I’ll definitely try to do that, even for teach schools there may be a lack of strength athletes outside of football who can volunteer, I may also include it in my deferral letter to Harvard that I spoke with the coach if anyone thinks that could help.
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This puts you in a great position, which you have mostly earned through your own hard work and strong academics. UT Austin is a very good university. You can do very well with a bachelor’s degree from UT Austin. Noting that your proposed majors are fields where some form of graduate school is likely, if you do very well at UT Austin then this will help you be very competitive for graduate school at any university.
This is very good. This suggests that you are prepared to do very well in university. However, this is a bit low for Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Stanford, MIT, or Caltech. All of these are reaches for nearly every student. I do not know your other three schools as well. I think that they are probably also reaches although lower reaches and significantly more likely for admissions.
I was an undergrad student at MIT. You might be surprised how many incoming freshmen there were either #1 or #2 overall in their high school, and how many freshmen there had 800 on their math SAT as well as one or more 800’s on other SAT tests. If you were the #2 student in your high school and the top student in your high school in math and science then you would not be very far off from being an average incoming freshman at MIT.
Given how strong UT Austin is, and assuming that it really is a safety, I think that it is very reasonable that all of your other schools are reaches. There is no point in going to a university that is just as good at UT Austin for only two or three times the price.
I guess that I have a good news / bad news / good news reaction to your post. I think that you may very well end up with one acceptance and multiple rejections in spite of your superb academics. However, that one acceptance is likely to be UT Austin. This will both provide you with a great education and a degree that is widely respected, and will also allow you to save bundles of money that can be used for graduate school when the time comes.
Given how strong UT Austin is, I am not convinced that I would want to pay more to go to a different university unless you are in a position that your family can fund your education through a master’s degree without your taking on any debt.
well my rank is much lower because I took medical classes that were not weighted, unknowing that they were going to drop my rank, and had to drop the classes subsequently because of that. I plan to put that into my application, because the people who are #1 and #2 in my school, and in every school in the district, were prevented from following passions in order to follow rank. I’m hoping I can just upload a document to each supplemental upload explaining how our ranking works and why my rank is lower than it would be if the classes did not have that effect, and that after taking those classes and dropping 40 spots sophomore year, I then had to drop them and was able to recover my rank and even get a higher rank than I had prior, but that my rank would be even higher had I taken only weighted courses all 4 years.
I likely should’ve mentioned this earlier as well, as I feel like my rank definitely doesn’t quite reflect the rest of my application, and that the explanation I can provide may make the lower rank have less of an impact on my overall admissons.
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I definitely agree with your choice to take the classes that you feel make sense for you rather than trying to play games with ranking. This was indeed the right thing to do. I think that the top schools will be looking at your actual grades much more than the rank, and will be looking at what classes you took. Your letters of reference are also going to be important and are something that we cannot see here on an Internet web site.
I think that things are going to work out well for you even if you are likely to get a number of rejections. The rejections will also be due almost entirely to the point that you have applied to schools that are very difficult to get accepted to. It has been said that the top schools such as Harvard and Stanford could reject their entire incoming freshman class, and fill their freshman class with a different set of applicants who are just as strong academically.
I have heard very good things about Rice but I do not know much about it because we never considered it. We live a long way to the north and east of you.
I hope that my post was not too negative. I am quite impressed by what you have accomplished to this point.
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No your post wasn’t too negative at all, but as time goes on I realize more and more was missing from my REA application to Harvard that could’ve tipped the scales, such as my job as an amateur personal trainer, a powerlifting and strength coach (my athletes do pay me but idk if that makes me a professional coach or not?) and that explanation of rank. Hopefully with these additions, a long with some improvements to rank, gpa, and band accomplishments, Ill be able to tip the scales at just one top school, which is all I really need.
“Hi Mr.Frazier,
my name is _________, a strength and powerlifting coach, and prospective student for Harvard University. I’m sending this email to express my deep desire and willingness to volunteer in the strength and conditioning department, regardless of position, as I feel my qualifications and experience would be an asset to the department.
To give more information on my strength background, I’m a nationally competitive powerlifter (currently undefeated with 4 golds, a win at the Texas State Championships, 2 Texas State Records, and have been invited to compete at the National Championship in March), a strength and powerlifting coach, and amateur personal trainer (will be getting certified as soon as I can afford the course).
As for my academic background, I have a focus into medicine and biochemistry, with the end goal of medical research and development in the sports medicine world. I currently have a 3.9 unweighted GPA and a 1540 SAT score, putting me within the range of the student body, and plan to continue to learn and grow my knowledge of sports science and sports medicine over the coming months, years, and beyond.
Harvard is certainly my top choice, and although I know powerlifting is not a recruited sport, I will be representing whatever university I attend with excellence (and hopefully some records and medals) at Collegiate Nationals in the coming years, just as two athletes have done for Cornell this past year. Although it is my dream to bring these gold medals to Cambridge, putting Harvard at the top in yet another sport, I recognize that no matter how many records I break, medals I receive, and athletes I coach, I can’t be recruited on powerlifting alone, and felt it necessary to bring to your attention the skills I wish to bring to Harvard’s Strength and Conditioning department.”
This is what I have so far in my email to Harvard’s strength and conditioning director, if y’all see anything you feel could be worded better changed etc. let me know. I’m also unsure of how to end the email, should I ask that he put a good word in admissions? ask that he and I speak about my qualifications? I’m totally lost as to what would be the best approach
Would your guidance counselor write the explanation of your rank rather than you? I think it would be better coming from an independent source.
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Dear Coach Frazier,
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I called her and sent an email, so hopefully she’s able to write that up in time, because I do agree it’s better coming from an independent party
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do you think the rest is fairly good? and do you have any idea what I should end with?
I prefer “Dear Coach Frazier”, but am constantly corrected in the professional world that the preferred form is “Hi”. Nevertheless, I am too uncomfortable to use the informal greeting.
@Anybody4219: As for suggestions, consider changing “I have a focus into medicine and biochemistry” to “my academic interests are in medicine, biochemistry and physiology”. Also, ask for a convenient time to speak with someone so that you can ask for their support in the admissions process.
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Your class rank is fine. Many schools no longer rank. Some will report percentiles. Your rank puts you in the top 3% of your class, which is all that any school reasonably looks for. Your standardized test scores are excellent. You’ve taken mostly honors and AP, so you meet the “rigor” requirement, too. Your academic achievement will most definitely not keep you out of any school that wants you.
The reason that you got deferred is that Harvard wasn’t looking for a power lifter. If they had been, you’d have probably gotten in. Problem is, I don’t know that any other school will be looking for a lifter, either. It’s really not something that is on their radar. So you’ll get into slightly less selective schools based upon your academic achievement, but not the very most selective schools.
Interesting idea to market yourself as being able to help out with training the football team, or any other sport that uses lifting as part of its training program. I don’t think that this can hurt, and it might help.
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Should I explicitly say that I want to speak to ask for their support in admissions or just ask for a time to speak?
And really, thank you all for the help, I think without the independent perspective to help me strengthen my application I would’ve been much worse off.
The initial goals are to introduce yourself & to create interest while arranging for a time to “speak”.
If the coach seems interested, then you are in a position to seek his or her support in the admissions process. Do not ask for such support in the first communication.
Remember: You are a solid candidate for admission so it may be wise to tread lightly when seeking support. Also, understand that strength & fitness training may/is likely to occur during the off-season.
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I don’t love the expression “felt it necessary” since it isn’t “necessary” that you contact the coach…instead I would instead put a period after “I can’t be recruited on powerlifting alone.” and start a new sentence saying: However, I do want to bring to your attention…(finish the sentence you had). I would also end by thanking the coach for his time and attention.
I have no idea but there may be insurance/liability reasons that could stand in the way of your helping the football team but it is worth reaching out for sure.
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Agree.
Football teams do use student volunteers, but practices may vary by school.
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Contacting a coach will help, but only for varsity level sports. Not sure if contacting a strength and conditioning director will move the needle much. The varsity coaches submit a list of names to the admissions office. The admissions office gets deluged with contact from other faculty members all the time. But the varsity coaches have the most influence (because of their lists).
The letter doesn’t specify what your specific ask is. Imagine yourself as the strength/conditioning trainer and receiving this email. What would you do? Would it spur you to contact the admissions office? Probably not. It might just end up getting ignored. It probably won’t hurt, but I doubt it will help.
If you want a better sense of how admissions at Harvard works, read through the reports from the recent litigation. At this point, your time is better spent on other applications. Good luck!
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I wouldn’t mind staying year round if it meant I got to do what I love tbh
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