Hey @MiddleburyDad2 , sorry, just realized you posted on this, missed it before. I was trying to find the common denominator in OPs list, and it seems to me that OP is leaning towards arty/quirky and small. Knowing quite a few people who have been accepted to various of these colleges, (including my own kid, who attends Bates, was accepted or applied to some of these, and/or visited several of these. That doesn’t make me an expert, of course), I feel the OP has a chance at some that might be more flexible in their acceptance if they feel a student is the right fit. And I did say later he might have a chance at Vassar. Also, I was looking at acceptance rates.
I still feel that Cornell, W & L, Tufts, Williams and Haverford are not really in the realm of possibility. And the OP was looking for a reality check, so I wasn’t mincing words. But it’s okay for us to disagree. I normally agree with you, too:-)
I think Skidmore is a solid match with your stats, Wesleyan and Bates a low reach if you can get your GPA up a few points. Vassar is a reach for your stats but being male gives you a nod for sure. If I were you, I’d take a look at Dickinson as well. Good luck.
Couple things to consider among the Washington colleges mentioned in this thread.
First, while Whitman’s 25th and 75th ACT scores aren’t materially higher than UW’s, the percent of those admitted with what I’ll call very good scores is somewhat more significantly higher. 57% of Whitties scored over 30, while only 38% of UW admits cleared the magic 30 mark, a 19% difference. Said another way, you’re going to get more mileage out of your score at UW than you will at Whitman.
Second, GPA is always a rough indicator of anything. A general rule of thumb, and one which I believe entirely based on conversations with college advisors, admissions types and simple observation of my kids’ peer groups, is that what is behind that GPA - what it’s made of - matters much more to a Whitman ad com than it does a UW ad com. Which is fine. Different schools, different missions. My middle child, class of 2014, had several friends who were not then terribly academic (and who thus wouldn’t go near their school’s IB diploma program) get in to UW because their GPA was 3.7 or better (which, btw, is the conventional “safe” number that you hear about from many sources). Many of those kids would struggle to get into Whitman, because Whitman weighs rigor a lot. Yes, the UW application, like most, gives you an opportunity to indicate advanced coursework, but that will not help you if your GPA falls too low. On the other hand, if your GPA is where you need it to be, you’ll be fine, even if there is a dearth of rigor in your HS curriculum.
People often try and blow this factor off. And while I know this doesn’t help you, the truth is that there are tons of schools in the US with ad coms who know full well the difference between rolling through high school taking the occasional honors course and really challenging yourself. Almost anyone can hang a 3.7 on the door if they just check the boxes. Do that in a full IB diploma course, and you’ll know the difference.
Rigor matters, because rigor, more than anything else, predicts how well you’ll do in college.
“Yes, a 19% difference in “scores over 30” results when one school has a 28/29 average and the other has a 29/30 average.”
I don’t follow you. The average can be affected by more than one distribution scenario, unless I’m missing something.
Or are you saying that we should expect an almost 20% delta in that particular distribution comparison any time we see a 28/29 and 29/30 comparison group average?
Yes. Thanks for the clarification of enrolled vs. admitted. That is a key difference. Agreed.
The OP seems to be aiming at smaller private schools in any event, so I think too much discussion about UW is probably not helpful anyway.
But I would add again, w/o no skin in the game whatsoever, that Whitman is a school that almost everyone, including people in Washington, tend to underestimate in terms of the caliber of its student body. The typical kid there is a walk-in to any other school in the PNW not named Reed College.
I’d also say that I was shocked at L&C’s numbers. They are much higher than I thought they’d be. I wonder if that’s historically typical or if they’ve seen a sharp upward trend recently.
"Try and play up your sports- that might help strengthen your application. You would be surprised how many athletes are hand picked by top schools "
There is a material difference between being recruited by a D3 coach and including a description of your sports passion in your application materials. The real pull, which borders on magic, is when the coach puts the kid on the list, and that’s not happening with correspondence or mentioning it in the application. The coach needs to have made the decision to recruit you, which almost always results from him or her watching you play.
I have found that the country is full of students and parents who think that once you leave Div. 1A territory that it’s a glorified walk-on scenario. So very not the case.
Audrey Thomas, the Gatorade state player of the year in Washington in, I think, 2013, parlayed her amazing skills (and smarts) to an admission ticket to Williams, where she has been a menace in the NESCAC. There are a lot of very gifted athletes playing D3 sports.
Jumping into the conversation. I have a couple of thoughts/comments.
First, I went through a few of your other threads. Your posts are a bit confusing. Can you please clarify if you are a junior or a senior now and what is you current GPA. Some of your other threads state you have a 3.85 junior GPA and took AP Spanish as a junior leading me to believe you are a senior. Just want to be clear as you have time for improvement if you are a junior. Additionally, if you are a junior you still have plenty of time to test again and improve your test score (though is great already). Is your 1440 from testing done Sophomore year?
Secondly, as stated by someone earlier in the thread, GPA is relative to the high school you attend. For example, since you are WA. student I can give you some specific examples from WA. high schools. I have two sons that attend/ed two different high schools. The average GPA for those accepted and enroll at the UW from my older son’s high school is a 3.28, and from my younger son’s school a 3.61. This is a reflection of the rigor of the first school and its rigorous grading. Colleges know the high schools. Granted if yours is a school that doesn’t send many students to these colleges then that can be an issue. I will tell you that my older son is at Haverford, from WA. State. He was accepted ED and had a 33 ACT. His GPA was low for Haverford, but he attended the rigorous high school.
I noted that you have asked the same questions in many different ways on different threads and gotten the same types of responses. If you are a junior my advice is to stop worrying about your chances and whether these schools are reaches/matches etc. Focus on doing well in your classes and continue growing in your extracurriculars looking for ways to show leadership. Your extracurriculars when you apply to colleges should help explain what is most important to you. They should help tell the story of who you are. Don’t try to package them. Ad coms will see right through that. If you are a junior continue to do what interests you. Be sincere.
Figuring out what schools are reach/match etc can be put on hold until all your testing is complete and you have your grades from junior year.
P.S. I agree with everything Middleburydad2 has said about Whitman. Its test scores relative to UW’s and the acceptance rate do not accurately represent the quality of students attending and their reputation locally. Whitman is a wonderful LA college and if located in Seattle would have a much lower acceptance rate and a greater national reputation. They also offer merit scholarships unlike most top LA colleges.
Good catch, Middleburydad: I should have said “30 or above.” If it is a relatively normal distribution, there would be somewhere around that many more “30 or above” scores (mostly 30s) at a school with around a 30 average vs. a school with just below a 29 average. It follows that Reed, with around a 31 average, has 74% “30 or above” (17% higher than Whitman), and Lewis & Clark, with a 29 or so average, has 43% “30 or above” (14% lower than Whitman and 5% higher than the UW).
2MrMagoo makes it four votes for Whitman! Both of your sons’ schools must be known at the UW for their rigorous grading, since 3.61 is probably in the lowest 20% of the enrolled class, and 3.28 is probably in the lowest 5% of the enrolled class.
@2mrmagoo Sorry, I said that to simplify my explanation for how I would do in junior year. I’m currently a junior. @Mcurie my school is small, and though soccer is listed at a varsity level from the school, it’s not really at a varsity level. I highly highly doubt i’d even attempt becoming a recruited athlete. @UWfromCA@Lindagaf Do you think I have a chance at the mentioned schools? Are they reaches, low reaches, high matches, etc? Or should i reassess myself?