<p>I’m looking forward to apply to boston college (most likely early action), and i was wondering how differently they weigh different aspects of one’s transcript i.e. standardized tests, gpa, extracurricular, etc. </p>
<p>Any ideas? Thanks</p>
<p>SAT, GPA, extra-curricular- all matters. But the biggest part is the essay. As long as you are able to sell yourself through the essay and your essay is supported by the other things (SAT, GPA and ECs), I would say your in. I also think BC values diversity a lot. So if you are one of the minorities, you have good chance. </p>
<p>Good luck!!</p>
<p>Don’t know if your EC’s include any community service…if not, find some sort of service that is meaningful to you. This is, after all, a Jesuit university.</p>
<p>Dear kid3020 : Each year here on the BC section of College Confidential, a somewhat different theme seems to emerge as to what the major factors might have been in reviewing that year’s applications. </p>
<p>The current Class of 2011 clearly saw an increase in average SAT scores over the Class of 2010, partially driven by the ever increasing volume of applications. There was a midpoint jump of 50-70 points in the midpoint acceptance in that single year. </p>
<p>The Class of 2012 saw a stress placed on class rank and being in the Top 10% of your graduating High School class. This seemed to emerge as more and more schools refuse to rank students and only bracket them into cohort groups or ranges of grades.</p>
<p>The Class of 2013 seems to be a mixture. Class rank still factored very strongly in the acceptance/deferral/rejection discussions, but SAT scores seems to have a much broader range. </p>
<p>Is it possible that the essay played a greater role this year? Were community service, activities, sports, music, the arts, and others more heavily weighed? While we are not sure yet, your best approach is to have a well-rounded, complete curriculum and resume … not just for BC, but for any college application and your own personal growth.</p>
<p>BC also seems to weigh demonstrated leadership heavily, captain of a team or two (school or recreational), officer in the class or a club for example. Organizing a charity or service event may be helpful. Receiving student-athlete awards are a big plus. Demonstrating activity in a wide variety of healthy activities while also doing well with a heavy course load are weighted higher than strictly the highest scores and grades and the most ECs.</p>
<p>Each year there are students that you wonder how they got in, and others that were rejected that are better candidates than you… so perhaps some luck is also useful.</p>
<p>I don’t know how BC evaluates the essays, but many other schools that take the essays seriously have sophomores or juniors read them and evaluate how well the student would fit into the student culture (and if they would want them to be classmates). Students that present genuinely why they think they will succeed at BC may be placed in a better pile than those that strictly cover their accomplishments without relating to BC or what you want to get out of BC.</p>
<p>Here’s what we heard from admissions during our info session a few months back, and I believe it holds for this year and beyond: With the volume of applicants now applying to BC, the SAT scores and GPA are a simple way to create “go”/“no-go” piles – similar to any nataional university with more applicants than seats. The next steps is the recommendation and ECs, in that order. And ColdCase is correct that they want to see a few ECs that you really focused on and took leadership in, rather than a laundry-list of clubs and sports wherein you were simply a member. The essay did not seem to be a factor to the extent that it is at (some) Ivies and other elite/top schools. </p>
<p>Whereas BC is ranked something like 34 in the US News list of national universities, it is typically close to the zone where the soft items count because there are plenty of applicants with the numerical/hard items covered. In general, the further you work yourself up the college food chain, the less do scores and ranks become relevant by mere virtue of the fact that there are many high SAT scores, class ranks of top 10%, high GPA applicants, etc, so the softer items become the differentiators.</p>
<p>I should add that I believe BC is unlike the Ivies, in that it will probably be more likely to toss your application into the no-go pile if your scores/GPA/rank numbers are not in line, whereas there are examples every year of people who get into the absolute top Ivies (HYP) with scores that make one ask “what’s up with that?” because the admissions folks at HYP see some mesmerizing potential in the candidate that raw scores cannot illustrate. </p>
<p>Like their grandfather just gave $50M toward a new campus library. (j/k)</p>
<p>^^^^^i think you mean the exact opposite. Many kids got in this year with low(lower than the 25% median), go look at the 2009 decision thread. I remember seeing plenty of kids get in with 1600-1800.</p>
<p>Edit: i may have misunderstood what you were saying. Are you talking about both sides of the normal scores?</p>
<p>^Huh? Are you sure you got the right thread. I only see one person from the thread you were referring who had a 1610, but he was third in his class. Only one other person had an 1800 something. The vast majority of the group of SAT scores were 2000+ with a few 1900s. I don’t think two people can be qualified as “plenty of kids.”</p>
<p>Please check it out. The accepted thread begins on the ninth page. The previous pages are mostly about anticipating the results.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/boston-college/676114-accepted-class-2013-a-9.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/boston-college/676114-accepted-class-2013-a-9.html</a></p>
<p>^^^ ur right, i stretched those scores too much lol. I also didn’t see that thread, and went by the 2012 decisions, in which i also found 3 in range. My b, but i’m not sure if hes right when he says that if you are not in the range(as in above it) you are tossed into the no-go pile</p>
<p>^^ Yes I may have been generalizing too. I guess there is a lot of that on here (not to generalize again). :-)</p>
<p>Reddune-- Click on Applicant Stats on the top of the thread window. You will see there are about 3 or 4 profiles who got into BC with 1590-1800. I got into BC with 1590. I think colleges are looking at the SATs less and less and BC is one of the those schools, but again I might be wrong.</p>