Chance D24 poli sci. Okay gpa, good ECs [OR resident, 3.83/TO, political science pre-law]

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Demographics white female

  • US domestic * US

  • State/Location of residency: OR

  • Type of high school *top public
    Intended Major(s) Poli Sci/pre law

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.83

  • Weighted HS GPA 4.04

  • Class Rank: NR

  • ACT/SAT Scores: to

Coursework
*4 AP Jr year (push, psych, bio, Spanish)
4 AP sr year (gov, lit, geo, stats).
3 honors english
1 college summer course at Syracuse (A)

All As/A+ in all four years except for.two Bs in chem and a C in first semester AP bio (improved to B second semester)

Not a stem kid, poor test taker

AwardsAP scholar

Extracurriculars
state champ ski team, top 12 girl in state. All league etc. Competed across western US.
Captain sr year

Chosen for statewide board to develop middle school mental health curriculum. Presents at middle schools.

Intern DA office two summers

Paid camp counselor two summers

100 volunteer hours soup kitchen

Presented and had a concept approved by mayor and city council for a new youth program in city (wrote bylaws, etc)

Georgetown summer academy in poli sci

Founded gun control club at school, currently working with OR state rep to promote school safety on rep’s social media

Essays/LORs/Other
essays 9/10.
Recs 9/10. Will likely be described as organized, enthusiastic , high energy

Cost Constraints / Budget
full pay if need be

Schools

  • Safety *
    IU
    Wheaton Mass

  • Likely *
    Elon (ea)
    Denver (ea)
    uDel (ea)
    uMass (ea)
    Fairfield (ea)

  • Match
    Syracuse RD
    Santa Clara (ea)
    American RD

  • Reach
    Lehigh
    BC (possible ED2, won’t bother applying RD)

Has showed a ton of interest at Syracuse, American, Lehigh and Elon. She says she would be happy at any of these options.

Am I on the right track? Think we have classified them okay?

2

I think these are categorized well and represent a good mix. Your daughter’s ECs are fantastic! If she really loves BC, and applying ED is possible, I would do so. I think she’s got a shot if she applies ED. Test scores would help though. BC is test optional, but a pretty high percentage of accepted students (60-70% in the past years) have submitted scores.

My daughter was accepted ED1 to BC last year with a similar GPA (albeit with a test score) last year.

1 Like
3

Thanks, good to know! We are visiting Boston in a few weeks to tour BC and Umass. It will be past the ED1 deadline (oops) but if she loves it we may throw an ED2 and see if it sticks. Hefty price tag though :flushed:

Im a big fan of Syracuse and Elon. Their communications and marketing have won me over. I guess we are lucky she doesn’t have an absolute favorite, it’s such a crapshoot these days, esp test optional.

4

We visited Elon and also liked it very much. It would have been very high on the list if my daughter had been interested in communications - super impressive!

1 Like
5

(I mean she would be happy at any of the schools listed above, including safeties)

6

Great list. Y no interest shown at SCU ?

You’ll get into many.

A few are a bit more isolated if that’s ok.

Did you look at Miami U?

7

Any Oregon publics of interest?

Note that law school admission is based mostly on LSAT and college GPA. If the student is a poor test taker, it may help to find a way to improve test taking skills before the LSAT.

3 Likes
8

She’s toured SCU and emailed the AO, hopefully that’s enough….we will be there next week for a Niners game and tried to have her sit in on a class, but it’s their first week of school so they said no.

Think I classified them ok?

1 Like
9

She’s looking for a change so wants east coast, primarily

10

I mean, you’re full pay if I remember and she took a class at SU and wants SU - so I’m guessing, since SU likes $$ and it’s not an impacted major, she’s ok.

And Maxwell school is top notch btw. IU is strong too.

But you have BC on the list as ED - so maybe that’s the preference?

1 Like
11

Does she want to keep skiing? Maybe university of Utah or Boulder are good safety options? Wisconsin has a terrific political science program and is right down the street from the capitol, great for experience. That one is a match, I think.

She has such a great collection of ECs… and great grades. I think she could stretch on the reach side and see what happens, if she wants to. Maybe look at Tufts too, while at BC? Super interesting civic studies major there.

12

Haven’t visited BC yet, going in November…

13

I love UW for her but they require four years of math and surprisingly AP stats doesn’t count

14

Will take a look at tufts!

15

I think your list is pretty well-categorized, though I think that Fairfield would probably be in the same grouping as Syracuse and Santa Clara.

With your daughter’s interests, including her ski background, these are a couple of other schools that you might want to consider (sorted by my fallible guesses as to what your D’s chances might be). They all either offer varsity skiing or have active USCSA teams and popular poli sci departments. I suspect that merit would be likely from all of the schools in the extremely likely category.

Extremely Likely (80-99+%)

  • Hobart William Smith (NY): About 1600 undergrads
  • Saint Anselm NH): About 2k undergrads, and as NH is still one of the first primary states, there are lots of opportunities for involvement in presidential politics. About 22m from the NH state capital.
  • St. Lawrence (NY): About 2100 undergrads
  • U. of New Hampshire: About 12k undergrads and, again, New Hampshire. This one’s about 50m from the state capital.

Likely (60-79%)

Toss-Up (40-59%)

Lower Probability (20-39%)

  • College of the Holy Cross (MA): About 3100 undergrads, and as they’re trying to expand their national presence, I think being from Oregon would be a hook. A very strong academic school that’s becoming increasingly selective, but I think is a more likely admit than Tufts.
  • Trinity (CT): About 2200 undergrads and located in the Connecticut state capital, so lots of opportunities for close government/political involvement.

Low Probability (less than 20%)

Also, has she eliminated Minnesota or Wisconsin as an area of interest?

1 Like
16

Tufts would be another reach - 9.5% acceptance rate for this year’s freshman class. (BC’s acceptance rate this year was 15%).

1 Like
17

She’s pretty set on east coast (but willing to go to Denver or Santa Clara). Funny you mention Trinity, we just ended up on their mailing list. I didn’t appreciate that the state Capitol is nearby. Will take a look, thanks!

Good to know re Fairfield. All the online calculators are calling it a safety but I see it has an admit rate around 50%. She did interview there and has shown interest. They seem to value that.

1 Like
18

Is a Holy Cross really religious? We are visiting UMass so might be able to check it out.

19

Holy Cross is Jesuit, like BC. Focused on rigorous academics and social justice, which our two secular students have loved. One kid who looked at BC and Fairfield (and Fordham) said Holy Cross was the least religious feeling among those other schools. The vibe on campus is welcoming and politically quite liberal. Nice kids. Overall acceptance rate last year was 21% and regular decision 16%, so very similar to BC in selectivity.

2 Likes
20

Great thanks. She can do Jesuit

2 Likes