Chances for ED1

Colleges and Universities A-Z Claremont McKenna College
1

Please use the following scale:
safety -> low match -> match -> high match -> low reach -> reach -> high reach

GPA UW: 3.4 W: 4.06(There is context for low GPA)
ACT: 29 (Hoping to bring up to 31 or 32)
Class Rank: Top 20% in a class of 1,000 students
Freshman: Honors Algebra 2 B/B+ Honors English A-/A- Honors Biology A/B+, AP human Geography A/A, Spanish 2 A/A
Sophomore: Accel English B/B, Accel Chemistry A/B+, AP European History B-/A-, Accel Spanish 3-4 B+/A-, Honors Geometry A/B+
Junior courseload: Junior English Accl, AP Physics 1, Precalc Honors, APUSH, AP Spanish, Accel Anatomy and Physiology
Senior: World Masterpieces accl, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Psychology, AP gov, AP Calc BC
AP scores: human geo(4) euro (4)
Extracurriculars:
-Clubs/organizations
NHS (11,12)
Future Doctors of America(maybe a board position) (10,11,12)
HOSA (VP of Stevenson HOSA, Northern Area Vice President of Illinois HOSA) (11,12)
Debate team (9,10,11,12)
Math team (9,10)
Freshman Mentor Program (11,12) (Director Of Recruitment, Advisory Leader, Rookie Trainer)
Brain Bee(President and Founder) (11,12)
FBLA(11,12)
Peer Tutors (10,11,12)

Awards:
First place in Health Career Display Event at HOSA state
National qualifier for HOSA NLC
Sixth place in Public Health for HOSA state
Barbara James Service Award
Jefferson Award

Leadership in general:
Give a Thon classroom leader (10,11)
Project dance team captain (10)

Athletics:
Soccer(9,10,11,12)

Out of School:
Hosted an event with Alzheimer’s association (presenter and important part of fundraising process) (my own event)
Research at UChicago in neuroscience (somatosensory cortex) (soon to be published)
Research at Rush University(1 paper (not published), another paper (4th author on published paper)
Volunteer at local medical center (300+ hours)
Extraneous U-Give hours (164+ hours)
NSLC at UC-Berkeley
Presenter of Science at the Museum of Science and Industry (51 hours)
Shadowed a neurosurgeon for 127+ hours in the OR watching live surgeries at RUMC
Paid Internship at MSI-Chicago
Research at UCSF in neuro-oncology. (Activity that will be done this summer)
Various neurosurgery conferences
Attended Brain Awareness Day and DNA day events at Conte Center for neuropsychiatric genomics.
Attended Brain Awareness Fair at Northwestern University
ICCCTSO leadership conference

High School Type: Public, 5th in Illinois (US news), 2nd in the nation(k12-niche), 128 in the nation (US news), large student body (4,100 students)

Recommendation Letters:
AP Physics teacher: 8/10
AP Euro or APUSH teacher: 10/10
Counselor: 10/10
Additional Rec from Neurosurgeon I shadow at Rush: 9/10

2

ECs are great, but I have a hard time seeing you get in with a 3.4 UW GPA and 30 ACT … CMC has about the lowest LAC admission rate in the country.

3

Let’s make it simple. Any college with an admit rate like CMC’s is a reach for anyone (there are far more applicants who are qualified than there are spaces for them). If you think you might be qualified, and you’re good at soccer, and you intend to play in college, make sure you contact the coach.

4

Yes, ECs are indeed stellar, and since CMC loves students with such great ECs, you could have a fair chance to get into it. But this doesn’t make CMC the college that completely overlooks the academics. Make sure you explain yourself on essays why you wasn’t able to focus a lot on maintaining good academic records. Your desire to know more about the world could be a good excuse for low academics.

5

Anyone else?

6

Exactly what @otisp said. Anyone who says they’re a match for a college with a 10% accept is delusional.

I’d say it’s a mid-reach with your ECs and academics. Stevenson is a great school (I go to one of the Hinsdale Central/New Trier/Northside/Stevenson/Walter Payton/IMSA), but 3.6UW isn’t the strongest academic record.

Good luck man!

7

@HSAnon1997 would my chances increase if I show a lot of demonstrated interest?

8

Sure, always. ED if it’s for sure your first choice, etc.

9

Bump

10

Bump round 2

11

Bump

12

Objectively, there’s no getting around the fact that your ACT and GPA are low for CMC, which had a 9.76% acceptance rate last year. Your ACT is in the bottom 25%. All you can do (besides bring up the GPA and ACT) is hope that the subjective factors, your EC’s, essays and LOR’s, carry the day for you. But since those are so subjective, no one on CC can really tell you anything except that it’s a reach and give it your best shot. Talk to the teachers who are going to write your LOR’s. It will help if they can emphasize your leadership skills and dedication to giving back. You say there is context for the low GPA. Talk to your GC about how to explain this so that it is well presented and doesn’t sound like making excuses. It’s probably more convincing if the GC explains it. Work on the Why CMC part of your application. Last year you could upload an optional video so think about that. Good luck.

13

I think CMC is not within the realm of possibility. That’s not to say you don’t have an impressive resume; it is first rate and you’ll succeed at whatever college you attend (and I include CMC). But CMC is ridiculously competitive regardless of whether you apply ED or RD. Frankly, ED gives you very little advantage unless you are an athlete or related to a big donor and/or big donor alum. The higher ED acceptance numbers are really reflective of those hooks. Peal those away and you’re left with a negligibly better chance at ED than RD.

You’ll be competing with lots of exceptional applicants with unweighted 4.0 (or close to it) GPA, tons of AP courses; 33+/2150+ SATs, and well-rounded ECs. Unless you are in the upper 25% of admitted students in GPA/test scores, you won’t get in absent some exceptional circumstances that don’t seem to apply in your situation.

I invite you to peruse the ED1 and ED2 threads from the most recent class. Look at the applicants who were rejected. There were some amazing resumes and lots of sad faces and bewilderment. I know; I was in that group.

14

I was admitted this last year and while your EC’s are definitely above average, you fall below the 25% median in both GPA and ACT. I was a splitter with a GPA similar to yours but a ACT above the 75% and EC’s far worse than yours. Your EC’s will definitely put you in the running but when the school is only accepting roughly 1 in 11 students, it’s easy for them to find somebody with better stats and similar EC’s. Work on getting your ACT up since that is obviously more realistic than fixing a GPA in your last year and you’ll have a much better shot. You can PM if you have other questions about the application process (i.e. essays, interviews, etc.).

15

@AquaVermin The GPA is low b/c of my extremely competitive high school and transferring to that school from a non competitive one. My ACT does need work to be honest. Im trying to bring it to a 31 realistically. I have interviewed and ir went great. I also have shown A LOT of demonstrated interest. My Why CMC essay has so many on campus examples.

16

If that’s the case with your GPA, then I’d focus heavily on offsetting your understandably lower grades with a median ACT (which last year’s CDS says is a 32). Aside from that, if you’ve interviewed, written a convincing “Why CMC,” and keep up with your EC activity then there’s really nothing left in your control. One more thing to consider, if you were to apply ED, I believe the transcript you send will have your first semester grades. This could be a plus considering yours is lower than what they normally see. If they are higher than your previous years’, then it shows that you’re on an upward trajectory and continuing to take challenging courses. I know that in my case at least, that 7th semester’s worth of grades may not have raised my cumulative a whole lot but it added a numerically insignificant indication that I was more prepared for CMC level classes than my GPA would demonstrate. Even though ED shows extreme interest in a school, I’d at least consider applying RD for the above reasons.

17

@AquaVermin Applying RD puts in a pool of highly qualified applicants in which 8% are accepted. A student intern in the cmc admission office told me to apply early.

18

If you look at the unhooked acceptance rate of ED v RD, there’s not much difference. They won’t release that publicly but they know it to be true. What they also won’t tell you: the “unhooked” acceptance rate is about 3% at CMC. At even more selective schools (Ivy’s, Stanford, etc.) it’s lower still. There’s only so far “demonstrated interest” gets you. Every year, CMC, Pomona, and other highly selective LACs reject exceptional applicants who apply ED, have on campus interviews, visit the campus, have an overnight stay, and generally say and do all the right things.

I really don’t want to sound pessimistic, but I’m asking that we all be realistic. When someone asks “chance me,” they should expect and honest range of opinion.

19

@84stag I’m a first gen college student and currently talking to the coach of the cmc tennis team.

20

By my count you have 7 “chance me” threads and you have never before mentioned being first generation or playing tennis. You obviously really want to apply to CMC so go for it, but be realistic and consider it a high reach. Have plenty of match and safety schools. You have great EC’s but I feel you are putting too much weight on the encouragement of a student intern in the admissions office. How can it possibly help you to post more chance me threads? Go work on your essays and study for a re-take of the ACT.