Thank you so much for giving this a read! This entire list has been compiled on different forums throughout the past couple of months so I’m super sorry for the inconsistent formatting. Like the title says I plan on majoring in English with a minor in film. My grade went down at the end of this year due to long COVID, and I’m confident that I can bring it up by the time I get my apps in.
gpa: 92.86 uw (my school doesn’t calculate weighted but it’d be around a 4.2 or 4.3 i think?)
region: northeast
aps: 5-6 (2 junior year, 4 senior)
5 in Ap Lit
4 in APUSH
ACT: 31, planning on applying test optional to reaches
Recs: Should be pretty strong, one is from my video teacher whom I’ve had for three years, the other is from my AP Lit teacher and she said my letter asking her for a rec made her cry.
extracurriculars:
president of the school’s weekly television show, broadcasted to the entire school every friday
president of UNICEF club
was paid to create films highlighting local community that aired on my town’s local network
community service in filming local events for the community and volunteering at the library
attended a two week advanced writing seminar
awards:
scholastic honorable mention
selected 2x in a local contest to read my poetry in the community theater
NHS
Essay: I think it’s strong and creative, but I’m still revising it!
Schools:
Dream -
Vassar
Uni of Edinburgh
Reach -
Northwestern
Brown
Emory
Barnard
Swarthmore
Bowdoin
Target/soft reach -
Emerson
Bryn Mawr
American
Bard
Bennington
McGill
Skidmore
Sarah Lawrence
I’ve been panicking ever since the Common App opened! Any advice or input is so so so helpful. Thank you!
I don’t see a sure thing for admission and affordability on your list. Or your annual budget for college. Also, here is the template for Chance me threads.
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Schools (List of colleges by your initial chance estimate; designate if applying ED/EA/RD; if unsure, leave them unclassified)
If a scholarship is necessary for affordability, indicate that you are aiming for a scholarship and use the scholarship chance to estimate it into the appropriate group below; also, for colleges that admit by major or division, consider that in chance estimate.
Assured (100% chance of admission and affordability):
Zero reason to freak out - and it’s good you’re asking - so you can adjust your list if you decide it’s needed. You’re taking action which is great - so you’re ahead of the curve.
What’s your home state - vs. saying Northeast. Because your home state public might have options…
Since you gave a weighted GPA, can you give an unweighted - I’m guessing a 3.7.
Take each A and give it a 4, B an 3, C a 2 and divide by # of classes.
What level of math are you at?
Do you have any cost constraints?
Which is your assured school from this list?
Why Edinburgh?
Not sure if Benington has a minor but they have the major.
I wouldn’t panic - I’d make sure you have an assured school - and with the American ones, not sure you do.
No reason to panic though. American, for example, you need to demonstrate interest. Others maybe too. American under enrolled so they might be more “flexible” next year.
Adding a school like Muhlenberg - or perhaps a similar level LAC - could be helpful. But I’m guessing you have 1-3 acceptances here but I’m not 100% confident.
But budget matters - so make sure you can afford these schools. If not, tell us how much you can afford - and run the net price calculators on some of the privates to see if they’ll meet your need.
As your list is currently composed, you have expressed a strong Hudson Valley theme, with choices such as Barnard, Sarah Lawrence, Vassar, Bard and Skidmore. This represents an excellent group for a student with your academic interests.
As potential additions, consider Kenyon, Hamilton and Wesleyan. All of these schools offer strong literary attributes. Wesleyan is particularly notable for film.
To complement your current selectivity range, look into Connecticut College and Wheaton (MA).
Would it be better to start in BC and switch to AB if BC is too fast paced, since doing it that way will ensure that you will not be behind if you switch?
BC is a very challenging, fast-paced class. For your academic interests I don’t think colleges would give you any greater consideration for having taken BC instead of AB. AB is also a challenging class. I would stick with AB and work to get the highest grade possible!
OP: I love your sense of humor (chance a future barista).
If serious about film, USC is the Holy Grail of schools due to well funded programs, location, and connections.
Northwestern, Wesleyan, Loyola Marymount, Florida State University (FSU), maybe Rutgers-NB, SCAD (Savannah College of Art & Design), maybe Emerson, and a number of others of which you are aware and others which appear on the list linked below:
Also, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada has a thriving film industry.
Below are my guesses for what your chances might be at the schools on your list. I excluded McGill and Edinburgh, as I’m not familiar enough their admissions processes to make an educated guess. The chancing I did below is based on the assumption that there are no required portfolio supplementals (i.e. a video or writing sample). If there are, then this chancing should be thrown out the window.
Extremely Likely (80-99+%)
Likely (60-79%)
Bard
Bennington
Sarah Lawrence
Toss-Up (40-59%)
American
Emerson
Lower Probability (20-39%)
Bryn Mawr
Skidmore
Low Probability (less than 20%)
Vassar
Northwestern
Brown
Emory
Barnard
Swarthmore
Bowdoin
I agree with the suggestion of adding a couple of SUNYs. I would take a good look at Purchase and Oswego.
If you are open to considering west coast, I see someone recommended USC which is great and also a reach. A west Coast school that has a great film school and would be a target is LMU.
thank you for this, it’s so helpful? would applying early decision to vassar help my chances at all? i know my grades aren’t the greatest at the moment but after the first quarter i know i’ll be back to a 3.8/3.9
I was going to suggest USC (CA), UCLA, and Chapman. But this poster said they needed affordable and wanted northeast…and these are not. And they would likely be reaches for film.
University of North Carolina School of the Arts is a great place in Winston Salem. But I don’t think the cost will work out for this student. Plus, it’s really a conservatory environment, so if they change their mind…they would need to transfer.
My D22 is a creative writing major and was looking at going to Scotland or England or Wales for awhile. She ended up staying stateside, and is going to do study abroad in London this spring. Study Abroad could be a good way to get some of that Edinburgh/Scottish/UK experience without going to school here full-time.
But if you really have an interest in going to the UK you could also look into UEA in England. They have very well known writing and film programs. In England you usually can’t really major/minor like you can in the US, though, so you’d probably need to pick.
The Scottish universities allow a little more flexibility, but nothing like studying in the US. Strathclyde in Glasgow might be worth a look if you are interested in Scotland. There are also other universities in Edinburgh if you want to be there.
The UK universities have completely transparent admissions policies and basically if you get the scores you are most likely in. You do have to report all scores, though, so make sure you do well on your APs – that is what they look at in comparison to their A-levels. If you bomb one you still have to report it, unlike in the US where you can just leave that off. They may or may not want SAT scores. I can’t remember, but you should look it up, on their websites.
Vassar’s ED admission rate was 33% on its SY23-24 Common Data Set, while its overall admission rate was 18% (source). There may be a slight bump by applying ED, but there are also many applicants accepted via ED who were prescreened during the athletic recruiting process. Thus, ED rates at most schools are higher even when the chances for regular applicants are not significantly different whether they apply RD or ED.
Just make sure that if you ED anywhere that it is affordable for your family and that it is your clear #1 choice and that you’ve visited the campus.
