As RD deadlines approach, I’ve been wondering this.
So we are all in the top 10% of our class of 720. Each of us has 3.8+ Unweighted GPAs, each of us has loads of AP classes and we’ll have glowing recs. One of us (not me) could be valedictorian. We are also URMs (black).
Here are my extracurriculars:
Nsliy Arabic scholar (State Dept scholarship to study Arabic in Morocco over the summer)
Council American Islamic Relations (CAIR)- Govt affairs interns
President of my school’s cultural club
Volunteer at refugee center- I use my Arabic skills to help resettle refugees
Varsity Shotput thrower (not recruited)
*I want to major in International Relations and Arabic.
My bros and I have similar extra curriculars in that we excel in our areas of interest: Language and Geopolitics (me), Engineering , Medicine and Neuroscience, Computer Science.
Test scores is where the problems start. One of us has a 29 ACT, I have a 31 (32 super scored), and the other two have 33s. We are all applying to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and Vanderbilt together, and then we have schools we individually like. I know my 31 is borderline for Ivies, and my brother’s 29 is very low. I was hoping the fact that we are black URMs and quads could help. But if we all apply at these prestigious Universities, will my brother’s 29 and my 31 prevent all of us from getting in?
@NikkuWadde Your story is so interesting - good luck to you and your family! Its really hard to say - I don’t think its a benefit to apply to the same top schools, because there are only so many spots - but it sounds like all 4 of you are very smart, very involved and have an interesting story- so who knows? A top school may take all of you and it will be in the press and it will be an interesting story for the school too. That said, what could happen is the 1-2 of you with the slighted better stats could get accepted and the rest don’t. I hope it doesn’t cause animosity between you and your brothers. Please keep us posted on your results!
The animosity between us is already at the highest levels… we are brothers after all @suzyQ7 lol. Plus, we wouldn’t mind too much if we could different place. It would be nice to go somewhere I’m not “one of the quads”
You will be viewed as 4 individuals by college admissions officers. Given the disparity in ACT scores, you need to be prepared to get different admission results, especially at the very competitive schools. Work hard to end the animosity/competition. You are quads, but you are each individuals so try to keep the focus on having each person find the right college.
I think you should each apply only to the colleges you really want to go to. It isn’t a competition. There are quite a few stories of multiples being accepted to prestigious universities and colleges. In fact, given that you are all high achievers and Arfican American, I don’t think it would be too surprising if it did happen that you all got accepted to the same place. But it would certainly be unusual. Your main motivator should be that you think you fit at a college you apply to. Good luck to you all.
Yes, the lower test scores will not help at the most prestigious colleges, in all likelihood.
Georgetown and Middlebury are both my list @Hellofagal. These are only the schools we are applying to in common. U Chicago is also on my list, because they super score the act
Also the animosity isn’t negative. We want to go to those schools listed, but if one, or any combination of us got in, we’d be happy. We compete in school in stuff, but it’s all good-natured.
Just my two cents’ worth but I think that you should all independently apply to whatever schools you like. If some overlap, so be it. As you mentioned, you have some that overlap and some that don’t so that is a good strategy. Good luck!
@brantly yes we are! Honestly this whole process has been so expensive.
We got the fee waiver for the common app from counselor, so we didn’t have to pay application fees, but sending in CSS profiles and test score stats is bound to be extremely expensive.
I figured, because even if your family is prosperous, who can afford $250k/year for private, non-merit-scholarship-granting schools?
I think you have a great story. I differ from the others so far on this thread in that I think the brother with the 29 ACT and high GPA will be in the mix for admission (with the exception of Vanderbilt, which is extremely score-sensitive). I think that universities trying to hit diversity goals won’t bat an eye at the 29. That’s what the bottom score-quartile is for—meeting demographic, geographic, and athletic goals. The people in the lowest quartile have to have qualities that offset the score, and the 29 bro does.
The fact that there are four of you could work in your favor because the colleges also think about alumni giving. Four successful brothers could be worth more than the average four alumni because of the increased loyalty.
Up until this year, we didn’t even really think we could go to such schools. We thought it would be too expensive outright an Ivy leagues were only for kids with “old money”. Our counselor informed us that we were wrong thankfully, and gave us the fee waiver so we could apply widely. Hopefully we get into one of our dream schools. Though personally I would most prefer to do Georgetown, Princeton, or UChicago, schools at which I am the only sibling applying. At Princeton I’m applying for the Army ROTC scholarship, which plays role in admissions. I also want to work in intel, so the Army makes sense.
A URM with a 31 with good EC’s, and a good “story” has a decent shot at the Ivy’s. Your ROTC should make some difference. I can’t imagine how hard it would be to rise quadruplets. Yikes! Good luck to you and hats off to your parents!
Quad BOYS - I can’t even imagine the amount of giant shoes in your home! Your house is going to be in for a huge change next year when you are all off to college! Hats off to your parents is right.
Have you considered Northwestern University? I know a family that had triplets that all applied and all of them got accepted and attended. Good luck on your college search!