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Updated chance me
CavsFan2003
944 replies74 threads Senior Member
Heyo all! I'm honestly more curious then anything, now that all my applications are in. I applied to 11 schools: Brooks, Concord, Choate, Loomis Chaffee, Hotchkiss, Exeter, St. Mark's, Andover, Groton, NMH, and Lawrence Academy.
About me:
I'm a 15 (16 in less than 3 weeks!) white trans male sophomore living in Indiana. I attend large urban public school. My family income is around $42,000, so I applied for full aid (zoinks)
My stats:
2316 SSAT, or in the 98th percentile
3.98 W/3.93 UW GPA, grades were low 2nd semester freshman year because of family stuff which I've detailed too many times
38/469 class rank (yikes)
1420 SAT score
My ECs:
-DECA state qualifier in the Integrated Marketing Campaign event
-Winner of a big local business competition
-Nominated to compete in a business competition on behalf that I'm a good marketer
-JV and V bowling, played mainly JV
-Participated on both the academic spell bowl and academic super bowl teams, team placed 4th at area in spell bowl but I was denoted a "Top Speller"
-Employed at Taco Bell, work around 10-15 hours a week
-Was appointed to a spirit council by teachers and senior members, only 5 sophomores out of 469 were chosen
-Student Council, was nominated to represent as a district rep but wasn't able to because of requirements
-Student ambassador, lead freshmen around on tours, help during registration
-Administrator and head developer of a large academic online community
-Helped dad lay floor
-Scripps Area Spelling Champion in 8th grade
-Taught myself Python and C++, working on personal projects, studying for USACO Open
-Was NJHS president back in 8th grade
-JV track, track and XC all through middle school, was a conference championship qualifier in shot put and discus throw
-Spanish Club
My essays, to me, were good, but I know myself, and I suck at guessing how good my stuff is so I'm the least credible source. I'd like to think my recs said nice stuff about me but, again, can't really tell.
I do think my biggest weakness is the lack of Fortnite wins, but if I send a taco to the AOs, that should make up for it.
Soooo... yeah? This stuff is fun, almost feels like a game.
18 repliesAbout me:
I'm a 15 (16 in less than 3 weeks!) white trans male sophomore living in Indiana. I attend large urban public school. My family income is around $42,000, so I applied for full aid (zoinks)
My stats:
2316 SSAT, or in the 98th percentile
3.98 W/3.93 UW GPA, grades were low 2nd semester freshman year because of family stuff which I've detailed too many times
38/469 class rank (yikes)
1420 SAT score
My ECs:
-DECA state qualifier in the Integrated Marketing Campaign event
-Winner of a big local business competition
-Nominated to compete in a business competition on behalf that I'm a good marketer
-JV and V bowling, played mainly JV
-Participated on both the academic spell bowl and academic super bowl teams, team placed 4th at area in spell bowl but I was denoted a "Top Speller"
-Employed at Taco Bell, work around 10-15 hours a week
-Was appointed to a spirit council by teachers and senior members, only 5 sophomores out of 469 were chosen
-Student Council, was nominated to represent as a district rep but wasn't able to because of requirements
-Student ambassador, lead freshmen around on tours, help during registration
-Administrator and head developer of a large academic online community
-Helped dad lay floor
-Scripps Area Spelling Champion in 8th grade
-Taught myself Python and C++, working on personal projects, studying for USACO Open
-Was NJHS president back in 8th grade
-JV track, track and XC all through middle school, was a conference championship qualifier in shot put and discus throw
-Spanish Club
My essays, to me, were good, but I know myself, and I suck at guessing how good my stuff is so I'm the least credible source. I'd like to think my recs said nice stuff about me but, again, can't really tell.
I do think my biggest weakness is the lack of Fortnite wins, but if I send a taco to the AOs, that should make up for it.
Soooo... yeah? This stuff is fun, almost feels like a game.
Post edited by skieurope on
This discussion has been closed.
Replies to: Updated chance me
Buuut you're applying for full aid. I'm not sure just how much it decreases your chances, but regardless, you're a pretty strong applicant. Good luck!!!
Also thank you for the comment. I am just worried about the aid part lol
Another thing I want to caution you on is try to stay away from the popular assumption that supposedly low grades will balance out due to a high SSAT score. To quote the head of admissions from a school at a Ten Schools Admissions event, "some applicants believe that a high SSAT score will compensate for really low grades. It won't. It just leads us to the assumption that you had the ability to do better in school, but didn't put in the effort or you just worked really hard to succeed on a standardized test rather than do anything else."
I also want to point out that while your EC's are really interesting I believe your lack of a major sport will hurt you in the process. I'm not saying you need to be a recruited athlete, however many, if not all, of the schools on your list do not have a bowling team or a bowl alley. Furthermore, I think track is a great sport, however, I have been told by several of my friends at boarding school and several tour guides that it tends to become the sport everyone does when they don't really have any other commitment that they like during that season (again I'm not saying everyone doing track is just doing it to fulfill the athletics/after school requirement, but many are). Ultimately, I would say that academically and extracurricular wise--you are set, however, the FA and lack of athletics will be a draw back. Overall, I think you will have options on M9.
*Note: at the level of Choate, Deerfield, Andover, Exeter, etc. there truly isn't any "geodiversity" in regards to different US states due to the incredibly high volume of applications they receive. So, I don't believe this would be a "hook" or even a boost for your app.
Anyways, GOOD LUCK! And make sure you post back on M9 with your results!
My grades that semester dropped from straight As to 3 As, 2 Bs, and a C+, but I wrote about the circumstances surrounding them (mother in and out of jail, mom attempting suicide, having to move schools because of it) so I hope the AOs understand.
I've definitely heard the same thing about track, too, actually. I'm not very good so I think I fall into the same category, which is unfortunate.
It is true that most schools add very few in 11th and that FA for them may be very limited to non-existent.