Anyone willing to chance me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Colorado College
1

<p>I'm applying to a relatively large group of colleges, and I'm not entirely sure on where I stand with some of the schools. A couple of them are state schools or schools that how low entrance requirements (ex. 2.5 minimum GPA) or high acceptance rates (ex. 96% acceptance rating), but I'm also applying to some of the elite liberal arts schools in the country. I've looked up the average stats for Colorado but I don't want to make any assumptions, so I'm wondering if I can get a chance here.</p>

<p>Basic info:
Gender: Female
Race: Caucasian
Location: Oregon
School Type: One of the top public high schools in the area, but a public high school nonetheless.
Intended major: I'm unbelievably undecided, but have interest in Journalism, Theater, Environmental Studies or Science, and Film.</p>

<p>School stats:
GPA: 3.73 UW, 3.86 W (Grades are on an upward slope this year and taking APs, so GPA should go up.)
Class rank: Unfortunately, I don't have an exact class rank but I'm in the top 20% of my class.</p>

<p>Test scores:
SAT: I had a miserable time taking my SAT, hated the test, and my score reflects it. I will not be reporting my SAT scores.
ACT: Highest composite is 30. Superscored, my stats are as follows: English - 36, Math - 27, Reading - 33, Math - 27, and Writing - 9.</p>

<p>AP Scores:
- U.S. History - 4
- Psychology - 3 (I was incredibly sick during the actual test and had a mediocre teacher for this course)
- English Literature and Composition - Will be taking this year, but teacher says he expects a 5 from me. </p>

<p>Awards:
- 4 year Academic Letter Winner
- 3 year Theater Letter Winner
- Induction into International Thespian Society
- National Merit Commendation</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
- 4 year band member where I'm a first chair tuba player. Co-founder and leader of Band Council. Our band placed 4th in state last year. 4 year Tuba Christmas participant.
- Heavily involved in our school's drama department. Been on tech for two different shows, including heading up the pit orchestra, and have been cast in five different shows and a one act. One play and an a capella rock opera (two of the shows) were original works/world premieres and I am listed as an original cast member. Director for Advanced Acting class my Junior year and will be directing another one act in spring. Inducted to our school's thespian society and inducted to International Thespian Society.
- 3 year member of Students for Environmental Action (SEA), my school's environmental club. No official title of leadership position, but definitely a leader of the group. We tend to our school's organic garden, lead bottle/can collection movement at our school and have bottle clean-ups to recycle everything, and organize all school grounds clean-ups.
- 2 years of high school soccer (played since kindergarten)
- 1 year of high school lacrosse (played since 7th grade)
- 1 year of high school swimming (summer swim team member as well)</p>

<p>Volunteer work:
- Worked as an unpaid intern every summer since I was thirteen at an arts camp downtown. Very near and dear to my heart, as I went to the camp as a child.
- 4 year school registration volunteer
- Meals-on-Wheels deliver during the holiday season
- Regular blood donor (Thank you Red Cross for the suggestion)</p>

<p>Work:
- Sporadic work at a family friend's clothing boutique. Worked as a personal assistant to a Project Runway winning designer (Seth Aaron Henderson) at the boutique.
- Occasional catering for aunt and family friend's parties
- Regular house and pet sitter</p>

<p>Recommendations:
- Pre-calculus teacher: Slightly unsure about how this letter will go, but the teacher loved me, so hopefully it'll be good.
- Chemistry/Advanced Chemistry teacher: My absolute favorite teacher, head of Students for Environmental Action, adores me. Should be a very good letter.
- AP English teacher: Published writer, Yale alumni, and overall very intelligent man. Likes me, although I've only known him for a semester. Should be very well-written.
- Acting/Directing teacher: Very close to this teacher, father-like figure and also would consider a friend, have worked closely with in the classroom and on extracurricular projects. Knows me very well and should have good things to say.
- Counselor: We've had our difficulties, but she's a good writer and would never let personal issues get in the way of writing me an excellent letter.
Additional rec:
- Letter from the director of the summer camp I work at/choreographer from one of the musicals I've been in. She's known me since I was six, knows my character very well, adores me, and is a Reed alumni.
- Letter from the director/writer of two plays (both world premieres were his) and the a capella rock opera I was in. Also taught two playwriting courses I took. Very close friend, a man I hold in highest esteem, someone who knows me well, and very influential in the Portland theater world.</p>

<p>Thanks so much for taking the time to look over this!</p>

2

<p>I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do this, but… Bump.</p>

3

<p>I can only compare it to what I’ve seen on this forum, so a couple of impressions.</p>

<p>Seven recommendations seems like four too many! Don’t they ask for two plus the counselor? Think about the admissions officer who sits down to look at your application.<br>
I doubt they’ll be thinking “Wow, look how many people like this candidate!”<br>
More likely they’ll be thinking, “I can’t believe I have to read through all of this. Too bad she doesn’t know how to follow directions.” </p>

<p>Your ECs look good, but your class rank is a little low. I’m just comparing it to some candidates who were deferred. 78% of this year’s freshmen were in the top 10% of their class.</p>

<p>However, you might have just the demographic that they are looking for (a female tuba player from Oregon! Just what we need!), so you’ll never know if you don’t apply.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the input. I appreciate. With the recommendations, I probably should’ve clarified - those are all options available to me. I obviously will not be submitting seven different letters of rec.</p>

5

<p>You’re going to be like a lot of other applicants. Your stats don’t make you an obvious “in” nor an obvious “out”. So how do you stand out? What do you really bring to the table as a prospective member of this community?</p>

<p>The a capella rock opera thing sounds interesting but did not even catch my eye until I’d skimmed your long post 2 or 3 times. Suggestion: Do a little research into theater activities at CC’s new Cornerstone Arts center. Try to imagine how you would fit in and contribute to activities there (if that’s something you’d want to pursue). Once you’ve thought about this, something as simple as an on-campus interview could be a great opportunity to present yourself. Have you had one yet? Interview with a local/travelling rep, at least. If you’re into theater and have all these great relationships with adults, I bet you make a pretty good impression. Have fun with it. Sing a couple of bars a capella maybe? Or, wear an outfit you designed and tell a short story about it (maybe connecting it to costume design)? </p>

<p>I dunno, maybe this isn’t necessary. What you have on paper already might catch somebody’s interest. You do sound like an interesting applicant so I wouldn’t let class rank hold you back. Take the admission people at their word when they say they take a “holistic” look at applicants. They aren’t just looking for a laundry list of activities though.</p>

6

<p>I really appreciate that input, and do find it very helpful. At this point in time, I haven’t been able to interview. I’ve signed up to hopefully speak with a local representative, and also have plans to visit campus, but unfortunately there are no concrete plans at this point in time. I do know that I have a well-rounded application, but I also am aware that there are plenty of people out there with applications just like mine. I just need to find some way to shine.</p>

7

<p>I got accepted with only one to two EC’s and 25% ranked in my class. And a 3.3 gpa. My stats are terrible but I can honestly say that CC was a perfect exact fit. And my interviewer agreed. I wrote about how I would fit. That’s what they care about most.</p>