OP, do you understand 3.96 is one teeny hair from a 4.0? Getting into Chicago with maybe one A- or so is different than a slew of grades less than A. Regardless of who input it, it, it doesn’t change your own record.
Applying right now, the chances for the reaches are tough. An additional year of “maturity” won’t help with highly competitive and most competitive colleges, with nothing else to show but skating.
You will need to tell your SAT2 and AP scores. Your SAT is currently low. A B+ GPA. You have one non-skating EC. Do you know what those top colleges look for?
I agree with “Applying right now, the chances for the reaches are tough. An additional year of “maturity” won’t help with highly competitive and most competitive colleges, with nothing else to show but skating.”
and disagree with “Taking a gap year and applying later is usually a positive in the admissions process. Admissions offices really like it when you’re applying a year out of high school because, in most cases, you’re going to be more mature.”
Apply now and see where everything falls out. I don’t know what you’d do to show you’re academically more prepared after a year – your GPA and scores will still be relatively the same. No college is going to look at your gap year academics and admit you who wouldn’t admit you now as a graduating senior. I don’t see much of any boost you could obtain waiting a gap year.
@lookingforward correct me if im wrong, but i heard lots of people saying that colleges would rather look at one focused area of ECs instead of a bunch of different ones?
so are the admission officers going to look at it as only 1 EC? theres actually more to it (skating, teaching volunteering all revolves around it),
OP, you should be looking at what the colleges say. The top schools want some rounding, the ability to recognize and pursue more than one unilateral thing. To even bring up the top schools, you should be doing this vetting. They want kids who get out of their comfort zones. Accomplishment in an interest area is good, but not a replacement when the schools want kids who can engage with peers, on campus, and in the community, in various ways.
You need to find where your stats actually place you and should be telling us the AP scores and SAT 2’s.
And I don’t see Hamilton has a business major. Lots of kids at various schools study econ instead. But I don;t see any mention of even some sort of certificate.
Balancing serious skating with college is very challenging so I can appreciate your interest in exploring a gap year to give it your full attention. Do you have defined goals for a gap year? Finishing your tests? Making it to sectionals?
Sorry, I missed the reference to sectionals above. If that is your goal, applying to schools (now) that offer an option to choose spring admission might be the perfect solution. Middlebury is one. I think Northeastern may be another.
OP, here is the deal: you only have one safety. Personally, and others might disagree, I can’t see you getting into any other school on your list, maybe NE or BU (is that Boston university? Boston college is a reach.) And why the changes in colleges if you apply next year? Anyway, that doesn’t matter.
If you apply now, you will have a college for next fall, which can be deferred for a year. You will be submitting your 1310, which is low for most every school on your list. If you apply in a year, you have a chance to raise your SAT. You might be able to up your chances of getting into your reach schools. You have to prioritize. It is clear you want extra time for skating before you start college. How motivated are you to get into a more selective college? If the honest answer is “very” then you need a higher SAT.
My D13 was a figure skater. She passed her senior free by end of hs but only made it to regionals final rounds at the novice level her junior year. She did however end up taking a gap year to skate with Disney. It was one of the best experiences of her life so far. She applied to college and then deferred. Unfortunately most people including college admissions officers have no idea of the level of dedication, time etc it takes to excel at figure skating. So I don’t think the gap year will help with admissions. But if skating is something you love and if you think you will regret not giving it one last try then go for it. Making it to sectionals is a tremendous accomplishment.
We know several skaters who deferred college for a year or more. One was accepted to brown ed but waited so he and his partner could compete at nationals in dance (though not at senior level), another has actually made it to nationals but ended up going to community college part time. One of D’s friends at Disney on ice deferred her acceptance to Notre Dame for two years but has now started. It’s about what you want. College will wait but the easiest path will be to apply now and defer. Fwiw several of D’s friends also have really enjoyed collegiate team skating. Some more competitive (UDel) than others. Lots of options.