<p>Hey, all, I'm a junior in high school whose number one choice is Reed. Call me insecure (what high schooler isn't around this time?), but I wanted to post a couple essentials and see if I had any chance of getting in...
Cumulative GPA (unweighted)thus far: 3.72
No class rank
SAT: 2120 (M 700, CR 720 W 700)
SAT IIs: Pending (Planning on taking French w/listening, English Literature, Math I) But I took a French one (no practice) in a half hour and got a 780, repeated a second time.
AP tests: Scores coming in July, took French Lang/Eng Lit this year, feeling 4s/5s. Next year I'm taking AP Psych, AP Lang, AP Calc AB, maybe AP Spanish Lang.
Clubs and such: Founded/Co-President of Freethinkers Club (basically we discuss anything from philosophy to politics, including current events and cultures), Editor-in-Chief of School's literary magazine, National French Honor Society, Peer Tutor, Creative Writing Club, Babel (see Freethinkers, but with only culture), and Link Crew Leader (Freshman Orientation).
Summer programs: Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy (French) (4 straight weeks of French without English, placed in highest level class there), Carleton Summer Writing Program
Some distinctions: I've placed in the top 5 in the nation and state since freshman year in the National French Contest (1st in the state this year), 88th percentile this year in National Spanish Exam, NMS Semi-Finalist possibility, Possible winner of National Committee of Teachers of English Essay contest, and some school awards that aren't too important xD.</p>
<p>I think you have a great chance. Freethinkers club is an EC that will probably impress them a lot. I applied with very similar stats, but more APs, no significant language, and no EC’s. Write a good essay and show interest and I think you’ll get a spot.</p>
<p>We’re doing college essays in English class right now, and I’m writing mine about my “journey” (I feel so pompous using that word) through my atheism, and how I’ve incorporated a more emotional point of view coupled with a logical, empirical analysis of the world. I swear it’s not because Reed is the most atheistic school in the country ;P.</p>
<p>I guess I could have taken AP Environmental Earth Science, but I didn’t want to continue in science. 3 years with mostly A’s (Honors Physics I just couldn’t get a real hold on, finishing with a B/B+) is good enough for me. But, I AM filling up the extra two periods with Creative Writing (1 semester elective, admittedly,), Modern Poetry (1 semester honors), and a Voice Class (it sounds lazy, but it’s so I can actually learn how to sing…I’d like to participate in my school’s musical talent show. Plus, the diversification doesn’t hurt). </p>
<p>But, thanks! This is a real confidence booster.</p>
<p>And then work on your Why Reed. The stats are nice, but the Why Reed is key. Your stats and EC’s and omg-my-awards-let-me-show-you-them do not get you admitted. Your passions and interest and vibe will get you admitted, and that’s not about a list of stats. </p>
<p>I apologize if I sound harsh, but when I see Reed applicants do the whole chance-me thing with a list of stuff, I wonder if they “get” the Reed vibe, which is in part about being able to set <em>all</em> of that aside at some point. Are you prepared to let go of your stats? Are you prepared to stop identifying with them, being able to list them? When you can do that comfortably, you will be a strong candidate. I would <em>love</em> to see you (and other “chance me” folks) post as a paragraph, no stats, talking about your strengths and weaknesses without numbers and lists. </p>
<p>I’m sorry if I came across as one of those preppy all-about-the-stats kids, heh. I’m not the girl in my grade who was storming around because of her SAT grade…which was a 23 something or other. I just figured doing a check-up on my stats couldn’t hurt; I mean, they’re still 20% of the process.
Well, what these stats don’t show is my passion (no, love,) for anything and everything related to language…how I taught myself sophomore French grammar the year before because I was bored with freshman French…how I taught myself middle school Spanish in two weeks (this past August), then skipped freshman Spanish, and then even still got in the 88th percentile on the national exam. They don’t talk about the giddy disposition I take on whenever French class rolls around, and how it’s doubled when I have a French test; the way I’m constantly comparing and contrasting the three languages I know; the way I transfer all of this love into (foreign) poetry. They also don’t talk about how sublime my visit to Reed was, and how it concreted my absolute desire to go there.
^Not that I wrote that to look good, but I figure that’s more what they’re looking for :p.</p>
<p>These various criticisms (obsessed with stats, pontificating) are not helpful. The first one appears to have disposed the candidate toward self-justification, which the second one has labeled negatively. So what will be the effect of the second criticism? There is no evidence that it will be positive. </p>
<p>To the candidate: Please, just be yourself. Don’t let these criticisms alienate you from your sources of strength. I mean this very seriously. How to accomplish this? Learning to sustain oneself in an unfriendly, uncomprehending environment is difficult and awful. You remind me of my younger self. Languages! The ecstasy of soaring in the universe of the word. To me, your description of yourself seems excellent bordering on superb. Verbal! Reed needs more like you. Let yourself shine. And apply to other schools, as well. My experience of Reed was that it valued the hard sciences more than the liberal arts. Maybe it has changed. If these criticisms are typical of how you would be viewed there, though, I think you would be justified in preferring to go elsewhere.</p>
<p>(Y’all wanna talk about pontificating? I happen to be writing this post from Rome.)</p>
<p>Anything can happen. If reed is the school you want to go to, prove to them that you belong there and STOP obsessing over every little detail of the application process.</p>
<p>You. Show that your “stats” don’t represent your intelligence and character. I think the weighted average that you are referring to (five categories of 20% each) only determines a small amount of applicants, who score very well. The large majority (and this is purely speculation on my part) is determined by taking the “competitive pack” and examining the applications in depth, holistically. For example, I applied without any extracurriculars…but still got an acceptance because my reed-like character shone through in the rest of my application.</p>
<p>edit: this was in response to a poster asking about if an applicant with a low GPA could get in…He deleted his posts…</p>