Hi friends! I always told myself I would never be “that kid” on CC…but here I am! I’ll try to be quick. Be honest- I can handle it! I know these schools are very hard to chance for- just ballparking is helpful. I’m focused on the cognitive science programs at the following schools:
-Tufts
-Rice
-Brown (I think this is a bit of a pipe dream)
Grades: UW- 3.9/4 (my guidance counselor wrote in her letter about how my parents’ divorce my freshman year impacted my grades…I hope it didn’t come off as me making excuses or anything! I’ve had a 4.0/4.0 since then, averaging out to a 3.9)
SAT I: 2230 (Reading: 780, Math: 670 (I know…), Writing: 780)
SAT II: Bio (E): 730, Lit: 720, Spanish (Listening): 720
AP scores: Bio (4), Spanish Lang (4) (I know…)
Current APs (my school offers 10, 4 of which are available before junior year. It’s pretty lame.): English Lit, Calc AB, Spanish Lit, Psych, Comp Sci A
ECs:
Choir- 4 yrs- I was a section leader and made all-state my junior yr
Language club- my baby! I started this with a friend when our school cut our German program. We worked to integrate Middlebury Interactive within our school and expose freshman to what they missed as a result of the cut program. I was the VP.
School newspaper- I was the editor in chief- my other baby!
NHS (not really that impressive, I know)
Food Pantry- ~300 hrs probably the most important thing, personally, that I’ve done in HS. I recommend that every student try it. regardless, pretty standard, too, I’m sure.
Student tutoring- Spanish/Bio
Work- again, not special: I’m a cashier.
I studied abroad in Sweden for a few months.
Awards:
I didn’t win anything too fancy!:
National Spanish Exam, Freshman and Sophomore yrs: 99th Percentile
Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award
Mt. Holyoke College Book Award
ETC:
State: MA
Hooks: Full pay? As far as I know, only Tufts is relatively need-conscious. Brown is deff. need-blind.
Income: I didn’t apply for financial aid, so they don’t know.
Whew. Thank you so much!
@kingfredo34 At all of them? I’ve heard a lot on here the Ivies have an unofficial minimum of 700 on each SAT I score for unhooked candidates. (Thank you for chancing me!)
well what is your ethnicity if you dont mind me asking. You have a good SAT score. For Tufts you should be accepted. A good essay can really seal the deal. Actually put in a lot of effort. Rice- Reach but maybe your EC’s and essay should do the trick. Brown- Reach but your EC’s and work experience could play a role. Also why didn’t you try some of the colleges in MA like U Mass Amherst and Babson?
@kingfredo34 I’m a white female! I’m also a senior and have already applied to these schools, if it isn’t clear. Babson is a business-focused institution. I was accepted to Umass Amherst (Commonwealth Honors College) and Northeastern (it would be pretty foolish of me to only apply to Tufts, Rice, and Brown). I applied to a few UCs and McGill as well, but I feel like they may be too big. I did put a lot into my essays because I’m a strong writer (I may be a bit biased… ) to try and make up for the math score and AP scores.
I think that you have excellent chances at all of these schools, with brown being the hardest obviously. Best of luck!
Take a look at my thread if you can please
I think starting the language club and using Middlebury’s program as a model to compensate for your school cutting German is pretty interesting. I would not worry about the lack of AP’s relative to other students. Your school only offered 10 and limited what you could take early on. 3.9 unweighted is an exceptionally strong GPA - don’t worry about freshman year, colleges wont. My guess is Rice and Tufts you should get in, Brown - harder to say but certainly strong enough all around. The simple fact that you have worked is a positive, doesn’t really matter a lot what work you are doing. Is your class rank pretty high?
Thank you, that’s very kind Yeah, my school, despite being pretty highly ranked in my state, is too small/cheap to have lots of AP classes, or really very many classes at all. It’s a wonder I even got to take 5 this year. My school does not tell students their rank until graduation, but my guidance counselor told me “under the table” that I am in the top 10 percent and a strong contender for salutatorian after this past semester (although I would guess my final rank would probably be either 4th or 5th in a grade of approx. 200 students).
Hi everyone! Just wanted to post a quick update:
Tufts: I haven’t heard yet.
Rice: Rejected
Brown: I haven’t heard yet.
UC San Diego: Accepted
UC Berkeley: Waitlisted.
Wish me luck for Tufts!
Final update, friends!
I was rejected from Tufts, Brown, and Rice.
I was waitlisted bt UC Berkeley.
I was accepted to UC San Diego, but I was placed in Eleanor Roosevelt College, and the prerecs are so intense that I do not believe I would even be able to graduate in 5 years, let alone 4.
What did we learn?? Don’t aim too high, kids! Make reasonable college lists. Even if you’re high-stats, realize that at any school with less than a 25 percent acceptance rate, getting accepted is unlikely. I’ll repeat the CC mantra now…love thy safety!
Ultimately I was accepted to McGill University, Occidental College, Northeastern University, Fordham, and Umass Amherst. I thought I would have more options, but it goes to show that you really never know.
Shoutout to @kingfredo34 , @ptkid16 , @amelia1212 , and @Wje9164be for chancing me.
Wow, I would have expected at least 1 of tufts brown and rice for sure. Makes me all the more scared next year…
But Congratulations! You got into some great schools and should be proud of your accomplishments nonetheless. Do you have an idea on which you’ll be attending?
) to try and make up for the math score and AP scores.