Denied Barnard ED1, Looking for ED2 Matches [IL resident, 3.65/3.85 GPA, 34ACT, PoliSci/Gov]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics
US citizen, Biracial, One First-Gen parent, Female, High-Income
Top private school in Chicago (~130 kids graduating class size)
School offers very few APs (~5?) and does not publish rank.
No cost constraints.

Intended Major(s)
Political Science/Government/International Relations

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.65/4.00
  • Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): 3.85
    No idea how the weighting system works, but the top ten kids are around a 4.2 WGPA.
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 34 ACT superscored

Coursework
2 AP’s (Chem + Calc AB)
4 in AP Lang (self-studied), 3 in AP Chem (unsure whether to submit)
I took super rigorous STEM classes before I realized I hated STEM, and subsequently my B’s are all from honors/AP STEM classes (with one exception). In my English and history classes, my grades are all A’s and one B+. My school does not offer English or history AP’s.

Awards
2x Best of Student Newspaper Online (SNO) awards, awarded to top 10% of high school journalism (11th, National)
2nd Team All-Sectional Athlete in Water Polo (11th, Regional)
2023 Best News Story on a Local, National, or International topic (11th, School)

Extracurriculars
School Newspaper (News Editor 10th, Managing Editor and Editorial Board Member 11th) Edit every news, opinions & sports article in our paper. Edited over 100, wrote about 20.
Varsity Girls Water Polo (Captain 11th & 12th-unusual to be captain in 11th at my school) Voted MVP and All-Sectional 2nd Team year 3.
LGBTQ+ Affinity Group (Co-Head 11th & 12th) Organized school drives and fundraisers partnered with The Trevor Project, created school-wide presentations to inform our community.
Varsity Girls Swimming (Captain 12th) Joined never having swum on a team and won MIP award and captainship. Selected for our sectionals roster for sophomore, junior, and senior years.
Club Water Polo (starter on the club team) 2x Junior Olympian, our team made the platinum division both years.
Student Academic Board Meet with teachers to discuss student issues before school & interview prospective administrators. Nominated by teachers in my freshman year.
Biracial Affinity Group Selected to represent our school at the NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference.
Feminist Alliance Club member

Schools
My school tags colleges as likelies, targets, reaches, and far reaches for us. Our counselors are pretty certain I’ll get into some of my likelies and targets, so I’m mainly looking for reaches and which of the schools I’m interested in are my best bets.

Some options I’m looking into for ED2:
Claremont Mckenna College I love this school. I like the focus on humanities (refreshing coming from a school with no humanities APs!) and the benefits of it being a liberal arts college but feeling more like a mid-sized school since it’s in the Claremont consortium. I like the college town, the social life, and, of course, California. I’m not sure I have any shot at it though, so I’m not sure if it’s worth ED2ing there.
Wellesley College I love the idea of going to a women’s college, and it’s what drew me to Barnard. However, what I loved about Barnard was that it was a tiny women’s college in a big city connected to a larger university. Wellesley’s pretty far outside of Boston and seemed a little dead when I visited. However, I visited it when not a lot of students were there, and I’m wondering if I misjudged it. It’s a great school with a fantastic name and great programs.
Tufts Mid-sized university! Outside of Boston, but not as far as Wellesley. It’s a pretty good social scene, definitely not as dead as Wellesley. Not sure what’s holding me back from this one. Maybe it’s that Boston is just “meh” for me, but I do like the proximity to a city, even if it’s that one.

If I didn’t ED2, I would primarily be waiting on Georgetown, Rice, and Northwestern. Those first two, I don’t think I have a shot at, at all, especially since I was outright rejected and not deferred from Barnard. They’re still marked reaches for me though (for context, Barnard was a far reach). I have a better shot at Northwestern, but still a reach of course, and I think ED2ing might make more sense since I like the others and the admissions bump from ED definitely helps. Also, a ton of kids at my school end up applying to Northwestern RD so it may be riskier.

Please share thoughts on what you think is most strategic to do here! And suggestions for other universities and colleges to consider are always welcome!

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So, you liked Barnard enough to ED, and you like CMC and the Claremont Consortium, and Wellesley… why is Scripps not in the running?

Most of the schools you’re aiming for are tough to crack without a >4.0 weighted GPA. To really benefit from the ED2 bump as a full-pay applicant, you should probably select a need-aware school.

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I’m applying to Scripps regular decision. As stupid as it sounds, I’m worried about the “name brand” of the school. It’s great, but almost nobody has heard of it, and I’m afraid it might lock me into going to grad school. Also, I don’t think its social scene is nearly as vibrant as Barnard or even CMC. I visited and it’s definitely quiet.

Thanks for the input on need-aware schools! I’ll definitely look into that, I’m intrigued.

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FWIW, in my experience, Scripps is well-known on the west coast, and has a vibrant and supportive alumni network across the country. I don’t think it locks you into anything any more than CMC would, for example. If the vibe didn’t feel right for an ED2, then it doesn’t, but it’s a well-respected institution that would open plenty of doors.

I think your categorization of Georgetown, Rice, and Northwestern is correct, though admission to Rice would surprise me the least.

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How about Macalester? Progressive, urban liberal arts college that values diversity. A notch less selective than Barnard, but with an average UW GPA of 3.94. ED makes a huge difference for Mac.

Wesleyan is another that comes to mind.

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These sites may offer you further ideas based on your academic areas of interest:

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As an aside, I agree Scripps does NOT have a name recognition problem, not among people who matter. But if you didn’t like it, that is fine. There are other women’s LACs in consortiums you could consider instead, like Smith, Bryn Mawr, and Mount Holyoke.

Generally, I do think the LAC path may be your best bet, notwithstanding not getting admitted to Barnard. That is because I feel like with your GPA and STEM history, you need a college to accept you followed an indirect path to this point, and I feel like an LAC is most likely to think about you in that way.

So I agree with the suggestion of looking seriously at Macalester. I’d also recommend you consider Oberlin. I note both of these colleges made Foreign Policy’s list of Top 50 undergraduate institutions for International Relations:

So did all of Claremont McKenna, Wellesley, and Tufts, and also Georgetown (but not Rice or Northwestern). But those coastal schools are tough admits, even ED, as you just found out with Barnard. Macalester and Oberlin just get fewer ED applications, not being on a coast, which helps lead to a higher ED admit rate.

Like, in their last available CDS, contrast:

Wellesley 887 ED applications, 259 ED admits, (29.2% ED admit rate)
CMC 742 ED applications, 219 admits (29.5% ED admit rate)

With:

Oberlin 588 ED applications, 260 admits (44.2%)
Macalester 335 ED applications, 177 admits (52.8%)

I don’t really believe in an ED boost as a universal concept. But in a case like yours, where you really need one of these colleges to see you as an individual with an unconventional but ultimately successful academic path, perhaps ED at a place which does not get too many ED applications is not a bad idea.

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With a single parent, is there any financial aid issue with colleges that require both parents’ finances like the colleges you list?

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@ucbalumnus this is what the OP wrote. I’m taking it at face value. Cost isn’t an issue.

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Northwestern is a tad more rejective than Rice and Georgetown, not less.

'22-'23 admit rates and 25/75 SAT stats:

Northwestern: 7.2% (1500/1560)
Rice: 8.7% (1500/1560)
Georgetown: 11.8% (1410/1540)

ETA:

With respect to Scripps: your social opportunities would not be confined to Scripps, since all the Claremonts are within, oh, half a mile of each other. The “feel” would be more like that of a mid-sized school of 5k-10k students. And make no mistake: it is a highly reputable school.

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I think the Barnard rejection could be telling.

Your GPA is low on its face but you go to a private and that changes things.

I’d second the Bryn Mawr Mt Holyoke type.

But you are name brand focused but want to major in Poli Sci/ Intl Relations and frankly, I don’t think it matters.

My daughter attends a pure safety (her choice) and has already interned with the state and arguably the most recognized think tank in the country during her DC semester.

Find the right fit. You are name shopping and kids who do that have a lesser chance of picking the right school. You will be at the school, four years day after day after day.

If Scripps is the right school, you needn’t be concerned with its name (which is very good btw).

Good luck.

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2 AP’s (Chem + Calc AB)
4 in AP Lang (self-studied), 3 in AP Chem (unsure whether to submit)

This is not good enough to get into tufts, Wellesley, northwestern. The Barnard rejection said it all. Wellesley and northwestern are more competitive than Barnard IMO. Tufts is on par.

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It is the exact opposite bt Wellesley and Barnard at our BS.

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Not sure if you are referring to acceptance rate, or something else.

Class of 2027 acceptance rates:
NU 7%
Barnard 8%
Tufts 10.1%
Wellesley 13%

2022-23 CDS are for the class of 2026, and are dated.

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I think a distinction going forward will be ED vs non ED.

So an ED at Barnard might have better odds than non ED at the others.

But one never knows. Someone just posted a referral or rejection to UGA but got into Duke and we see stories like this every year.

Best of luck to OP.

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In the case of our BS this is true of both ED and RD i.e. Barnard is more selective than Wellesley.

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Maybe. Last year, for class of 2027, Barnard filled 60% of the class in ED and RD had an acceptance rate of 6.5%. But, things could be different this year, at any of these schools.

Although we don’t know why OP wasn’t accepted in Barnard’s ED round, we do know the GPA was on the low side. And GPA is the number one factor in many admissions decisions.

I wish OP luck going forward, and hope they are adding some less selective schools…a number of good ones have already been suggested.

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Yes - that’s what I mean…Barnard ED may have a better chance than Wellesley RD - even if Wellesley has a higher overall rate.

Now that OP is into RD, it will be even tougher.

Given the student’s stats (a private school, so they should have good counseling - but on paper - I’d assume

CMC, Wellesley, Tufts, GT, Rice, and Northwestern would all be “nos” and unless the student already has a safety, they need one.

For their interests, it can be anything from a Charleston (where my daughter attends - safety - although check Honors deadline) to - for an LAC - Occidental (likely), Mac (match), Trinity (San Antonio - match), Gettysburg (safety), Dickinson (likely), and Rhodes (likely). If needs a meets need school, a Lehigh, Connecticut, and F&M have promise - but might be too late for Demonstrated Interest…and IU, Pitt, and Miami of Ohio would be very good in this arena.

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I’m not sure of the ED timeline but what about American University?

My son is a Capitol Hill staffer and he sees a LOT of American students in jobs on the Hill doing very well.

You are probably the target student for this school so it’s not a reach but the job prospects are excellent

Another RD option would be William and Mary and that is more of a reach and extremely well regarded.

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And if W&M appeals, U of Richmond might too.

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