<p>Hi, here are some quick stats:</p>
<ul>
<li>20</li>
<li>one year at 4 year women's LAC</li>
<li>3.4 GPA, East Asian Studies student </li>
<li>table tennis and alumnae relations extracurrics</li>
<li><p>took 1.5 years off from school to work and travel </p></li>
<li><p>got a great rec from noteworthy professor</p></li>
<li><p>good interview</p></li>
<li><p>feel good about my essays</p></li>
<li><p>mediocre freshman and sophomore high school transcript, unschooled last two years of high school and sent Smith a list of all subjects I studied along with texts used</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Really want to know if I can get in...I'm scared I won't and I didn't want to attend any other school! Also, does anyone know when the letters are mailed?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Mayfields, I wish I would wave a magic wand and tell you that you’re in, but I can’t because I’m not on the Admission Committee. Your information is very, very brief so it’s hard to say. The fact that you already had a year of college and did very well looks good; if the caliber of the four-year women’s college is comparable to Smith, that’s even better. If you have written very powerfully about your 1-1/2 years off in your essay or somewhere else in the application, that would be great. Smith does recognize that women have all kinds of learning experiences to prepare them for a college career at Smith; that’s why they have the Ada Comstock Scholars for the non-traditional student. I don’t think you qualify for that program, but that does point to their flexibility in interpreting students’ readiness and capabilities. Perhaps someone else on this forum can comment with further insight into your situation. I wish you well!</p>
<p>Your stats are super vague & you do know none of us are Admissions Comm folks so it’s not like we have a say. You just have to apply and see. Smith does seem to be very alt-education friendly, though & values those unique experiences: I know several folks who were either home schooled, unschooled, or started college early through institutions such as Simon’s Rock if that makes you feel any better.</p>
<p>I think Smith is a pretty alt-education friendly place, but a lot of it will depend on if the admissions committee thinks that your alternative education experience prepared you well for a rigorous college curriculum. Obviously you have a 3.4 at you current LAC, so if it’s at or around Smith-caliber, they might be convinced. If it’s not as academically demanding though, they might have second thoughts. A lot will depend on how your unschooling was structured and what you studied, and what kinds of courses you’ve taken in college and to what end. </p>
<p>It’s good that you did an interview, hopefully that gave you a chance to flesh out your alternative education experiences so that way there will be some more in depth official comment on this in your file.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your input, guys. If it helps, I went to Mary Baldwin College.<br>
I’m just really wondering what Smith admissions focuses on the MOST, like if they’ll disregard my first two years of high school because they were so long ago and see that I did well in college.<br>
I really want to know what they look for in transfers! My friend said they put a lot of weight on the single rec; anyone know if that’s true?</p>
<p>Smith admissions tends to be holistic. Everything counts. One weak area can be overcome by several strong ones, but one strong area cannot overcome several weak ones. The entire application, as a package, determines the outcome.</p>
<p>Smith admissions is pretty holistic, but the first thing and most important thing they look at will be your transcript. However, they’re not looking just at grades, they’re looking to see what kinds of courses you took relative to what was available to you and how well you did in them. Did you take the most challenging classes available and do okay in them? Since you were unschooled, they’ll be looking closely at what kinds of topics you studied to try to see if you’re the kind of student who likes challenge and rigorous material. And since you’ve been in college for the past few years, they’re going to look very closely at what courses you’ve taken there, how challenging they were, and how well you did. </p>
<p>They’re not going to disregard your first two years of high school, unfortunately. But they aren’t going to just see that you did poorly then and dismiss you either. They’re going to try to evaluate how you’ve grown as a student since then, how you’ve challenged yourself through travel and work experiences, and how you’re functioning now with college level work. And they’re going to look at your essays, your recommendations, and your interview to glean whatever other details they can about you. They want a whole picture of the whole student, not just their ability to earn good grades, though that does matter, but more importantly their ability and desire to learn and contribute to the college community.</p>