Chance me! Rising senior, stressing out about admissions =)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Any help would be appreciated! Current college list, by preference:

Haverford (My clear #1, likely applying ED, loved my visit. Hopefully going back to re-visit overnight and interview.)
Williams (Yeah, I know I’m not getting in either)
Pomona
Bowdoin
Hamilton
Tufts
Colgate
Bucknell
UVM

I am a white male from Vermont. I will not need financial aid, if that plays a factor in need-aware schools.

My essay and teacher recommendations will likely be good, but not amazing.

Test Scores:

ACT: 35 Composite (33 E, 34 M, 36 W, 36 S), 8/12 Essay

SAT II: 730 Math II, 770 Chemistry (might retake Math II, not sure)

**Question:** If I have the option to submit my 35 and both SAT II tests, or my 35 and my 8/12 Essay, which one should I submit?

Grades:

3.73 UW GPA. My school does not have weighted GPA.

I have taken one AP class, Chemistry, and got an A-. I am taking AP Biology and AP Calculus Senior year.

My school does not offer IB, Honors, or Pre-AP courses. The AP courses are very time consuming...not sure how some of you take 6 per year. :p

**Extra-Curriculars:/b

Created and currently lead a group of student volunteers in my high school, working directly with a local nonprofit. Our chapter both creates and leads workshops designed to teach new technology and software to senior citizens.

Paid assistant counselor (freshman summer) and paid lead counselor (sophomore+junior summers) at my high school’s Freshman Orientation Summer Camp. Roughly 1/3 of the incoming class attends the summer camp, and I lead “classes”, gave school tours, and helped the freshmen become acclimated to each other and the high school environment.

*(Classes consisted of myself and a few assistant counselors teaching a certain fun area of learning to the freshmen. I mostly taught Photoshop and online website design tools such as Weebly. In leading the classes, I was responsible for the safety of my assistant counselors and my campers for 6+ hours a day.)

Board member of a student trust designed to distribute funds to worthy clubs and extracurriculars in need of financial aid, in order to benefit the overall high school community.

100+ total hours of community service at a local, nonprofit, completely volunteer-run Halloween event for the past 4 years.

Non-competitive piano player for 10 years. I perform at my teacher’s recital every year. (not looking to play for my college)

Small Stuff: (let me know if I should add any of this to my activites/extracurriculars in the application)

I have skied non-competitively for 12 years. (Duh, I’m from Vermont. But I do love skiing.)

I have snowboarded non-competitively for 8 years.

I am a member of my school’s chapter of the National Honor Society.

30+ hours of other various community service.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I naturally worry a lot. If there’s anything I can do (besides write my essays better) before November 15 to help my application, suggestions would be awesome.

I understand that I don’t have a dazzling array of awards and national recognitions as my achievements, and I’m not a member of 10 clubs, but I think I’ve shown dedication to the main extracurriculars on my list.

Thanks in advance for the help!

2

Forgot to add to my minor extracurriculars: I played JV Lacrosse Freshman year and have been a member of Key Club for 4 years.

3

Haven’t gotten a response, so bumping for vision.

4

Hello there!

First off, don’t ever write yourself off. Although these are some of the best and hardest schools to get into in the country, you seem to me as a competitive candidate for all of them.That being said, one of the most important parts of the college process is creating a rounded, well balanced list filled with schools you would be happy at.
For all your schools, (I know for every one except UVM, maybe Hamilton and Colgate), they practice need blind admissions, so your ability to pay won’t matter much there. Other great schools you can look into are Middlebury and St. Michael’s, which are also in Vermont if you’re looking to stay close to home. Going into senior year, I advise you to get a head start on your college apps, and really find your ideal college.