Hi!
I posted once last November and was so grateful for the list-building input. My son is heading into his senior year. He’s very strong academically, with straight A’s in 9th-11th, a 4.78 weighted GPA, 4 APs junior year (got 5’s on APUSH, Chemistry, and Calc AB and a 4 on English Lang) and will take 5 APs senior year (Composition, Calc BC, Spanish, Bio, and Physics). He has a 1550 SAT superstore based on two sittings. 1540 was his higher of the two. He loves learning and is delightfully curious and quirky. He thinks he’ll likely major in chemistry and did both a three week chemistry program at Penn and a research internship/lab assistantship at Arcadia this summer. He’s a strong, dedicated pianist with a love of classical music, and he’s an excellent (and somewhat obsessive) chess player. In addition to the things mentioned above, ECs have included summer piano study in selective programs, chess coaching, chess clubs, volunteering at a senior center’s chess club, dabbling (though not excelling) in school sports (X-country, track, wrestling, and tennis), and serving as a peer writing and SAT tutor.
Here’s his current list (we’ve visited all except Brown, Pitt, UMN, and Lawrence):
High reaches: Bowdoin, Carleton, Vassar, Tufts, and (maybe) Brown
Lower reaches: Macalester, Oberlin, University of Rochester, William & Mary
Low matches/likelies: St. Olaf, University of Pittsburgh (honors college?), University of MN (honors college?), and (possibly) Lawrence University.
He says his top priorities are:
*Excellent, challenging academics across the board
*Opportunity for close relationships with professors
*A culture that includes a love of learning and also a sense of playfulness–studiousness but also not a stress culture
*A strong chemistry department
*Social scene not dominated by alcohol/substance use
When we visited Bowdoin, he had a strong positive feeling about it (despite the fact that there were very few students on campus because it was spring break!) He loved the campus; the exceptional food; the sense of the school being highly resourced and highly academic; and the emphasis on community, outdoorsiness, and service. I think he is a bit wowed by prestige/selectivity, so this may be affecting his opinion as well. He is thinking he may want to apply ED.
The other school he keeps coming back to is Carleton. He loved the visit, and he says he can see himself there–especially because it has both a very strong chemistry department and also a sense of humor that matches his. He likes the dedication to learning–and also the playful spirit. He knows that Carleton produces a disproportionate number of PhDs for its size–and quite a lot in chemistry. He sees himself going on to get a PhD. Here’s the catch, though. I went to Carleton, and he says he wants to chart his own course. I completely get that. But I also want him to pay attention to what a good fit Carleton seems to be for him in just about every way.
I’m looking for input about whether Bowdoin has a strong chemistry department and whether it fits other things I’ve described about my son’s qualities and interests. Do you think it would make sense as an ED choice for him? I realize it’s highly rejective, and his chances of getting in are slim, but he seems to want to “shoot his shot” there. I suspect that if I hadn’t gone to Carleton, he might be more inclined to ED there.
I’d also welcome any additional input about his current list. (We are likely full-pay, btw). Thank you so much!
