
Next year: English Literature, Spanish, Stats, Calculus AB

Most rigorous curriculum

Award stuff:

-Scholastic Writing Awards - National Gold Award
-Scholastic Writing Awards (region-at-large) Gold Key X 2
-State Poetry Society High School Contest -1st place/published in anthology
-National History Day regional finalist (top 10 in greater city area)
-Citywide science fair top female division winner (scholarship)
-Citywide science fair division winner (top 10 in grade level)
-National Merit Semifinalist (very likely)

Extracurricular Activities:
-Literary Magazine (Staffer – 10, Junior Editor – 11, Senior Editor – 12)
-Music
Women’s Select choir (9-10)
Varsity choir (10-12)
Handbell choir (7-12) (Guest director – 11)
Private piano (12 years) (Performance/master classes once a month)
Private voice (4 years)
-Youth Elder at my church (elected by church; significant time commitment)
Education Commission (11-12)
-Youth group (9-12)
-Theater
Paint crew/tech crew (9-10) (15+ hours a week for three months/year)
-Softball – JV-A (9-10) <--Not sure if I should put this (?)

Volunteer Experience:
-Tutor a third grader for two hours/week (100 hrs by graduation)
-Play the music for children’s worship services (7-12)
-NHS (woot woot)
-10-day mission trips every summer with my youth group. So far, we’ve gone to West Virginia, Washington DC, and South Dakota, and mostly focus on building/renovating projects. We pay a significant portion of the costs for these trips through several fundraisers throughout the year.

Summer:
-Interlochen Arts Camp – Creative Writing major (summers 2007 and 2008)
-Mission Trips (see above)


***Questions***

1) I retook the SAT today (I signed up before I found out the ACT score) and I’m not sure how I did...everything’s kind of a fog. Presuming I did about the same as before, should I take more SAT IIs in the fall? And in a similar vein, should I send the SAT at all? Keep in mind that I’m from the Midwest, where the SAT is less emphasized, but I’ll be applying to several east coast schools.

2) I need help with my list; at this point, it’s hard to tell which schools are “matches” and which are “safeties”, especially since 2009 will be so competitive. Any schools I should add? If it helps, I really loved Carleton when I visited (specifically the “brainy and zany” student body), and my only concerns are the lack of diversity and the small-scale music and theater programs. I’m considering an English major, though I’ll probably apply undeclared. Other schools I may visit are Middlebury and Vassar.

3) Are my extracurriculars enough? Will I be able to attach something to my Common App explaining them in (slightly) further detail?

4) Should I send a creative writing portfolio to schools that allow them? I’ve heard several different takes on this one...

5) General chances at the above schools would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for the longishness and thanks for taking the time to read this!

ivychan

I like to answer questions backwards, so I hope you don't mind:

5.)
Brown - reach
Carleton - maybe reach
Kenyon - match
Oberlin - maybe reach
Amherst - maybe reach
Pomona - match, safe
Connecticut College - match, safe
Wesleyan - reach (from the last time I checked)
WashU - maybe reach

4.) Yes, although I heard that Wesleyan doesn't bother reading them. I might be mistaken, but many officers simply browse. Creative writing stuff usually don't get forwarded to departments.

3.) You could have some more leadership roles, I think, unless you want to emphasize something else?

2.) see question 5

1.) Um. Prolly not, since your ACT's are good. Although, you might as well take your SAT II's depending on how you did.

P.S.: My favorite word is frolicsome

momreads

In terms of safeties, is the U. of Missouri too big? If not, you could start there. You also could look at Davidson -- not as a safety but a possible match.

cookietime

^^^^^ (ivychan) I would really not pay attention to his ranking for reach/match/safety etc.. He obviously has no idea what he's talking about and considerable bias. (see his rating of pomona vs others, etc)

I think you have good test scores--No reason to retake your SATs/ACTs!

Very impressive ECs, especially your focus and awards in the humanities. Assuming you can get SATIIs in the mid 700s, I think you have a 95% shot at Carleton ED, and a 60-70% chance at Brown ED

ivychan

Have I ranked something wrong? I was doing it on percent accepted (Pomona has 69%, which is considerably high compared to the others (like amherst or washu, right?))

auraeight

you have to watch out for washu...they practice hardcore yield protection

AquaNerd

You are chancing for the WRONG POMONA!!!!. I'm almost sure that the OP is asking for Pomona College (really nice school) not Cal Poly Pomona (generic state). Pomona College has an acceptance rate 0f around 18%, so chances for it are roughly the same as for Brown University (Brown's is a bit lower, 13%, but Pomona has a stronger applicant pool). That said, Pomona is highly subjective in their process, so there's really no meaningful way of chancing for it. Pomona is a definite possibility, but it's far from a safe match.

ivychan

Oh!
I am SO sorry. I totally did not catch that. I beg all your pardons...

princeton08540

I notice a discrepancy in your profile: Kid with kick-a*s local history awards but a 720 on the US History SAT II. Now, I understand that the test is hard, but that's still somewhat difficult to stomach. Plus, you've won national writing awards and you only got a 740 on the SAT writing? WTH? I took AP Eng Lang this year too (and did reasonably well, though I'm far from National Scholastic status) and beasted the Writing section without a problem. If you can't tell what I'm getting at, it's this: You're living in an underrepresented, inner-city ecosystem where the educational system might be regarded as (and often is) sub-par, thus inflating your resume. Colleges are fully aware of the rigor of every HS from which they receive applicants, so you have to cross your fingers that they don't discard your app without giving it a first glance (and, despite what they may say, that's exactly what they do).

Another thing, the science involvement is out of place and unnecessary. It doesn't fit with the persona you've depicted in the rest of your educational focus. Now, were I an adcomm, those science awards would strike me as suspicious b/c you don't seem to have any inclination towards the sciences; yet, you say you've won regional science awards. Again, this will raise the inner-city red flag.

Now, a disclaimer: I'm not trying to be offensive, only objective. Unlike most others on this website, I believe people deserve honest criticism and should not be aided in their attempts to inflate themselves. Therefore, while you shouldn't lower your self-esteem, you should also not submit yourself to a feeling of entitlement. On the brighter side (because there clearly is one), you're an exceptional student who has demonstrated ability with respect to her own peers. Fortunately for you, this is the criterion many top colleges use today as part of their efforts to expand geographic diversity. Good luck!

lolcats4

The SAT Writing score is no indication of real writing talent. I've won numerous essay competitions, and yet I only got a 7 on my SAT essay.

llpitch

I think if you applied ED to Brown you'd get in.

ElderCookies

Need moar safeties

llpitch

Why would she need more safeties? She's def. in 100% at Conneticut College.

ElderCookies

^^^There was a time when I would have agreed with you, but this year was freaking crazy. Not to mention yield protection is something she might have to worry about. I think she has a super chance if getting in there though . To be safe she should ass her state flagship. It's just common sense, and I really think all highly qualified students should have it on their respective flagship on their list.

mflevity

Wow...thanks for all the feedback so far! Now I just have to hope you all check back to read this post. I posted another chances thread a while back and hardly heard from anyone; it must be the awesome title. However, very few of you have shared your favorite words.

@ivychan: Yes, I was talking about the other Pomona. Sorry about the confusion!

@momreads: I think Mizzou would be a little too big for me. I’m hoping to go the liberal arts college/university that feels like a liberal arts college route, so I’m thinking about applying to some more medium-sized safeties.

@cookietime/llpitch: Thank you!

@auraeight: That’s what I’ve heard. However, the interesting phenomena about my school is that WashU is usually the highest “reach” of our top-ranked students and tends to accept many of them; I think 5 kids who graduated last year now attend, and a couple more were also accepted. This is apparently common at several other local, suburban public schools.

@princeton08540: I understand; I’m most definitely not offended (now I just have to hope you check your PM box).

@lolcats4: I agree; I have several friends—great writers—who struggled on their standardized test essays. In fact, the writing score was the reason I had to retake the ACT.

@ElderCookies: Yes, I know. I don’t consider any of the schools on the list to be safeties, and I completely agree with you about the craziness of this year (not to mention the year to come!). I was hoping for some advice in finding safeties to add. I’m not sure if I’ll apply to my state flagship or not (see @momreads above); if I did, I wouldn’t need to list it on here since admission is by formula.

Again, thanks for the comments! If anyone has more advice (especially regarding my specific questions) it would be greatly appreciated.