Anybody want to chance me?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Boston College
1

<p>Race/Gender: White Male
Grade: Class of 2010
State: New York
School: Extremely competitive Top 35 national high school, public but “specialized”</p>

<p>Academic:
Class Rank: Does not rank
GPA weighted: 4.0
SAT I: 750 CR, 750 M, 730 W, 2230 T
SAT IIs: 700 Math 1, 660 American
APs:
11th- American (4), Eng Lang (4)
12th- Eng Lit, Biology, Calc AB</p>

<p>All honors courses as well as a few “college level courses”, as well as four years of Russian language.</p>

<p>Volunteering:
A lot of work at the catholic church (is that a hook with the fact that bc has such a strong affiliation?)
Alter Server - 8 years, head alter server now
Volunteering at almost every church event, but heavily involved in volunteering for the sports program.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Two Years JV Basketball (Captain both years)
Two Years Varsity Basketball (Captain this year)</p>

<p>I know that my non-academic resume isn’t strong, but between basketball, school, and church there isn’t much time for anything else.</p>

<p>My essay was decent, and I’m assuming my recs were ok</p>

<p>I applied Early Action, not sure if that will hurt me or help me.</p>

<p>One of my sisters just graduated from BC this year, and my other sister is currently a junior in the Nursing program. (Hook?)</p>

<p>Chances on admissions? and if so do you think I’m in line for any scholarships?</p>

<p>thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>Dear pcbasketball : Despite a terrific GPA and board score selection, there is a potential issue in your academics. If you are attending a “Top 35” high school, the expectation is that the school will be laden with advanced placement courses. Your personal AP course load is not extremely comprehensive over your junior and senior years. While you have taken two English APs, you have one history, one science, and the “softer” calculus curriculum in your profile, these will be trumped by many other top level candidates. [Side note : this is one reason why we never review applicants based on their school’s reputation. Boston College accepts individual students, not the reputation of the school you previously attended.]</p>

<p>Your school participation, outside of basketball, appears to be virtually nil in your profile. This is a major concern and cuts to the heart of the question as to whether academics are “enough” on their own for Boston College. We have seen numerous examples of students who have top SAT scores failing to get into schools like Boston College for this very reason. In your case, an early action application will only magnify this issue. Compare your background with some of the other chance-me threads on this board.</p>

<p>There are no sibling “hooks” in the application process. Further, you are not in line with the Presidential Scholars program based on the lack of a comprehensive background presented here.</p>

<p>Hopefully, your application was written to make you seem more well-rounded than this brief overview. In short, you are missing too many elements from a High School experience for us to give you an early admissions thumbs-up. Please do let us know how the EA decision works out for you.</p>

3

<p>I actually disagree… I think you have a very good chance. Although, if your schools does offer a lot of APs and your not taking them, it will REALLY hurt your app. Assuming your taking the majority of the APs at your school, I think you are in the clear.</p>

<p>@scottj- Yes, the applicant could be more involved in school, but he said he is filling most of his free time with activities. Playing a sport makes it virtually impossible to be involved in clubs and other things… and a few passions is better than a laundry list of ECs. His app reflects that he is very dedicated to church, volunteering and basketball. I think this is more than enough as long as he can portray his passion for each of these things in his app. </p>

<p>Granted that your essays are not terrible (and your schools doesn’t offer many APs), I’d say your in… I mean, you’ve got great stats, a few ECs that you are dedicated to, great grades etc.</p>

<p>Best of luck! Hopefully you get the letter your hoping for from BC this Christmas! :)</p>

4

<p>The mantra of “the more extracurriculars, the better” is flawed, particularly for a school that is not that ultra-competitive, like BC. I did practically nothing of in high school, and unlike you, I didn’t even play a varsity sport. From what I understand, GPA and course rigor are the most important things that BC looks for in an application. </p>

<p>Your chances are good… but there are a lot of kids that have similar statistics. I suggest that you put a substantial amount effort into your essay.</p>