<p>High School Junior (Technically a senior, since I’m graduating a year early, applying now)
Resident of Florida</p>
<p>GPA Unweighted: 3.92
GPA Weighted: 4.39
if senior sem 1 grades count
Unweighted: 3.93
Weighted: 4.63</p>
<p>Test Scores:
ACT Only
Composite: 28.25 (will retake, hope 29-30)
English: 29
Math: 32
Reading: 24
Science: 28
Writing: (not out yet, 8 last test)</p>
<p>Class Rank: 2/400ish</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:
Math Team (Fresh-present)
Class Coordinator - Freshman & Sophomore (Student Government Representative)
Varsity Softball Stats Manager (Soph-Present)
Volunteens (Club to get Vol. Hours)
National Honors Society (Jr. Year (this year) only)</p>
<p>Class Rigor:
Fresh: 3 Honors 4 reg
Soph: 4 Honors 1 AP 2 reg
Junior: 4 college classes 1st semester, then 5 college next semester w/ lab
5 online classes (2 honors, 3 reg)</p>
<p>Dear LMU10 : You have a major issue here with your ACT scores as a 28 composite score (there is no such thing as a 28.25) is in the bottom quartile of the latest data available. Candidates from this range do not often see acceptances to Boston College, so you have a major risk factor. You only have one section above a thirty (which is typically a tipping point) and you have one section in the low twenties which is another major red flag.</p>
<p>Your desire to accelerate your college attendance by graduating a year early is admirable, but focused on what gain? After all, you are missing all of the SAT I/SAT II scores, you will not have availed yourself of AP courses which might save you college placement or credits (not credits at Boston College), and you will miss your senior year of High School. </p>
<p>Your extra curriculars read like those expected from a sixteen year old competing for one of the 2250 freshman class spots at Boston College against eighteen year olds : weak. You are missing sports, music/fine arts, honor society engagement, community/volunteer programs, and work experience. This leaves one asking questions as to what you add to the campus fabric; what can we expect this candidate to be doing with his down time?</p>
<p>Note that it is excellent that you were a class representative during your first two years of High School.</p>
<p>You are clearly academically solid with your average, but college is more than academics as it is also a major period of social growth. At Boston College, accepted students are expected to be very engaged at a number of different levels and my fear would be that your age difference would be a major blocker to your social development as a young adult. Perhaps I am very wrong in this assessment, but your numbers are not Honors Program worthy which is where you might find (perhaps) greater acceptance of your pure academic profile.</p>
<p>Your class rank and GPA might override all of the negatives that I have raised here and you might receive an acceptance letter, but that 28 ACT looms large. Honestly, if your application crossed my desk, I would likely place a rejection on it simply because you have not shown any experience with being away from home and handling the maturity needed to attend college early. Sorry for providing a more social based review than one exclusively on the numbers, but your profile raises those concerns to the reader.</p>
<p>I’m trying to raise my composite to a 30.
Yes, I do know there is no such thing as a 28.25. But, a 28.5 is a 29 so being 1/4th of a point away is a big deal.</p>
<p>“You are missing sports, music/fine arts, honor society engagement, community/volunteer programs, and work experience”</p>
<p>Did you read my EC’s (almost all that you stated I HAVE)
Sports: Varsity Softball Stats Manager (Don’t call it a sport? Fine, but I was with the team for 80 community service hours)
Music/Fine Arts? You got me here. I don’t have any, because it doesn’t interest me. I am not going to do something simply for it to look good for college, I have better things to do with my time.
Honor Society Engagement: National Honor Society
Community/Volunteer Programs: Volunteens, the group that we participate at local events to get comm. service hours & help community.</p>
<p>Work Experience: This one I forgot to list. I am a Soccer Referee (5-10hrs/week) and work at Papa John’s (14-20 hrs/week). I am now working 4 days @ Papa John’s, and 3-4 days @ the Soccer field. So that is what I’m doing with my spare time, because I have to pay my car insurance, gas, and phone. Gas is hard because I drive 35 minutes to the college where I take my classes everyday.</p>
<p>I don’t necessarily disagree with you, but with good letters of recommendation (I’ve made some pretty good friends personally with teachers) and some great essays I think I have a shot. I’ve had some unique circumstances… the only time I got B’s (3) in high school, were 2nd semester last year when I missed the entire 4th quarter in and out of hospital while I had mono…</p>
<p>And the 28 ACT… is 91st percentile. I know that means nothing to BC or here, but, I’m pretty proud of it. I figured BC was a little out of my range but it can’t hurt but try? I think BC is a smart reach for me, it’s always nice to have a couple…</p>
<p>Dear LMU10 : By all means you should apply, roll the dice, and take your chances. Our review of your profile as with others we do here on the BC Forum is not intended to merely act as a cheering section for you. It is intended to point out where you are short compared to your peer group that will be apply for the Class of 2014.</p>
<p>Let’s start with your extra curriculars and be more precise in our language. </p>
<p>[1] A sports “stats manager” is a nice element, but it does not show that you have participated in a sport for a season much less three seasons (fall/winter/spring). Much of your competition will have two to three seasons for each High School year.</p>
<p>[2] Music/Fine arts while they do not interest you do form part of the Boston College foundation. Certainly, you will have a Fine Arts requirements as part of the university core curriculum. This adds to the attractiveness of a potential candidate to the student body.</p>
<p>[3] For Honor Society engagement, this is not just the fact that you were academically accepted to join although that is a good achievement. What have you done as a member of the Honor Society? What school activities or leadership events has the Honor Society formed? What was your role in contributing? Your competition in the Top 10% of their graduating classes will have these clearly defined. If as a junior year student, you have only been part of your Honor Society for one or two months, you will be behind the competition.</p>
<p>[4] Volunteens has no context to the reader by just its name; hence our recommendation is that you spell our your involvement in detail.</p>
<p>Based on all of this, Boston College remains a substantial stretch school for you. In short, your profile is not sufficiently complete to flag you as a must-have early High School graduate. </p>
<p>We have offered several thoughts and ideas in our original post that will be critical for you to address in the next couple of months in order to make the regular decision deadline. In short, you need to be able to answer a very important question : Why do you make Boston College better by having them add you to the student body? Therein will be the difference between an early graduating sixteen year old and a young man prepared to take on the collegiate challenge with a maturity required for success.</p>