Chance me CAS ED1!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Boston University
1

I applied ED1 to CAS but also checked the CGS option. What are my chances of getting into either CAS or CGS?

Weighted GPA: 4.2/4.0
Unweighted GPA: 3.8/4.0
(Freshman year: 3.9 W, Sophomore: 4.15 W, Junior: 4.4 W, Senior: 4.0 W so general upwards trend in GPA except for senior year with difficult classes)

Class Rank: 21/300 (approximately)
Top 7% of class

New SAT: 1320/1600 which is equal to an 1860/2400 (retaken in november and expecting maybe 10-30 points higher on the 1600 scale)
Math: 700
English: 620

Math 2 subject test: 700

Ethnicity: White

AP classes:
AP Psychology
AP Calculus BC
AP Biology
AP English Literature
AP Economics

Activities and EC’s are very qualified, I came in 3rd place in an international music competition playing cello and ranked very high in national ancient greek exams. I’m also principle cellist of many orchestras within and outside my school, pay a varsity sport, fluent in 3 languages, national honors society, president of a club, hold a consistent job, and a lot more

Essay and writing supplement are very strong, and the supplement essay includes many details from my experience accompanying one of my sister’s bio class at CAS

Recommendations should be good at the least and a very strong one from my cello teacher

***I’m also a legacy student, my father and his two brothers each received 2 degrees from BU and my sister is a freshman there. How much will this help my chances?

My intended major is biology.

I know my SAT scores are low but I’m hoping the subject test will help. I also receive A’s in all my classes (which are all honors and AP) except for one AP class this year. I feel like I have strengths in every area except for SAT’s but that’s only because I’m a very bad standardized test taker. Will the other strengths make up for my SAT’s? I don’t mind attending CGS but are my chances good enough to get accepted there?

2

We’re about the same academically, and I’ve also applied to BU ED. I’ve been told that BU is a high match/ low reach school for me, and considering your legacy and everything else, I’d say BU is probably a somewhat target school for you. If I’ve got a solid chance, then I’m sure you do. And you’re pretty much fine for CGS. I hope we both get in!

3

@woshigusta I hope you get in too!! Do you think CGS might be a safety for me when you say I’m pretty much fine for it? I know they accept people with quite low SAT scores if the applicant is strong everywhere else but I’m just not sure how low they might be accepting since this year it looks like people are coming in with very qualified SAT and ACT scores

4

You sound like you will get in, especially with legacy. Your SAT a little low right now, but with all else, I don’t think it matters.

5

@lynjobes Thanks!! I can’t wait to get the results

6

I’ve been told by BU students that CGS is sort of a laughing stock and is made fun of by other BU students. I would call it a high safety for you, but what I would do if I was you is apply to a different school for safety. You can always transfer. But if you’re 100% dead set on BU, whether its CAS or CGS, I would just apply for CAS and check the CGS box on the common app.

7

@woshigusta I guess but it’s one of the bigger schools at BU and any kid you find at BU will have a friend in CGS (according to my sister) so it shouldn’t be such a big deal and the people that told you that were probably exaggerating. And anyway even CGS is still really selective compared to other competitive colleges in America so even getting into that means you’re a really qualified student so it’s not anything to be ashamed of. And thanks for the info! That’s exactly what I did, I applied to CAS and checked the box for CGS consideration but also applied to some other schools early as well for my safeties.

8

awesome! I hope we both get in!

9

@woshigusta thanks! Same here!!

10

Just an update to my SAT score: my english score went up 30 points so now my SAT superscore is a 1350 which is equivalent to a 1910 on the old SAT compared to a 1860 before. Will this make a difference?

11

i feel like you don’t have to worry at all, i think you’ll definitely get into at least cgs and it’s likely you’ll get into biology

12

@plshelpme11 Thanks!!

13

@TomSrOfBoston do you have any thoughts?

14

I dont think BU superscores.

15

@IBsleeping On BU’s FAQ page on Admissions, it says “Boston University will allow students to choose this option; however, we strongly recommend students submit their scores each time they take the SAT. BU has always considered a student’s highest SAT section scores in making admissions decisions and will continue to do so.”
This means they superscore the SAT

16

@redsox99 Oh! I guess what I read on Princeton Review’s website wasn’t credible. My apologies. https://www.princetonreview.com/schools/1023900/college/boston-university

17

@IBsleeping No worries! That’s interesting though, it seems like a lot of the information on that page is inaccurate. However, I’m assuming that this is good news for you haha. I also saw your post and we have very similar stats based on gpa and SAT’s and since you’re applying ED2 you should have a good chance of getting accepted but since it’s a match for both of us it really depends more on your EC’s, recommendations, and essays.

18

@redsox99 True, I would like to think that my essays are stellar, but I have no clue how well the letters of rec were written.

19

@IBsleeping Either way, I think it would be a good idea for you to apply ED2 to CAS. You seem qualified and especially if you check the CGS option, your chances seem pretty high to me. Do the best you can this term in school to show BU that you’re working hard and motivated to succeed even though it’s senior year and most people are slacking off right around this time. Really hit the BU essay question out of the park and show why BU is a good fit and since the application is ED, you’re showing full interest which will also help a lot. Best of luck!

20

Nice! I’m pretty confident someone with your scores and ECs will get in! I also retook the SAT in November and when I called, they said they’ll look at both of them when considering your application, so that improvement will help. Good luck!