Chances for a not so top candidate?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Vassar College
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<p>Hello everyone.</p>

<p>Well, first of all, congratulations to all those who have been accepted to various colleges! I hope you all got into your top choice or something to that extent. All this immense amount of excitement for decisions coupled with fears of rejection creates a very stressful and chaotic state of emotions in many high school seniors.</p>

<p>Next year, at around this time, I too will be waiting on college decisions. JUst this past week, I went to visit colleges on my springbreak. I visited Middlebury College, Skidmore College, Hamilton College, Bard College, Vassar College, and Sarah Lawrence College, all of which were amazing. I was particularly stunned by Vassar College, and it's now my top choice school. I'm filled with an intense eagerness to attend Vassar, but honestly, I don't think I stack up to other competitive applicants...What do you think?</p>

<p>I live in Arizona, attend a small, college prep private school.</p>

<p>GPA: 3.4
SAT/ACT status: took my SAT for the first time in March, recieved a horrible score. I plan to retake it, and take the ACT, and then send the better of the two. </p>

<p>Courseload:</p>

<p>9th
Geometry C+/B
Spanish II A-/A
Biology B+/A-
World History B+/A-
Computer Science PASS
Literature and Composition A/A</p>

<p>10th
Adv Algebra C+/B
Spanish III A-/A
Physics C+/B-
Art I B+/A-
Literature and Composition A/A
European History B/A-</p>

<p>11th
FST (Functions Statistics Trigonometry) B-
Spanish IV A-
Chemistry C+
Art II A-
American Literature A
US History B+</p>

<p>12th
Precalculus
AP Spanish
Creative Writing/Connections
Journalism
Adv Art
AP Brit Lit
Masterwork (a unique program my school provides in which a senior student, if he/she wishes to do so, may create a senior project of sorts. This masterwork project is an integration of a student's personal passion and an accumulation of the things he/she has an interest in academically. I will create a 150-200 page graphic novel in which I design the characters and story, draw it out, so on.)</p>

<p>ECs:</p>

<p>Vice President of class in freshman year
President of class in sophomore year
Computer Science --> contributed to creation of school website
National Art Honor Society
Advanced Art and things
Took japanese language class in sophomore year outside of class
Study abroad in Tokyo my summer before senior year</p>

<p>Race: Caucasian</p>

<p>Hook: masterwork, Japanese studies and travels, art interests, being from AZ?</p>

<p>In Need of Fin Aid?: No</p>

<p>So...Not a stellar GPA. Not a wealth of ECs. But I personally think I've got the "individualistic hook." I can also write excellent essays, and my teacher recs/counselor recs will be good. As you can see, my strong suits are English, Spanish, and History..sort of. Math and science are not my best areas. So, do you think I have a shot at Vassar?</p>

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<p>I don't usually respond to chances threads because, really, I know little more than you do about how the admissions process works. However, I can offer some advice/words of wisdom as a senior. I was in a similar place to you at this time last year and I understand the anxiety that the college apps process places on you.</p>

<p>I think that the most important thing you can do in this process is, as you pick your list of schools, try really hard to find a group of schools of varying levels of selectivity that you can totally see yourself going to. I know this is a cliche, but trust me, you will be happier in the long run. I thought painstakingly hard about what schools to apply to and which schools to rule out. I finally found a list that was perfect for me. I was met with rejection from the school that had been my "top choice", but because I had applied to so many schools I was excited about, the rejection barely affected me. I am now having a hard time choosing between the schools that accepted me because I honestly like all of them. If you do this, you really can't go wrong.</p>

<p>Yeah, yeah, I'll move onto the chances part of my post. :-)</p>

<p>I honestly think that you sound like a really interesting person. Your stats may be a bit low, and I don't know your test scores, but work hard to bring them up and take the test again senior year if its a problem. The wonderful benefit to liberal arts schools, in my opinion, is that it seems to me that they can take more time with your app to "get to know you". I would recommend working really hard this summer to polish your essays and find something unique to send in with your app in the Vassar "Your Space". Tell them about your Masterwork and work really hard on your English papers so you can pick a great one to send as your writing sample. Just let Vassar get to know you as the interesting person that you appear to be. I can't judge your chances, but I think that you have a shot. Just try not to get your hopes up, find other schools you love, and I think that at this time next year, you will likely be happy, regardless of whether Vassar accepts you or not.</p>

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<p>Thank you very much for your insight Devushka. Other schools I was thinking of applying to include:</p>

<p>Middlebury College
Skidmore College
Bard College
Hamilton College
Reed College</p>

4

<p>Any other thoughts? I'd deeply appreciate your input.</p>

5

<p>erm, about Bard... I know someone who is very smart (104 GPA), with all the good ec's (NHS, volunteer, varsity sports) and teacher recs but was rejected. so you don't have a real good chance. I can see you applying to skidmore, hamilton, and reed. they are all good LACs. actually i'm thinking about applying to hamilton also.</p>

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<p>Really? idk, i talked to my student tour guide after the tour at Bard for a makeshift interview/information session. nothing formal or anything like that. anyway, i told her about myself, my academic passions and extracurricular interests, and she thought i would fit into bard nicely.</p>

<p>still, bard is not a top choice for me, but still a school i like. im visiting reed in a week.</p>

<p>i didnt like hamilton that much. well, i mean nothign about it really caught my attention; hamilton is a fine liberal arts college, but there is nothing outstanding about it. its just an overall nice school. idk, you cant really say anything bad about hamilton, nor can you say anything tremendous about it. one thing i did notice about hamilton tho was its very friendly student body. feel free to pm me if you want more information on it.</p>

<p>any further thoughts on me+vassar?</p>

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<p>oh whoops.... sorry, sorry sorry, please disregard my last post. I meant BATES.
btw, how was the Hamilton campus?</p>

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<p>ah, ok, lol. i was kinda confused.</p>

<p>Hamilton College had an attractive campus with nice facilities and the like. As I said, you cannot really say anything bad or good about Hamilton. It's just kinda there. But the campus physically is very nice and charming. The student body is also quite friendly.</p>

<p>any further thoughts on me+vassar?</p>

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<p>Did you sit in on the Vassar info session? I have seen it three times over the last 3 years/two kids. I found it to be one of the more frank and useful sessions. I remember them commenting that an unweighted 3.7/A- was something they would look for in strong candidates. Naturally this needs to be combined with your class rank and what courses that are offered at your High School. You should take the toughest Senior Year schedule you can. </p>

<p>Vassar was my son's first choice (ED and RD) and he did not have a 3.7 or take the stronger courses Senior year and he did not get in, despite the standards for Boy's being very slightly lower. My daughter exceeded those standards, did get in, and will be going next year.</p>

<p>You should certainly try for Vassar (you never know if you don't try) but my advice is not to fall in love with any particular school or you risk great disappointment due to the somewhat brutal nature of the college admissions process. While my daughter loves Vassar it was number 5 or 6 on her list so you see the problem...</p>

<p>Be sure you select "safety" schools, where you clearly exceed the stats of past accepted students, you really like and have no problem attending. As noted above give yourself a bit of a spread in the safety, match, and reach categories. Do remember that all the schools you mention have been getting tougher to get into each year. In short, only "fall in love" with your safeties and you will find this all less stressful.</p>

<p>I think your being from AZ will help at schools in the NorthEast and you seem to have an interesting mix of Extracurricular activities. You need to find out what your class rank is as that is a key component of evaluating what GPA means.</p>

<p>You have great schools on your list. You might also want to consider Connecticut College and some of the other Pennsylvania LAC's such as Franklin and Marshall, Muhlenburg, Dickenson, Moravian, Gettysburg, abd Ursinus. This assumes you are interested in going to college on the East Coast and are looking mostly as smaller schools. In particular, I think that Conn College and Skidmore are known to have a somewhat similar feel to Vassar. I think Bard is underrated and you could also consider Hamphire if you want something more alternative.</p>

<p>Good luck and keep working on those Junior year grades and test scores.</p>

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<p>Thank you very much for your extensive reply. After doing some research and speaking with my college counselor, I've been able to confirm Skidmore and Bard as safety schools, both of which are schools I'd happily go to. </p>

<p>I've looked at Connecticut College, and liked it quite a bit, but it does not have great strengths in the programs I'm interested in. Nonetheless, it's still a very nice school.</p>

<p>Again, thank you for your thoughts.</p>

<p>Any other opinions?</p>

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<p>Hey, I was just wondering what school you're at? I'm in from Arizona too. :)</p>

<p>I'd say that the C+'s on the transcript would hurt you most, since they look a lot at the high school transcript and that weighs very heavily. But seriously, someones people have no clue as to what the admissions people are thinking when they admit or reject people--it seems like guesswork, but if you're meant to be at Vassar i'm sure things'll happen. </p>

<p>As an AZ Junior, also, some schools I'm looking at are Reed, Amherst, New College of FL, Evergreen State, Hampshire (+ Vassar, of course).</p>

<p>My final $0.02: Get good grades senior year for a strong mid-year report. :)</p>

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<p>Oh, you're from AZ aswell? Lol, small world then! I'm from Tucson, AZ, going to Greenfields Country Day School.</p>

<p>Reed is another top choice for me, among Middlebury and Vassar. However, there's only ONE thing about Reed that holds me back from making it my clear number 1 choice; it doesn't offer Japanese. Yep, simple as that. Not only do Midd and Vassar offer Japanese language classes, but they offer them as majors aswell!</p>

<p>Oh well, a language is a language, and though I'd like to study and possibly major in international relations, I'm sure I will still be quite happy at Reed.</p>

<p>Any other thoughts?</p>

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<p>Why is Bard a safety? The average GPA last year was 3.5...I'd say it's a match.</p>

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<p>Keyword: average.</p>

<p>When I visited Bard College and spoke with some individual students on campus, they said that during their application process with Bard, they found that the admissions office was more interested in individuality and creativity over stellar grades and test scores. Bard would rather take a student with a 3.3 GPA who was in advanced drama for four years who expressed individuality over a student with a 3.9 GPA, near 2400 SAT scores who only took, say, 2 years of art. "Individuality and diversity is a special key when applying to Bard," as the student told me.</p>

<p>Anyway, any other thoughts on me+vassar?</p>

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<p>OniLawliet - I applied to Bard, and got a similar impression. My "stats" were above average, and I was weary that I wouldn't get in, simply because I didn't demonstrate that interesting flare through my EC's. My essay, however, was all about individuality, so maybe that sealed the deal. I was accepted. Won't be attending, however.</p>

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<p>Wow, I'm at Pusch Ridge Christian Academy. We play Greenfields in some sports. :)</p>

<p>Reed is somewhat limited in contrast to Vassar. It offers fewer majors, but I think it makes up for that in the atmosphere it provides. If you're an intellectual, Reed'd be a great match. Personally, I view Vassar as a really artsy college: great drama program and fine arts departments. You have to decide what's important to you. </p>

<p>Might I ask what you're planning to do with a major in Japanese?</p>

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<p>Oh, Pusch Ridge? Haha, i know that place. Yeah, I remember our school playing your school in some sports aswell.</p>

<p>Yeah, Reed does indeed offer fewer, perhaps limiting majors, but its academic environment more than makes up for it. </p>

<p>Though I intensely like the Japanese language, my real interest lies in languages, linguistics, and overall international relations. Vassar and Middlebury are top choices for me because they offer strong programs in areas such as languages, international affairs, and literature. Throughout most of my life, I've had to move from country to country, state to state, all because of my father's job, so from an early age I was able to witness different cultures and societies in the world. Thats why I have such a profound interest in languages and stuff.</p>

<p>Any further thoughts and me+Vassar?</p>

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<p>If you are still looking for schools similar to Vassar, Bard and Sarah Lawrence, (all schools I also considered) you might want to come look at Bennington. It has a very similar student body to those schools, is strong in literature, and offers Japanese.</p>

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<p>Also, the average gpa for those admitted to Benn last year was 3.4 and SAT scores are not required.</p>

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<p>Just heard from my daughter that there is going to be a Bard/Bennington mixer next week--I didn't realize they were so close to eachother! On that note, the fact that Bennington students can take classes at nearby Williams really adds to the depth and breadth of what one can study there. I second the motion that you might want to check it out.</p>