Deferral from BC - Where do i go from here and what are my chances Regular

Colleges & Universities Boston College
1

<p>Hi i was just deferred from BC and i was wondering, where do i go from here and what are my chances in the regular round?</p>

<p>SATS: 1950/2400 (620 cr 690 math 640 writing)
SAT2s: Math 2 (610), Physics (670)
ACTS: n/a
Weighted GPA: 3.7
AP Exams taken: AP English Comp (4) , AP Calc AB (3), AP Physics B (4)
Senior Courses: AP English Lit, AP Statistics, AP Psychology, AP Studio Art, U.S. History, religious electives/ physical education
School: Independent Private School in NJ, very prestigious
Ethnicity: Pacific Islander (Filipino)</p>

<p>E.C.-
Summer spent as Pharmacy Assistant for an organization in the Philippines (5 weeks)
Summer spent as Pharmacy Assistant for an organization in Haiti (2 weeks)</p>

<p>Secretary General of school’s Model UN club,
Content Editor of school’s literary magazine,
Member/Representative of school’s Art Council,
Campus Minister (appointed 1 of 6 in entire school),
Baritone singer in school choir,
Actor in school’s Fall Production (senior year),
Service Coordinator of school’s SADD group (Students Against Destructive Decisions),
Service Coordinator of school’s DATF group (Drug and Alchol Task Force)
Service Coordinator of School’s Adopt-A-Grandparent group
Volunteer at Local Hospitol (Courier, 300+ community service hours)
Alter Server at both local church and for school masses (alter serving since 4th grade)</p>

<p>Personal Essay: talked about family background and ethnic roots, related to story about grand mother’s death and foreign parable, dealt with identity issues
Reccomendations: 2 teachers, did not read but are known for writing good recommendations</p>

<p>other schools applied/applying: Villanova (deferred), BU, Holy Cross, Providence College, NYU, Fordham, GW, Brown, Upenn</p>

<p>Notes: GPA is slightly on the lower end because of freshman & sophmore year, showed massive improvement in junior and senior years, all grades have been on an upward slope, will be taking January SATS (being sent directly to schools)</p>

<p>comments, analysis, reasons for college decisions will be most appreciated</p>

2

<p>class rank is also not given at school</p>

3

<p>You obviously are an involved student and have taken a good amount of AP courses. I think what is hurting you may be your standardized test scores as your SAT is under 2000
This year is once again very competitive and with a deferral from Villanova in hand (where there were a record # of EA applicants) I would be looking at your list of Colleges. Hopefully there will be good news from Providence, but too many others on your list are reaches. I might consider adding some additional match schools. I don’t know if there is still time, but maybe an application to Loyola or Stonehill before their deadline. Perhaps someone else can add their feedback. Keep your grade trend up and your midyear report should help for regular decision. Don’t retake the SATs without doing some good at home prep over the holidays. Good Luck</p>

4

<p>yes in terms of SATS, i hope to finally break 2000 and at least break 700 in math as well as greatly improve critical reading scores. in past practice tests i have been able to do so.</p>

<p>in terms of applying to other schools, obviously the ivies are stretches (brown and upenn). i am just applying for the sake of applying. ive spoken to my counselor and he believes that schools such as fordham, gw, and providence should be good safeties. </p>

<p>BU should also be a very good safety, not only on my stats but also my older brother is already attending the school. I applied for their MLK scholarship and am awaiting for their response.</p>

<p>My school has very good connections with Villanova. Reasons for deferral are probably because a great number of students from my class applied there as their safeties.</p>

<p>Out of all the schools, BC would definitely be my number school and if admitted,I would go there. (unless BU offers me the scholarship which is a full ride for all 4 years)</p>

<p>Right now i’m looking for areas to improve on (in such a short window of time). Midterm grades should be my best performance yet (fall midterm grades, which were sent to schools, was about 4.4 gpa weighted scale; fall endterm grades were only slightly lower 4.33 gpa weighted scale.) - i’m wondering how much does this effect my chances? influence opinion on overall gpa?</p>

<p>thank you for your input, and look forward to others.</p>

5

<p>also gpa is on a 4.66 scale</p>

<p>Freshman year: 3.33
Sophomore year: 3.69
Junior year: 4.15
Senior Year: Fall mid 4.4, Fall end 4.33, midterm grades n/a (should be best performance)</p>

6

<p>Dear santa01claus : Yours is a case wherein a discussion about the standardized test scores in the Boston College context is insufficient. Given the Villanova deferral, my larger concern is that your college listing represents reach schools across the board. You are going to strain to get more than one, maybe two, acceptances from that listing as things currently stand (Holy Cross, Boston University, and Providence are likely your best options at this point.)</p>

<p>Your essay topic in general was one that could have been written by a thousand other candidates. The uniqueness factor is missing which could just be a factor of your write-up as opposed to the general content.</p>

<p>As far as class rank, your school profile which is sent with your official transcript will provide decile information about your class; hence, do not conclude that a lack of published ranking will obfuscate the decile in which your GPA resides. You should be speaking with your guidance counselor on that specific level of detail. If you are beyond the 20th percentile in your HS class when combined with your board scores, it would seem that Boston College might well be beyond your reach at this time.</p>

<p>If we can help with the identification of some softer academic options for safety, please feel free to ask for ideas from this forum.</p>

7

<p>Although i appreciate your input and can see your realistic point of view, i would have to disagree on the part where you say i would be “straining” to get into “one or two schools”. Granted that on face value these numbers may not be at par with the caliber of these schools, but i go to a very prestigious private high school (all boys, benedictine school) where 1 in 10 applicants are admitted.I’m not trying to sound pretentious, but i don’t think a student like myself would get ruled out so easily. I may not be at the top of my class, but i’m fairly confident that college admission officers wouldn’t simply just ignore me.</p>

8

<p>SC:</p>

<p>one of the issues with small, private schools is that they come with big question marks to adcoms. Sure, BC and 'Nova should know of the major catholic prep schools in the 'hood, but other highly selectives may not. But this is a case where your test scores belie the rigor of your HS. Even with a smattering of B’s due to the competition, a top high school should produce high testers (since, as you say, only 10% are accepted): AP as well as SAT/ACT scores. As some of the college admission-book writers opine: you never want to be below the stat mean of the app pool, unless you have something else really strong going for you. </p>

<p>For comparison, our California public high school has a ~1860 average. That number includes those that matriculate to a community college as well as the Cal State system.</p>

<p>With a deferral by 'Nova (an Ivy safety), you will need to significantly change your essays to have a chance at the Ivies. The mean numbers for Brown, for example, are 2200+ for the unhooked candidate. </p>

<p>I see GW as more of a match. While you may gain acceptance to BU, your numbers are probably too low (“for academically gifted students”…) to be competitive for merit money there.</p>

9

<p>Well it seems like all i could do now is continue my work at school for an outstanding midterm school report and to try and greatly improve my standardized testing scores in January.</p>

<p>In terms of the BU scholarship, its to my understanding that the scholarship bears more emphasis on leadership, community service, and social justice; rather than academics and standardized test scores.</p>

10

<p>You have a weighted 3.7 GPA, 45th%-tile SATs (for BC), a self-admitted poor first two years of high school and are from an over-represented state. To my eyes you are the classic underachiever who has his “come to Jesus” moment as a junior and now wants/expects colleges to believe that your recent performance is “the real you”. Frankly, I’m more impressed by the student with a 3.7 who’s worked hard all four years not one who came to the party late.</p>

<p>As for the prestige of your school, it’s irrelevant. Everyone thinks their school is better than most. Many people can even pull out worthless rankings and surveys to “support” their claims of superiority, but those statistics come with one uncomfortable truth: The prestige of a school only truly shines on the top 10% of the class - the ones who attended a rigorous school and who excelled. Again, given a choice, I’d take a risk on a top 10% student from a less famous school than on one from the middle of the pack. The analogy I will give is you is from college football. Alabama has over 120 athletes on the team but only about 40 actually see any real action. I’d draft the kid starting at Pitt before I’d look at the 90th best player at Bama.</p>

<p>I suspect you’ll get into Providence, BU, maybe Fordham, and maybe GW. You might even get into Villanova given your schools “connections” there, but beyond that you’re asking schools to take a large leap of faith regarding your new-found academic interests - some might, but it’s a longshot. Here’s to hoping I’m wrong.</p>

11

<p>i feel like your characterization of me as a “classic underachiever” seems highly negative. Couldn’t i argue the same about being a “slow starter” who just needed time to adjust to a different school? However, your opinion is still accepted.</p>

12

<p>As the parent of a BC student myself, I would say your chances of acceptance to BC in the RD round are fairly low, given your stats. Although your EC’s are strong, they won’t make up for less than compettive stats. Your GPA really needs to be close to a 3.7 UN-weighted and this comes into play even more so due to your current SAT I and II scores. I’m pretty much in agreement with previous posters…</p>

<p>Wishing you the best of luck!</p>

13

<p>Hey guys. This is just an update of my stats and college situation. I have been ACCEPTED and am currently ENROLLED into Boston College’s School of Arts and Sciences. Other College decisions are posted below. As was discussed earlier in this, I was not the most competitve candidate for BC, however, I still managed to get in. </p>

<p>I had no perks.
I had no connection/legacy to the school.
I’m middle class and therefore had no large funds to donate to the school.
I am just an average applicant who tried to get into his top choice school, and did.</p>

<p>^This just goes to show that you should never give up, never listen to someone who says you can’t, and what a ton of prayer can get you. Thank you all, and hope this information helps students in the future.</p>

<p>SATS: 1990/2400 (640 cr 690 math 660 writing)
SAT2s: Math 2 (610), Physics (670)
ACTS: n/a
Weighted GPA: 3.7
AP Exams taken: AP English Comp (4) , AP Calc AB (3), AP Physics B (4)
Senior Courses: AP English Lit, AP Statistics, AP Psychology, AP Studio Art, U.S. History, religious electives/ physical education
School: Independent Private School in NJ, very prestigious
Ethnicity: Pacific Islander (Filipino)</p>

<p>E.C.-
Summer spent as Pharmacy Assistant for an organization in the Philippines (5 weeks)
Summer spent as Pharmacy Assistant for an organization in Haiti (2 weeks)</p>

<p>Secretary General of school’s Model UN club,
Content Editor of school’s literary magazine,
Member/Representative of school’s Art Council,
Campus Minister (appointed 1 of 6 in entire school),
Baritone singer in school choir,
Actor in school’s Fall Production (senior year),
Service Coordinator of school’s SADD group (Students Against Destructive Decisions),
Service Coordinator of school’s DATF group (Drug and Alchol Task Force)
Service Coordinator of School’s Adopt-A-Grandparent group
Volunteer at Local Hospitol (Courier, 300+ community service hours)
Alter Server at both local church and for school masses (alter serving since 4th grade)</p>

<p>Personal Essay: talked about family background and ethnic roots, related to story about grand mother’s death and foreign parable, dealt with identity issues
Reccomendations: 2 teachers, did not read but are known for writing good recommendations</p>

<p>College Decisions: </p>

<p>Northeastern –> Accepted
BU –> Accepted
Holy Cross –> Accepted
Providence College –> Accepted
GW –> Accepted
Fordham –> Accepted
Villanova –> Deferred –> Accepted
University of Richmond –> Accepted –> Enrolled –> Withdrawn Enrollment
Boston College –> Deferred –> Waitlisted –> Accepted –> Enrolled</p>

<p>Colgate –> Rejected
NYU –> Rejected
Vanderbilt –> Rejected
Upenn –> Rejected</p>

<p>Notes: Just wrote 1 letter after waitlisting of school to re-express interest, nothing more. Only additionally information added was award won for art, acceptance to town high school art gallery competition, and participation in school play.</p>

<p>Advice: Don’t drop the ball senior year, go all out, never loose hope</p>

14

<p>@scottj- 9/13 schools sounds a lot more than just one and two…
@vinceh- guess you were wrong…</p>

15

<p>Dear santa01claus : Absolutely the case that my assessment of one or two acceptances was lower than your results. Recall that this assessment was predicated on your Villanova deferral which was being seen as a leading indicator of other potential results. This goes to prove how difficult it is to accurately review a candidate’s chances for admission without having access to all elements of the application.</p>

<p>Chance-me threads can serve two important yet distinct purposes : the first is an ego-stroking, “your application looks great” exercise where our respondants are attempting to lower the original poster’s anxiety level; the second and quite frankly more valuable purpose is to highlight perceived gaps that readers see relative to other accepted candidates. The posts provided by vinceh and me are often in this second camp to help call attention to areas which you might want to consider.</p>

<p>At the end of the day, your original waitlist status at Boston College might have been an expression of the concerns we raised; always remember that admission from the waitlist is a great opportunity gained by some level of both “luck and skill”. Be humble, work hard, and enjoy your next four years! All the best!</p>

16

<p>santa01claus,</p>

<p>“ comments, analysis, reasons for college decisions will be most appreciated”…</p>

<p>Congratulations on your acceptance off the waitlist. When you first posted, you wanted input regarding your chances after being deferred and you received realistic replies based on the information you supplied. Your stats are low for BC; this is probably why you were deferred, then waitlisted. When colleges go to their waitlists, they look for individuals with certain qualities to fill in the gaps, to complete the student body. Obviously the BC admissions feel that you have certain qualities which could do this. Nobody but admissions could tell you why you were plucked from the waitlist, perhaps something in your ECs or maybe they are seeking more Pacific Islanders or whatever. You will never know and it doesn’t matter. You were offered a place and you chose to take it. </p>

<p>Now here is the kindly mom advice:
For your own benefit, get over your need to feel vindicated and the “I’ll show them” desire (meaning those who chanced you @scottj- 9/13 schools sounds a lot more than just one and two…@vinceh- guess you were wrong… ). You were given sound input based on the information put forth in your original post. Remember, you are the one who requested it and you are not always going to get the answers you want to hear, as you discovered. Now that everything has worked out wonderfully for you, go forward not backward. Forget that you were ever waitlisted (nobody at BC will care, so why should you). Trust me, scottj and vinceh are on your side and if you need advice later on, if you PM them, you will find them very helpful. Now get out there and meet your fellow classmates!</p>

17

<p>Congrats! Did you hear by letter?</p>

18

<p>From my post #10

</p>

<p>Well then I guess we’re both happy.</p>

<p>Congratulations on your acceptance to BC. Here’s hoping that it turns out to be the intellectually enlightening and maturing process you need and hope it to be.</p>

19

<p>@pursuit- Yes, i received a large envelope in the mail the first week.</p>

<p>Thank you again for all for your input. </p>

<p>First, I would like to apologize for sounding angry or “vindictive” on this thread. But it does feel good to prove people wrong with a result like this, so you can’t blame me for indulging. </p>

<p>Secondly, I am extremely humbled and grateful for the current position I’m in. Trust me, I was always doubtful about my chances and knew with my stats it was a shot in the dark. My hopes for this post is to show students that admissions is not always quantitative but qualitative. Even when the odds are not in your favor, it never hurts to try and apply. </p>

<p>For all the hopefuls out there, may you never stop trying and always strive to reach your dreams!</p>

20

<p>^^we all share in your triumph and excitement, sc. A “long-shot” win is even more sweet! </p>

<p>(In retrospect, isn’t it better that scott and vince are more conservative when they reply to ‘chances’ threads?)</p>