Please give me advice on how to improve my application

evelynne1996
Fri, 14 Feb 2014 16:22:09 +0000

I am an international student from Vietnam. Here, the competition of getting into US colleges is very tough. Most students are either rich or academically outstanding so an average (and also poor) student like me have slim chance. I understand this and put my heart and soul into the essays (this is one of my strengths), but after receiving a straight rejection from Middlebury EDII, I think I need to figure out how to improve my application and maximize my chance if I have to take a gap year. And my college list is a huge problem, since I don’t have exceptional stats and I can’t afford to pay full tuition. Please look at my stats and give me advice.


GPA:
9th year and 10th year: 8.9/10
11th year: 9.0/10
12th year: 9.1/10
My school is a nationally ranked public high school and our curriculum is very rigorous. My school doesn’t report rank but I’m always in the top 5 of my class (My school class of 2014 includes 15 specialized classes, each consists of about 30-40 students). Usually, few students have GPA higher than 9.0.
Test scores:
SAT: superscore CR 600 M 760 W 700. Total: 2060 (SAT is definitely what I have to improve, and improve a lot. I took it two times and my scores didn’t go up much, so I don’t know what to do).
IELTS: 7.5/9.0. Equivalent to about 105 TOEFL.
(Maybe not taking TOEFL and SAT II tests hurt my chances significantly?)
Essays: writing is my passion, and also my talent. I believe my essays are what would help me stand out. I was also accepted to a free program and got help from a top student in Vassar College. She helped me a lot so I wouldn’t worry about this. Additionally, my family situation is quite special; I went through a lot of traumatic incidents. I wrote about it in my CommonApp essay.
Extracurricular Activities: I participated in some volunteer organizations and some clubs at my school. These are not very impressive but I did what I loved to do and was really committed to them. I also have unusual interests such as Tarot and Astrology (they are kind of occult things but I approach and use them as psychological tools to help people). I also founded a club. I explained them in my resume and some of my supplements so maybe they would set me apart (in an interview with one of my college, the admission director became very interested in those strange interests. She seemed very impressed and still remembered me after months not exchanging any emails).
Honors:
I was awarded a merit-based scholarship from my school for three semesters. The scholarship was awarded only to four students with the highest GPA from each class.
I was chosen, with four other students from my school, to present Vietnam in an international science conference in Asia. Our group was awarded a bronze medal.
My family contribution: about 10k/year.
My school list:
Agnes Scott College
Brandeis University
Carleton College
Colorado College
DePauw University (I also applied to their Honor program).
Hamilton College
Hobart & William Smith Colleges
Juniata College
Kenyon College
Knox College
Lafayette College
Middlebury College (rejected - EDII)
Mount Holyoke College
Occidental College
St. Olaf College
Whitman College.


Except for Middlebury, all colleges are RD.

*Notes: I plan to major in English/Creative Writing. I think few international students choose to pursue those majors so it is a factor that can make or break.

Thank you for reading. I’m waiting for the RD decisions (not until April) and literally pulling my hair off worrying about my fate. Middlebury’s rejection didn’t surprise me (I always knew it was a huge reach), but it definitely left an impact on me. Please help me out. I really need helpful advice if I have to reapply next year.