<p>Name: Brittney
Grade: Rising senior (Class of 2013)
Average HS GPA: 3.3
Freshman GPA: 3.3
Sophomore GPA: 3.7
Junior GPA: 2.9 (It should be noted that this past year my school switched grade systems and became an IB (International Baccalaureate) school. This change in grading system was very confusing to me and most of the time I didn't even know how to read my scores. However, over my junior year my grades increased as well as my Commitment to Learning, another aspect of IB grading... The reason my overall GPA is low in my Junior Year is because I started out quite poorly (I got only 4's) and I was able to gradually increase my grades. One thing I love about IB is that instead of averaging the grades, the teachers take the grade you seemed to accumulate the most and put that as your final grade. As for your semester grade, they use the highest grade you received in each quarter.)
*Also, all said GPA's are un-weighted</p>
<p>Freshman schedule and grades:
Algebra 1: 85
American Lit H: 84
Art: 95
Gym: 98
Global International Studies: 87
International Ambassadors: 96
Physical Science: 90
Spanish 1 B: 89
Technology 1: 91
US History: 90</p>
<p>Sophomore schedule and grades:
Algebra II: 91
Art: 89
Biology H: 87
Emerging Civil Societies: 90
Emerging Voices: 90
Gym: 96
Geometry: 94
Spanish II: 95
Technology 1: 85</p>
<p>Junior schedule and grades (IB scale: 3= C- or C, 4= C+ or B-, 5= B+, 6= A- or A, 7= A+)
Anatomy and Physiology: 4 CTL: 5
AP Language and Composition: 4 CTL: 5
AP World: 5 CTL: 7
AP Euro: 5 CTL: 7
Chem H: 5 CTL: 5
Gym: 6 CTL: 6
Lifetime Health: 7 CTL: 7
Pre Calc and Trig: 5 CTL: 5
SAT Math: 6 CTL: 5
VHS Psych 1: 1 </p>
<p>Senior Schedule:
Spanish III H
Advanced Mathematical Decision Making
AP Lit
AP Bio
AP Human Geo</p>
<p>SATs (I plan on retaking them in October):
Critical Reading: 590
Math: 530
Writing: 580
Total: 1700</p>
<p>Extracurricular Activities (Time spent and officer positions (and how long held officer positions):
Student Abolishtionist's Stopping Slavery (SASS) - 3 years and Treasurer (2012-13)
Model UN - 2 years and Treasurer (2010-12)
NHS - 1 year and Treasurer (2012-13)
Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) - 1 1/2 years and possible co-presidency
Worked a local restaurant (Mei Tzu) - 1 year.</p>
<p>Awards:
3rd place District winner for National History Day - Display
St. Michael's College Book Award
Honor roll for 2 1/2 years</p>
<p>With my list of academic and extracurricular records what are my chances of getting accepted to St. Michael's College for the Fall of 2013?</p>
<p>****Emerging Voices and Emerging Civil Societies in my Sophomore year are both Honors.</p>
<p>****I would also need a pretty good chance of attaining a scholarship as well…</p>
<p>Hello BrittneyB2–</p>
<p>It looks like you’re taking a great selection of courses your senior year. We definitely like to see a student taking a solid selection of core courses and especially like to see honors and AP courses.</p>
<p>You will want to show us as much of your senior year as to show that your junior year’s performance was indeed an anomaly. Our regular action deadline is February 1st. That way, we’ll have an opportunity to see your first semester’s performance and provide you a chance to turn it around to improve your odds of being admitted.</p>
<p>The number one recommendation I would make is to schedule an interview to discuss your junior year and provide an admission counselor an opportunity to ask some questions to be able to best counsel you on your specific situation. Go to the [Schedule</a> a Visit](<a href=“Explore & Discover St. Mike's | Saint Michael's College”>Explore & Discover St. Mike's | Saint Michael's College) page of our site to learn how to schedule your visit to campus (extra bonus, with an official visit to campus, you’ll be able to save your $50 application fee!). </p>
<p>If you cannot come up to visit, contact us at 800-762-8000 and ask to speak with the counselor who recruits in your territory (they’ll likely be the person reviewing your file!). </p>
<p>Let me know if you have other questions.</p>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p>Jeremy Brown
Assistant Director of Admission
Saint Michael’s College</p>
<p>Hi Brittney!
My name is Susanna and I am going to be a member of the class of 2016. Saint Michael’s was my first choice of school, but I have to admit, I was very nervous about getting accepted. My grades were pretty good, my overall GPA for my highschool career was about a 3.7. I had taken AP and honors through my entire high school career. I was involved in many clubs and organizations, but my SAT scores were pretty low (about a 1550). I was nervous about both getting accepted and getting money to attend (I have a twin brother, so paying for 2 college educations is tough on my parents). Thankfully, I did get in and I recieved a fairly large scholarship.
I would reccomend going to look at the school as well as taking a tour. Also, I would start constructing an essay before you start high school again. Once you start getting homework and you need to study for tests, you tend to put your college apps and essays on the back burner. Leaving things as important as college apps to the last minute is not the greatest of ideas! Also I know that SMC has great student bloggers. I wouldn’t hesitate to look into those blogs as well. I am sure that you should have no problem getting in! Hopefully I will see you next school year!</p>
<p>Thank you fo getting back to me so quickly! I actually will be heading up there shortly (in a bout a week) to go on a campus tour. Also, if I were to call that number for a recruiter in my area, would they come to the school to interview me? In additon, beside get my GPA up in my senior year (which trust me, I intend on doing) would an increase in my SATs score help as well? And if so, by how much would you say? Thank you so much for all your help!
P.S.
When recieving the Saint Michael’s Book Award, I was told that I am eligible for a schlorship of 5,000- full tuition. How much, would you say, is normally given to kids who recieve this award and apply to St. Mike’s? Also, do you think my list of extracurricular’s will also help my chances of being admitted?</p>
<p>Also, Susanna,
Thank you so much for your advice! My mother actually keeps telling me to do this same with college essays, however, I know when school starts up again, they will have tons of meetings with the seniors regarding financial aid and college apps. My original SAT score was a 1540, but I retook them again and recieved a 1700. However, I want to retake them and HOPEFULLY get an 1800 or over. Thank you so much for your kind advice and I hope to see you this following fall! :)</p>
<p>Hello Brittney–</p>
<p>When you call to speak to the Admission Counselor for your area, you will primarily be doing so to introduce yourself and express your interest in Saint Michael’s College. They will also be your primary contact for questions if/when they arise. We’re not always able to visit every school in the fall, but do our best, so it will be an opportunity to find out if they’ll either be visiting your school or at a college fair in the area.</p>
<p>That’s awesome you’re going to be visiting us soon! If you want an interview, rather than hoping for one in your area, call to schedule one for your visit since you’ll already be here. But, keep in mind, we don’t require interviews so if it doesn’t work out, don’t fret! :)</p>
<p>Regarding your scholarship amount, the average scholarship receives from St. Mike’s is right around $23k.</p>
<p>With relation to your question about extracurricular activities, they’ll certainly help, but a student’s academics are the number one most important factor when considering a student for admission. But we want to see a student is engaged in their school, community and/or a job during while in high school.</p>
<p>Since you are a Book Award winner & will want to be considered for that additional scholarship, you’ll need to apply no later than our Early Action II deadline, so I would focus on that deadline instead of the Regular Action deadline I mentioned in an earlier post. </p>
<p>Hope I was of some help— but definitely call to schedule your visit to St. Mike’s! 800-762-8000</p>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p>Jeremy Brown
Assistant Director of Admission</p>
<p>I will try to do that! 
One I thing I worry about though about scheduling for early action is that admissions won’t be able to see my grades for my 1st semester (maybe first quarter) which I intend on increasing. I do want to get as much money as I can get but I don’t want to risk my whole admissions on a chance of one scholarship… What should I do?
Also what would you say, would be the possible SAT score to get, overall, to be accepted to your school (keeping in my mind by low junior GPA and the need for scholarship money). Thank you so much for getting back to me right away! :)</p>
<p>Sounds good.</p>
<p>If you want to be considered for the Book Award Scholarship, you must apply by December 1st at the latest (Early Action II). So we’ll likely only have your first quarter’s grades but before we send our EA2 decisions out in February, we’ll receive your first semester’s grades.</p>
<p>We like to see students in the 1700 range and higher. If a student falls below those scores, we recommend they don’t submit them to us.</p>
<p>Look forward to seeing you on campus!</p>
<p>-Jeremy Brown
Assistant Director of Admission</p>
<p>So, if I apply for EA2, will seeing my first semester grades improve my chances? I just don’t know if I’d want to risk my admissions chance for one scholarship… I’m sorry I keep asking these questions but, would you say, if I got my first semester GPA up to a, say, 3.4, would I have a good chance of getting in, EA2 or regular decision?</p>
<p>BrittneyB2-- To ensure you don’t miss out on your additional scholarship award (unless $$ isn’t an issue), apply for one of the EA deadlines-- if you want to apply later, go with EA2 (Dec 1) so we can at least see your first quarter.</p>
<p>BUT, make sure to provide a thorough explanation (without excuses) of what happened in your junior year to cause your GPA to drop as well as what skills you acquired to prevent that from happening in your senior year as well as in college.</p>
<p>If you have further questions about your specific situation, it would be best to contact us by phone so we can better serve you. If you would like to speak with the person who coordinates the Book Award program, you can contact Aislinn (pr: Ashlynn) either by e-mail: <a href=“mailto:adoyle2@smcvt.edu”>adoyle2@smcvt.edu</a> or by phone at 802-654-2825 or you can call me at 802-654-2913.</p>
<p>Take care and best of luck as your school year starts.</p>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p>Jeremy
Assistant Director of Admission</p>
<p>Jeremy,
I actually FINALLY went on a tour of St. Mikes today. I absolutely LOVED your school. It is now my #1 school most definitely. I also spoke with Michelle Teegarden who answered all of our questions about the Book Award. And that sounds good! I am still unsure whether to apply for EA2 or regular… But I will figure it out when it comes time. I just want to apologize if I annoyed you with my questions! I really admire how quickly SMCAdmissions gets back to me and I really appreciate it. I asked a few questions about another school on this site and it took them a week and half to get back to me. I really do love Saint Michael’s and I hope I get accepted! :)</p>
<p>So glad you had a chance to visit us!! Our campus and the Burlington area really are pretty fantastic. Unless someone experiences it, us saying it over and over again won’t do it justice! Also, thank you for your kind words about our responsiveness. We like to take advantage to connect with interested students in any way possible.</p>
<p>I really would recommend you stick to applying EA2. Your first two years were solid, your 3rd wasn’t the best, but we’ll see your first quarter grades. That paired with a strong statement explaining your challenges in your junior year, your visit to campus and your strong interest in Saint Michael’s College will all help in your favor.</p>
<p>I would just hate for you to miss out on that additional scholarship potential.</p>
<p>Also, definitely get in touch with Aislinn since she is in charge of the book award program.</p>
<p>Enjoy the rest of your summer and best of luck!</p>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p>Jeremy</p>