Chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Boston College
1

<p>Demo:
Gender-Male
Ethnicity- Indian (First Gen)
Location - Illinois
Type of School- Public, average performing school in Chicago suburbs
Major: Chemistry and Pre-Med</p>

<p>Scores/Rank:
ACT: 30C 32 SuperScore AP: 10th-Euro (5) 11th- US (5) 12- Chem,Bio,Calc,MacroEcon
Rank- 32/680 (32/691 at end of last year… 11 people bailed)
GPA- W-5.22 (hoping for 5.4ish at graduation) UW-4.95</p>

<p>Classes:
(Our middle schools did a very poor job at class placement for High School, and despite doing superb 8th grade, i was placed in normal classes while some dunces or future druggies got into honors classes somehow)
<em>Included above in the “additional” info section of common app… hopefully it gives me some fluff</em></p>

<p>9th:
Physical Science 5/5 (S1/S2)
Algebra 1 5/5
World History 5/5
French 1 5/5
English 1 5/5
Keyboarding 4 (was to used to my style of typing so typing how they wanted us to was very diffulcult)
Study Hall
Health 1/Gym 5/5</p>

<p>10th:
AP European History 5/5
Geometry Honors 4/5
Computer Concepts/Speech 5/5
Biology 5/5
English 2 5/5
French 2 5/5
Drivers Ed/Gym</p>

<p>11th:
ICA (Math) 5/5
English 3 5/5
Chemistry Honors 5/5
Physics Honors 5/5
AP US History 5/5
Gym
Computer Programming 1+2 5/5</p>

<p>12th: (Current Grades)
Teacher Aide
Anatomy/AP Macroeconomics 5/
AP Biology 5/
Humanities Honors 5/
AP Chemistry 5/
AP Calculus A/B 5/
Senior Composition 5/</p>

<p>Essay:
Common App Essay has been looked over by several teachers and they say it’s great</p>

<p>Reccomendations:
Great (APUSH and Anatomy Teachers)</p>

<p>Awards:
Academic Letter
Illinois State Scholar</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>North Technology Club (Vice President)
Model United Nations
National Honor Society
National Society of High School Scholars
Volunteer at Local Park District (50hrs… still particpating)
Volunteering at Temple (around 200 hours, had to stop this year due to schoolwork)
Basic 40 NHS Hours + 30 or so extra helping with Charity Events, Concerts
Relay for Life
Applied for a “Mini Medical School” (competitive) research spot
No Athletics (Parents were always busy when i was a little child and couldnt afford the time to sign me up for activites due to the rides situation, etc)</p>

<p>Thanks !</p>

2

<p>Dear Kish93 : First, it is difficult to assess the validity of your statement about middle school placements heading into your High School freshman year. The bottom line in most school districts nationwide is that the curriculum follows a specific order in each subject area and one is not randomly placed heading from eighth into ninth grade. Therefore, offering that description holds extremely little weight. Second, your GPA scoring is assumed to be on a 5.0 scale and a 4.95 is strong unweighted - however, mentioning about your early courses as being “soft” undermines your own GPA.</p>

<p>If you are considering a Chemistry/Pre-Med major, I raised an eyebrow that you have not decided to secure recommendations from either your AP Chemistry or AP Biology instructors. This seems like you tried to get recommendations from “friendly” teachers, not those that could evaluate you for your intended programs of study. At least one of your recommendations should have been from the hard sciences.</p>

<p>You are missing both music/arts and athletics - these are two major school engagement components in an application. The argument that “my parents were too busy” might well be true but it looks to pass the buck as opposed to taking ownership for your own results. This is not an application to review mom and dad - this is completely about you and what you personally have achieved. There is no reason under the sun that you could not have participated in some school athletics if you were so inclined.</p>

<p>I am always hesitant to applaud volunteerism at the 50 hour mark - effectively, one week’s work from four years of High School education. None the less, your combined volunteerism story should be to paint a picture of how you impacted the community for the better - that information is lacking in favor of your enumeration of items.</p>

<p>On the surface, your numbers seem aligned. The questions here are regarding the “completeness” of your application to show a well rounded individual ready to contribute to the greater Boston College community. Thus far, that seems to be a potential gap in your arsenal.</p>