Chance me for class of 2015!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
1

<p>Hey guys! I've been following CC for several years now and I finally decided to join. Like all of you probably viewing this, Dartmouth is my dream school. I love everything about it!</p>

<p>Info:
-Year: Senior (I will either take a gap year, or return for a 5th year of high school- it's quite a common thing for Canadians to do.)
-Canadian citizen
-Ethnicity: Irish
-I attend a large, yet highly regarded high public high school.
-I am not a legacy, my mom attended the University of Western Ontario and my dad never attended college. </p>

<p>Academics:
-ACT- 31 (32 Reading, 30 Math, 29 Science, 33 English, 32 Writing/ English)
-SAT II: Math 2 710, US History 720
-Average (I guess you Americans call it a GPA!): 92%
- Rank: We don't rank in Canada, but I am quite sure that I rank in the top 5%.</p>

<p>Junior courses:
AP English- 94%
Math- 90%
American History- 92%
Art- 96%
AP Biology- 91%
AP Chemistry- 90%
Physics- 87%</p>

<p>Senior Courses:
AP English- 92%
Calculus- 90%
Law- 90%
Economics- 92%
Art- 95%
Advanced Functions- 98%</p>

<p>Note: My school only recommends seniors take 1 AP course.</p>

<p>School EC's:
-Varsity Girl's Golf (3 years): Made provincial finals, MVP 2009
-Track Team (4 years)
-Cross Country Team (4 years): top 10 runner in region
-Orchestra (4 years): Won gold at nationals 2009
-Student Council: Publicity Director
-Mock Government</p>

<p>Out of School EC's:
-Track Club
-Junior Golf Tour (3 wins this season)
-Piano lessons (since 1998): Grade 8 RCM
-Voulunteer at Out of the Cold (100+ hours)- a program designed to feed and get homeless people off the streets during cold months.</p>

<p>I know colleges don't really care, but my teachers nominated me to attend GYLC in the summer, 2010 and I am going. </p>

<p>Work:
-Worked at the local university in food services for 2 years.</p>

<p>Awards:
-High Academic Honours (all 4 years)
-2009 Visual Arts Award</p>

<p>Dartmouth:
Funny enough, I had everything all ready to mail out for ED 2014, but then I decided to take another year, so everything is ready to go.
Essay: I think mine is really good. People who have read it have said that is is genuine and heartfelt. I wrote it about my friend who died last year, and how one person can have such a big impact on you in a short time. I really like it, but it might be a tad cliche... thoughts?
Peer Recc: I had my really good friend write it. I figured I would have the person I am closest to write it, as she could give the best analysis of me. I think it's probably good.
Teacher Recs: Excellent, my counselor knows me really well, so that one should also be good.
Hooks:I will probably run or golf for whatever school I go to. I am in the recruiting process for both.</p>

<p>Other schools I have looked at are:
University of Toronto
McGill University
Columbia
Brown
University of Pennsylvania
So let me know about those too, or any other schools I should possibly consider.</p>

<p>Chance me and I'll chance you back if you'd like!
Thanks a bundle!</p>

2

<p>If you are a recruited athlete, fine. If not, you’d have a better chance with stronger scores. Yours are, overall, marginal for D. Have you considered taking the SAT?</p>

<p>Did you take the AP exams, and if so what did you get?</p>

<p>Your GPA is also a bit iffy in the US context, but it really depends on how you stack up at your school. Are you in school in Canada or in the US? (BTW, no foreign language?)</p>

3

<p>Oh, sorry! I forgot to mention that I’ve taken 3 years of french.</p>

<p>I’ve taken the SAT, with not so good results. At my school it is hard to get much above a 90% average, so I’m doing pretty well. The highest I know of in my year is a 94%. I go to school in Canada, we don’t weight averages or anything, since most schools don’t even offer APs. So my 92% is my straight marks averaged out. </p>

<p>We take AP exams in May, so I will write them then. Just out of curiosity, what would you consider to be a stronger ACT score? Because I’ve only taken it once. I just figured it was acceptable since according to the CollegeBoard website the Dartmouth middle 50% was 29-34.</p>

<p>I’m also iffy about the whole recruiting process, I don’t want to be committed to a team with a crazy practice schedule. I guess the only reason I would want to play for them is to help me get accepted. </p>

<p>I guess my real question is am I wasting my time holding back another year for these schools? Or should I just go to Toronto or McGill, since it’s pretty much a given that I will be accepted.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

4

<p>Since you’re from Canada and the GPA may be a discrepancy, show Dartmouth your intelligence with a high ACT score. Aim for 33+.</p>

5

<p>You should assume that at least the lower half of the ACT range is heavy with legacies, URMs, and recruited athletes: in other words, students with hooks.</p>

<p>If you apply as an unhooked student, you should be aiming at scores in the top 25% to have a good chance. Your GPA is okay IF you are in the top 5-10% of your class and IF your GC will say that you have taken the most rigorous curriculum available and IF your recommendations paint a picture of you as a truly outstanding student. (Plenty of US kids have unweighted GPAs, too, and plenty of US schools don’t rank. The key is how your recommendations present you and how you look compared to your school profile.)</p>

<p>By far your best hope of getting in is as a recruited athlete. If you take a year off, will you be throwing that away? You might want to check the athletic recruiting forums here for more knowledgeable advice.</p>

<p>Lastly, consider money. Are you hoping for financial aid? How much can your family afford to pay? You really ought to run some of the online financial calculators with your parents. Amherst’s is usually considered to be good. The schools you are looking at are not FAFSA-only, so don’t think that a FAFSA calculator will give an accurate picture of your family’s EFC. Especially important when a) you are international, and b) you have a major bargain like McGill as an option, and c) financial aid policies are changing fast.</p>

6

<p>Thanks guys! I have decided to take an extra year of HS; I think it’s the right thing for me, and I will also take 4 more AP courses. This will be a chance to hopefully get my GPA up a bit, even though it is one of the highest at my school. Plus, I’m going to rewrite my essays, I am now a tad concerned that it didn’t bring out best part of me.</p>

<p>@ Consolation, While McGill is highly ranked, and I do have these so called “bargains” in Canada, I am really not that impressed with them. While they boast their rank, and cost, in reality, undergraduate students at many Canadian universities become just a number, stuck in classes exceeding 2000 students with no professor-student contact, especially in popular majors such as history. The top Canadian universities (Toronto, McGill, etc.) are also notoriously stingy when awarding scholarships. I would in all likelihood be paying full cost ($25,000 upwards). Dartmouth is need blind to Canadians, and will cover the full need of any admitted student, so in all likelihood I would have better luck there. </p>

<p>@ Greens, I think I definitely will redo my ACT, the 31 was a first write score, with minimal studying. Even though I was happy with it at the time, I really believe that I can raise to at least a 33, if not a 34 :)</p>