<p>1st in class of 900; ACT= 34; Will have taken 11 APs by the end of senior year</p>
<p>Like I said in the title I would major in the philosophy/neuroscience/psychology degree.
Also would I stand a chance at any of the merit scholarships? B/c I know that WashU is need aware… so i worry about fin. aid</p>
<p>Volunteering:
Nursing Home (sing/talk to residents, help move them from place to place)
Hospital (train new volunteers)
Zoo volunteer(120 hours over summer after sophomore)
Tutor (math tutor for Mu Alpha theta, independently tutored a student in 2010 raising his grades in Spanish, Science and Math from Fs to Cs)
Relay For Life (Captain 11th)
NHS (executive board)
Recipient of County Wide Community Service Award</p>
<p>Math:
Mu Alpha Theta (only junior exec board member, planned and supervised 2 events at autumn leaves nursing home)
Mathletes (1st places, etc.)
State Math (1st place 8 person group in regional)</p>
<p>Voice:
Audition Acapella group (performances at school functions, charity events, and regional events) EX:
Mixed Choir
Church Choir (on scholarship, one of two teenagers in group)
Voice lessons (planned 2 benefit solo recitals)</p>
<p>Random:
Debate (won conference freshman year, first place in one tournament, not particularly involved at all)
Student Leader (mentor freshman homerooms, requires an application to join)
CPR certified
CNA license, work as a CNA
recreation league soccer- for 13 years</p>
<p>With stats like those, I’m sure you can figure things out.</p>
<p>If you can’t, you certainly have a high probability of being accepted, but no one is guaranteed. If you applied Early, you’d very very likely get in.</p>
<p>Thank you! I guess I’ve never seen myself as particularly competitive. Well competitive but no better than the average applicant. Unfortunately I don’t think I’ll be able to apply early because the decision will all depend on financial aid for me. How much of a factor is the whole need aware thing?</p>
<p>If you apply ED with your stats, I wouldn’t be concerned at all about finances (unless you had a $0 EFC). I do know next to nothing about financial aid though. I generally don’t bother responding to chance threads, if it’s impressive enough for me to bother to post, I’d say your chances are much better than average. (But again, with probably 30k+ apps next year, admission certainly isn’t guaranteed, but I would say a ED application would be a near sure thing).</p>
<p>I disagree. ACT is good and class rank is obviously as good as you can get, but OP falls far short on extra curriculars. Only activities are within HS or very easy volunteering things (nursing home, hospital). Nothing stands out that 20,000 other kids don’t have - including ACT and class rank. Unless you can somehow convey, or maybe it is true that, you are unusually and exceptionally dedicated and passionate to volunteering at a nursing home, you should try to really increase the depth of your involvement in something else, or be innovative and do something completely different that you’d enjoy. </p>
<p>If you want a merit scholarship (talking the academic ones, like Compton/Moog/Engineering/etc), you pretty much need to be doing something serious in that area… like research at another college or an independent project. Even the leadership-based ones, like the Danforth, I think would be a big stretch with nothing standing out. Again, there really isn’t anything unique that 20,000+ kids don’t have who are applying not only to be accepted, but for the super competitive merit awards. </p>
<p>I’d say chances are 50/50 at best. Agree that ED would give a much better chance (it would anywhere), though.</p>
<p>PNP is a great major. If you apply ED, you would have a very credible chance, but with over 30,000 likely applicants, nothing is a sure thing. Wash U wants to see applicants who have a genuine interest in attending. If you can afford a visit, it would be advisable to arrange a tour and an interview. You can ask Admissions what happens if you apply ED, but the financial aid offer is not sufficient. It is a great school. The academics are extremely challenging, but the students and campus are great. Best of luck.</p>
<p>what type of volunteering would you consider “difficult”? i very often find it difficult to try to deal with alzheimers patients who are literally crying that they want to go home and i have to tell them that they cant.</p>
<p>Difficult ECs are like varsity level sports at the state level, not just a supporting member of the team. Research that gets toward a publication, ISTS finalist, JSHS finalist, Siemens finalist, or ISEF finalist (especially you want to qualify for Moog, Compton or Engineering). Competitions like DECA (placing at State Competition, not regional), Science Olympiad (again, state competition), Quiz Bowl (again, state competition). Major club leadership (clubs that are very vital and populated in school) such as Newspaper (editor in chief) or Yearbook (editor in chief). Or leadership in school government (class board or student council).
One can be active in many ECs, BUT few can succeed in their ECs. Many can be a varsity athlete, but that doesn’t mean you will be good. Getting to states is what makes the difference between a varsity athlete and a true varsity athlete.</p>
<p>If you cannot apply ED because of financial reasons, it will be important to demonstrate interest as an RD applicant. I suggest visiting, perhaps getting in contact with an admission officer if possible, and definitely applying for a merit scholarship. (Even if you are not selected for the award, this will show them that you’re not just applying because there is no supplement, and they should be less likely to waitlist you.)</p>
<p>From what I’ve read here on CC, WashU is really only need aware as it gets to the end of the applicant pool. If you qualify for financial aid, it seems like you’d have a reasonable chance of getting a good package.</p>
<p>To be honest, I haven’t really analayzed your ECs, but if you show interest with your class rank and ACT score, I think you should most likely be in.</p>
<p>Well the application numbers only gets bigger and bigger every year. More students apply and more students get waitlisted or rejected. Making yourself as a competitive canidate matters, and that goes beyond ACT and ranking (which has little effect because each school is different, students from Phillips Andover might be ranked in the middle but at a public school they would be 1st by a mile)</p>
<p>^Although we on CC don’t have a full understanding of the class rank, the admission officers do. They should be familiar with the OP’s school, and what a given ranking means. Either way, I don’t care how crappy a school may be, a 1 out of 900 ranking is impressive.</p>