<p>Hello... well, I've posted my whole song and dance on the parents' forum a while back, but I'd like the advice of everyone familiar with Wellesley specifically. I've basically narrowed my possible ED list to Swarthmore, Williams, and Wellesley (in no particular order). I really love all these schools for different reasons, and I think I'd be able to get across why I love Wellesley in my interview/ essay. My problem is: I had some serious health issues during my junior year, and my grades definitely suffered for it. I managed to finish out the year with all B's except for an A in English, but I had to drop down a level for physics as I had to miss a lot of class. My GPA is around a 3.5/3.6 at this point. However, I'm really passionate about my EC's and about academic areas that interest me... I'm All State/All Eastern for singing, I play the harp, the first ever junior to be student rep to the board of ed, and I student rep on around 10 different administrative committees within my school system. I also went to the New Jersey Governor's School for International Studies this summer. I have a lot of ideas for my essay, and I like to write, so I expect it will be very good. As far as SATs go, I have 800v 800w 600 math (retaking for math). Do you think, on the basis of my grades, that Wellesley is completely out of my reach? Thanks for any input :)</p>
<p>They should be delighted to offer you admission.</p>
<p>In terms of retaking the SAT 1, I wonder whether taking the Math SAT 2 (and doing well in that test), might be a more direct way of demonstrating math ability. Just a thought. You may want to run this idea by others who are more in the know.</p>
<p>The college counselor at your school should make this clear in their rec. Ask them to do so, if you're not sure they will. You could also try putting in a note or something. No college should count lower grades caused by illness against you.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks everyone.. one slight curveball I didn't mention that I'm afraid might make a difference: the health issues were an eating disorder that I have since recovered from. Will this scare the adcom off or in any other way negatively impact my chances for admission? Should I include a doctor's note or anything? Thanks for any help : )</p>
<p>This sounds like a good issue to discuss with your GC. Rightly or wrongly, there are a lot of folks who view eating disorders like other "addictions," as something one overcomes every day for the rest of their lives, rather than something that is fully recovered from. I'm sure your GC has counseled other students successfully on how to address this issue and helped them get into great colleges. It might be better not to specify what the health condition was, but your GC can give you more guidance on this.</p>