Am an international from the Netherlands. Applied ED2 because St. Olaf seemed like a great school with great possibilities.
GPA: 7.9/10 (considered an A back here)
ACT: 30
LoR: Pretty good. Haven’t read them but I was told that they were pretty positive
EC: Campaign coordinator for local political party, do volunteering, I run and some other hobbies
My essays were pretty okay. Nothing special but it was about meditation.
So, what do y’all think? I know it’s pretty meaningless to ask this here but the anxiety is killing me.
I’m not an expert but it sounds like you would have a good chance. My D is ED2 with similar stats. 30 ACT, 4.05 GPA, lots of IB classes and they tend to like IB. Have you asked your AO how you look? I find the admissions office to be very helpful and encouraging. They aren’t looking for reasons to reject students, they are looking for reasons to accept students. I think we often assume they are going through apps and looking for the negative.
I’m not an AO but look at their data from last year’s admissions pool, it sounds like you are right there in the midrange which is a good place to be. ED shows your commitment.
I wish you the best. My D and I are anxiously awaiting 2/1. I hope you’ll both be in the class of 2022!
Thanks for the reply! The AO has been wonderful so far so I might just follow your advice and ask them about it. My school isn’t an IB school (just a regular Dutch HS) and I wonder what impact that’s gonna have on my application.
Best of luck to you and your daughter!
Again, I’m not an AO and I don’t know anything about Dutch HS. Did you take the most rigorous classes available to you? If you go to their website, select Admissions-Apply-What We Look For (on the right side of the page). There is a description of what want in an applicant. You can also use the Common Data Set for the previous years by doing a search of the website.
My D and I our both more than a little anxious and have visited this section many times since her application was submitted. It can be reassuring. We willl both be rooting for you. 24 days to go! It seems like forever.
Comparing applicants is like apples to oranges. I’m sure you bring something far more unique than my D who is coming from a Midwest HS.
And something that brings us much comfort is the high acceptance rate in ED.
I would be think an essay about meditation would be interesting. I actually just watched a video (we do a lot of that lately) with a campus tour and they referenced space for meditation.
Now, I’m curious about how meditation has helped you? My D and I both could probably use some meditation in our lives right now. Watch the self deprecation, it’s easy to get caught up in that during this process, as a parent, too.
You’re unique, and clearly have worked hard, and you’re so much more than your stats or acceptance letters.
I’ll be anxious to hear good news from February 1st!
I absolutely love your positivity - your kind words are so refreshing to read, especially on this website. Some people are just too competitive.
Although St. Olaf’s website has some pretty good information on it, it’s still hard to guess where I stand, especially when there are so many other strong applicants like your daughter. Luckily, ED acceptance rate is pretty high (somewhere around 80% IIRC). Are y’all applying for financial aid too?
As for meditation, it’s a great tool to teach yourself to relax. I’m normally a pretty anxious/stressful person but meditation has really helped me beat the regular stress of life (which is even more so the case during college application season). Yoga could work too, but that’s not really my jam.
I’m looking forward to hearing about your results! Good luck and keep a cool head!!!
@bali4president I don’t think my D is a stronger applicant than you? It sounds as if the stats are comparable.
We are absolutely applying for FA, we need a very strong FA package.
Remember per the website, StO does WEIGHT IB, AP and Advanced Classes when they recalculate your GPA.
There is even a sentence in the section of the website that states something like a lower grade in a rigorous class won’t count against you. I assume by lower the don’t mean a D.
As far as her GPA, I put what our HS lists as her GPA. It’s somewhat mysterious to me how each college recalculates. I guess what I’m trying to say is I don’t know what StO has her GPA recalculated to.
It’s hard not to get anxious, clearly I’m anxious or I wouldn’t constantly look for indications that she’ll be accepted. StO is a very special place and she really wants to be there. As her mom, I’m anxious for her.
I know for a fact from my conversations with admissions that StO takes a very holistic approach to reading applications. The applicants are not just scores and grades to them. Which is quite refreshing.
I’m definitely rooting for you!
As a side note, one of the Assistant Deans in Admissions was born in the Netherlands and is a Free University graduate. Although international students are not her direct area of responsibility, there at least is someone in the office with an understanding of the Dutch educational system.
We found that out because our son, who is currently a first year student at St.Olaf, has a Dutch first name (in honor of forefathers); she made sure that the entire Admissions department pronounced it correctly.