Chance a junior for WUSTL art?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Washington University in St. Louis
1

<p>** I posted the following over at What are my chances? and wanted to see what the WUSTL crowd thought, too. Thanks! **</p>

<p>Hi! I'm wondering how my chances would be for WUSTL and specifically, if you think I would get admitted, if I could get a good merit scholarship. I'm planning on majoring in Communication Design in the Sam Fox School, and might minor in Writing and/or Philosophy in the A&S School.</p>

<p>STATS:</p>

<p>Rank: 2/~240</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0 UW, don't know W</p>

<p>SAT: 2210/1440 (CR:690, M:740, W:780, E:8)</p>

<p>ACT: taking in June</p>

<p>PSAT: 234 (should be NM)</p>

<p>COURSES:</p>

<p>I am in the full IB Diploma Program.</p>

<p>Junior classes are: Online Economics/IB Theory of Knowledge 1, IB English 3, Pre-Diploma French 3, IB Art 1, IB Math 2, IB History of the Americas 1, IB Physics 1, Principles of Human Services (a filler home ec type class that is due to scheduling trouble)</p>

<p>Senior classes should be: IB Theory of Knowledge 2/aide (each is 1 semester; aide may change), IB English 4, IB French 4, IB Art 2, IB History of the Americas 2, IB Physics 2, an unknown math credit (probably AP Calc), an unknown elective (I'd like Yearbook, but scheduling probably won't allow it) </p>

<p>I have taken AP Human Geography (4) and AP World History (2), both self-studied (the Pre-diploma curriculum was deemed somewhat similar to AP so it was recommended that I could take). This year I'm taking AP Eng Lit and retaking AP World History, in addition to my IB Math test.</p>

<p>ECs:</p>

<p>NHS (member) (Junior - present)</p>

<p>StuCo (member 1 yr, reporter this year, running for president/VP) (sophomore - present)</p>

<p>National Art Honor Society (Junior - present) (secretary officer position)</p>

<p>Leo Club (late sophomore - present) (reporter)</p>

<p>Academic UIL (freshman - present) (Participated in number sense and various journalism events) (moved on to state for 3A feature writing freshman year, and placed 2nd)</p>

<p>Community Service:</p>

<p>Worked at school district book sale sorting books since middle school</p>

<p>Lots of service within the above ECs</p>

<p>If I remember more I will add them </p>

<p>Job:</p>

<p>I've been working in childcare at a church for a few months so far, one or two nights a week.</p>

<p>This is either ridiculously long or I'm forgetting something ... let me know if I need to elaborate on anything, I haven't done many of these before! Thanks so much!</p>

2

<p>Your SAT scores are within Wash U’s average, but they don’t stand out too much. Take it again in the summer or fall to improve, especially critical reading score. With that said, while higher SAT score will generally help chances, it wouldn’t be determinative at all in getting accepted. </p>

<p>You said you want to apply to the Art school, but you’ve only taken two art courses total in Jr and Sr years. Does your high school offer another one next year to take? Also, you only listed one art-related activity, and that’s just an in-school club. Have you done anything else art-related outside of school? If not, you should do that. Perhaps you’ve done more, but your Art-related angle seems weak. The few people I know in the art school all seemed to have a serious interest in art/drawing/painting/jewelry-making (one girl I know started a jewelry-making and design business)/whatever before college and presumably talked about that in their application, essay, or extracurricular sheet.</p>

3

<p>I don’t think that the SAT scores direly need to be raised - while they are slightly low, I think the time could be better spent finding some EC’s which really display your interests. As it stands, it just appears like you’re a member of a few clubs, and that’s it. Nothing really shows me that you have any passions or interests. Universities such as WashU appreciate applicants who spend a fairly significant portion of their time devoted to one (maybe two) main interest.</p>

4

<p>Thanks! My school only has one art option for me but I may be able to do yearbook or a digital media course. I am developing a big portfolio as part of my IB class. Also, I was thinking about starting an etsy shop or blog or something over the summer - do you think that would help show personal interest? What other types of ECs might you recommend? I think I left off some of the community service I’ve done, and I can go more in-depth with my club commitments for an app, but what kinds of things might be good to explore this summer and next year?</p>

5

<p>I don’t have specific suggestions of what ECs to join, but I would say to think out side the box of what your high school offers. Perhaps there is an organization in your town that does art-related things. Maybe your town has an art fair and you can showcase there. Or put some of your work in a coffee shop or gallery? Or work at an art museum? I think you should just find a way to boost your art angle, to make it seem like you live an “art life” instead of someone who takes a couple classes, is in an art club, and likes to draw or paint or whatever it is.<br>
Good luck!! :)</p>

6

<p>Thank you so much. I am definitely planning to participate in more shows and will actively search for stuff this summer. :)</p>