chances for Smith

Colleges and Universities A-Z Smith College
1

<p>I'm a senior applying to Smith Early Decision and visiting next month. White female (obviously) at an urban school. As a whole, we're not competitive and we've only this year been given the rating "effective" to put things in perspective. But those of us at the top are as competitive as the suburban districts in our county.</p>

<p>Academic Stats
GPA: My school doesn't give unweighted, but my weighted GPA is 4.03.
Rank: 17/393.
SAT I's: R660/W660/M440 (I considered re taking them, but I'm sticking with them.)
SAT II's: U.S. History + English Literature October 10th. </p>

<p>Classes
Honors: Honors Biology, Honors English
Advanced: English II, Modern World History, Algebra I, Integrated Science.
AP: U.S. History (5), English Language (5), American Gov't (3).
Senior Year: Chemistry (ADV), French IV (ADV), Psych (AP), Enligsh Lit (AP)
*As far as APs go, my school offers a lot of AP art, one AP science, on AP foreign language (spanish, but I am in French), AP Calc, and then the ones I've taken/signed up for.</p>

<p>Awards/Honors
Ohio Scholastic Media Association Journalism award, Superior Column (highest rating)
Honor Roll
National Honors Society
Ohio Speech and Debate State Tournament Qualifier '09 (Congress)
" " Alternate '07 (Impromptu Speaking)
McKinley Senior HS Renaissance Program (honors thing)
Academic Letter/Award 2 years running.
Letter in Speech and Debate.
Letter in Band.
Letter in Choir.
OMEA Solo and Ensemble: Vocal Solo (1), Flute Quartet (1)
Canton Scholars</p>

<p>School Activities
Speech and Debate/officer/all years.
Academic Challenge/JV and Varsity captain/all years.
Marching Band/squad leader/three years.
Choir Program/section leader/all years.
Ladies Choir (after-school thing)/all years.
Musical Theater/all years.
Model United Nations/two years.
School Newspaper/Mckinley Saxton/three years. I've been a section editor twice, and this year I'm Managing editor, which is EiC but HARDER. lol.</p>

<p>Volunteering
Hallelujah Raisers Children's Choir -asst. director/babysitter (joke)
Church Choir - Soprano!
Vacation Bible School leader/helper (since I was in middle school)
CIT at Pleasant Hill Outdoor Camp
NHS</p>

<p>I think that's everything!?!?</p>

2

<p>Starcrossed, as a parent of a first-year, I think you have a reasonable chance at ED. Your GPA looks fine, your class ranking is great, your ECs are outstanding. The only thing that you seem low on are your SATs. Smith is SAT-optional, so you don’t have to submit them if you don’t want. I know you have decided to not retake them, but I’d suggest you either retake them (although it may be too late if you’re applying ED) or not submit them. I’ll be frank; that Math 440 doesn’t look good at all. Some people just don’t test well, especially in math, and you may be one of them! But it’s not the end of the world. Clearly you have exceptional leadership skills and are very involved in a number of meaningful activities and you have taken challenging AP courses. Smith looks at the whole student, so get some dynamite recommendations, write a humdinger essay, and have a terrific interview! Good luck!</p>

3

<p>I don’t think the SATs are so bad. Okay, the math is clearly not great, but I only did 100 points better than you in math and I was accepted. If your grades in your math classes are strong on your transcript, that will stand out more than your low test scores. </p>

<p>I think you’re definitely in the running. Best of luck!</p>

4

<p>Thanks! I know the math score is pretty lackluster, but the likelihood that I will score at or above a 500 is slim. I’m just pretty bad at math; it goes into my working memory, not my long term, unfortunately!</p>

<p>I guess I have a question concerning it though: should I just opt to not send in my SAT I scores and just send in my SAT IIs (depending on how good they are, but I have confidence that I’ll do well)? Is my one section score really going to hurt me that much?</p>

5

<p>Honestly, I would not send in your SAT I test scores. They aren’t required, they’re not given much weight in the process, and your math score is low enough that it might cause them to think twice. Your Writing and Reading scores are high, but then I’m assuming that your grades in English and History are high as well, and they’ll care a lot more about those than your test scores. You don’t need those high test scores to show that you’re a good student.</p>

6

<p>wait-- smith doesn’t require satI test scores?</p>

<p>i thought you either had to take the acts or sats.</p>

7

<p>No, SAT/ACT scores are optional, including SAT I.</p>

8

<p>Smith is SAT optional, has been for a couple of years now. You can submit SAT or ACT scores if you like, but they aren’t required by any means.</p>

9

<p>I mean, it’s not like any of us are on the admissions committee or whatever, but I think you’re a strong student if it makes you feel any better.</p>