I know these are probably quite annoying but if anyone would be willing to chance me I’d greatly appreciate it! I have a 4.0w GPA, a 1360 SAT (690-Eng;670-Math), and I’ve held a steady job since the beginning of my Junior year (last year). However, I definitely think I’m lacking when it comes to overall ECs. I ran track for one year, will have done club basketball (for my parish, not school) for 3 years, been Co-Vice President of the Environmental Science Club for two years, along with my job which I typically work 15-20 hours a week. I plan on applying as a Poly Sci major, which I’m worried about considering I have no activities related to that. However, I do think I have well written essays, and I’m expecting a 1400+ SAT score tomorrow when the October scores are released. Please don’t hesitate to be realistic with me… do I have a decent chance, or should I not even bother to apply?
Also, forgot to mention that my school’s weighted GPA system runs on a max GPA of 4.3, rather than 5. Don’t know if that’s worth noting. And, I’ve taken 2 APs both my junior and senior year, with all the rest being Honors.
Your SAT score and g.p.a are quite good. And it’s not necessarily about doing a bunch of extracurriculars so much as how good your are at them. If you’re the best at one or two extracurriculars that’s much better than being average at a bunch of unrelated extracurriculars. I know plenty of people of Yale who did only a few ec’s but were the best at what they did. Don’t ever fill like you need to do an EC just for the sake of doing an ec- I know of a lot of people who had that mentality in high school and they aren’t at very high ranked colleges. If you’re going to do something, IMO, commit to it, put all your heart into it…and be great at it. Plus adcoms at top schools are actually smart…they can discern between someone just doing a bunch of stuff and someone who has genuine integrity and success in all the activities he or she does. “Oh well my name is Frank and you should pick me because I did a bunch of stuff and my scores are within your range.” Actually try to write something that blows the adcoms away…don’t just give them some cookie cutter essay “GW is my dream blah blah blah.” Why do you really want come here? Do you actually have a beautiful struggle that shows what you’ve sacrificed for your dream?
I agree that your GPA and SAT are good-to-go. As far as being light on EC’s, I agree. You working 15-20 hours a week will be considered, though, as that naturally limits how many other activities you can do. I think you still have a chance, so don’t fret. However, it will likely come down to how you sell yourself to the Admissions folks. You also have to be able to make a link in your desire to study poli-sci at GW and your interests without the benefit of clubs on your application. Good luck!
Update: I got a 1410 on the October’s SAT so I definitely plan on submitting the score