Chances

Colleges and Universities A-Z Boston College
1

<p>Background: BC was my dream school from about ages 8-16. I visited for the first time when I was 13 and fell more in love, toured officially at age 16 and fell in love again. Eventually my interests changed and I decided it was no longer the right school for me – I would have applied anyway, but hadn’t taken the SAT subject tests. At the very last moment (literally, 1 AM the day of the December tests) I decided to take the ACTs; I knew if I didn’t apply to BC, I’d regret it forever. I have now gone back to my 13-year-old self, dreaming once again of being in (or near, rather) my favorite city in the world.</p>

<p>Female, white
Live in New Jersey, attend boarding school in Connecticut (bottom of first tier, definitely a good school with good reputation)</p>

<p>GPA: 3.6 UW (school doesn’t weight)
Upward trend
I have always taken the most difficult course load that was within my power to take; two honors soph year, all honors and APs junior and senior years.
Rank is not reported</p>

<p>SATs: 790 R / 670 M / 800 W
Combined: 2260</p>

<p>ACT: Anticipating a 30-31, but I could be completely off.</p>

<p>ECs:
Choir (9-12)
Varsity Gymnastics (9-10)
Varsity Softball (11-12)
JV Basketball (10-11)
Animal Rights Club (9-12); president (11-12)
A few more clubs, some volunteer work, etc.
(Some of the disruption in sports can be accounted for by switching schools.)</p>

<p>One teacher rec should be outstanding, the other should be very good, counselor rec should be very good.</p>

<p>Legacy: Dad attended BC for undergrad and law school</p>

<p>So 1) How are my chances – any chance of my SATs & legacy making up for lower GPA, average ECs, etc?
2) How much of a difference does a legacy make – I know that it can’t get you in, but it can help you if you’re already a strong candidate – am I a strong enough candidate that it could help tip the scales in my direction?
3) Since I’m submitting ACT instead of SAT IIs, will they place less emphasis on my SATs? They’re obviously the strongest part of my application, so this is a concern of mine.</p>

2

<p>Dear reginaphalange : With the data presented here, I strongly urge you to do a bit more research into your SAT/ACT decision to make an informed choice. Your two-way SAT I score stands at 1460 which translates to an ACT score of 33. Either of these scores places you into the upper quartile of the acceptance pool. However, an ACT score of 30/31 places you at the midpoint or below. Hence, you are painting two distinctly different images of yourself as a candidate. Is your SAT score a high-end fluke? Is your ACT the right scoring range for this student? </p>

<p>You do not want to give a reader any chance to read-between-these lines. Avoid your ACT scores unless you are 33+ on the composite - take the SAT II subject exams. In particular, take one in language as a 550 or better can place you out of that core requirement.</p>

<p>To underscore this point, your three-way SAT I score is comparable to an ACT score of 34.</p>

<p>Many students will say “rank is not reported”. However, your school will generate average ranges to indicate your approximate percentile in the class. You should know that data from your guidance counselor.</p>

3

<p>That SAT is superscored; my individuals are 2120 and 2210, which I hope are close enough to give some evidence to it not just being a one-time fluke. Additionally, my SAT math is low – 670 first time, 620 the second. On the ACT, it is definitely math and science that will hurt me – I am confident in reading and very confident in English. So is it possible they will just view it as me being much stronger in English than math (I have good math grades to prove I’m not completely incompetent), and is that necessarily going to be a really bad thing?</p>

<p>I decided to take the ACT at 1 AM the day of the test. I was having last-minute panics about college, and I realized it was literally my last chance to have the opportunity to apply to BC, so I went and took it standby. I got two hours of sleep. I didn’t know which subjects were on it or anything about it, having never even considered taking the ACT before. I obviously realized it was a really stupid way to do things, but it was a “now or never” thing so I went for it.</p>

<p>This being said, I understand that admissions officers don’t get the pleasure of reading my excuse and have to form their own assumption about the low score. I hadn’t considered it, but I guess I do have the option of canceling my ACT scores and taking the SAT IIs in January – is that too late for BC? I honestly don’t see myself doing well at all on those, though. Also, my ACT score prediction was a complete guess – I have no frame of reference, so I could honestly be completely off; for all I know I’d end up canceling a strong score.</p>

<p>As far as rank – we do receive our decile, but it is not (I have confirmed this over and over) reported to college in any way. I was at a different school freshmen year, but here I was in the first decile sophomore year and second decile junior year. Keep in mind that this is not weighted, and my course load is definitely considered difficult.</p>

<p>Thank you so much for all of your help.</p>

4

<p>Write good essays and I think you’ll definately get in.</p>