D26 Background:
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Northern VA
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Large public competitive HS, school doesn’t rank
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ACT-33 superscore from two sittings (28 Math, 34 Science, 34 English, 36 Reading), reported to all schools
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GPA: 4.0 unweighted, 4.3 weighted
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AP classes – US History (5), PreCalc (5), Psych (5), World History (5). Senior year: Statistics, Gov
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Dual Enrollment English 11 and 12
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4 years American Sign Language, 2 years French
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Volleyball: Freshman, travel club, rec league (player, coach, ref)
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Theatre: progression from ensemble as sophomore to co-lead in senior year; student reviewer in regional program, including leadership as senior
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Volunteering: local animal shelter, youth literacy org, mental health school club
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Hobbies: crochet (self-taught)
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Part-time job at movie theatre, babysitting
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Strong essay
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Assume strong LORs (haven’t read)
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No financial need, but filed FAFSA and CSS
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Major: Psychology, History
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Demonstrated interest: Visited 10 of 12 east coast schools, webinar participation for all U.S. schools
Results: accepted to all 18 schools
Reach
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Grinnell - RD, $30k merit, COA $62k
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Smith - RD, COA $95k
Hard Target
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Bryn Mawr - RD, $20k merit appealed to $30k, final COA $64k ATTENDING
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Macalester - EA, $30k merit, COA $62k
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Mount Holyoke - RD, $20k merit appealed to $32k, final COA $61k
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Oberlin - EA, $34k merit, COA $58k
Target
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Brandeis - EA, $32k merit, COA $64k
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Connecticut College - RD, $38k merit, COA $55k
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Dickinson - RD, $47k merit, COA $43k
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Gettysburg - EA, $49k merit, COA $43k
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Kenyon - RD (early), $35k merit, COA $58k
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Union - EA, $46k merit, COA $47k
Likely
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Marist - EA, Honors/First Year Dublin, $25k merit, COA $47k
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Muhlenberg - EA, $48k merit, COA $36k
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University of Mary Washington (in-state)- EA, Honors, merit $8k, COA $24k
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Wheaton (MA) - EA, Honors, $46k merit, COA $40k
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Mount Allison (Canada) - rolling
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Bishops (Canada) - rolling
Lessons learned: We spent a lot of time researching and visiting schools, which I think helped with building a list that really fit her.
Most helpful resources: CC, Jeff Selingo’s books, hours of digging into common data sets, CAP online tool and webinars for understanding the importance of including peer institutions in her list.
Hidden gem/the one that got away: University of Mary Washington. Beyond just the in-state pricing, every interaction with UMW was friendly, organized, positive, and student-focused. All students, faculty, and staff we met were genuine and helpful. Great pre-orientation options. She would have had TONs of credit from AP tests. But we all agreed a women’s college was the right place for her and she really wanted to leave the state.