Hi! I’m applying early decision to Boston College.
Major- Applied Psychology and Human Development (Lynch School of Education and Human Development)
Gpa=3.8
-Competitive top rated high school
AP classes-
Environmental science, psychology, and Italian
Legacy-
Mom attended BC, and Sister is a current student at BC.
ECs-
-15yrs of gymnastics and dance
-National honor society (Junior and Senior year)
-President/treasurer of 3 clubs
-Own my own business
-Attended a world-renowned summer program at Harvard Med school
-Volunteer
-Mentor elementary school students
-Dance teacher
Awards-
NHSX2, Italian Honor Society, National Italian Exam bronze medal, National Latin exam cum laude.
Rec letters- strong
Essay-Talks about how I found myself through attending the Harvard program.
Any test score or TO ?
How is your rigor ? 3 AP classes. Is that a lot vs how many your school offers ? Or they offered many but you’ve decided not to take them?
No test scores. My school does not offer many AP classes, besides the three AP classes all my other courses are honors
3 AP’s is a lot for my school
So - no one here is an AO.
50% of people in 2021 - so year old data - submitted a test. I can’t find how many submitted last year. They say you’ll still get full consideration but that’s a concern.
I assume your 3.8 is unweighted. They don’t show a GPA chart but that’s obviously good.
Last year, they admitted 28% vs. the overall 16% so RD would likely be a no. I can’t find anything on legacy on their site but on 3rd party sites it says they do consider (your mom, not sibling). On their common data set it’s left blank when asking what relevance.
My guess is you’re borderline. It’s just a guess - I’m not an AO.
That you’re active in gymnastics, dance, leading clubs, etc. will bode well for you.
Just ensure you have a complete list of reach (I think BC is - but not necessarily a no), target, and safeties.
Hopefully you get over the hill.
Best of luck to you.
Thank you so much for your input
Being legacy should help… But the best information you have is your sister, since she came from the same high school and background. How does your application compare to your sisters? That should tell you a lot about your chances.
yes. My stats are slightly higher (slightly higher GPA, one extra club leadership position, and one extra AP class). She also majors in applied psych and human development.
I think it could be tough, despite the fact that your stats are better than your sister’s. You don’t mention what class year she is, but BC has basically doubled in competitiveness in the past five years. Per its own website:
Class of 2021: 28,454 applicants, 32% acceptance rate
Class of 2023: 35,500 applicants, 27% acceptance rate
Class of 2026: 40,477 applicants, 16% acceptance rate
Class of 2026, 67% of admitted students submitted test scores, average SAT of 1510, average ACT of 34.
My daughter is applying ED1 as well, with somewhat similar stats, although she is submitting a test score, and we are viewing is as a true reach. She doesn’t have legacy, however. Applying ED will definitely help - they filled up 50% of the class last year through ED. Best of luck to you!
Your EC’s are fine for BC. Applying ED 1 will help, as will legacy status. The fact that you are applying to the education school as opposed to CSOM or MCAS may also help. That said, I don’t think you have given us enough information about your academics for anyone to provide an accurate assessment of your chances. Is that 3.8 GPA unweighted? Does it put you in the top 10% of the class? What AP’s does your HS offer that you didn’t take.
One final note - I would tread carefully with that essay topic. You don’t want to give admissions the sense that you are trying to impress them by dropping Harvard’s name.
Thank you for your input! Yes, unweighted. In my essay I don’t give a specific program name, I just talk about it.
Thank you! She is BC class of 2025. Best of luck to your daughter too!
Also, our school doesn’t do class rank! I can tell you only 20% of people in my grade are in National Honor. My GPA is much over the cutoff for NHS, therefore I would say top 10-15%
I generally agree with the assessments of everyone else in this thread, but I think that there is an important question that they haven’t addressed: Are you currently going to a Jesuit High School by any chance? If so, that will definitely give you a leg up, particularly if you addressed some of the values of Jesuit education (Cura personalis, Magis, etc) in your supplementals.
This was the strategy my younger brother and I used when we applied to BC/Georgetown, and it worked well for both of us.
Ryan, you are giving some really good advice and pointers in your responses - thanks for your input.
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