<p>GPA: 101.4(Weighted)
Class Rank: 2nd or 3rd overall
Class size is roughly 600 students</p>
<p>AP Classes: AP Physics, AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry
All other classes are honors or college credit</p>
<p>Extracurriculars: Student Gov’t(Treasurer(9) Vice President(10,11,12))
Newspaper: Sports Writer(9, 10) Sports Editor(11,12)
Baseball(9,10)
Winter and Spring Track(11,12) I lettered in winter and spring and was a county and section champion in the spring
National Honor Society(11-12)
Science Honor Society(11-12)
Math Honor Society( Mu Alpha Theta) (11-12)</p>
<p>Awards/Distinctions: Male Student of the Year(only recipient of my grade)
Served as a delegate for New York State’s Boys State Program</p>
<p>Your class rank and GPA makes you extremely competitive, your ACT makes you marginally competitive, and your EC’s are just okay. The applicant pool in CSOM is rather competitive as my D is in CSOM, but Finance is probably no cakewalk either. The strength of your essay (which may not be your strength) and recommendations could be the deciding factor. See if you can increase your ACT by at least one point. This will greatly improve your chances. If not, I’m still NOT betting against you!</p>
<p>What if I applied to Economics at the college of arts and sciences? would this improve my chances? is this less competitive? my tour guide said all the schools have the same acceptance rate, but this doesn’t indicate the competitiveness.</p>
<p>I think you could get in, but wouldn’t be shocked if you didn’t. Although it is true a lot of people want to go to Boston, thus the schools are generally harder to get into, people want to be in Boston for a reason. There are 60+ colleges within an hour from the city, making it a great area for college students. The city has a lot of opportunities and internships the offer. Apply to BC among other schools similar to it b/c you may not get in. Your credentials may go farther in the south/midwest, but think of where you want to spend 4 years.</p>
<p>Retake the ACT, and take the SAT for better chances. I think your application could go either way at this point, without better test scores.</p>
<p>Don’t listen to anyone telling you NOT to apply though. If you really love the school, apply. If you never apply, you never know what could have happened. Your chances could be much, much worse, so give it a shot.</p>
<p>Dear NovaNation : One element of your profile that caught my attention was the ACT Essay score of 6. Given the writing intensive aspects of the core curriculum at BC, you should reflect on whether you enjoy writing or see it as a chore. Your overall ACT performance is slightly below the midpoint of the accepted class; hence you are strongly urged to plan on a retest.</p>
<p>Your AP course load (two sciences, Calculus BC) is rigorous - but missing English and History AP tracks will be noticed. </p>
<p>Your extra-curriculars could use a dose of “what difference did these positions make?” What difference did your three year role as class vice president make - what initiatives did you lead? Most importantly, how do these skill sets translate into making the Boston College student body a more vibrant community? Do you have any arts/music to offer into the equation?</p>
<p>Overall, aside from being in a Top 10% position in your High School class (from which 80% of the Boston College freshman class is drawn), the remainder of your profile feels somewhat average for Boston College. There needs to be more data presented on your differentiators. Meanwhile, take another shot on the ACT/SAT boards.</p>
<p>Dear NovaNation : Truth be told, an ACT score of 30 is roughly converted to an SAT three-way score of 1980. In other words, the two composite test scores are roughly equivilent. When you are talking about these types of “on the fence” scores for Boston College or a similarly highly competitive university, the focus should be on increasing the composite scores, not solely thinking about the essay score. The recommendation stands from our previous post that you will be better served retaking both tests rather than slicing and dicing the essay scores.</p>
<p>Florida-dad’s point is generally correct: apply against the flow to increase your odds. There is a reason that rural schools are less popular, on average, or that colleges in the midwest and south are marginally easier to get into than comparable colleges in the NE. A New Yorker applying to Wake has a better shot than a North Carolinian applying to Wake. Ditto a North Carolinian applying against the local flow and aiming to BC/BU, or to the midwest.</p>
<p>NovaNation: I’m not convinced that the essay is even a consideration at most colleges. What BC will focus on is the 1960/30.</p>
<p>I would have suggested taking the SATs, as a 30 on the ACT is fine but it’s not extraordinary. </p>
<p>I’ll enlighten you with my own scores that got me in, which was a 30 on the ACT but accompanied by a 2150 on the SATs. So I can’t really say which they were impressed by. </p>
<p>I will say that your class standing makes you stand out in such a large graduating class. I’m not sure what your GPA would mean on a 5.0 scale, but I assume it’d be something like a 4.1. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t go so much on grades when applying here. BC looks for people with passion, they hand select students that they feel will bring a lot to the school. They’re looking for a well rounded student who wants to volunteer and find their “magis” (something more) in life. My advice would be to write a killer essay. </p>
<p>And don’t listen to people who tell you to steer away from Boston area schools if you love the area. There are SO many schools at every level there that you’re sure to get into one. Boston is a great city, though I’m from New York (major sports issues being amongst Sox fans…). </p>
<p>Also, since you’re a guy, you might consider applying to A&S as an economics major if you’re worried about getting in. CSOM and A&S have similar acceptance rates, but CSOM is more competitive for males as more males want to be in business rather than liberal arts. Also, if you really like economics as a social science rather than a business perspective, apply to A&S as CSOM is geared toward business students who want to declare a concentration their junior year. Before that, they all take standard business classes which can be boring if you don’t want to take something like business law, etc.</p>
<p>I didn’t even read your SAT score… I would consider sending it if your reading/math scores are considerably high. (If you’re in the mid-high 600’s) However if the writing section is higher, and the reading and math lower, don’t send it because no one really cares about that damn writing section.</p>
<p>It is imperative that you find out who the admissions officer is and get some face time with him/her. Ask to stop in to say hello after you tour the school. Then go back and meet with them the second time you visit. Send a few emails expressing intersest in BC. This will assure that you get in. They have to get to know you, put a face to a name. That’s what I did and I had similar stats.</p>
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