Junior Year Schedule:
AP Euro
AP Stat
AP Comp
AP Micro
AP Macro
Honors Physics
Honors German
Honors Trig
Sophomore Year:
-Honors English
-Honors Algebra 2
-Honors Chem
-German 3
-AP Human Geo (5)
Extracurricular:
-Marching Band (4 years)
-Jazz Band (3 years)
-Volleyball (4 years-2 on varsity)
-Economics Challenge
-Academic Challenge
-Volunteering at community events such as duck derbies, fairs and packing lunches for poor inter city children
Accomplishments:
-State Champion marching band
-Championship winning jazz band
-County/2nd in state/national qualifying academic challenge team
-State qualifying econ challenge team, getting fifth in state and receiving a perfect score
pretty impressive accomplishments coming from a low income family. I’d recommend applying EA if you can.
See if your GC can weave in your low income status into his/her rec. (‘Windhundle is a accomplished young student who contributed to our school despite being from a low-low income family (qualifying for free lunch)…’
Dear Windhunde : Very interesting profile and all the more impressive to see your music accomplishments given your low income status. Normally, one has to be involved with individualized lessons on a regular (weekly) basis in order to be part of championship or State recognized programs.
Bluebayou’s advice regarding an early round application resonates with me. If you can demonstrate a true passion for Boston College in your application, some of your profile features might offset some “numbers” weakness. Once the current round of Class of 2019 wait list issues clear (sometime around end-June), have your guidance counselor contact BC directly to guage how your application might be received. Certainly, only good advice would be offered.
So, what do I mean by “numbers”? A three-way SAT score of 1950 places you squarely at the bottom of the middle 50% of accepted applicants - in other words, you are right now at the 25th percentile. You will surely want to investigate a second sitting for the SAT I and possibly the ACT as an alternative. From this perspective, Boston College will be a stretch school.
Your unweighted GPA (3.99) demonstrates that you are getting A grades everywhere - so, be absolutely sure that you are taking the strongest coursework possible. (Avoid the perception that your schedule is a softball compared to what might be available.) During one of the Q&A sessions when I was on campus in 2007, the question of GPA vs. course level was raised and the admissions team was very honest : they want to see a candidate taking the hardest courses offered in their curriculum first, grades second. In other words, they clearly stated that a B+/A- in an AP course was worth more than an A grade elsewhere. That said, you still need to maintain a Top 10% rank in your High School class as 85% of accepted BC students come from that grouping.
To that end, consider an AP Science course (Chemistry or Physics), an AP English option, and potentially AP US History. An AP Calculus AB course is not out of the question, but without a precalculus preparation, you might find yourself in deep water.
Thank you so much for your response! Also, I think I intend to major in economics if that would matter at all. But as for my next year schedule, I have AP Calc, AP Physics, AP Psych and Honors English scheduled. Unfortunately, I also have to take a bunch of required classes like personal finance and PE, so I cannot fit many other AP courses I wanted to take like AP Gov or AP US. Also, once this year is over my GPA should go up even higher as I will finish with an A+ in both economics and A’s in every other on of my classes. Also, I think I will take the SAT again and hope to improve. Would you say if I can get it up past 2000, that would definitely make me a solid applicant? Thank you.
@bluebayou is that a good idea regarding “See if your GC can weave in your low income status into his/her rec.” Does “Need blind” mean Admissions doesn’t see the financial aid application or does it mean they will apply no negatives to the applicant for needing financial aid? I don’t know the answer, but I suspect if OP’s advisor did that for a letter to a need-aware school such as Tufts, the OP may not get in.
Dear Windhunde : If AP English is offered, that would be highly preferred to either AP Psych or Honors English. Personally, I do not know what the difference between an A+ and an A would be against a 4.00 GPA scale, but if an A+ is valued over 4.00, that seems to undermine what the weighting system for honors and AP programs attempts to achieve.
Coming back to the SAT scores, the middle 50% range is 1960-2150 for the entering Class of 2018 (started in 2014-15). Remember that a 2150 is the 75th percentile - your call as to whether a 2000 would provide sufficient comfort for your profile against the pool. My suggestion has always been to press the 2100 level with a pair of 700+ scores on the SAT II subject exams. On the ACT, you really need to be targetting 32/33+ for the cumulative score.
I asked what “need blind” means. I think it means they don’t see your financial aid forms in admissions. I’m not sure it means if you have an essay or letter you include with your application saying you basically need a full-ride to attend that they are going to ignore it, or better yet treat it as an extra benefit to your application.
Need blind at Boston College means that ability to pay is never taken into account in making admission decisions. This includes when guidance counselors explicitly state a need for substantial financial aid.
With the end of junior year my stats have changed some, so I was curious if that may benefit me at all if I intend an econ major. My gpa as of now is a 4.81 weighted and 4.002 unweighted. I also finished AP Econ with an A+ overall. As for the sat, based on my latest scores, I have 710 CR, 690 Math and 610 Writing, giving me 1400/1600 and 2010/2400. I was just curious if perhaps now I may have better chances. Also, would my higher gpa also balance out my not so impressive sat?
Thank you
Dear Windhunde : All your incremental statistical changes are positive and continue to show that you are pressing hard to improve your profile. These are positive attributes in which you should be taking pride. Of course, an A+ is any course is noteworthy, particularly one with an AP curriculum, but the ultimate gatekeeper for AP success is the AP Examination itself which will be an important measurement regarding the strength of your A+. An AP score 5 shows that your A+ is well earned; an AP score of 3 will raise eyebrows on the true meaning of an A+ and what it means to master material.
You should be turning your attention now from the incremental numbers to something more important : your essays. Take a look at the most recent Boston College supplemental essays and start thinking about your own personal responses that answer the question “Why BC?” in the context of those topics. (You will find that I have written about the “Why BC?” tag line many times here on College Confidential.)
I am concerned that your participation in AP English Composition should have enabled you to achieve more than a 610 on the SAT Writing Section. That score flags the potential of your writing a very average, non-impactful essay. You certainly want to avoid an essay (exaggerated point here) such as “I did this and it was really a lot of fun and I learned a great deal and I made a number of friends and it made me better ready for Boston College and I really want to attend and …”. Remember having impact does not mean that you needed to have cured world hunger, but rather that you can express your personal passion on a topic and how that can more broadly relate to Boston College’s “men and women for others”.
So, the next step in your journey is to start thinking about your essays, working on topics both in general and within the context of the BC supplement. Continue to work on your writing and do not think that your first draft … or your tenth draft … will be your last. Continually look for your passion and be sure that you are able to articulate your views. Do also avoid the desire to have teacher after teacher review your essays which will only muddle your words. Use this summer vacation to start building those ideas and themes : use the Fall term at High School to get the wordsmithing in place.
My AP scores that I just received were 5 on macro, 5 on micro, 4 on euro, 4 on stat and 3 on comp, so comp is English definitely has been one of my weaker academic skills. Thank you so much for the advice though.
Hey guys!! Since you have been such a great help for me through this process and I know you will help kids after me, I just wanted to give you an update so you can continue your great, accurate advice. I was accepted in to CSOM!!! Thanks for everything!