I have a 3.75 UW, 4.0 W (weighted is so low because school calculates weighted GPA differently…)
I go to a highly-ranked school in CT, and my workload is the toughest in the history of my school in terms of AP courses (I’ve taken AP AB Calc, AP Stats, AP Bio, AP Phys 1, APUSH, AP Phys 2, AP Environmental Science, AP BC Calc, AP Psych, AP Chem, AP Micro, AP Macro) with most of the rest of the courses being Honors.
My ACT is a 33 (35 Superscored)
SAT I: 1490
SAT II Math: 800
SAT II US History: 720.
SAT II Physics: 700. (will try to raise these two to 740+)
I think I can get 2-3 recommendations easily from my teachers (they are from Math and History) and 2 from my bosses and advisors, so I have many options as far as recommendations go.
My essays will be strong, maybe 8 or 9 out of 10; I’m a pretty good writer.
A condensed version of my extracurriculars is below:
-Mu Alpha Theta chapter founder
-French National Honors Society Member; 3 years member
-Math League Member: represented my town at many math competitions at the state and chapter levels; 4 years member
I went to New Englands and came in 2nd (1st in State)
-Treasurer, VP, President of the Leo’s Club; member for 6 years…over 500 documented hours of community service through this
Local Public Library Board of Trustees; I help my public library make decisions about how to run the public library efficiently
-School JV Baseball Player, Tennis JV player
-Volunteer at a local well-known hospital in the summers; work with doctors (summer); over 50 hours of shadowing and over 100 hours of hospital-related volunteering
-Local Little League Volunteer-- i was assistant coach for a team which went to States
-Volunteered a total of 300 hours in one 12-month period; Nov 2013-2014
-Highest AMC10 score in my school as a freshman
-Highest AMC12 score in my school as a sophomore
-Local Kumon employee-- 5 years (I was a student before this for 5 years)
-Kumon math program completer; second program completer from eastern CT
-HOBY School Selected to represent at state
-HOBY World Leadership Conference ambassador
-DECA (2 years)
-Science Olympiad Team (3 years)
-Optimist International Chapter Founder
-Middle School MathCounts Coach
-Co-Founder of a non-profit organization that takes books and transports them to Africa (we’ve been very successful so far!)
-Founder of a Tutoring Program where all profits go to charity
-Went to a college for college prep courses in the summer regarding Biotechnology. It was a good experience in a lab setting (i was one of 40 selected out of hundreds)
-EMT Certified at age 16
-5-month internship with the Starfish Foundation (a foundation based on providing education for children who live in impoverished areas)
I am thinking of majoring in Psychology or Biochemistry and double-majoring or doing a minor in Economics
Could you please chance me for Vanderbilt if I apply ED I?
You can only list 10 activites on the common app; if you’d like meaningful responses from people, clean up your EC laundry list & list only your top 10. You can check out my chance thread if you’d like to know how to format it
So my counselor said that my chances were hovering around 40%…would it be wise to use my Early Decision here even if I know that my chances aren’t too great?
Your scores are fine for EDI. Don’t send the low SATIIs though. GPA is somewhat irrelevant, so look at class rank for how they’ll measure up that aspect of your academic achievements. And pick the best out of your EC’s; remember you’re trying to spin a compelling story about who you are, not just trying to bombard the adcoms with accolades.
I’d say you would have pretty solid shot at EDI, greater than 40% I think. RD wouldn’t be as favorable. EDI would be worth it if you have run the calculator and can afford to attend, and if it’s your top choice.
@prezbucky I visited campus a couple weeks ago and I have decided that it is definately the school I want to go to. It’s literally my dream school. The only problem is getting in, where I have a lower-than-average GPA and an average ACT.
The NPC was actually extremely favorable for my family (it’s under the price that my state flagship according to the two NPCs), so I know that we can easily afford Vandy if I get in (which is the problem).
Sorry for reviving an old thread, but I would like to get some more opinions here…I just don’t want to “waste” an Early Decision here if it’s not worth it
Too many ECs. Narrow your list down a little bit. Also what did you get on the AP exam for all your courses? You can take a large courseload, but I think colleges sometimes use AP exam scores to look at either grade inflation or deflation
You’re a good candidate for EDI (as long as you’re in the top 10% of your class). It wouldn’t be a “waste”, although I’m not sure how you mean that. Are you thinking that you would like to use your ED on an ivy because you feel like you would get in here super easily? or do you mean that you don’t think you have good chances EDI? Either way, I think it would be worth applying EDI here if it’s your first choice. You’re neither “too good” or “not good enough” I think you fit in well with the applicant pool and have a solid chance of getting in.
