<p>Has anyone gained admittance to New College by appealing? I am a senior in high school, who's first choice is easily New College. I have taken 9 AP classes (also an AP Scholar) and several other Pre-IB/IB/Honors classes (although I left the IB program in Senior year, so I'm currently an "AP student"). The first time I took the SAT I got a 660 CR and a 560 M, and will take it again in December (and actually study this time!), and possibly along with SAT subject tests in January. My biggest issue is my grades, with my uw being below a 3.0 and my weighted a 3.7, which several C's on my transcript and a pretty terrible Junior year especially. This is mostly due to my general contempt will the high school environment and its arbitrary emphasis on grades, which is why I'm so attracted to New College and its narrative evaluations. What I want more than anything else in a college is an intellectual atmosphere, where the students take their academics very seriously, but know how to have fun, which is the feeling on got when I visited the campus. Should I make a point of this in my essay? I also co-founded, edited, and wrote for an 8-page independent, satircal newspaper in my high school that parodied the school system and newspapers, which I am very proud of and planning to send my first three issues in the additional document section of the Common App. I also have other extra curriculars (Miami Film Festival/Book Fair volunteer, Elementary School basketball coach, Film Club officer, ect.) I'm very nervous, mostly due to my lackluster grades, but I feel that they will be much better at the end of the year, (after I've already applied, though) because I'm taking 4 APs which I currently have all A's and B's. I'm retaking a class online from last year and planning to take additional ones to improve my gpa. But more than anything else, I think New College is simply a perfect fit for me, and that is why I am so mortified if I don't get in. Thanks for reading my rant! And any comments or PMs will be welcomed.</p>
<p>You’ll probably be get in. From what I’ve heard New College admits kids based on the entire package, and they love cool extracurriculars like the ones you have. Grades are important but might not be a dealbreaker. I also think New College does interviews, so I would suggest going for that. Good luck!</p>
<p>It’s true they do look at the whole package, but with the number of students applying to FL schools, they are getting more selective. My D did have a friend with low grades and great ECs apply. She interviewed, appealed, did everything she could to get in, but wasn’t accepted. She tried again after 2 years of CC, still didn’t get in. But she didn’t take the AP and IB level courses you have, nor have the leadership and as strong of ECs as you do, so I think your chances are stronger than hers were.</p>
<p>My best advice is make sure your essays are really well done and reflect who you are. Make sure you request an interview early on and stay in touch with admissions to show them your strong interest. You may want to try taking the ACT, some people do better on that than the SAT. Even though it’s too late to include the score for your application, if you get deferred, you can use it to boost your application later.</p>
<p>Definitely interview, and come prepared to make a case for why your academic history does not reflect your abilities, and how New College would benefit from having you on campus.</p>
<p>I’d also like to add that I’m a Hispanic male. I know New College’s 35% male and 10% Hispanic or so, which might give me a little edge. Thank you for your replies!</p>
<p>Just updating from my previous post, I improved my math SAT 40 points (600), so I now have a 1260 combined in math and reading. I’m doing an interview in January and it’s still by far my first choice college. I really do not see myself in any other school for my undergrad. I’ve also become interested in double majoring in Biochemistry and Classics (or Philosophy). I’ve always been interested in philosophy, history, literature, ect. but I’m also entertaining the idea of medical school. Being a type 1 Diabetic myself, I’ve always considered specializing in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology. I think that New College is one of the few places where I can pursue such diverse interests in an elite college. It’s an ideal place for me because I see a lot of opportunities for doing internships, independent projects, and volunteer work. I’m still suffering from anxiety though that I won’t get accepted. I haven’t done very well in my science in math classes in high school (C average, though mostly in AP/IB courses). I’m most likely taking general bio, chem, and calculus this summer (most likely community college or a public university that I enroll in if I don’t get in). Any tips or comments would be greately appreciated. (I’ve also considered taking SAT II’s in some science or math classes to show I’m capable, but I’m afraid it will backfire if I don’t do well.) Happy Holidays!</p>