Chance me

Colleges and Universities A-Z Davidson College
1

<p>I am currently a junior in high school planning to ED to Davidson next year.</p>

<p>GPA: My gpa in freshman and sophomore year were really atrocious.
I had almost all B's in freshman year, and one A, two C's, 3 B's in sophomore year. I can explain the C's with my essay, as I was going through a state of depression. However, this year I have almost all A's with 3.7 uw/4.01 w (out of 4.4) Also three of these courses are AP's.</p>

<p>SAT: 750 M 750 cr 730 wr (2230)
SAT II: 800 math 2 750 chem
AP exam: 5 on calculus AB (almost guarenteed), 4 or 5 on lang (not as confident in getting 5)
I also plan on taking Physics B, Chem and Lit.</p>

<p>EC's: TA at local tutoring program for high schoolers, 80+ volunteer hours at ronald mcdonald house, regional awards for math league, regular participant in youth group, researching over freshman summer and this coming summer in hospital lab, regular chess club member, First Honors(possibly principals list), baritone player for school band since middle school,</p>

<p>( I wrestled varsity only freshman year idk if i should put it on app)
I'm from out of state, and I am an Asian American</p>

<p>Also if there is anything I can do to improve my application, I would like to know.
Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>Props on SAT.
Your EC’s don’t have obvious direction. None of them seem to have any leadership weight, either.
Still, those test scores provide pretty impressive scaffolding.
Since most other students will have them, strike down your volunteer hours as a utility.
Being a “regular participant” doesn’t demonstrate that you have real passion.
Summer research is a handy credential.
I feel that your application is going to come down to the dreaded intangibles. You have good test scores but nothing that really makes you stand out. You’ll have to spin your extracurricular participation extremely positively to make it shine.
Also, most admissions offices recommend you don’t write about the 4 d’s: depression, death, dating, and divorce, so you won’t be able to make excuses about why you got bad grades earlier in school. besides, most people go through depression at least once throughout high school; many, not until they’re denied from their top schools :stuck_out_tongue: Honestly, since you failed so miserably earlier in school, you have a massive upward trend. Many schools value that. I wouldn’t put all your chips in the basket by going ED. You don’t exactly fit the profile of a liberal arts student, which makes me think ED at Davidson is not for you. heed my advice with a grain of salt. This opinion is only coming from the people I’ve seen accepted and denied from Davidson.</p>

3

<p>Do you have any suggestions as to what I should be doing to improve my application? Also, what did you mean by my not fitting the “profile”? I appreciate the feedback as I am very worried about the outcome of my app.</p>

4

<p>As a 2006 grad of DC, just to let you know, late in the game:</p>

<p>College admissions is not a hard science. At Davidson this year, along with every other competitive school, thousands of more than qualified applicants are going to be rejected, and no small number of unqualified applicants will be let in. </p>

<p>Why? Because frankly, its hard to breakdown how people will respond to the pressures of college via some numbers or a well editted essay. So don’t worry about trying to play some game. Work hard, do what you love, and try to excel there. If you love volunteering or tutoring, I suggest spending your senior year trying to do something big with it (start your own after school program with a teacher who is willing to proctor?). That is worth so much more in life than a bunch of clubs you won’t remember participating in or some random “leadership” position to check a box. </p>

<p>Good luck, and remember at this stage, luck will mean so much more than anything else. So let the die fall where they may.</p>