Chance me for Washington University in St. Louis Early Decision
General info:
Rural small public school in Kentucky
First gen college student
Major:
Computer science or Accounting
Applying for CS in Engineering school I think
GPA:
3.88 U/W
4.0 Freshman & Junior Year
3.64 Sophomore year
Rank:
Top 10 (10.7%)
ACT:
Taking it in a week.
I just took the April 2017 practice test and got a 32.25 composite 35e 28m 32r 34s
Highest subscores I’ve gotten on practice: 36e 32m 34r 34s = 34C
Expect to get 31-34
AP & College Classes:
My school has 5 APs.
AP Bio- Sophomore (3)
AP Lit - Junior(didn’t take)
AP World-Senior
Dual Credit:
College Algebra (fall)
a science or math class in spring
English 101/102
Like 97 percent sure counselor would check most rigorous.
Awards: Just honor roll for school
EC:
Certified Nursing Assistant license (worked at nursing home for 32-40hrs)
French Club Voted in as Vice President (12)
Working out (8th, 9th,10th ,11th, 12th) 2-3hrs a day
Writing and making my own music (10th, 11th)
Future Business Leaders of America (10th, 11th, 12th)
Health Occupation Students of America (10th, 11th, 12th)
BETA club (11th, 12th)
Pep Club (10th, 11th)
STAND(Against drugs) 12th
Might join drama club or academic team
probs will get job soon
Recommendations:
I think they will be pretty good. AP Bio/Bio teacher and I haven’t decided between my accounting/fbla/business classes teacher and my english 9/ap lit teacher.
Essay:
It’s about the death of my mom in 9th grade and the effects of it and how I’ve grown.
Parent of a WashU freshman here-you have a compelling story to tell and the school wants to attract more first generation students. Do your best with the essays.
One concern might be that most WashU applicants have already taken their standardized tests.
My advice would be to apply for Arts and Sciences. I don’t see any ECs related to Engineering, but taking classes across the different schools is relatively easy.
Good luck and hopefully you will be a member of the Class of 2022.
@Hamurtle How does you kid like Washu so far? I already have my essay written, but I am just working out the perfect one. I still have September and October for ED. But that’s it. There’s not any science type of clubs at my school. I tried learning programming before on khan academy, but I don’t think that’s enough to be an EC. I’m not interested in any of the Arts and Sciences majors. Only biology, but if I did bio I would dual major in CS so I could do stuff like bioinformatics. CS is only in the engineering department. I have taken accounting 1/2 in hs and I like that so I think I may want to major in accounting too.
@validation my son loves the school so far (he applied ED as well). He did mention that there’s a lot of reading for his classes-he’s a dual biology/history major. It’s pretty common to see double majors at WashU, even across different schools. My son knows someone in his dorm who is a CompSci/History dual major.
You should try to visit and possibly set up an interview to demonstrate your interest as well. As I mentioned, WashU is trying to encourage more first generation students to appy. If you get in, you will be challenged/stimulated by the classes, but unlike most competitive institutions, it’s a very collaborative environment.
“3) Working out (8th, 9th,10th ,11th, 12th) 2-3hrs a day
4) Writing and making my own music (10th, 11th)”
Working out is not an extracurricular, that’s more of just an activity such as watching TV or hiking. Neither is writing music unless you’ve published something. Don’t list probably statements are those could be inaccurate. Honors Roll is also not an award as that’s a baseline achievement that everyone who is applying to WashU with any chance has. Also, you haven’t taken the ACT, and you’re asking for a chance thread? In addition to that, if you’re in 12th grade as stated in the quote above, you have had to take the ACT. I know several people who applied to WashU this past year and they’ve all had 3 leadership positions or higher, so just expect that there is going to be a ton of applicants with higher qualifications (EC wise).
NOTE ABOUT ESSAY: Never write your essays about the 3 “Ds”: Death, divorce or disease. These are all super common writing topics and it is tragic that your mother passed away, but to officers it will sound like a pity party.
Do not take this as a rain on your parade, just want you to be informed before making a college decision.
Assuming your ACT comes out as predicted, you have a chance. Wash U’s acceptance rate is below 20% so it is unpredictable about which qualified students they will pick.
I disagree with post #4 above - making and writing music is an EC even if you haven’t published or recorded anything. Working out I wouldn’t list, unless it feeds into a structured activity. Your certified nursing assistant certification is notable as are your hours spent working in a nursing home. There are scholarships (by separate application) at Wash U that emphasize service and leadership. So those might be worth investigating in your case.
Death of a parent - it’s not so much about the topic but how you write about it and what it says about you. If it’s done well, it can work. You might want to show it to a trusted teacher to see if it works.
Showing interest is important, as you probably know. Also run the numbers to determine if Wash U will be affordable for your family.
Finally, teacher recs from junior year generally are preferable to those from teachers you had as a freshman as they are more current with respect to your college readiness.
@mamaedefamilia I know for sure I will get 30+ but not sure how high it will be. Just depends on the test. Yeah, I think writing music is an EC, and I’ve recorded stuff and posted it on soundcloud and had a lot of listens. Washu is affordable. I think I am going to visit during fall break and I might do an interview. My teachers that I am considering are my freshman year English/AP Lit(junior year) teacher or Accounting(junior and senior), marketing(senior), & fbla advisor(10,11th,12). Then I’m definitely asking my bio/ap bio teacher(9th,10th).
@duke1021 Who says to never write your essay about those things? Also how come you had a 26 ACT at the beginning of August then 2 weeks later you have a 31?
@validation My brother made that post as he is a junior in high school who wants to go to Yale (not happening), you clearly see I don’t want to go to Duke on my chance thread, so please don’t even try it. Also, everyone says that look it up on any college prep sites. Why are you on this website if you’re just looking for reassurance you’ll get in, considering what I’ve seen, unless someone gives you a positive review then you’re looking for their supposed “flaws”. If you’re so confident that what you’re doing is good for the school (guaranteed 30+ and strong ECs) then why are you on this website, once again.
@duke1021 Lol why would you put your brother down and say he can’t get into Yale? And on the post, you said “I want to go to Penn” If your brother made it, wouldn’t he say “I want to go to Yale”? Your other posts say Penn is your top choice, so obviously, you made that post. Or maybe it was your brother again? Don’t try to lie with another lie. And I never said you wanted to go to Duke? What’s wrong with Duke anyway? “Everyone” not true. Everyone that posts chance me threads are looking for reassurance they will get in. When have I ever looked for someone’s flaws? I just looked at your page to see if you were a student or parent, then you had contradicting information. You say you have a 26 ACT, then 30, then 31. I never said I have strong ECs.
“@suzy100 Washu gives 100% demonstrated financial need so it’s definitely affordable.”
Well, “affordable” is in the eyes of the beholder. What a college decides what you can pay and what you can actually pay might be vastly different. So I’ll ask again: did you run the NPC for WashU? Did you ask your father what he can pay for your college education?
Also, as far as recommendations go, most schools want a teacher rec from someone who taught you in junior year in a core subject: math, science, language, English, social science. I think only the AP Lit teacher fits that description.
Hi @validation , not sure if you have been tweaking your essay or if you’ve applied already. Just wanted to say that I think the essays have to be genuine, and writing about death or disease or anything can work. But I would definitely run this important of an essay by a trusted teacher regardless of what the topic is. For example, I have a son who is now a sophomore in college. He wrote about his OCD in his Common App. essay. How it happened, how he reacted, how he came through it. How it sparked interests into fields of medicine, etc. He had his SAT tutor give it a read, and she recommended playing down some of the examples he gave because not everyone understands OCD. She didn’t want an admissions rep. to think that he couldn’t handle school - to misunderstand him. He reworked it, made sure it wasn’t something that would scare or intimidate an admissions person, and it worked perfectly for him. It was genuine, and it was truthful, but he had to be aware of what he was sharing. Good luck to you.