Chances at Macalester

Colleges and Universities A-Z Macalester College
1

Looking to apply at Macalester Early Decision I this November. It’s my perfect fit; their 4 core values are my own. I’m a white female from an upper middle-class family. My high school has ill-equipt me, CIS classes are largely unavailable until your senior year and the only AP class is AP Agriculture, suiting to the needs of my farm-based community. I am retaking the ACT September and October, and doing the intensive Online Prep until then. Only my September score will make it in time for ED I.

Academics:
3.96 GPA Unweighted
Upwards Growth: 4 A-'s 9th grade, only A’s since
28 Composite ACT (2 times taken)
Best Per: 32 English, 27 Math, 32 Reading, 26 Science, 8 Writing
English Honors 9-10
CIS Lit 11
5 Upcoming CIS classes my senior year

Activities:
Student Gov 9-11, 25h weekly dedication
NHS 11-12
NHS Exec 11-12
Chamber Strings I (top group) 12
SSU (Students Stepping Up, volunteer & leadership program) 9-12
Knowledge Bowl 11-12

Volunteer:
Humane Society 2 year commitment
Worked intensively with the local Historical Society
100+ hours

Awards:
NHS Member 11-12
(School-based):
Academic Excellence in Science x2
Academic Excellence in English x1
Academic Excellence in the Arts x1
Honor Roll x3
Lettered “Outstanding Contribution” in Student Gov

With the additional options, I will be submitting an art portfolio My art has won numerous local awards. I’ll also be doing an interview, which I look forward to as my ability to speak, converse, and express compassion is something I pride myself on largely.

Thank you so much for the time you took to help me, you have no idea how much it means! I simply feel too close to the situation to have fantastic judgment.

2

I’d really appreciate some feedback! :slight_smile:

3

I’m not a fan of “chance me” threads because I don’t think anyone can really predict someone’s likelihood of acceptance based on a list of grades and such. However, if it helps, my daughter will be a freshman at Macalester this fall. She is also Caucasian and from an upper middle class area in a suburb of NY. She applied ED2 with a similar GPA to yours, a transcript that showed the most rigorous curriculum her school offered (IB Diploma), SAT scores that were stronger in English but weaker in math, not many ECs other than those related to her musical instrument, and membership in NHS and a couple of other honor societies. No outstanding awards or anything like that. She did have a great interview when she had an overnight visit, and wrote a great supplemental essay IMO about her experiences meeting people from other cultures and how that has changed her view of herself and shaped her passions.

Best of luck to you! Mac is a great school!

4

Grades and extracurriculars look great. I think you could work on your ACT score a bit. I’m not sure what the median at Mac is these days, but you should try to be at the 50th to 75th percentile for sure. The good news is, your lowest score is in science, and this is, I think, the most easily gameable section — you just need to figure out how to crack it.