Looking for insight for my son’s chances of getting into Middlebury. He just applied early decision, and really not sure how big of a reach this is for him, given his low-ish grades, the impact that Covid may have on admissions and just general lack of knowledge as to how this all works.
School: He goes to a good public school in a suburb of Chicago.
Grades: 3.50 (unweighted) and 4.05 (weighted) (upward trend especially in his junior year where his grades went up quite bit).
SAT: 1520 (superscore)
AP Classes: Has taken (or is currently taking) APush, AP English Lit, AP French, AP Gov., AP German, AP Stats, AP English Language, AP European History. Most of his non-AP classes have been honors classes.
Languages: Has taken five years of French and four years of German
School Activities:
Varsity Lacrosse, has played all four years (made varsity last year as a junior, but of course didn’t get to play). Won Best Defensive Player as a sophomore,
Chess Team, plays on Board One (best player on team), captain of the chess team (last year and this year), won 2nd place in their conference last year (2nd best player in their entire conference)
Scholastic Bowl, made varsity as a sophomore, in the starting line-up
Cross Country, JV team freshman year
Outside Activities: Was a campaign intern for a local judge’s successful campaign in 2018 and was a campaign intern for a US Congressman this summer for the 2020 election (also a successful election), has volunteered to be an election judge for the last two elections, worked as an assistant for a local chess club, and tutors younger children in chess; worked in a food service job in between freshman and sophomore years during the summer
@Illinoisparent12 - as an alum you know the fit issues, and what Midd wants; to the extent legacy status means much, I think that it is this parental familiarity with Midd and the Midd milleau that makes a much greater difference in admissions than a ‘legacy’ tag per se.
On the numbers, others here are far more attuned to where the lines are likely to be.
If I were a betting person, I would happily bet that he won’t be rejected… My next guess would be that he’ll be deferred ED because of GPA. Uw is really what matters.
With that said, if his GPA was much higher junior year or lower because of non-core classes, that might help. Legacy and great essays could push him to accepted, depending on the strength of both.
It’s really hard to say, especially with covid. Fingers crossed you get good news in a few weeks. Let us know!
I agree with @gardenstategal that it’s likely your S21 will be deferred due to GPA. On the other hand, having the languages, the athletics, and the legacy status could move him into the admit pile. There’s also a chance there will be fewer ED applications this year—I’ve noticed a lot less ED activity on these boards for LACs in comparison to previous years. Hopefully this will work in our favor. I anticipate a deferral for my D21 but I’m still hopeful she will be admitted. Like your S, my D also has ADHD, and even though it’s well-managed, I love that Midd is one of the best for students with learning differences. Being an alum, you probably know this but Midd also tops the list of LACs for the highest graduation rate for 1st gen students. This indicates to me that it’s a supportive/collaborative learning environment.
Thanks everyone - I agree that the most likely outcome is a deferral due to his grades. He’s applied early action to several other really great schools, and he has more on his list to work on this next month. He’s prepared for a rejection or a deferral and will be pretty happy if he gets into any of the schools on his list. @Goldpenn - good luck to your daughter!
Something else that may help your son a bit is being male. Like at most co-ed LACs, more women apply than men, so men have higher acceptance rates at Midd than women.