I have a decent SAT score-- 1500 with 780 in math, and 720 in reading/writing. According to College Board, this is in the 99th percentile.
I will have approximately a year’s worth of college courses completed by the time I graduate high school, consisting of my schools concurrent enrollment program and AP exams (all of this being completed in three semesters).
I have been told that my application essays are decent.
I go to a rigorous school where an average class is as difficult as a public school’s “honors class”. In addition to some other reasons, this caused my GPA to be a lowly 3.2.
Given these facts, why are schools like NYU, BU, Northeastern, Franklin & Marshall, Whitman, and Muhlenberg rejecting me? I can partially understand the former three, with acceptance rates in the range of 30%, but why are schools with rates in the range of 50% rejecting me? Additionally, my SAT score is many points beyond most of the 75th percentile of admitted students.
Although this situation is very upsetting, I am not here for people’s pity or sympathy, nor will I be offended by excessively blunt comments if they are honest-- I just want an explanation so the entire problem can be reconciled.
The GPA is the problem. Even if your SAT is top 1% of all high school students taking the test, your GPA might be in the bottom quartile of students they are likely to accept. Sometimes high test scores coupled with relatively low GPA reflects effort low in relation to potential which is another detractor.
“I go to a rigorous school where an average class is as difficult as a public school’s “honors class”.” Go ask your own guidance counselor about your situation. Counselors at the kind of school you are describing have years of records of where their students have been admitted and rejected. Your counselor will be able to look at your results and help you determine what went wrong with your application list.
And while you are in there, have a little heart-to-heart about getting yourself screened for executive function issues. Top test scores and a GPA like yours can be an inicator for learning differences in the executive function/ADD family.
Have your GC make a few phone calls to see what colleges’ objections were.
Did you show interest at Muhlenberg?
What classes did you take?
Do you truly have nowhere to go? If so, around May 4th there’ll be a list of colleges that miscalculated yield (called the nacac list). It always includes excellent colleges since academic excellence doesn’t doesn’tt against the fickleness of youth .
There’s still time to apply. Speak to your guidance counselor TODAY… find schools with rolling admissions that could be considered “safeties” by someone with your stats.
Nobody can really answer the question of why these schools denied you; admissions is a pretty complex thing these days and it wasn’t likely that there was one reason for all the denials. Think about it. Even at a school that has a 50% acceptance rate, it’s wrong to assume there was a “problem” with half the applicants. They only have so many spots. Qualified students get rejections too.
However, what stands out to me about your post is the discrepancy between your GPA and your test scores. It’s probably reasonably safe to assume that admissions committees might be struck by that and wonder why somebody who scored so well on the SAT didn’t have a higher GPA. Perhaps it made them assume that you did not work up to your potential in HS. I’m not saying this is true, of course, but it could certainly look that way to someone.
Were your teachers enthusiastic about writing letters of recommendation or were they just a bit reluctant? If they wrote lukewarm things about you, colleges will be less likely to admit you.
I suggest that you check out Naviance if your school has it. It will be able to give you a complete history, by college, of all prior students admissions and rejections with their sat and gpa. A great tool for figuring out where your best chances might be. Best of luck to you.
What kind of activities were you involved in? In school and/or out. How did you spend your summers? What have you been passionate about? Finally, did you express real interest in the schools you applied to? Visit, etc? These may or may not be factors.
@fresh59er It’s been announced at admitted student events and there are other online sources with the same number though with no citation. The number of applicants has been announced formally and with the expected yield rate it also appears to line up.
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