Chance me please :)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Washington University in St. Louis
1

<p>Hi everyone, I'm currently a junior in high school and I'm really excited for college admissions in the not too distant future. I took the formatting from the decisions thread to make it simple</p>

<p>Mechanical Engineering</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT: 33(expected)
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.75
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 4%
AP (place score in parenthesis):By graduation will take 11 AP classes (20 for honors & AP).</p>

<p>So far took two tests my sophomore year.
- sophomore year: AP Micro Econ (4) & AP US Government (4)
- junior year: AP Biology, AP English, AP US History, AP Calculus AB
- senior year: AP Physics C, AP Computer Science, AP Macro Econ, AP English, AP Psych</p>

<p>IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load:AP Physics C, AP Computer Science, AP Macro Econ, AP English, AP Psych, Honors Latin 4, Concert Choir, Leaders Gym
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing major really</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
by the end of senior year
- 4 years cross-country (co-captain) - Varsity, all-conference
- 3 years Math tutor (max years I could do it, as it starts from sophomore)
- 3 years bowling (sophomore, junior, senior) (not specifically assigned captain) - Varsity
- 2 years volleyball(freshman, sophomore)
- DECA (made it to state)
- Youth and Government
- 1 year swimming(freshman) (I don't think I'll put this on my resume)
- A bunch of other various clubs, but to be honest they don't really mean anything
Job/Work Experience: 12 Hours a week as a cashier at grocery store (promoted once)
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer every summer at a hospital, roughly 150 hours in total
Summer Activities: Work, volunteer at hospital, and during one summer visit family in Europe
Essays: I feel as if I will put a lot of effort into them, and as a decent writer, I expect that they will be pretty good, but then again everyone thinks their essay is phenomenal.
Teacher Recommendation: one will be awesome from my AP Physics teacher, one will be my English teacher (is super nice), lastly one will be from my bowling coach who is also my gym leaders teacher.
Counselor Rec: one of the cross-country coaches, should be good.
Additional Rec:
Interview:</p>

<p>State (if domestic applicant): Illinois
Country (if international applicant): USA (was born in Europe, and no worries I am a permanent citizen)
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 80-90k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None really, but might help that I was not born here and I have no family (except some randoms I hardly know) that went to college in America.</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: Course rigor, percentile, upward trend
Weaknesses: GPA (3.75), some poor grades in math my freshman year, not being in AP Calc BC</p>

<p>General comments: Will also apply to
UIC, NIU (as my safety) , Carnegie Mellon, University of Wisconsin - Madison, IIT, UIUC, and Purdue</p>

2

<p>I think you’re a competitive applicant - if you show interest then I think you have as good a shot as anyone else.</p>

3

<p>I don’t see it. Just being honest.
You are behind if you are in March of your Jr year and you haven’t taken ACT, SAT I or and SAT II exam yet.
Your GPA is below average for WashU.
You don’t have a 5 on any AP exam.
You don’t have SAT II scores.</p>

<p>What makes you expect a 33 on the ACT?</p>

4

<p>Well I definitely appreciate your honesty and will listen to it. as for my response here it is: I have taken a REAL ACT in the beginning of my sophomore year and got a 28. Roughly around the December month I got a 30 on a PRACTICE ACT. Now I have a bit more knowledge, the intent to study for these tests by taking many practice ones (where I can learn a lot of lessons), and lastly I am currently in an ACT class that has provided me with new and valuable tools for to increase my score that really does help.</p>

<p>Also, SAT I or SAT II exams are not required if an ACT is submitted, also they cannot prefer one. It would be extremely unlikely that a midwestern school like WashU would prefer it.</p>

<p>Lastly, AP scores are not taken into account for college admissions, argue as much as you will, but this has already been settled on another thread. I also have an awesome opportunity to achieve 5’s on 4 AP tests this spring, which would show success and an upward trend (if AP tests were taken into account)</p>

<p>I do believe that counters each of your points.</p>

5

<p>I think you have a real shot if you can get a 33. Demonstrated interest and a good essay are crucial! If really 1st choice go ED!</p>

6

<p>Great; I find it funny that your school has varsity bowling.</p>

7

<p>If you can get your gpa above a 3.8 somehow, then you would probably have a much better chance. Definitely strive for a 33 on the ACT, since that would put you in the range of Wash u.</p>

8

<p>I actually think you’re fine. Just try to bring up your GPA!</p>

<p>As for what was mentioned above, I was accepted RD with a 31 ACT and a 4, 3, and 2 on the only three AP exams I had taken in junior year. I also had a 1970 SAT. I did not receive an interview or show any interest either. But I do love the school!</p>

<p>WashU is very unpredictable with admissions. Try to be as well rounded as possible, and I’m sure you’ll do great!</p>

<p>Make sure your recommendations and essays are AMAZING! :)</p>

9

<p>Since no one is telling you this, I will. You MUST visit if you want to get in. Because Wash U has no supplemental essay, they get a huge amount of applications regular decision. There are two kids at my school with a 36 on the ACT and are cum laude (top 5% at my school) and they both got waitlisted. However, neither of them visited. I got a 33 (which is plenty high for wash U) and ~~ 3.8 unweighted GPA from freshman to senior year and I got in. I visited twice and had a bit of an oddball of an essay, which is probably hit or miss but I guess I hit.</p>

10

<p>I was accepted and never visited or contacted the school in any way…</p>

11

<p>you seem like a solid applicant. anything over a 33 would be great.</p>

<p>your activities are great. shows variety and continuity.</p>

<p>make sure your essay is strong, conveys who you are, and makes you more than a collection of numbers and letters.</p>

<p>demonstrate interest! visit the campus if possible, have an interview, attend information sessions. this will definitely be to your advantage</p>

12

<p>Please keep us posted on your progress. It is aninteresting case study.
You are projecting yourself to be a good applicant (33 on ACT and 5’s on APs this Spring).
They take everything into consideration. I agree there is no need for SAT I but strong SAT II scores and 5’s on AP Exams help.</p>

<p>Your GPA is low for WashU.</p>

<p>PennFor is not the typical accepted applicant. Just look at the ED and RD threads from this year. I am sure there are other parts of PennFor’s application that contributed to his/her acceptance. Maybe he/she has outstanding ECs or a strong hook.</p>