Chances at Dartmouth?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
1

<p>Hey,</p>

<p>I was wondering if anyone could give me a sense of where I stand right now in terms of my chances for admission to Dartmouth. I am currently a junior.</p>

<p>Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Caucasian
School: private, 180 students, rigorous
No GPA or rank, but I am among the top 3 students in my class of 55
Courseload: I have gotten all "As" (no A+ awarded)
APs by the end of my senior year: French Language, US History, Environmental Science, Music Theory, Biology, Calculus, Physics
In my senior year, I hope to conduct two independent studies, in Green Architecture and in Cognition Studies/Subconsciousness.</p>

<p>SAT: 1910 (Will take the ACT, and hopefully bring this up)</p>

<p>ECs:
Nonacademic in-school:
Founder and editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, (10, 11)
Executive coordinator for the all-school sustainable vegetable garden, (11)
Peer mentoring, French tutor (9, 10, 11)
Peer leader for the Outdoor Education program, (11); led several outdoor trips through Appalachia with 60+ middle school students
High School Forum, elected class representative, (9, 10, 11)
Tenor and piano accompanist, High School chorus, (9, 10, 11)</p>

<p>Interscholastic Sports
Varsity Tennis, No. 3 Singles (9), No.2 Singles (10, 11)</p>

<p>Community Involvement
Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 50+ hours of community service, (9, 10, 11)</p>

<p>Extracurricular Academic Activities
Intensive journalism course, Summer@Brown Pre-college program, (Summer 2010)
Rassias Language Immersion program through Dartmouth; family stay, intensive French language and literature course (Summer 2009)
Piano student, Peabody Preparatory Institute through John Hopkins University, (5-11)</p>

<p>Employment
Started a photography exhibition business, collect and showcase work from student photographers (10, 11)
Office manager and assistant to the Director of Education at religious school, (8, 9, 10, 11) -- attended the school, had a B'nai mitzvah with my twin brother and was confirmed in May 2010, a culmination ceremony for 12 years of Judaic studies classes every Sunday and Wednesday</p>

<p>Awards:
Very prestigious award from my synagogue for academic and community leadership
Prestigious scholarship for community service and green initiatives
6 achievement awards for piano through Peabody Preparatory Institute</p>

<p>Recs:
I won't read them, but I think they will be excellent. Teachers appreciate my passion for learning, my incredibly strong work ethic, my curious and ambitious nature, and sense of maturity. They also value my leadership in classroom discussion, and engagement and effort to motivate the community and ability to spark others to action.</p>

<p>Essay:
I love to write. It is one of my passions. As far as topics, not a clue yet... something really out there though...and creative.</p>

<p>Visit: I will this year</p>

<p>Thank you for your feedback (in advance)!</p>

2

<p>Every single part of your application seems on target, except your test scores. Study hard and shoot for a 2250+ to be very competitive (though you certainly can get in with lower). Trying the ACT is a good idea.</p>

<p>Every applicant needs two subject tests as well.</p>

3

<p>I think you have a chance, but admissions are unpredictable. Your SAT is a little bit low compared to the average, but I wouldn’t focus too much on that, your 1910 can get you in easily …
Try to focus instead in taking rigorous classes and do great in them.Also, write your essays with time ( I mean you have a year) and read them every day, I can be sure a lot of ideas would come to your mind after you read it over and over</p>

4

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<p>I think it is building false hope to believe that a 1910 is not a significant barrier to acceptance at Dartmouth. When the admission rate is hovering around only 10%, having a score south of the 2000s presents a * very * uphill battle for an unhooked applicant.</p>

<p>The best advice, since the rest of his application looks solid (including class rank), * is * to focus on standardized test scores. Junior year is only halfway through, and there is plenty of time to bring scores up. That is where the OP’s time would be best spent.</p>

5

<p>Thanks for the feedback! May I ask what you mean by ‘unhooked?’</p>

6

<p>Unhooked is not under represented minority (eg African-American, Native American, Hispanic, etc.) , legacy, recruit, etc.</p>

7

<p>@ccuser…
you said my post was ‘’ irrational’’ you think a 1910 is a barrier, of course it is low the average… but sincerely you are one of those guys that think that you must be on/above the average to be accepted… let me tell you something… 3 guys from my high school have been accepted in the best colleges with LOWER scores… one with a 1830 was accepted in Stanford, a 1960 was accepted in Uppen and a 1750 was accepted in Harvard… and do you know why there were accepted? not because of their scores certainly, but because they were passionate about their Ec’s and about their essays… so if you are one of those who think the scores are the most important part of an app i do respect it, but i think with a 1910 and good essays/ec’s you can get through… being passionate and being a HUMAN is more important than doing great in SATs</p>

8

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<p>Why use quotes if you are not actually quoting me? That is just putting words into my mouth.</p>

<p>And of course, most people have quite a few anecdotes of past students with low SATs who have gotten into top schools, but these stories only show that it is * possible. * It doesn’t tell current students a thing about their actual chances, which is what this thread is all about.</p>

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<p>I do not think scores are the most important part. Every school will tell you that the transcript is the #1 thing they can look at. I was only trying to help by giving legitimate advice. </p>

<p>Most of his app looks solid; test scores look low. Since he is only halfway through junior year (and I think it’s a bit early to spend too much time working on essays), his time will be best spent on raising those test scores. When there is a clear weakness in an application, * and * it is the only weakness, * and * there is plenty of time to fix it, why wouldn’t one focus his time on that area in his app?</p>