The college I’m interested in has about a 26% acceptance rate, and is a four year liberal arts. I did not submit SAT or ACT scores but will list them regardless. I have had an overnight, visited twice, and conducted an interview with an alum. I am a first generation college student, white, and need quite a bit of financial aid.
UW GPA: 92.36
W GPA: 100.07
ACT: 25 Composite
SAT: 1680 Superscore
Freshman Year Courses:
CP English
Civics/Government
French 1
Asian Art
CP Fnd of Science
CP Geometry
Advanced Algebra 1, Part Two
Health
Writing
Honors French 2
Med Careers
Sophomore Year Courses:
Honors English
CP Algebra 2
Honors Chem
Honors French 3
Honors Humanities European History
Intro to Journalism
Phys Ed
Public Speaking
Junior Year Courses:
Pre-Calc
AP Lit and Comp
AP US History
Honors Bio
Film History
Phys Ed
Senior Year Courses:
AP Microeconomics
AP Environmental Science
AP Statistics
AP Human Geography
AP Language and Composition Class
Dual Enrollment class taken at Colby College
Extra Circ:
Varsity Cheerleading: 9,10,11,12
History Club: 11,12
National History Day: 11, 12
Journalism: 10
Science Fair: 10
French Club: 9,10
Volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House: 9,10
Well Bates is test optional so that’s probably in your favor. I think you have an ok shot but not an amazing one. If you can make your essays unique and awesome you can definitely have a good shot.
@gormar099 thanks. My essays were about recognizing a Medal of Honor winner from my school and the supplement was about how I want to change the financial makeup of my home state of Maine were Bates is found.
@lynkel Bates acceptance rate in regular decision last year was 17.8%, and females probably in the area of 12-13%. The average ACT was a 32, average SAT was 2135 and 81% were in the top 10% of their class.
I realize the school is test optional but thats your competition. Keep your fingers crossed.
@ScaredNJDad1 I understand, I actually was reading the acceptance rates incorrectly. I’m applying ED2. I’m hoping for something, I hope my ability to handle Colby College work gives me a leg up.
And acceptance rates, outside of hooked students, vary dramatically from the bottom 25% to top 75% of the test score bands, so not really accurate to focus on 17.8% or 12-13% unless one falls in the middle. While the LAC’s take a holistic approach, I have seen some test distribution bands and the acceptance rates are dramatically higher at the top.
@Chembiodad Do you think my work at Colby is a hook? I am also interviewing with an alumni, I know I can talk to without fear. He is interested in history like I am.
@lynkel, I think that since many LAC schools have gone test optional and that it many cases 25% of the students are accepted through that program, it means that the holistic acceptance approach matters a lot. My point, was just that kids with higher scores may have an easier path, but not the only one - good luck!
People sometimes assume that test optional schools initiated that practice because they realized that some people don’t express their aptitude on standardized tests. While that is a nice thought, it is probably not the motivation for most schools. Quite a few schools face a dilemma each year. They have potentially full pay applicants who show evidence they could succeed at the school but their scores would lower the posted averages. The schools are loath to accept such students because lower scores would make those schools look less. The lower scores would lower their ranking on the US News listings (and others). That would mean fewer applicants which would lower them further. But passing up so many full pay students is also a drag. Some schools can’t fill their seats with competent students with high scores willing to pay the full load.
What to do? Well, become score optional. That accomplishes two things. First they can accept more full pay students with low scores without that impacting their published averages (25%-75%). Second, and even better, their scores would actually go up since the students who might have gotten in anyway with their lower scores would not send them in the future, so that the score at the 25% cutt-off would be higher-which would raise their standing on the US News ranking.
Whether you can get into a test optional school or not probably depends somewhat on whether you are full pay or not. I don’t think Bates is need blind for admissions. So I would guess that, given two sets of identical credentials lacking scores, the full pay has a better shot. The obvious implication of that is that lower income students are holding the 75% score up there.
In terms of whether the college course would help? Well every class is considered. If the course is differential equations or higher level physics or a course that is very rare for a high school student to take, then getting a good grade in that class would help a lot for any college. If it is a course many high school students take, it shows a willingness to work hard and to stretch, and it shows that you take advantage of available opportunities. That is also positive. It isn’t a ticket to a highly competitive school but it would add to an already strong set of credentials.
Re: ECs. You have a list but don’t indicate achievements within those ECs. It is the achievements not the joining part that is important to competitive colleges. They want to know if you were part of a winning team or if you had a significant achievement within the EC. Science Fair says nothing about your involvement. Notice what a difference it would make to say you won at Intel or you scored among the top at Chem Olympiad or went to Nationals for Science Olympiad vs you had a poster in the hall of your high school along with every other member of your club.
@lostaccount I don’t have any accomplishments within these EC’s. They were all aspects of joining the team as well as embracing my devotion, and dedicating my spare time to things I enjoyed. That has got to mean something. It also has to mean something that I was picked to attend a course at Colby College (a partner school of Bates) tuition-free in my senior year of high school as well as received a great score in the class. It shows I can do the work.
