chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Haverford College
1

<p>i'm really into archaeology, and i know bryn mawr has the best program in the country, but i sort of hate the idea of going to an all girls school. i know that haverford and bryn mawr have really close ties, and you can take a lot of classes there and still go to haverford, so do you think that would work? if i take my major requirements at bryn mawr but attended haverford?</p>

<p>of course, none of this matters if i don't get in. so here are my stats, tell me if i'm wasting my time:</p>

<p>-White, female, attends non-prestigious public high school in NY (though we do have a few people go on to Ivy League schools and the like every year) </p>

<p>-Since i'm only a junior, i haven't taken the SATs or ACTs yet but based on practice tests ill probably get somewhere in the 2100-2300 range for SATs and around a 31 for the ACTs. my practice SAT subject tests are usually in the low 700s. </p>

<p>-here's my biggest problem: i sort of slacked off freshman and sophomore year. i took all honors courses and APs when i could, but i didnt try very hard: my grades were all in the low 90s. i only got a 3 on my AP Euro test, and i barely did any ECs</p>

<p>-so, my unweighted GPA is only a 3.8 (by the end of this year it'll probably be a bit higher, but i probably won't get to a 4.0). because of the rigor of the courses, my weighted GPA will be definately over 4.0, but i don't think that'll make much difference. </p>

<p>-I'm in the IB diploma program, and i'm doing pretty well. i'm sure to get between a 5 and a 7 on all my tests. </p>

<p>-i have a few teachers in mind for recommendations: intelligent, and they like me a lot, so that won't be a problem. i'm also a very good writer, so my essay will definitely be good. </p>

<p>-though we do have a valedictorian and a salutatorian each year (which will not be me), we don't have a class ranking, so i have no idea where i am in terms of that. </p>

<p>ECs:
-model congress: 4 years (possibly a board member next year)
-NHS: junior & senior yr (possibly a board member next year)
-Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior class
-newspaper: junior & senior yrs (it was only started this year, though)
-yearbook: senior year
-tutoring: junior & senior year
-certified & active SCUBA diver: 6 years
-worked at the beach for 3 straight summers
-Lots of different volunteering activities spanning all 4 years(how exactly do you list these on college apps anyway?)</p>

<p>so, what do you think? do i have a shot?</p>

<p>also, i dont think they give merit scholarships, so how's the financial aid? coming from a struggling middle-class family, this is sort of the deciding factor.</p>

<p>i know i'm asking a lot, and i really appreciate any info you can give me. thanks!!</p>

2

<p>I think Haverford looks a lot at the application essays to get an idea of your personal qualities. My grades were certainly not the best but my essays definitely did help me. My friends didn’t really like the concept of the honor code so they were quite turned off by it. You should definitely read about it if you have not yet done so.</p>

<p>

To graduate from Haverford, a student must complete successfully the equivalent of four years of academic work, or a minimum of 32 course credits, 24 of which may be taken at Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore or the University of Pennsylvania during the academic year, and eight of which must be taken at Haverford College on the Haverford campus.</p>

<p>Yes you can major in archaeology at BMC.</p>

3

<p>It’s obviously hard to tell, and take all of this with a grain of salt. But I did want to say that I got into Haverford ED this year, and my grades early in highschool weren’t very good. I was in a different situation, I went to a very good private highschool with all my courses being considered AP level if there is an ap to take, or some courses above AP level. But my i did not try hard in school during the first few years, my GPA was about 3.2 after 3 years. It’s not as bad as that number, my school doesn’t even report GPA to colleges, it is only to compare to other students at my school. But the point is that during senior year I realized that college was coming up and did much better at the beginning of senior year, getting mostly A’s. My friend had a pretty similar application to me, but didn’t really raise his grades senior year, and didn’t get in.</p>

<p>All I am saying is that based on the anecdotal evidence of my application, i think that they are willing to look over past grades if they see definite improvement. It also shows that other parts of your application are very important, i had good teacher recommendations because I was always a good participant in class and got along with my teachers, I had very high SAT scores in math and critical reading (they are supposed to care about your writing score a lot less than those two categories, luckily for me), and definetly look a lot at your essay. spend a lot of time on your personal essays, from what I have seen of people I know who applied there, Haverford is not a school that is purely interested in stats. My friend had very high SAT (a bit under 2400) but didn’t get in, while other people I know have gotten in with far lower SAT scores. They do look at your full application.</p>