Do liberal arts colleges look more closely into things other than gpa compared to top universities?
For example, a school like NYU considers things like essays, and ec’s more than a school like W&M and UVA
Yes they are, very much so because they need to be. Most will have a freshman class of 500 - 600 students and they can’t put together a class with all the resources they need without taking a variety of factors into account and proactively managing the talent pool.
However, at the most selective, say the top 20 or even the top 30, being a good tuba player won’t make up for an otherwise weak application. There will certainly be other tuba players applying.
At schools like W&M and UVA unless you are recruited, it is a numbers game.
@cofb2020 i plan to hopefully get a 3.6 gpa- do you think if i get a near perfect sat score and a solid essay then I would have a chance at one of the most selective colleges?
Yes if you are an URM, recruited athlete or legacy. Probably not if you are unhooked. Your extracurriculars and essays are very, very important. It would also matter if your high school curriculum demonstrated “rigor.”
Lots of ifs here depends if the 3.6 is based on a hard curriculum. These schools have rather demanding and flakey admissions so it is very hard to say. If your 3.6 is already weighted you would be below average for the top 25.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking they are easier to get in than the top universities. They most certainly are not.
Many are test optional so great SATs may not help if the rest of the application is weak
Where are you from? One nice thing about the Northeast is that there are some very good schools where you might fit in better.
The OP has defined NYU as a liberal arts college, but this thread has taken a different tack.
@merc81 no, I did not say that it was a liberal arts college. Obviously it is not, I am asking if colleges were just as holistic as universities such as NYU, and the opposite of UVA (like the guy said, they only care about numbers).
OK. The parallel construction of your two paragraphs made me uncertain.
You have gotten some good replies, then.
^sorry about that
I could have picked up from your post #2 – which acknowledged post #1 – that everyone was on the same page.
@cofb2020 what do you mean by flakey? and if my gpa is UW 3.6 by senior year, then my W would be 4.05-4.1.
also to keep it short, I am a competitive figure skater working 14 hrs a week and competed at least 10 times in my life with a handful of medals from local competitions (10 more times by the time im 18), highest level in figure skating (senior), very possible chance I will be able to compete in sectionals (one step ahead of regionals, which is 1st comp), and maybe even nationals by the time I am a senior in high school. won some awards within my local skating club, Im a figure skating instructor from ages 3-55 including people with mental disabilities since I was 15 (7 hrs a week), was a figure skating assistant coach (volunteering) helping out with the same people a year ago, and have been studying for the sats every summer since 7th grade, if that helps you chance me more.
I am interested in schools like Williams, Bowdoin, and Pomona. please let me know if you know any colleges similar to the ones i mentioned academically, but closer to a big city such as LA, NYC, Boston, etc. because I am fairly new to looking at colleges. Ive always been looking a lot more at universities!
Pomona is close to LA, along with the other Claremont colleges. Occidental is in LA. Barnard is in NYC. Swarthmore, Haverford and Bryn Mawr are near Philadelphia. Macalester is in the twin cities. Reed is in Portland. Wellesley and Brandeis (not an LAC but a similar vibe) are near Boston.
That kind of background will certainly attract attention at the LACs for sure. You should apply to those schools but getting in is another matter. Williams is very rural by the way as are most LACs. Bowdoin is very close to one of the nicest cities in the east, Portland Maine.
Many applicants to the top 20 LACs have stats like yours. The trick is applying to enough of them so you get accepted to at least one.
Due to selectivity you can’t be so picky on location.
If you taught disabled people to skate that is something Bates would find extremely attractive in my opinion. Bates is right near Bowdoin so close to Portland as well.
What I am saying is that this level of school is a crap shoot made more complicated by small classes, so be smart playing the odds.
Hamilton and Colgate are also great schools.
Flakey means that many times the admissions decisions are wacky and unexplainable.
thanks for the input!
@cowycam7: The most selective LACs will look at your high school grades and course rigour to see whether you have sincere academic interests that you will pursue further in college. Once you have demonstrated you have met this threshold, then, yes, you will find them to be very holistic. Exceptions to even the former can occur.
Colgate, St. Lawrence, Connecticut College and University of Vermont have skating teams.
I mention UVM because you mentioned being near a city. Burlington is one of the nicest college towns in the country and its right on Lake Champlain.
@cofb2020 thanks! what do you know about the figure skating at pomona? if there is none then i will start a club, haha
Ice would be nice!
http://magazine.pomona.edu/2013/spring/ice-would-be-nice/
There is no ice rink on the Pomona campus. The nearest rink is the Ontario Ice Skating Center, about 5 miles away. The Ontario Center Ice Arena is a bit further away.
I imagine if you make nationals at the senior level then that would put you in a different league since that is the road to olympic level! But I think you need to get to sectionals first 
@Fifty do you know if pomona has good transportation?