Strengths and Weaknesses?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hey all 2007 applicants! As it comes time to click that submit button for your colleges, if you haven’t done so already, I’m sure everyone is a bit anxious about the quality of his or her application. This thread is dedicated to an open sharing of the following:</p>

<p>What would you consider your biggest strengths on your college application? In other words, what would be the thing that got you in, if you were accepted? It could be one element or it might be your application as a whole, please share!</p>

<p>Also then, what do you fear are your biggest weaknesses? What might get you rejected from your schools? Whether it’s scores that don’t quite match your expectations or a weak essay, feel free to talk about it. </p>

<p>:)</p>

2

<p>Well…I’ll go first =&lt;/p>

<p>Strengths

  1. My academics and class rank
  2. Defining extracurriculars
  3. Significant leadership in the community with a very strong optional recommendation
  4. A powerful main essay
  5. Emphasis on my passion for biology, coupled with awards and a great teacher recommendation 1</p>

<p>Weaknesses

  1. Borderline SAT scores
  2. Mediocre teacher recommendation 2
  3. Possibly generic or indifferent guidance counselor recommendation
  4. A weaker supplemental essay
  5. Being Asian American and attempting to major in biology haha</p>
3

<p>Strengths- EC’s, Essays, SATs</p>

<p>Weaknesses- Grades…not GREAT but very above average</p>

4

<p>Strengths: ECs (president of two clubs, plus one other really intense position), recommendations (I haven’t seen them, obviously, but… they’re going to be good), essay, SAT scores (2250)</p>

<p>Weaknesses: GPA (3.6), being craptastically awful at Math (except, apparently, on the SAT…?)</p>

5

<p>Strengths:</p>

<p>Many awards, including participations in national contests
Dedicated community service (Over 300 hours by senior year)
Good test scores for the schools I’m applying to, like U-Miami and U-Florida. (1370 SAT and 30 ACT)
Strong Work Ethic
Hopefully good recs that demonstrate the work ethic. (I waived my right to see them!)
Strong Improvement since Freshman year
Success in Junior-Level college coursework
Ability to show the low courseload Freshman year was result of documented disability.
Very strong essay about disability/work ethic and living in an interfaith family</p>

<p>Weaknesses:</p>

<p>Very low 3.57 weighted academic GPA because of Freshman year.
Two C grades, one Freshman year and one Junior year (Though I dropped one, honors physics, for college-prep and got an A the next semester. The other C was in my first honors class ever)
Only one AP class because of disability
No work experience
No officerships or real leadership positions. (Though I took initiative, no one elects me. I then also end up doing most of the work for the elected people who actually get to put it on their app)</p>

6

<p>Strengths:
1)High SAT score (1560/2290)
2)Lots of strong community service, particularly religious things(which couldn’t look bad to ND)
3)2 time Varsity letterman(will be 3 at end of this year) + conference champion + captain on track team, obviously tons of commitment there
4)4 years Latin, including 2 years AP(Lit + Vergil)
5)Heavy courseload</p>

<p>Cons:
1)Not that many leadership positions, only like 3
2)Class rank. Technically my school doesn’t rank, but I think I’d be just on the brink of being in the top 10%. It’s not because I have bad grades, but so many kids have good grades at my school.</p>

7

<p>Strengths:

  1. Well written essays (English teacher & mom’s coworker who majored in English both told me not to change a word)
  2. Strong leadership (DG of competitive Model UN program, President of school ACLU chapter, band section leader for 3 years)
  3. Devotion to two major areas in ECs incl. many awards (debate/politics and band)
  4. Definitely at least one great teacher rec + rec from prof. at school I’m applying to
  5. Decent grades (only 2 B+'s 9-11) & great SAT-IIs (800-800-750)
  6. 200+ hours of community service at local hospital</p>

<p>Weaknesses:

  1. It looks like I such at math from my app (I don’t really, it just looks like I do)
  2. Quality of second teacher rec questionable
  3. Mediocre SAT score (2230) for schools I’m applying to
  4. Asian Male
  5. Dropped foreign language my senior year (disadvantage?)</p>