Another "What Are My Chances?" Thread

<p>Reed has been a fairly late addition to my list of schools, but its position in my personal college rankings has risen rapidly over the past several weeks. Unfortunately, living on the East Coast has made visiting the campus impossible; however, my research up to this point has convinced me that it would be a great fit for me. </p>

<p>Academics
GPA: 4.08 (W)
ACT Composite: 32
SAT Subject Tests: World History (800), Math II (720 - Should I send this?)
NMSC Commended Student</p>

<p>Course load
Sophomore: AP US History (5)
Junior: AP World History (5), AP Lang (5), AP Chemistry (3), AP Macroeconomics (5)
Senior: AP Calculus BC, AP Biology, AP Psychology, AP Microeconomics, AP Lit</p>

<p>Activities
Varsity Debate Team - Co-captain
Varsity Quiz Bowl Team - Member
School Newspaper - Assistant Editor
Lector at local Catholic parish</p>

<p>Performed one of four lead roles in student-written and directed spring play (Junior year)
Attended inaugural Summer Humanities Institute at Carleton College (Three-week summer pre-college program)</p>

<p>Any comments, critiques, or suggestions would be welcome. Thanks in advance for the feedback.</p>

<p>Your numbers are great! All you need to do is articulate strong interest in the school and show, in your essays, how you would be a good fit for this college (Reed takes its supplement essay very seriously).</p>

<p>I know I’m not the most competitive applicant, but from all the research I’ve done in the past few years, Reed really catches my eye for its open mindedness and emphasis on learning for the sake of it. I haven’t been around the most accepting of people in my school years, and my peers are largely the type to join a club or take a class “because it looks good on college applications.” I’m not interested in going to college to get a good job, although I’m sure that’s a nice perk. I want to find a school where I’m going to be happy and have the opportunity to help others and maybe understand the world a bit better. And the whole painting people blue once a year, that seems fun. So anyways.
I’m a white female junior from Richmond. I’m in a specialized four year program for the humanities within a school that doesn’t really have an impressive track record in terms of student grades, graduation rates, etc.
By the time I graduate I’ll have taken AP Human Geography, Psych, U.S. History, Government, Language, Literature, Biology, Art History, Environmental Science, and French- most of my other classes have been honors when available, except freshmen and sophomore math (but I’m now in honors trig and will probably take AP calc next year)
I’m president and founder of the LGBTQ Alliance, secretary in Key Club and Human Rights Club, and a member of Model UN and French NHS. I have my gold and silver awards for Girl Scouts, which I’ve been in since first grade, and I’ve taken piano lessons since fourth. I also work crew on our drama productions, and my GPA is about 4.6. (3.8 unweighted) Assuming I get in, I’ll be attending Girls State this summer, and possibly the Governor’s school program for humanities (I know that’s really competitive, so I’m not counting on anything). I’ll have about 180 hours of community service.
I’m taking my SATS in about two weeks, so I’m not quite sure how that will go, but on my practices I’ve been getting around 600 for math and 700 or so for reading and writing.
I will also mention that I was born with a neurological disorder that’s given me chronic back pain and six surgeries, two of which have been in the past three years, and that I’ve been diagnosed with longstanding major clinical depression. So I’m hoping that makes up a bit for my messy math grades and subpar test scores… I’m interested in public policy and English.
So, should I bother applying? I’m not really sure I’d get in with the math and everything.</p>

<p>You are, in fact, an extremely competitive applicant. Go for it.</p>