Transfer Applicant; Applied to Brown University (Applied Mathematics), Dartmouth College (Mathematics), and University of Pennsylvania (Mathematics). Currently a 2nd semester freshman and recently applied.
Basic Rundown:
-19 YO White Male; Upper Middle Class; Not really any hooks (uh oh)
-Current School: Top Midwest Public State Flagship (Top 50 US News)
-HS GPA: 5.21/5.00 W 4.62/5.00 UW (Just drop a point for 4.00)
-College GPA: 3.7 1st semester (Got a B in a hard Gen Ed); Midterm Report should have 4 A+'s and 2 A’s (Currently in Actuarial Science); A+ in classes with many seniors/juniors and ranked top 5 of near 1000 in a few classes
-ACT: 35C 35M 36S 35E 34R
-Need of Financial Aid: No
-Intended Major: Mathematics/Applied Mathematics
College Extracurriculars (that are on my app):
-Actuarial Intern at a Nationally Recognized Insurance Company as one of 2 freshman selected (School Year and Summer)
-Scholar Mentorship Program at an Internationally Recognized Financial Firm as one of 25 freshman or sophomores selected across the country (Almost all from Ivy/Top LAC/WashU, etc.) (School Year)
-Run Club Cross Country/Track
-Sports Analytics Society Member
-Worked at dining hall fall semester to get some extra $$
Volunteer Work (that made my app):
-Assistant Coach for a Youth Travel Baseball Team that plays around the country
-Volunteer at Music Hall on Campus
-In high school I helped run a food drive through my band program
High School and Summer Before College EC’s (that made my app):
-Drum Major, Executive Board, and Section Leader of Band; 1st Chair All-State; 2-time All-District; Leadership Award
-Math Team; 6th in State; 2-time state qualifier; Founded branch of club focused on Applied Mathematics
-Financial Analyst Intern at Local Financial Firm last summer
-Baseball; Top Varsity Pitcher as Junior and Senior
-Cross Country; State Finalist; Team 8th in State
Awards:
-All Area Academic for our newspaper
-Comcast Leader and Achiever (National)
-PSAT Commended Scholar
College Course Rigor + Grade:
100=Freshman, 200=Soph, 300=Jun, 400=Sen (Approx)
1st Semester: Calc I (200) (B), Introduction to Insurance (300) (A+), Statistical Analysis (200) (A), Geography Gen Ed (100) (B), Leadership Class (100) (A, Honors), Intro CS Class (100) (A)
2nd Semester: Calc II (200) (A+), R Coding Language (300) (A+), Science Gen Ed (A+), Economics (100) (A), Cultural Studies Gen Ed (100) (A+), Political Science Gen Ed (200) (A, Honors)
HS Course Rigor:
-Took 10 AP (6 4’s and 4 3’s on Tests)
-Max honors
-Highest track at my high school
College Recs:
-Statistics Teacher both semesters, really seems to like me, claims wrote an awesome rec (went to Harvard), said I am one of the top freshman students she has ever had
-Insurance Professor who said he would say good things and enjoyed having me in class, but probably won’t be too detailed
-My Supervisor at my summer internship, he was the CEO and we had a great relationship. Should be very strong (only sent to Dartmouth and Penn as Brown doesn’t accept supplementals)
Essays:
-Wrote about the fact that I have seen through my internships how much I benefit from having those with similar drives as myself around me at all times. Really tailored common app essay toward Brown (my top pick), but feel it works really well for Dartmouth and Penn too. I wrote about how our clubs and the student body is too general at my current school and I am looking for a smaller unit that will allow me to create my own path.
-School specific apps were very strong, at least according to my reviewers.
I believe my weakest point is my GPA and potentially the fact that I am in HUGE classes so my professors don’t know my all that crazy well. And, of course, no hooks. Please let me know what you think! I know it is a crapshoot for everyone!
Let me know if you want me to chance you back & I will! Thank you and best of luck with all of your apps! I wish you all the best!