Hey everyone, I appreciate everyone making the time and effort to take a look at my information and giving an honest thoughtful opinion on what my chances are at a place like Bowdoin, Williams, or Amherst (I am especially interested in Bowdoin because it is test optional and that is the weakest part of my application). I recently got rejected EDII from Middlebury and EDI from Vandy so I honestly dont expect a lot from these other colleges but also dont quite understand why i’m getting shafted by the college process…I kind of thought my application was solid besides my scores, but I guess not good enough. Let me know what you think. I appreciate your help a ton.
White Hispanic Male
applying for financial aid
GPA Weighted: 4.35
GPA unweighted: 3.75
Academic Honors:
AP scholar with honor- 11
High Honors - 9, 10, 11 (expected 12)
National Spanish Exam Silver Medalist 9,10,11
I go to a well respected private college prep high school that has fantastic relationships with these schools, and a history of sending kids there, but of course people getting rejected as well. The course load I took was almost as challenging as it gets with my school, and as for grades, I earned A-'s in all honors courses excluding a B+ here or there in some of the school’s most challenging classes (AB Calc, AP Bio, Pre-AP Spanish).
Scores:
ACT: 30
Highest single test:
English 32
Reading 31
Math 26
Science 32
Other test score sent:
English 29
reading 36
math 21
science 31
Super scored: 31.5 (Not sure how colleges will round that)
SAT: Not important lol (didnt submit)
AP (school doesn’t offer a ton–honors and electives are more their style for a more flexible curriculum):
Bio- 4
English Lit: 5
APUSH: 4
Span Lang: 5
SAT II (only reported 2):
Bio M- 770
US history- 710
Writing and Teacher Recs:
Overall I think I have really thoughtful and telling essays–my counselor agrees as far as I know. My common app essay was about how i was in a summer program in the country my grandfather emigrated from and he passed away while I was there. We’re a super close family and so it talks about what this meant to me and how I struggled with the decision to stay in the country or go. It may not sound like much but it’s well written and my voice definitely shows through. I think that it shows my values and how I truly adore and hold my family above all else because I eventually chose to come home early from this life changing trip.
As for supplementals and recs, my counselor always tells me how I have creative and ambitious essays. My counselor is also my advisor (homeroom) and he has known me since I was a freshman. We click. We talk about books and movies all the time, and I see him as a mentor and someone who I look up to dearly. He was also close with my brother so he is close to our family. My teacher recs came from two very special relationships I have with my Eng lit teacher from junior year and my APUSH teacher from the same. They are both fantastic writers and I trust them to do me justice.
Activities and Leadership:
Class rep for student council (treasurer) elected by peers 2 years
Section editor for school news paper, in charge of overseeing other editors and was selected by former leadership through application process.
Club Leader of student lead tutoring club volunteer time early in morning to tutor and choose which candidates would be the best fit
Environmental Club Leader
Equestrian-- ridden my whole life and I adore it. I plan to pursue it in college and devote a lot of my time to it.
Intern for Senator and campaign for election
summer program abroad (the same I wrote about in my common app essay) selected through application and interview process
Fundraising co-chair organizing for non profit a fundraiser making a record breaking amount of money for the event’s history raising over $5,000
Peer mentor senior who mentors freshman and was chosen through extensive application process
Honor Council representative for one year
Okay. Wow. Now that I’ve given you pretty much my whole common app i would love for you to give me some feedback. Let me know what you think about my chances at these colleges. I really hope to get into one or more!