Can I Get Into Middlebury?

[Middleburygirl20]

<p>Hey guys, I haven't actually finished all my standardized testing (taking SATs again in 3 weeks and SAT IIs in November) ...but can you please give me some input?</p>

<p>GPA: 3.98
Class Rank: 124 out of 672 (Top 24%)
AP classes: AP French, AP Literature and Composition, AP Studio Art, AP English 3 (11th grade)</p>

<p>AP English 3 Test score: 5</p>

<p>4 years French
3 years laboratory science
4 years math
4 years social studies
4 years English</p>

<p>Honors Classes:</p>

<p>All honors since 9th grade except for 1/2 year European history, 1/2 year Psychology, and 1 year Physics</p>

<p>Honors:</p>

<p>2009 nominee for Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, National Honor Society (10th, 11th, 12th), National French Exam 6th Place 2008, 10th Place 2009, NA Diversity Contest Fine Arts Division winner (2009), Scholar Athlete Award (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th), President's Education Award: Outstanding Academic Excellence (2008)</p>

<p>SAT Critical Reading: 700
SAT Math: 620
SAT Writing: 640</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>NA High School Marching Band Drum Major / Field Commander (2009), NA Marching Band (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th); NA STAND (National student-run anti-genocide group) branch President (2009); High-school rep. for Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition, attended Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy during the summer of 2009; 5-week art class at Carnegie Mellon University (2009);French Club (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th), Art Club (12th), Venturing Crew (12th), GOAL (Gifted student) program (5th-12th grade)</p>

[MissPickwickian]

<p>You have excellent chances at Middlebury. Go on and apply!</p>

[Djokovic]

<p>I agree, I think you’ll make it</p>

[Middleburygirl20]

<p>Thank you both! That’s really encouraging. :)</p>

[arcadia]

<p>Middlebury will be very tough with that class rank. Last year, 86% were in the top 10%.</p>

[hmom5]

<p>Great insight into the Midd admissions process from 2006:</p>

<p>

Quote:
A look at Middlebury admissions
A reporter from the Burlington (VT) Free Press sat in on an admissions committee discussion at Middlebury, and wrote this article:
<a href=“http://burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/...3120309&theme=[/url]”>http://burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/...3120309&theme=&lt;/a&gt;
(I don’t think Free Press articles stay up indefinitely, so this link may not work after awhile.)</p>

<p>To me, the most depressing part of the article was the reporter’s impression that extracurriculars don’t seem to count. The admissions officers seemed most interested in grades and SAT scores.</p>

<p>Some excerpts:</p>

<p>“Applicants the committee tended to endorse quickly were mostly academic titans. They were often in the top 5 percent of their class, with all or almost all A’s in the most difficult courses available at their schools, and near perfect SAT or ACT scores. The admitted applicants often listed numerous extracurricular activities, although the impact these had on the decision-making process was unclear to this reporter.”</p>

<p>And:</p>

<p>"The committee grew excited about one applicant’s internship with a public health organization and the recommendation that she received from a scientist there. This – coupled with the student’s interest in majoring in science at a time when Middlebury is trying harder to recruit future scientists – seemed to help erase a few B’s from the applicant’s transcript in the eyes of the committee. They recommended her for February admission.</p>

<p>In other cases, extracurriculars did not help. A student’s four years on the school newspaper did not cancel out the C he received in pre-calculus or the drop in his GPA after the first semester of his senior year. He was rejected.</p>

<p>Another applicant had an 800 on the SAT critical reading, 700s on the SAT math and writing, and captainship of the varsity soccer team to her credit; but she, too, had a C on her transcript, and her GPA was only in the high 3’s, raising suspicions of slacking.</p>

<p>Someone with such great SATs should be closer to a 4.0 GPA, one committee member suggested. As for her soccer playing? It was viewed as ho-hum – there was no indication she’d taken the initiative to contact coaches at the school, nor was she a recruited athlete. The committee recommended that she be rejected, and then went on to waitlist a 3.97 GPA cello player who had not sent a recording of her cello playing to the music department."</p>

<p>Yet this student was accepted:</p>

<p>"The committee’s longest discussion was about a math genius with weak social skills. The young man’s tests scores were impressive – a perfect 800 on the math SAT II and scores nearly as high on verbals. He’d earned straight A’s in his school’s most challenging math and science courses and dominated math competitions with outstandingly good computation skills.</p>

<p>However, there were problems in his file. The boy had flunked at least one class and consistently drew low ratings on PQs – personal qualities. A school recommendation suggested that the student might need support, socially. An alumni interviewer noted that the boy came across as unenthusiastic during their meeting. "

</p>

[Middleburygirl20]

<p>Oh wow. Thanks for showing me this. It looks like I probably won’t be getting in, but it’s disappointing, anyway, that they seem to care more about stats than the actual students. I’ll try anyway, to be sure… but I’ll look harder at some other schools, I guess.</p>