Chances for Dartmouth Ed? <3

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
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<p>Dartmouth is love. 'Nuff said. Visited this spring break and I fell in love with it. It might be a dangerous and unrequited love affair, but I'll take my chances. =]
[Where else can you try on Daniel Webster's hat?]</p>

<p>Numerical Stats:</p>

<p>SAT I: 2310
SAT II: Math 2 [790], Math 1 [780], Lit [740], Bio E [710]... Taking Chem, US, and Spanish in June, aiming for high 700 to 800
ACT: 32 from Sophomore year, probably not submitting
AP tests: Euro (5), Chinese (5)... Took AP: Spanish 4, Calc BC, Chem, US Hist, Art Hisory, and English Composition this year.
Rank: Roughly 7/693?
UW GPA: 3.98 [B in health before 9th, ew.]
WGPA: 4.4-4.5? I'm not sure.</p>

<p>Classes:</p>

<p>Freshman Yr.
Acc English I: A/A
Acc Alg II Trig: A/A
Geography: A
Biology: A/A
Spanish II: A/A
Choir: A/A
Marching Band: A</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
IDEA English II Acc: A/A [basically Accelerated Plus]
IDEA Hon. Precalc: A-/A
AP European History: A/A
Chemistry: A/A
Impact Leadership: A [Mentoring program excecutive leader, only sophomore allowed in program], To be continued in Senior year.
Spanish III: A/A
Yearbook: A/A</p>

<p>Junior Year:
AP Calc BC: A-/ A+
AP US History: A+/A+
AP Chemistry: A-/ A
AP Art History: A+/A
AP Spanish IV: A+/B [going to be brought up ]
AP English Composition: A/A+
Yearbook: A+/A+</p>

<p>Extracurrics:
-Mock Trial: Prosecution Team Captain My ultimate love! <3 [10th- end of high school]
-MUN: Undersecretary this year, Secretary General next year! Hosted home conference, chair. [9th- end of high school]
-Teens Leading Communities - Self-created club through YMCA: Volunteering, leadership initiatives; have raised money for earthquake refugees, currently sponsoring a college student in China. [10th - end of HS]
-Chinese School [Since 6 years old till Sophomore Yr's Graduation w/ Honors]
~Hosted Chinese New Years Celebration at UCI's Barclay Theater
~Class Lead
-Publications: Assistant Editor in Chief, write for newspaper and also the county's school news paper; been featured as front page article.
-Decathlon: Various awards. [9th-End of HS]
-IMPACT Executive leader (group of 24 students in PAL class that runs the 200+ upperclassmen mentoring program for freshmen @ school)
-NHS: Junior Rep; NHS at our school is pretty hard to get into, if it says anything... [10th - HS]</p>

<p>Awards:</p>

<p>-Ron Clark Essay Contest Winner - Subsequently featured in a show on a Cox program.
-Save me a Spot in College Contest Winner
-Academic Decathlon: 8 Medals; one is 2nd place overall.
-MUN: 8 Awards, all of them Best Delegate or Oustanding Delegate [1st & 2nd Place]
-Californian Chinese Poetry Recitation: 2nd Place
-Torch of Excellence: Biology, Choir, Alg II Trig Acc, Geography, AP Euro, Chemistry, AP Calc BC, AP Spanish IV, AP US (with special recognition), AP Comp, AP Art History [Torch signifies a teacher recognizing 1-3 students in all of their classes at the end of the year]</p>

<p>Summer/ Various Programs:</p>

<p>Freshman Summer:
-Summer Youth Education Conference: @ District Attorney's office for a week
-National Leadership Conference: SDSU [I know it's not really impressive, ahaha.]
-Volunteered at Library
-City Program for City Management (six week class)</p>

<hr>

<p>Sophomore Summer:
-Internship at a K&L Gates at their Beijing Branch for three weeks.
-Internship (Paid) at Applied Medical for a week
-Volunteered for Olympics Sightseeing Program in Beijing
-Library Volunteer</p>

<hr>

<p>Junior Summer (Still waiting to happen )
-AAJA JCamp
-Another Law Internship?
-Something at our City Hall (probably two or three weeks internship)
-Write article on comparison of stereotypes on a global scale. (still in works, haha.)</p>

<p>Random Facts:
Born in China, lived in Germany, Atlanta GA, and now in Southern California.
Fluent Chinese & English, used to be fluent in German, decent in Spanish.
I love to write; I have a collection of some poems at hand :]]
My recs will be pretty stellar, as I'm pretty close with a few teachers.</p>

<p>I've heard that most applicants to Dartmouth ED are athletes... Should I apply ED despite this? =/</p>

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<p>Dartmouth only takes about 400 applicants ED and most of those are hooked. They say it is not an advantage to apply ED. If there’s no other schol youu love I’d throw in an ED application. The Asian from CA pool is an ultra competitive one with many highly qualified candidates, showing the love can’t hurt.</p>

<p>17% of the class is comprised of recruited athletes and many athletic students because of the plethora of outdoor activities, but there are many non athletes.</p>

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<p>Haha, thank you Hmom5… is that just a convoluted way of saying “probably not”? :]] I’m a tough girl; I can handle the unpleasant.</p>

<p>17% of ED applicants or overall?</p>

<p>And being Asian clearly has its downsides x_X</p>

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<p>OP, there is absolutely no reason to take any more SAT IIs unless you are homeschooled.</p>

<p>All that you will accomplish by doing so is convince adcoms that you are the type of Asian student who believes that you can power your way into Ivies with test scores. It’s not a good strategy.</p>

<p>Do take the AP exams for your AP courses. You say your SATI is 2310: what’s the breakdown? </p>

<p>Obviously you are a good candidate at D or any other top school. As always, your challenge is to find a way to stand out from all the other high-achieving BWRKs.</p>

5

<p>hope to see u there in a year :)</p>

<p>u seem like a great candidate</p>

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<p>No, wasn’t saying probably not. My son got in ED last year without a hook and he’s white and from NYC, an eually crowded pool. He was val of a very top private and did have higher scores, but clearly it’s done.</p>

<p>17% overall, most of whom are admitted ED. As are most legacies (12% overall).</p>

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<p>SAT Score Breakdown:
Math: 760
Crit Reading: 770
Writing: 780 (12 essay)</p>

<p>Consolation: Do you think, for me to /stand out/ I should get a college counselor? I’m not sure of the official name, but it’s like, they guide you through everything and help you with essays and are freaking expensive? x_X
And about the Asian stereotype that you mentioned… Would that really be a problem? It’s not like I don’t have ECs…</p>

<p>Haha, thank you Bigweight :] I really really envy you.</p>

<p>Hmom5, with that said, how much higher were his scores? I’m not doing much this summer; I’d probably have a few weeks to spare… I could try and take the SAT again xDDD [eww!]</p>

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<p>Dulcet, let me tell you this. If you don’t get into Dartmouth, you’re still bound to get into a top 20 school. If you signed your name when you visited Dartmouth, then apply ED. I know that these colleges could care less about your interest in them since they have strong yield anyway, but it would ONLY look slightly better to have visted. I definitely think you should apply ED: The scores are there and the work ethic is obviously there. I should also mention that I love your attitude.</p>

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<p>I don’t think you need a college counselor. You have the wherewithal to stand out already, you just need to present yourself well. </p>

<p>You are clearly not that stereotypical Asian score-obsessed kid–and you’ve got great ECs–but if you take a whole raft of unnecessary SAT IIs you are going to make yourself LOOK like one. :slight_smile: You already have scores that are good enough for D. (or HYPSMAWS et al!) Stop. </p>

<p>Instead, I’d suggest you put your energy this summer into pursuing your ECs and writing a couple of great essays that you can use on your applications. To think about how to present yourself well, consider reading a realistic but well-balanced book such as <em>Admission Matters</em>. Or even the one by Michelle Hernandez on “Acing” the Common App. Reading both of them would probably help you a lot and wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg or take untold hours of study.</p>

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<p>Lobzz… Thank you so much :]] Words, though they may be just words, are ever so reassuring! So, are you saying that having visited the school actually matters …even the slightest bit? I was explicitly told by some admissions peeps that that they really don’t regard it, but I hope they do! I’m crossing my fingers that the admissions gods realize what a trying time it was to visit under bitterly cold circumstances. [JK, it wasn’t that bad, and I love the cold :)]</p>

<p>Mmm, Consolation, I actually think I have Admission Matters! Haha. I will try to work on my ECs and volunteer hours too, as I think I still need/ could do with getting some more.</p>

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<p>I usually agree with Consolation, but here I disagree. If you can afford a counselor, get a good one. They can be particularly helpful for kids like you–fully qualified but in an extremely competitive pool so need to truly stand out. IMO, you’re who a good counselor helps most.</p>

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<p>I’m going to disagree with Hmom5; if Dartmouth is your 100% top choice, go ED.
Not necessarily for the statistical edge, because ED doesn’t make it that much easier, but because, as a Dartmouth ED kid, I can tell you that it was probably one of the best decisions I ever made.
Financially, I saved probably a thousand dollars in application fees and SAT score deliveries and CSS profile deliveries that would have been spent to apply to a series of other top colleges. While my friends spent winter break finishing up college apps, I relaxed and went skiing and took lots of naps. When decision time came around in April, everyone else had nervous breakdowns, while I was fine; finding out in December means that even if you don’t get in, you can still act on it; put extra effort into those other essays or maybe add some more safeties, while in April all you can really do is deal with the fallout.</p>

<p>As for your chances, I’d say they’re as good as anyone else’s. You’re definitely qualified, but ivies are always a crapshoot.
As far as counselors go, I wouldn’t say they’re an entirely bad idea. I don’t think you need to go the whole 9 yards, but at least having a professional look over your essays- the LESS they know you as a person, the better, so they can really give you input on it from the same perspective as an adcom.</p>

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<p>I should clarify that I certainly would use a counselor if your family can afford it and if you can find a good one who will give you good, honest feedback on your essays and help you refine your apps–and serve as a reality check–but you don’t need the high-priced “create a candidate” kind of deal that a company like the infamous Ivywise sells. It is possible to get competent counseling for a fraction of that cost, depending where you live, especially if you work out exactly what services you need and limit the time you use. (This depends on the area, the counselor, and so forth.)</p>

<p>I think using a counselor is a good idea if you can afford it, especially if you are at a public HS. Whatever you choose to do, one thing I would be wary of is the oft-cited advice that “the thicker the file, the thinner the candidate.” Yes, it would be dumb to submit 8 recommendations, or recs from famous people who don’t actually know you, or an enormous portfolio…BUT it is probably smart to submit 3 or 4 instead of the required 2 IF the extra ones are from people who know you in a different context than classes. For example, the boss you’ve had at your summer job for the last two yearswho really likes you, the teacher who coaches a major EC where you’ve made a contribution for 3 years, the conductor of the music ensemble you’ve been part of for 5 years, someone from the organization where you volunteered for two months last summer who really observed your work. You get the picture. Adcoms at private Us seem to have the attitude “We will read whatever you send us. Just make VERY sure it is worth our while.”</p>

<p>If you can’t find an affordable, effective counselor, then use the books to refine your application.</p>

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<p>Don’t waste your time hiring a college counselor. You are a very strong candidate. Amp up your international experience in your application, represent your ECs in a progressive and coherent manner and let your passions and uniqueness shine on through. Your writing and your writing ability can be helpful to you here. You sound very cool. Good luck.</p>