Admission Chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Colgate University
1

<p>I'm an applicant from India, and have applied to Harvard(EA-Deferred), Columbia, Dartmouth, Yale, Princeton, Brown and UPenn, amongst the Universities.
I've also applied to the following LAC's: Williams, Bates, Colgate, Grinnell, Swarthmore, Reed and Carleton. </p>

<p>I want to major in Physics, and my scores and extra-curriculars are as follows:</p>

<p>SAT 1: 2150, CR=710(national percentile=96),Math=710(national percentile=94), Writing=730(national percentile=97);
Math Level 2:800(national percentile=88);
Physics and Chemistry: 770(national percentile=82 and 83 respectively);</p>

<p>My school transcripts placed me at the top 1% of my class for my 9th and 10th years. However, ranks have slid down badly over the past year. </p>

<p>My Co-Curriculars include:
30 odd wins at city, regional and national level at quizzing events, for one of these quizzes I received an award from the ex-President of India Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
Several leadership posts at school.
Have won a few national level essay/creative writing competitions, and a handful of national/city level debates and/or Model United Nations conferences.
Over the past 2 months I have received decent ranks in 3 Olympiads, which are held in India, and 7 other countries in Asia(though I think South African students do take part too).
(I came State Rank- 3rd, International Rank-81st in the Science Olympiad,
I came State Rank- 12th, International Rank-323rd in the Math Olympiad,
I came State Rank- 24th, International Rank-420th in the Cyber Olympiad)</p>

<p>I have helped at a home for the elderly, and have helped to educate underprivileged children from city slums.
Played for my school soccer team.
Have certification in Piano and Music Theory till Grade 5 from the Royal School of Music London.
....etc.</p>

<p>I think my essay/essay type answers were quite strong and do me justice.</p>

<p>I was deferred by Harvard, but that notwithstanding, Colgate is one of my favourite schools. So could anyone please chance me? Keeping in mind I need full/near full financial aid.</p>

2

<p>Anybody…bump?</p>

3

<p>superbump. . .</p>

4

<p>Oh for the sake of ten char bumps! Anybody out there?</p>

5

<p>How’s Colgate’s Physics Department?</p>

6

<p>Just out of curiosity, and to reach out to you after all of your “bumps”, please tell me what interaction you have had with the admissions office in terms of direct communication about your admissions chances and the physics department, as well as the department itself. Many applicants find the colgate.edu website offers suggestions on how to become familiar with Colgate’s offerings and it would seem to me that going to the source makes good sense for many good reasons including timeliness.</p>

<p>Good luck with your applications!</p>

7

<p>well honestly markham, my interaction with them was just a phone call regarding some financial documents. Whatever i did need to know about colgate i got to know from a friend currently studying there.
Chance me?</p>

8

<p>Rather than banter about chances I would like to offer some practical advice that may help frame the real and tangible issues of gaining admission…</p>

<p>As you may have seen on the recent class’ profile you have a profile similar to many Colgate applicants. So ask yourself, why should Colgate- or any college for that matter- accept you (and offer financial aid if you show need) relative to any other candidate?</p>

<p>There are many ways one can distinguish one’s application and thereby reasonably hope that doing so will make a difference. I asked about the context of your research to suggest that making sense of your needs and interests in terms of what Colgate does/does not offer could be used to develop your application essays. Obviously colleges are more interested in those who show a clear desire to attend and frame their reasons for holding that view.</p>

<p>So it will be worthwhile to reconsider what you have done to date with those applications. If there is something that you can do to sharpen your application file get it underway! Decisions will be released in a few short weeks by all of your choices.</p>

<p>Good luck with your college search.</p>

9

<p>I understand what you’re saying. Thank you for sharing your knowledge regarding this stuff.
However, colgate’s essay prompt calls for an essay that provides more insight into oneself than why you’d like to attend the college. I hope i presented myself to the best of my abilities. Now all that remains is the looong wait.</p>

10

<p>I wish you the best of luck and trust that your friend who is now studying at Colgate has assisted you with his/her own insights about the school. </p>

<p>In just a few weeks I expect you will have several offers of admission and be in a position to make the choice that suits your current ambitions!</p>

<p>Kind regards</p>

11

<p>thank you very much. :)</p>

12

<p>honestly, can anybody tell me about the rigour, etc of colgate’s physics program with respect to other top lac’s?</p>

13

<p>There must be some ranking website somewhere – now that everything imaginable is ranked – the ranks undergrad physics programs, but I sure don’t know what it is. </p>

<p>The better science programs are most likely to be as science schools like MIT, CalTech, and so forth. But attending a smaller liberal arts college offers other benefits, as well, and some of them will have very good science programs, too, and also offer a more broadly varied program with arts, athletics, campus beauty, friendliness, and other appeals. </p>

<p>Liberal Arts Colleges offer a broad spectrum of study and naturally the quality of departments will vary. Colgate has always had a good history, economics, art, and other humanities and social sciences programs. But it’s also had good science programs, as well. When I was a student at Colgate quite a long time ago, many of my friends were pre-meds who thought the science program was very good. Three are now top medical doctors – if that proves anything. None were majoring in Physics, though. </p>

<p>Colgate has invested heavily in new science buildings and generally upgrading the quality of the sciences. </p>

<p>I suppose you could ask the Admissions people (have you already done that?)? And there are the usual college rankings books and I’m sure somewhere among them are listings of top science programs, though I find many rankings are quickly outdated and some are highly subjective and based on limited data.</p>

<p>It might be worth asking Colgate where Physics graduates go on to graduate schools. The Physics Department might be able to give you that information, and from that you might draw some conclusions about its quality (which I am fairly sure is impressive), I would think. But I have no personal knowledge of it, I’m afraid.</p>

<p>Good luck in making a decision. You are applying to many of the very top colleges and universities in the country, as you know, and I’m sure many of them will have excellent science programs.</p>

14

<p>Speaking of rankings, it is very hard to find rankings that combine universities and LACs.
One is this: [The</a> 50 Best Colleges & Universities 2011-2012 Top School Rankings](<a href=“http://www.thebestcolleges.org/rankings/top-50/]The”>http://www.thebestcolleges.org/rankings/top-50/)
Another would be the Forbes ranking. USNWR does not combine them.</p>

15

<p>ah. Thank you for that list moneyp!
And colgatedad, thank you for your response. Calling the offices seems a good idea. Haven’t done that. But if it comes to a point where i have the option of two or more schools that have accepted me with aid, i’ll definitely get down to figuring out which of them is better regarded by grad schools and why. I hear good things about math at colgate, info on the physics department remains elusive on the internet! :)</p>