Advice for a high school junior and a chance, perhaps?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wellesley College
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<p>Female/Cali/Asian</p>

<p>GPA: 3.86 UW/4.25W
Ranked: 7/466
SAT: 2150 (2160 superscored)
I haven't taken any SATIIs yet...a mixture of procrastination and laziness
but I'm planning the US History one (which I think I'll do really well on because I LOVED the class and had an excellent teacher.) and the math one...
APs: 5 on Euro, took Calc BC, AP Lang, APUSH, and AP Physics B this year. I think I failed the Physics one. Oh well.
Didn't take the ACT but I might if I have enough prep time and it works out.</p>

<p>Senior year courses:
AP Lit
AP Stats
AP Econ
AP Gov
Human Physiology Honors</p>

<p>Thing is, my high school isn't very competitive at all. Maybe the top 10 students like to get really aggressive about grades, but we have a 60% grad rate. Do they take that into account?</p>

<p>EC:
Piano (for 10 years)-- basically studying master works now
Chinese School (12 years or so)
Book Club (3 years)
Volunteering with the local library and Sister Cities</p>

<p>I know it's pretty pitiful, but my school isn't really open to more academically oriented clubs...I tried to start a few but everyone basically bailed on me. :/</p>

<p>Won a writing competitions
Sister Cities International/local
PTA Reflections literature </p>

<p>Extras?
Taking community college courses this summer and this fall--they're free so that's a nice plus
Financially I have no idea, because we're rich on paper through investments, but it's not like we can afford to send me to private school for 50k a year.
I think I can get a pretty good rec from my history teacher, but I'm not sure about the other one. </p>

<p>As for essays, I'm willing to pour my heart and soul into this. I keep hearing that Wellesley really values writing, so I want to talk about how reading/writing pretty much saved me. I was a really awkward child and got bullied a lot in middle school, and books were pretty much the only things that got me through. </p>

<p>For the Wellesley supplement, I want to talk about a more personal college experience compared to the vastness of public school, and a personal connection to the other students and professors. Maybe also throw a thing or two about having some really great teachers in high school that were great because they took the time to get to know students' strengths and weaknesses and worked to improve their understanding of the material, rather than just teaching the material and moving on. Some teachers really took the time to stay updated with students' progress and comprehension on a personal, one-on-one level.</p>

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<p>I think you should have a reasonably good chance of being admitted if your essay is fine. My D had similar statistics who with a bit of luck was also admitted to the 2016 class. We are Chinese from the PRC.</p>

3

<p>I think your stats look good. As you know, the essays and letters of recommendation are important, so it’s wise of you to plan on spending time on those. Also, getting an interview can help. I think the deadline is sometime in early December, so signing up in the early fall certainly wouldn’t hurt.</p>

<p>Good luck! Let me know if you have any questions!</p>

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<p>Our stats look really similar! I’m going to be a freshman at Wellesley this fall :slight_smile: I’d have to agree with the statements above that essays and letters of recommendation are super important. As for not going to a very competitive high school, I wouldn’t worry too much. I was in the same boat (public suburban high school with few if any students going out of state). I would also like to suggest joining some more extracurricular activities and community service activities that perhaps stand out or can add some variety to your application. Good luck and feel free to message me!</p>

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<p>Oops, I should have clarified that I’m an outgoing junior/incoming senior. So I will be applying this fall. Do I just contact Wellesley College for an interview? I’m pretty new to the college application process, most of what I know I’ve garnered from CC and the internet as a whole. Since the Bay Area is a pretty diverse area, I’m sure there are Wellesley alumni out there. </p>

<p>Also, some other questions: How important are counselor recommendations? Our public school is pretty big and counselors are stretched pretty thing. The thing is my counselor is in charge of the AVID program, which gets much more help than other students. I’ve only spoken to him a few times about course requests and things like that. </p>

<p>What should I look for when requesting teacher recommendations? My US History teacher was probably one of the best teachers I’ve had, and I spoke to her outside of class and participated during as well. Is it unusual to ask a librarian for one? I’ve known her for 2 year and I like to talk about books and things like that with her.
Is it more preferable to ask recommendations from senior year teachers or is any year fine? </p>

<p>Thanks so much for taking the time to answer all my questions. I just really love what I’ve heard and read about Wellesley. It’s a great school and definitely on the top of my college list.</p>

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<ol>
<li>Yup! You just go on the Wellesley website and schedule an interview in your area. I believe the interviewer will email you directly once you sign up.</li>
<li>I’m sure that counselor recommendations aren’t weighed too heavily, especially if you have a large class. When you list your class rank, they’ll be able to tell that you come from a big school.</li>
<li>I would suggest getting teacher recommendations from teachers that you’ve had or known for multiple years. That way they can talk about how you’ve grown as a person and/or student. I think any year is fine though. Perhaps get a contrast… so one from the earlier years and one from senior year… just to show that you’ve been a consistant hard worker?</li>
</ol>

<p>Feel free to message me directly! I’m an incoming freshman this year and I definitely got a ton of advice and help from CC back when I was applying.</p>