<p>I'm pretty sure I'm going to be doing ED to Vassar. If that doesn't work out, I'll probably be shooting for other LACs such as Middlebury, Haverford, Skidmore, and Wesleyan. Please rate my chances, especially for Vassar ED. Thanks!</p>
<p>White Female
Long Island public school
GPA: 98ish unweighted, 104ish weighted
Rank: Currently 1/~500</p>
<p>SAT I:
Old: 800V 710M
New: 800V 720M 670W
Sat II:
World History: 740
US History: 790
Math IC: 670
AP:
World: 5
US: 5
Physics B:4
I'll be taking English Lit, Economics, Government, Bio, Calc AB, and Euro next year. </p>
<p>ECs: (You don't have to tell me, I know they suck)
Newspaper: 11, 12 (News Editor 12)
Class Secretary: 11
Dance: 8-12
Mathletes: 11, 12
NHS: 11, 12</p>
<p>Summer/Work:
Summer before 10th: Pre-College program at Brown University
Summer before 11th: Day camp counselor
This summer: Pre-calculus at community college + part-time job at local shoe store</p>
<p>I imagine my reccomondations will be good, but probably not spectacular. Same goes for essays. </p>
<p>Once again, I'll probably be applying to Vassar ED, and then if that doesn't work out: Middlebury, Haverford, Skdmore, and Wesleyan. Please rate! Thanks!</p>
<p>as for the others...
your "stats' are without a doubt high enough for all your schools but some of those schools like to focus on the "person" aka essays and ECs..
that said, skidmore i'd say is a safety. middlebury is a slight reach..i dont know enough about the other two.</p>
<p>Skidmore is definitely a safety for you. I would say that Vassar is between a match and a slight reach. Vassar looks for very unique and individual people that have something going for them and something that makes them noticeable. </p>
<p>So I would say to choose something in your application and play that up. What type of dance do you do (I see you danced for the 4 years of high school)? Last year I applied to Vassar (and got in) and I am a dancer. I didn't have any other great ecs because I was so dedicated to dance, and I made sure that they knew that. If you feel comfortable enough with your dancing, you could also send a video of you dancing and a dance resume. Even if you are not that serious about dancing, you can see what I mean about picking something and playing it up in your application. Also, writing is important to Vassar so make sure you send them a good writing sample (they ask for a graded paper that you wrote in high school). Hope this helped!</p>
<p>The problem is I'm actually a HORRIBLE dancer, but I stick with it because it's fun and I just love doing it anyway. I'm not serious about it at all, and I don't compete, but I would definitely want to continue it in college. </p>
<p>I actually wrote a rough draft of my essay about dancing. It's centered around the various things I've gained from dancing (perseverance, thirst for new challenges, etc.) even though I'm not a star dancer or whatever. I hope that it's a somewhat unique angle because it's not about all the accomplishments I've made due to being naturally talented in something, but rather about being willing to work hard and get better at something that's truly a challenge for me. </p>
<p>I hope I won't sound pretentious in my essay because I describe how I was used to doing well in school and therefore I gained a certain sense of modesty and humility through dance. Do you think this would be a successful essay?</p>
<p>I think you're an excellent candidate for Vassar and I'd be suprised if you were rejected. Your EC's don't suck; they're decent. And by the way, I think that's a brilliant essay topic. It's a different approach and I like it. Try to add some humor to it if you can.</p>
<p>xgreenmachine, I think you're underestimating the strength of your statistics -- your rank, scores, and grades are all excellent -- good enough to have a shot at Swarthmore, Amherst or Williams if you're interested (not guaranteed of course). Vassar ED appears solid to me.
You're in at Skidmore. The others are match/reaches.</p>
<p>I also like your essay topic. So, now you need to think about the other parts of the admissions puzzle -- your essays and ECs. Choose your recommenders carefully. Your academics are sterling so try to find someone who will attest to your intellectual "spark," your character and your classroom participation.</p>
<p>For ECs, colleges are not looking for a laundry list of accomplishments. One or two serious commitments are sufficient. Also, ECs don't have to be school related. You can develop a passion for just about anything into a meaningful EC, like reading, film, travel. Think about what you like to do in your spare time. Have you won any awards, achieved any personal milestones? I'm not suggesting that you make up interests or in any way artificially pad. You're obviously a smart young woman; you need to flesh-out your non-academic side. In other words, what can you contribute to the campus community.</p>
<p>You can definitely get in. How is Vassar a slight reach? </p>
<p>The median GPA of accepted freshmen students is an A-. She has an unweighted GPA of 98(A+)</p>
<p>90% of incoming freshmen ranked in the top quintile of their class. She is ranked #1 in her class. </p>
<p>The SAT midrange of Vassar is 1340-1470. She scored a 1520. </p>
<p>If an applicant like her is a "slight reach", then what would you have to be to be considered a match? 2400 SATs and 4.0 GPA and captain of 3 sports teams? Come on. </p>
<p>Her chances are very good of getting in, just looking at the information she presented and considering she is applying ED.</p>
<p>Cryptic - Thanks, I'm really glad you like my essay topic! I'll definitely try to get some humor into it because I tend to write that way in general. </p>
<p>momrath - Thanks for your great advice! I'm still thinking about who I want to write my reccomendation. I think the majority of my teachers have a good opinion of me because I work hard and I'm pleasant/non-disruptive in class. However, I can be shy and reserved so a lot of teachers don't know my personality well at all. I might ask my Italian teacher because I've had him for 3 (and definitely going to be 4) years so we have established a good relationship.</p>
<p>As for other ECs, I'd really have to think hard about other passions that could be developed into something more meaningful. My passions would probably be fashion and The X Files, neither of which can really become ECs (I can't design fashion or anything - I just drool over runway collections and whatnot). I think I'll definitely incorporate one or both of these interests into the cool "Your Space" part of the Vassar app which is basically a page or so to do whatever you want. </p>
<p>wraider2006 - While I am confident about my grades, rank, and scores, I think a lot of schools that should be "matches" for me are put into the "reach" category because I don't have high-caliber ECs or other out of school hooks. I hope you're right, though!</p>
<p>ooooh The X-files! Also one of my passions. I have it on DVD and that funky poster in my room and also a life long crush on Alex Krycek. I think that alone should get you into all those schools.
We have similar school lists, and you have much better stats than me and I still think I have a chance--I think you made good choices in schools and most likely most if not all will accept you. I don't know what you meant when you said your ECs suck--they're not 3 pages long, but they definitely show leadership. I don't think you have much to worry about. The only flaw would be the whole white female thing (damn us white females) but I suppose we cannot do anything about it. Except maybe pull a reverse Michael Jackson.
Good luck!</p>
<p>I don't think your EC's suck. Of course, they only contribute one liners in this resume, but you could "play them up" incredibly, espcecially the dance and the newspaper.
Just because you see other people with laundry lists does not give you a legitimate reason to abase yourself.</p>
<p>If you really feel that Vassar is the best school out there for you, do Early Decision. Personally, I feel that you should aim higher but what do I know? :)</p>
<p>Your EC's are decent... all your prospective schools are very reasonable for your profile; Haverford and Middlebury are competitive while still attainable for you, but you'll probably make Vassar ED.</p>