Chance me at some liberal arts colleges

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Demographics:

Male, white, I live in Connecticut and go to a very good public school there.

College and Career Goal/Intended Major:

Probably math major, maybe computer science (whole point of liberal arts is its pretty general)

Grades:

9th Grade: 3.1

10th Grade: 3.6

11th Grade: 4.4

12th Grade: ?

My grades are my main weak point in high school. I was pretty immature in freshman year and obviously didn’t do very well. I had 3 cs (semester grades in Honors Bio, algebra 2, spanish one (really bad teacher)). I am planning on making my growth a big part of my application to show perseverance etc.

AP and Honors classes:

Honors Biology (9th only in it for half the year)

AP world History (9th-10th {2 year class at my high school}0

AP Physics (11th)

APush (11th)

AP computer science principles (11th)

AP comparative government (11th)

AP Computer science A (12th)

AP Physics A (12th)

AP Calc BC (12th)

AP Micro (12th)

Ap Macro (12th)

AP Stats (12th)

AP Literature (12th)

In School Activities:

Debate team (Captain) (9th-12th grade)

Math team - (9th-12th grade)

I am the co-president of a charity league for boys with over 150 members (9th-12th grade)

Extracurricular Activities

I ref hockey games

During the summer I did Middleburies high school language immersion program for 2 years straight

I also am a counselor at a pretty good summer camp with good connections.

Total Volunteer Hours as of now: Probably around 80.

Tests

SAT: 1540

SAT II: Math II, Physics, Us History 800, 720, 780 respectively

Thanks guys

2

It didnt let me put all the colleges for some reason Im also looking at Bowdoin, Washington and lee, Middlebury, Colby, Bates, Colgate.

3

I think colleges will like your upward trajectory. They will like that you are male.

They are all reaches because they all have pretty low acceptance rates. What are your match and safety schools? You definitely need some on your list.

4

I have Saint Lawrence as a safety, my dad went there and I have above in all of their criteria. I also have Oberlin and Union. I am just hoping I get into 1 of those reaches and I’d be super happy.

5

St. Lawrence might be safe for you, given your alumni status. I wouldn’t classify Oberlin and Union as safeties at all. In your shoes, I would choose one true safety. You might need a college with a higher acceptance rate than St. Lawrence.

6

Yeah but im definitely gonna get into Saint Lawrence. My school is pretty much feeding them we have like a 90% acceptance rate from my school and the average sat is like 1250 and gpa is like 85 (I have 1540 and 91) plus the person writing my letter of rec went to Saint Lawrence.

7

I think that Bowdoin, Colby, and Middlebury are all rather high reaches. Of the schools on your list, these are the only ones that we looked at.

8

Your list spans some pretty big differences, going from Oberlin & Bates => Middlebury & Bowdoin => Colby & Colgate => W&L.

Are you sure you would be equally happy at all of them?

9

You don’t need another reach, but have you considered Vassar? Their admit rate for male applicants is significantly higher than for females. If you need more matches, maybe Wheaton in MA.

10

Yeah honestly I would. They are all small (I want to go to a small school) and are mostly in the northeast so close to home. I particularly like Bowdoin and Middlebury but I would be happy at all of them.

11

Clark, Holy Cross, agree with Wheaton…Trinity? Skidmore?

12

I’m going to push one more time: make the case for why you would be equally happy at Oberlin and W&L!

If you like Middlebury and Bowdoin, also consider Bucknell, Hamilton, Amherst, Williams, UVt, maybe University of Richmond.

13

I mean why would I be less happy at one of them?

14

I don’t think this student needs more reaches. Skidmore is not a safety, and is very selective now. Hamilton, Amherst, Williams are high reaches for this student. Trinity I think is more on the match level for him.

15

Because Oberlin is liberal, in a suburban setting, with relatively more artsy students, while W&L is conservative, in an isolated Southern setting with relatively more pre-professional students. Different, not saying you couldn’t fit in at either, but they have different vibes and student body compositions.

If you weren’t aware of those differences, you might do some more research on the schools on your list.

16

I mean I know whats happening at the schools in general, but honestly I don’t think it would have a super big impact and honestly I feel like I’m only gonna get into like 1/8 so I don’t want to get too attached.

17

If you think you will only get into 1/8, you need to change up your list so that you have some good choices!

The more you know about each school the better you can short list colleges that are a good fit for you, and in turn the better you can focus your ‘why us’ essays. This is especially true for LACs, which have their own distinct cultures… Knowing the difference between the campus cultures is important.

Moreover, most people do best when they are in environments who suit them. Think about the environments in which you are happiest. For example, you apparently liked your experience at Middlebury. Although it was summer (so not the full experience), what did you like about it?

You are planning to spend 4 years with a couple thousand people in a school with its own personality. Do your homework and figure out which ones are the best fit for you.

18

U.S. News provides “selectivity ranks,” which can offer you a rough sense of comparative selectivity:

  1. Bowdoin
  2. W&L
  3. Colby
  4. Colgate
  5. Middlebury
  6. Bates
  7. Oberlin
  8. Union

St. Lawrence: N.A.

It appears that your first six choices space fairly tightly, with significantly greater chances of admission beginning after that.

With respect to research into suitable choices for your intended major, you may want to seek the print edition of the Princeton Review college guide, which includes a sampling, “Great Schools for Mathematics Majors.” Highly selective LACs such as Pomona, Haverford, Amherst, Hamilton, Williams and Bowdoin appear, but so does the moderately selective St. Lawrence from your list.

19

With respect to computer science, you should make yourself aware that Bates does not offer a major in this field. You can pursue Digital and Computational Studies there, but this program differs substantially from the computer science curricula of schools such as Middlebury, Colgate and Bowdoin.

20

Not what you were looking for but make sure to apply to a few UCs. They don’t use your freshmen year grades in your calculated gpa, only your sophomore and junior year grades. You can easily get into a great UCs.