GPA (Unweighted): 3.95 (I got a B in Calc BC AP)
GPA (Weighted): 4.77
SAT I: 2110
SAT II Bio: 770
SAT II Math II (possible score, taking in Oct and Nov): Anywhere in the 700-800 range
ACT (possible score, taking in Sept and Oct): 33-35
AP’s: Currently, Gov 3, Calc AB 5, Calc BC 4, Stats 4, Bio 4, English Lang 4.
(I said that I want to major in Chemistry and German)
Ballet and other dance for 10 to 11 years total, plan on submitting an arts portfolio with a male solo piece from "La Sylphide" (James variation). I'm not GREAT at ballet, but I can pull off 5 pirouettes on a good day.
Kendo for 3 years (Japanese sword martial art). I'm two tests away from a black belt.
President of a Club that goes to senior centers to play board games with the elderly for two hours every Sunday.
National Honor Society member
I know I’m not a killer extracurricular person who juggles 10 different things and grades, but does 10 years of ballet make up for those 10 extracurriculars I could have taken instead?
I don’t believe the number of ECs will hurt you if you’re ballet is at a high level and have put in the hours on a consistent basis. My D had very few ECs - less than you. But that one EC was, like yours, for many years and in a significant way.
Not that you asked for advice other than you ECs, but… while we’re here, you sats are below average for Amherst (I believe average is in the 2145-2150 range). You didn’t break it down, but if you want to increase your chances, you might consider studying real hard for the math and reading sections and retaking this fall. You can Superscore your grades so any significant improvement might help your chances.
@OHMomof2 – Thanks for that link. Very interesting way to break it all down, and very informative. I also liked the detailed listing of the majors of the Amherst graduating class of 2014.
@OHMomof2 – Thanks, and thanks again for the link.
My son is a rising junior who visited Amherst last week with Mom (I was back home in northern CA) and was favorably impressed. Trying to do our due diligence at this point. All of the info helps.
Good luck to you and your daughter. What a great place for her to be!!
@ThankYouforHelp – We’re in northern California also (Bay Area). We have an older son who’s at Emory. Getting there is easy – the nonstop flights take just under four hours, and it’s easy to get from the airport to the school. Based on that, one of our (loose) criteria for S16 was that the school had to be within an hour’s drive of an airport to which he could fly non-stop. Now that Amherst has become a consideration I guess we’re throwing that criterion out the window. Not exactly the easiest place to get to.
It’s not that bad. Fly to Hartford. You can’t get direct flights to Hartford from SFO, but you change in Chicago usually, its not that bad, and once she gets there she can hop onto an airport shuttle that will drop her off at the dorm door.
@thankyouforhelp How does your daughter like it so far? I’m a senior from California, I’m going to commit to Amherst (athlete) next week. I’d be interested in hearing her thoughts so far.
My daughter is very, very happy so far. Shocking happy. Of course, the academic demands are high and there are no “gut” classes, but she expected that, and so far everyone has been collaborative rather than cutthroat. Her dorm is clean and nice with big rooms, the food has been much better than advertised, there is lots to do outside class, and she is making friends. What surprises her the most so far is how low the “complete jerk” quotient has been. Every school will have some complete jerks, students or teachers or administrators - but she hasn’t found any of them yet.
I have about a dozen friends with kids starting their freshman year in college, and almost all of those kids have expressed some complaints or frustrations or concerns that they might have gone to the wrong place to their folks. It is natural for freshman to do that. I sure did it when I was in college. But my D really has no complaints. It has been warm and her dorm room can get stuffy, so she wants to get a fan to put in the window. That’s literally it as far as complaints.
My D is not the “rah rah everything is perfect” type - far from it - but she really believes she hit the jackpot in choosing Amherst.
It all really comes down to whether Amherst considers your dancing to be a hook. If it’s just an excellent EC it’s not that important. The mean SAT at Amherst is very very deceiving. At Amherst most of the ED have hooks and many get in with pretty low scores which drives down the mean. We have numerous friends with children playing football that got in with SAT’s 1900-2050 and much weaker grades. I had recruited athlete children and the coaches at Amherst/Williams/Bowdoin were very clear about how this worked. My children ended up going to D-1 schools but being an athletic recruit is a massive advantage. You send your transcript and SAT’s to the coach who then separately takes it to the admissions committee. They then tell you where you stand. Having a hook is a very different process. Unhooked the average SAT of admitted students is close to 2300. When you say your not great at ballet it makes me think it’s likely just an EC. In NESCAC Schools the process is very formalized.
As the mother of a female professional ballet dancer, she and I have been researching schools with good dance programs. Most emphasize contemporary dance at the college level; there is comparatively little high-level ballet. The 5 colleges dance program looked good but not stellar (with most of the ballet classes offered at Mount Holyoke or Smith, can’t remember which). So if pursuing dance is important to you, then Amherst might not be the best venue. If you’re using it as a hook, well that’s different. A male dancer who can pull off five pirouettes would be welcome in most regional ballet companies!
I read on a dance forum that Swarthmore admissions “gets ballet” with respect to the dedication that is required to dance at that level. Perhaps Amherst will also appreciate depth over breadth with respect to your accomplishments.
If you are looking for some safety/match options, Dickinson has a partnership with Central PA Youth Ballet and it is possible to get certification there while pursuing a Dickinson degree. College of Wooster also offers dance scholarships (on top of their regular academic awards) of 4-8K annually and one does not need to be a dance major.
Congratulations on your success both inside and outside of the classroom!
@ThankYouforHelp, thanks. I’m also from California, I committed to Amherst this week per the pre-read process etc described above. So I’m glad to hear your D is having such a great time.