Hello! I’m hearing back from all the colleges I’ve applied to and I’m kind of freaking out. If you have the time, I could really use some third party feedback/a reality check. Thanks!!
Me as a human:
White, female, Delaware, middle class (I am applying for financial aid but probably won’t get any)
Me in numbers:
ACT: 28
GPA: 3.9 UW
APs:
Sophomore Year: APUSH (4), AP Lit (4)
Junior Year: AP Euro (4), AP Lang (4), AP Seminar (3)
Senior Year: AP Psych, AP Environmental Science, AP Studio Art - Drawing, AP Research, AP Lit (took the test as a sophomore, but not the actual class)
- H French all four years
*All my other classes in high school have been Honors except for math classes, which have been CP.
Me in ECs and Awards
Founder / President of Film Club (10-12)
Nationally Recognized Videographer for my Youth Group (9-12)
School Reporter to Local Paper (9-10)
Theatre (10-12)
Founding Member of Environmental Club (11-12)
Musician (Guitar, Piano, Ukulele, and Violin) (3rd Grade-12)
Odyssey of the Mind Volunteer Coach (11)
National Honors Society (11-12)
Intern at local nonprofit focused on digging wells in Kenya to further the education of women and children and foster sustainable development (12)
Scholastic Silver Key for Writing (11)
Chosen to represent my school at a Youth Congressional Conference where I designed an imaginary campaign for equal pay for women (12)
Researching Influences of Shinto and Buddhism in postwar Japanese film for AP Research (12)
Essay:
I wrote about how chalk pastels have changed my perception of the world, acting kind of as a metaphor for my overcoming depression and anxiety. I used a lot of vivid description and my counselor says it’s well-written so I’m not too worried about it.
Hooks in the recommendation letters (only because I know my scores and ECs aren’t stellar)
Global Studies Pathway Teacher: From freshman year to sophomore year I was enrolled in my school’s unique Global Studies Pathway where we learned about different human rights issues. This class really changed my life and I think my teacher knows that. The class inspired me to travel to Southeast Asia and teach kids in a Cambodian school and intern at the local nonprofit to build wells in Kenya, as well as teaching me about the United Nations and the International Criminal Court.
One of the biggest achievements of my high school career was organizing a Genocide Awareness Night that was attended by 200 people which gave me a lot of opportunities to learn outside of school. I travelled to Washington DC to take part in the Lemkin Summit to End Genocide where I learned about different mass atrocities around the globe and them actually went lobbied my senators and representative on Capitol Hill. I also went to the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards program to hone my leadership skills. The actual awareness night consisted of displays of different genocides done by my classmates and then a documentary screening and a Q&A with the director. At the end I gave a speech and the mic broke so I had to yell everything, but it was the first time that I actually felt like a leader and like I can actually make a difference in the world. I am 99% sure my teacher will write about this entire experience in her rec letter. I also take AP Psych with her now so I’ll have had her for four years.
AP Euro Teacher: I did a really big project on the history of the Roma which my teacher uses as an example in her current AP class. AP Euro was one of my favorite classes last year and now I TA for her.
College Counselor: Before my Genocide Awareness night I did a research project on genocide prevention for my AP seminar class. I went into the philosophy behind genocide and I really learned a lot from my research, which I explained to my counselor in one of our sessions. In addition, I think his letter will encompass other things about me, like my participation in the arts, travel, etc. Our relationship is strong enough that he probably wrote me an above average letter (I hope).
Other Hooks
Art Portfolio
Video of me doing a little jazzy piano improv at my church during a service
I submitted some poetry to some schools
Where I’ve been accepted:
University of Delaware
Who I’m waiting for:
Wesleyan University (as an Anthropology and/or South Asian Studies major)
Bowdoin College (as an Anthropology and/or Legal Studies major)
Bryn Mawr College (as a Film Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Environmental Science, and/or International Studies major)
Wellesley College (as an International Studies and Peace and Justice Studies major)
Barnard College (as a Human Rights, Film Studies, and/or Asian Studies major)
Denison University (as an International Studies and/or Anthropology major)
Oberlin College (as an Anthropology and/or Asian Studies major)
Kenyon College (as an Anthropology major)
Although I would love to go to any of these schools, I think when it comes down to it Wesleyan is my first choice. The thing that I’m most worried about with Wes however is that instead of taking CP Physics and CP Calculus I decided to take H Statistics and APES because I can actually do something with those two things and am learning things that I’m really passionate about without having to suffer through a bunch of math. Wesleyan’s website says that most students take physics and calculus their senior year. Does the fact that I’m not taking them severely hurt my chances of getting in? Also, I signed up for an interview but no one was in town to meet with me :(. Wesleyan is definitely a reach for me, I know, but I figured I’d try, being a student there would be really amazing.
Anyways, I know that’s a lot. Thank you for reading and maybe even giving some advice, I really appreciate it. Waiting is so stressful. Good luck with your own college searches or whatever you’re doing and hope you’re having a great day!!