Chance Me- Half Blind HS Senior wants to ED to WashU but has legacy at Barnard [NY resident, 4.0 UW, 32 ACT, Psychology]

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Demographics

US domestic: US citizen

  • State/Location of residency: New York
  • Type of high school: Private Jewish day school
  • Other special factors: Legacy at Barnard, aunt went to WashU

Cost Constraints / Budget
None

Intended Major(s)
Psychology w/specialization in cognitive science. I was told I have higher chances if I apply as something a little “Quirkier,” so maybe Linguistics

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0
  • Weighted HS GPA: Unknown
  • Class Rank: Mine doesn’t do that
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 32 ACT; 36 Reading, 34 English, 30 Science, 29 math

HS coursework

My school only introduced advanced classes my junior year

  • English: Adv. English + AP Lang (11th), AP Lit (12th)
  • Math: AP Calc AB
  • Science: AP Physics (11th), Forensics (12th)
  • History and social studies: AP Euro (10), APUSH (11), AP Gov (12)
  • Language other than English: Hebrew (Took Hebrew Literature, highest class available), French (Dual Enrollment with college)
  • Visual or performing arts: Music Theory
  • Other academic courses: AP CSP (10), Honors Religious courses

Awards
Several Scholastic a&w awards for writing, 2 HMs, 1 Silver Key, 1 Gold Key, 1 American Voices Nominations
High Honors and Director’s award from local science congress
National Honor Societies, NY Honor Society

Extracurriculars
I’m the Yearbook Editor, and was chosen by the faculty for the role
I’m president of the drama (Also founded it) and creative writing club
I run a playgroup for kids (1st-5th grade) in the community, occasionally do major events for kids of all ages with 75+ kids
I play the harp
Did two research experiments- one in bio, one in pysch
Had an internship at a psych clinic
Brown University’s pre-college program

Essays/LORs/Other
I’m a pretty strong writer, so I think my essays are pretty solid.
I have three really great LORs (2 teachers, 1 outside)
Other info: I’m blind in one eye, and also wear hearing aids.

Schools
I’m either applying to Barnard or WashU for ED, just not sure which one. I have some safety EAs.
I have a LOT of legacy at Barnard/Columbia- several generations of my family have gone there, and I have cousins there already
My aunt went to WashU, but her daughter (My cousin) is applying there ED as well. We have the same (Uncommon) last name.

I think I’d rather go to WashU, but if there’s really no chance I’m getting in I’d rather ED to Barnard and be done with it.
Please help

2

You certainly have a shot at both so if you prefer WashU, my opinion is to go for it! Good luck to you!

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You should not ED to Barnard - it’s not your favorite. Legacy is not a reason to lock yourself in for four years, day after day somewhere.

I’m not sure you get into either - but you might consider TO - given your science and math score.

Good luck.

4

I’m considering that but my college guidance counselor said nobody from our school had gotten in on with t/o

5

Really…do you have a favorite of these two schools? If so…that’s where your ED application should go (assuming they are affordable).

Honestly, if Wash U is your top choice, there must be good reasons. I strong’y believe ED should be for the student top choice.

I don’t think this matters in terms of admissions at Wash U.

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Can you explain this to me? Are you not able to see light, are you amblyopic, or is it something else? You include this in the section about essays. Are you writing about it in your essay?

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My retina detached when I was pretty young and I haven’t seen out of it since. I can sort of vaguely make out some light, but it’s hard to explain. It almost looks like you’re trying to see through TV static. I did write about it in my essay.

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I agree with the others, if WashU is your favorite, I would not applying binding somewhere else. Give it a shot.

I’ll add while your counselor might have better data, off hand I would say you still look like a reasonably strong RD candidate for Barnard.

And finally, there are other colleges I would consider similar in notable ways to WashU, and others similar to Barnard in notable ways, so those are really not your only chances for a great college experience anyway.

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Seems like this is the real question that the OP is asking – does the OP have a realistic chance of admission to Washington University? If the answer is yes, then the OP will apply ED there as it is the preferred choice. If not, then the OP will use ED on Barnard, since there is no point applying ED (or RD) to a college where the chance of admission is zero. (Of course, the same question can be asked about how realistic admission to Barnard will be.)

10

I think the basic issue is their ACT is slightly low for WashU, and their counselor says they should not go TO. But that doesn’t mean they have no chance at all.

Not exactly profound but I think this is often as far as you can get.

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@ReallyTrying613 will you need accommodations in college? If so, I would very much get the info on every college of interest from their disability office.

If you currently have an IEP or 504 plan, you should have some sort of transition plan. Look at that.

Make sure you have the potential to get what you need before you apply anywhere…in my opinion.

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If you like Barnard and WUSTL, you might want to look into liberal arts colleges such as the NESCACs which are really good with accommodations.

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You should submit that ACT anywhere. Your strength is humanities, as opposed to STEM, so you want them to see those high reading and English scores, and your math and science aren’t too bad.

You sure you prefer Wash U? Then ED there - you have a decent chance. You can always apply to Barnard RD, where you also have a decent chance.

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