Hey, I’m really interested in applying to Bowdoin College and potentially other LACs similar to it. It is a really great fit for who I am, and has become my dream school since the start of my Junior Year. I have been in contact with my Regional Rep and have attended Online Information Sessions, since my visit was scheduled during Spring Break and had been canceled. With these in mind, I plan to apply ED for the Fall 2021 term.
I am aware that regardless of my stats or the fact that I am applying ED, Bowdoin and other schools similar to it will be a reach school for me. My stats and ECs are below.
Profile:
Lower-Middle Class, Asian American, First Gen. (Parents were immigrants, mom got B.A. at Temple U. at age 40 and dad never graduated HS, they are huge inspirations for me, as parents are for every kid).
I attend a small All Boys College Prep school in the Suburbs of Philadelphia (1000 students K-12, approx. 150 per grade) on a community service-based scholarship (Maguire Foundation).
My school regularly graduates students and athletic recruits headed to the Ivy League and other top 50 universities, and is very well known (not that it really matters for my admissions profile).
2 Seniors will be members of Bowdoin C/O 2024 next year, both Athletic Recruits. Many other seniors will be headed to LACs (NESCAC, etc.) (I am NOT an athletic recruit).
Stats:
3.9 UW, 4.4 W GPA (School does not submit GPA unless requested)
My school DOES NOT offer AP classes, and left the system for nearly a decade now. Our Honors Classes are regarded as AP level (we study AP coursework but our teachers are not bound to AP restrictions) It is actually rare for Juniors to take AP tests at our school, and Seniors only do so to forgo classes in college.
I take almost every Honors Class available to me, which are the highest level of classes available.
Math and language are the only two honors class available Freshman - Sr. year. Sophomore year, Honors Chemistry is available and honors science is available thru Sr. Year. Junior Year, Honors US history is introduced and honors history courses are available through Sr. Year. Honors English is only available Sr. Year.
I took: Honors Math (Soph-Sr.), Sciences (So., Sr.), Language (Fr. - Sr.), English (Sr.), History (Jr. and Sr.).
My Achilles Heel: I only scored a 1310 on my SAT without prep. I am well aware that this is well out of range of Bowdoin and colleges of that caliber. I took a prep class, which my family and I sacrificed a lot to pay for, and recently regularly scored between 1480-1540 on my practice tests before my March SAT was cancelled. I plan on taking the ACT and SAT in the summer/fall (let’s see how it goes, god forbid I don’t score what I want or it gets cancelled, I’ll go test-optional at Bowdoin)
Sports:
Varsity Cross Country Captain (Sr. Year)
Varsity Track and Field distance runner
Varsity/JV (Swing) Lacrosse (Freshman and Sophomore Year)
****I don’t plan to run or play a varsity sport in college.
Arts:
- Honors Theater class; took theater as an art since Fr. year
- Cast member in multiple productions including Three Musketeers, Sweeney Todd, Carousel.
- Auditioning for school’s Acapella group.
ECs:
- Service Board Co-President
- Pan Asian Student’s Association Co-President (Helped my friend create the club)
- Model UN Co-President
- Diversity and Inclusion Alliance Co-President
- Speech and Debate
- Honor Council Member (Elected Student Gov. Judicial Position at our school)
- Work for my parent’s small business (Nail Salon)
- Work another job at a Fast Food Restaurant
- Worked at a Summer Sports Camp for Inner City Children
- Volunteer at a local Church to tutor Inner City Children
- Volunteer at Summer Camp for Individuals w/Down Syndrome (Camp PALS) and served as an ambassador for the program, recruiting volunteers/campers, and fundraising.
- Volunteered at a local hospital/shadowed a doctor, taking down notes on procedure and human anatomy.
Awards/Achievements:
- Won three Service Based Academic Awards in my school. (Fr., So., Jr. years).
- Selected to Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) Cohort 2020 in St. Louis (Hopefully not cancelled!)
- Selected to Delaware County Leadership Academy at Neumann University.
- Selected to Student Global Leadership Institute in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Students from 50+ countries come together and create projects that they will bring back to their communities).
Planned LORs:
College Counselor (required at our school)
US History Teacher
Biology Teacher
(Both Jr. Year teachers, I know, our academic track is weird)
I’m interested in going into the medical field, but I also really like anything to do with global affairs as well. I have yet to decide what I want to major in, but it is likely one of those two.
If you read all that, thank you. I understand that this was just a dump of stats and ECs, but I just wanted to know where I stand. Please be honest, I promise you won’t hurt my feelings. Thanks again.