Chance me for Franklin and Marshall, Skidmore, Connecticut College, Bard, Trinity, Dickinson

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Also what about NYU? Big reach? My Father got his Masters there so I’m kind of a legacy.

I am a white male homeschooled student from Florida.

GPA: 3.8 UW

ACT: 29 (average for some of these schools, low for others)

I have taken many courses through dual enrollment, getting A’s in all except one (B+).

I took higher level math courses (Calc in sophomore year).

I’ve taken interesting classes, taking advantage of my homeschooled status(e.g. Python programming, Astronomy, Philosophy, Ethics).

My ECs:

Volunteer at local animal shelter with 100+ hours.

Accepted to two different competitive internships at a sea turtle hospital, spent over 115+ hours over the summer.

Tae Kwon Do for 13 years, currently have my 2nd degree black belt. I have been an assistant teacher to the younger classes for the past year.

Hapkido for 2 years.

Part of my local highschool’s varsity bowling team for the past two seasons. Team captain the most recent season. (I was allowed to participate since I’m in the zone for the school). (I submitted a video of me bowling)

I have won mutiple tournaments and qualified for state tournaments in bowling.

I have a job at a local ice cream shop that I’ve held for the past 4 months or so.

I’ve built computers since around freshman year. I listed this as a hobby.

My letter of recommendations are pretty good, two from my dual enrollment professors (english, philosphy). One from my past physics teacher. A couple others from my bowling coach and Tae Kwon Do teacher. 7.5-8/10 probably.

My Essay is good in my opinion. Since I’ve homeschooled I’ve traveled the world with my dad. I tried to steer clear of the cliche “Seeing different cultures changed who I am as a person,” and made it more personal. 8/10.

My supp essays are good as well for those who require them, 7.5-8/10 ish.

Any help is appreciated, as well as suggested schools that aren’t on my list. Thank you so much!

2

I suspect your background will make you interesting for all of them, especiallythe PA schools. The big question will be how they view your transcript as it needs to show your academic ability (especially with a 29 ACT). But I think you will have some options if it shows you have met all the requirements and have some rigor. Chancing homeschooled applicants is always tricky!

3

I think Dickinson is a match/likely admit. The others are harder to predict, probably all low reaches. You have some interesting ECs that may help. As gardenstategal says, it’s tricky. Are these schools affordable? Some on your list don’t award merit and for the ones that do, it will be competitive and awarded to top applicants. Did you apply to any safeties (admit and financial) that you’ll be happy to attend? What about your FL publics?

4

Based on your stats, most of the colleges you are looking at seem to be attainable. Having done dual-enrollment will help, especially if those classes were through a state university rather than a CC. As for your chances for NYU, I was recently accepted under ED1 as a homeschooled student, so NYU is clearly willing to accept homeschoolers. If your essays are unique and well written, and your dual enrollment courses have been challenging ones, you might have a chance at NYU, but your ACT is definitely on the low side. I would also say that it depends on which major you are applying to. Good luck, and feel free to PM me if you have any further questions about applying as a homeschooled student.

5

You are asking a lot of “chance me” questions but I don’t see any mention of finances. I’m not sure about some of the schools you list but Trinity, Skidmore, and F&M are all need aware (or asset aware, which is the same thing). We spoke with admissions staff during official visits and they talked about how that played into their decisions. There is also an article in the New York Times from September that details the admissions process at Trinity. The title is “What College Admissions Offices Really Want”. If you are looking for financial aid, you should google it. If your family is able to pay $250-300K, your chances are a lot better.

6

Provided you are full pay, you are competitive for all of them. NYU is reachy and as suggested above, the degree of reach will vary by major. It might be good to add a sure thing safety and maybe a couple additional reaches if you want. You have an unusual story. (^F&M describes itself as need blind.)

7

Actually, F&M was the school that used the term “asset aware” during our conversation last spring and an article from February detailing their budget gap says it is not need-blind.

8

Thanks. I should have confirmed before posting that. F&Ms position on need based aid has been a moving target in recent years.
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9

Re: Bard–if you do their entrance examination instead of the common app, you are evaluated for entry based solely on that exam. No transcripts or test scores needed, although they do ask for the transcript after you’ve passed the exam. If you are a strong writer, you may want to consider it; it requires that you write three 2500 word essays. My son got into Bard that way for Fall 2020 (not sure yet whether he’ll attend there, though). It IS pricey, though, and their ability to meet needs seems lower than other small schools.