Barnard ED Chances? Please help!

<p>I will be retaking my SATs. This is without superscoring anything. (Please be gentle).</p>

<p>SAT I
Math: 630
Reading: 630
Writing: 680</p>

<p>I expect that I will get around 650 on both my SAT Lit & Math 1 Subject Tests.</p>

<p>unweighted gpa: 3.5
weighted gpa: 3.65</p>

<p>Significant Extracurriculars: Model United Nations
I preform in the schools plays
Leadership positions: Student Government President
Coordinated and Lead the Young Women's Institute of 2013 (state-wide program)
Student Senator - 3 years
Student Ambassador - 4 years
Volunteer/Service Work: I've interned for state Assemblymembers and Senator since I was fourteen.
Volunteered on campaigns of all levels: local, state, and federal.
Honors and Awards: National Honor Society
Award for Scholarship, Citizenship, and Sensitivity
Girl Scout Bronze and Silver Awards
Nominated for RYLA
College Summer programs: Explo at Yale</p>

<p>I have an awesome essay so far and I should have fantastic teacher recommendations along with additional letters of recommendation from a State Senator and Assemblymembers. I also interview extremely well and I have an admissions interview next month. So far I have not taken SAT Subject Tests yet.</p>

<p>I also have a piece of state legislation in the works that will be voted upon within a month or so.</p>

<p>Thank you so much:)</p>

<p>What can I do to improve my application?</p>

<p>Take the ACT w/writing and see how your score compares. If you do well on the ACT, the you won’t need to submit SAT II’s. </p>

<p>Are you full pay? </p>

<p>I don’t think ED is a good choice for you. ED is a boost for higher-stat applicants whose application doesn’t stand out in other ways. With your GPA, Barnard is probably going to want to see your fall grades. </p>

<p>You need sell yourself to Barnard based on your EC’s – if you ask yourself what you have to offer Barnard that other applicants don’t, I think that will help you focus on what is important to say in your essays. A good topic might be to write about the path of that particular piece of legislation – there probably won’t be many other applicants writing about a law they helped write. I think your essay will be more powerful if it is written after the vote, even if you are disappointed by the outcome. </p>

<p>Thank you @calmom‌! I assume that I will be full pay. I didn’t do well on the practice ACT I took last year but it may be worth trying again. I’ve decided that Barnard is definitely my first choice. Do you think there would be any advantage to applying ED? Thank you again for your input and suggestions. I really value your opinion.</p>

<p>If you are full pay there is no disadvantage to applying ED – but I don’t think you will be admitted ED because of your GPA. That is, I think that the Barnard ad com will want to see midyear grades before making a decision. So I think that you should assume that the best-case scenario with an ED application is that you get deferred – if you do, you might use that as an opportunity to submit supplemental information.</p>

<p>Nothing wrong with being deferred – it’s just that you need to be developing your complete college list and have other apps ready to go if you are not admitted to Barnard. </p>

<p>It’s really hard to predict – your GPA & test scores are on the low end for Barnard, but your EC’s sound impressive – so I definitely think you have a reasonable chance at admission. Just that it’s still a reach. </p>

<p>You are fortunate that your parents can pay full cost for you – it opens up a lot of other opportunities. Think about what you want to be doing in college – if you think that you still will be more outwardly focused, wanting to participate in politics and have time for internships, you might consider schools like American or GWU as backups. (Though my own daughter dropped those schools from her list after visiting and interviewing, so I guess you still have to consider fit)</p>

<p>@calmom‌ I visited Barnard last week and I fell in love! Early decision it is… haha. I just recently found out that my high school only sends out gpa on a weighted 4.0 scale so Barnard will only see my 3.65. It sounds confusing but that is the only gpa that will be reported to any college/university even upon request. Do you think that makes much of a difference?</p>

<p>Colleges do their own GPA recalculations, so it doesn’t matter how your high school reports it - the college will see the courses and the grades and come up with their own number. I have no idea what Barnard does. </p>

<p>Colleges like to see a rising trend in grades. So the pattern of your grades is as important as the actual number. </p>

<p>I think that your GPA and your SAT score are below median for Barnard. Your SAT scores are better than my d’s were, but your GPA is weaker So those numbers won’t keep you out – but they aren’t going to get you in, either. What will get you in is the holistic factor – those EC’s shout out leadership qualities that colleges tend to value. </p>

<p>Go ahead and apply ED – and make sure that your essays and LOR’s tell a clear, coherent story. Think of it like a political campaign – you are the candidate and you have on opportunity to tell the admissions committee members why they should vote for you.</p>

<p>And think of ED as being like a primary election – with your GPA, you are probably going to face a run-off in the RD round. I might be mistaken, you might get admitted – and then you can celebrate – but I think you should be prepared for a deferral.</p>

<p>My daughter could not apply ED for financial reasons, but she applied EA to Chicago – when a thin envelope arrived in the mail in December, I left it on her pillow, an prepared myself to comfort a distraught daughter. Instead, when she arrived home from school and tore open that envelope, I heard whoops of joy. She was so utterly happy and delighted that she had not been rejected. She submitted supplemental material in February and was admitted in the spring. She preferred Barnard, but Chicago was a nice backup to have. ;)</p>

<p>Anyway – do prepare your college list, and be ready with other applications as well. I think you will do well in admissions. If I was on the admissions committee, I’d want you as a student – but I think I would also wan to see your fall grades before making a final decision. </p>