chances????

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wesleyan University
1

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>im a rising senior at a prestigious high school (stuyvesant) in new york city. my average is an 89 (nothing to be impressed about) and most of my courses have been geared towards humanities. i've taken three AP courses so far (english language, spanish language and us govt) i didnt do that well on the exams (3's) and im taking two more AP courses for senior year (english lit, ap calc AB). </p>

<p>my regents for math and science arent spectacular (90's for math, low 80's high 70's for sciences) however, my english and history regents are better (95+)</p>

<p>my SAT combined is a 2020 (yet again, unimpressive; 690V, 700M, 630W)
im going to retake my SAT IIs this fall and im also taking the ACT this october.</p>

<p>my EC's are a little better though</p>

<p>FRESHMAN YEAR:</p>

<p>-volunteered at local hospital about 110 hours
-volunteered for a saturday sports summer camp as an instructor's assistant for volleyball. participated in sports day and attended field trip.
-joined the REd Cross Youth Group </p>

<p>SOPHOMORE YEAR:</p>

<p>-was part of an empowerment program called Chinatown Youth Initiatives (CYI). Participated in a series of leadership and empowerment workshops revolving around Asian American issues such as media representation, social justice, self and community identity, politics and government, writing and the arts...etc. We interacted with community leaders and attended an Asian film festival. i was also part of the yearbook and participated in their annual Chinatown Beautification Day as a team leader. There were over 350 people in attendance for that event and it was a record success for CYI.
-in school, i also became part of my school newspaper and wrote for the sports department. this was also the year in which i became part of the jv volleyball team at stuy.
-i also created my own awareness club in school regarding falun gong (and had a pretty hard time with it; i've been turned down by a couple of teachers when i asked them to be the club advisor since they didnt want to be involved with something that is viewed as a "cult" and i've also had my club meeting signs vandalised. there was a lot of negativity revolving that club and it's still ongoing.)
-Volunteer for Buddhist Temple during saturdays (cook lunch for senior citizens and chat with kids and elderly after lunch)
-second year at Red Cross</p>

<p>JUNIOR YEAR:</p>

<p>-part of Oxford Health Plans' SIP Program (Summer Internship Program).
I worked as a teacher/counselor at a summer day camp (worked from 8am-6pm, mon-fri). it was pretty rigorous work. a lot of responsibility and dedication was expected of me. i basically did the same things an elementary public school teacher did ( made lesson plans; taught math, english, science and history. planned recreational activities, gave proper attention in case of nosebleeds, insect bites, bruises, scrapes and falls. made up my own tests for my students, made up own homework and classwork and graded everything, took my students to breakfast and lunch, dismissed them, addressed parental concerns, supervised kids on field trips...etc.) there was a lot expected of me and it was a learning experience for both my kids and me. the SIP program also required the attendance of several community service events and training workshops in order to graduate (in which i met all requirements so yayyy =]).
-volunteered again for the saturday sports summer camp as instructor's assistant again. i was also the yearbook photographer and became part of their dragon boating team.
- appointed as Special Events Coordinator at Red Cross YG, and then this summer, i was promoted as the Special Events Executive Board Member for Red Cross YG
- second year as part of school newspaper staff
- contributed to school's departmental arts and literary magazine
- second year as president of my own club</p>

<p>i have a pretty good teacher recommendation from english teacher but a pretty average one for science. i plan on continuing with Red Cross and my club as well as writing for school newspaper for senior year. For Red Cross, I'm planning a new fundraiser for the 06-07 school year and i'm really hoping to see it happen.</p>

<p>I know I'm pretty average academically. What are my chances?</p>

<p>What are some other reaches, matches and safeties? Please give some suggestions! Help of any kind is appreciated! THANKS!</p>

2

<p>someone PLEASEEEEE help.... :(</p>

3

<p>I actually didn't see the falun gong reference until some Williams troll pointed it out on their board (just kidding about the troll part, Ephman. :p)</p>

<p>Seriously though, if you mention Falon Gong, any school you apply to is going to want a fuller explanation, i.e., what is it? And, why shouldn't it be considered a cult?</p>

4

<p>Yes johnwesley, i know falun gong is pretty controversial and that schools will probably want to know more about my involvement regarding the issue. My guidance counselor asked me questions very similar to those you just mentioned and i gavee her my responses and my opinion regarding the issue. I think she incorporated my answers into the guidance counselor recommendation already...</p>

5

<p>johnwesley, when you said colleges would probably want to know more about falun gong, in what form will they inquire me about it? through a phone call? a letter asking for more info? an interview? what if my guidance counselor already wrote about my view of falun gong in my guidance counselor recommendation?</p>

<p>thanks!</p>

6

<p>Unfortunately, you're almost locked into writing something about it in your essay. An interviewer, unless you have one on campus, is not going to have your application in front of them and is unlikely to bring it up. And without more information about it, I'm of two minds as to how proactive you should be. I don't think another letter from a school official is the route to go either; the one from your guidance counselor is more than enough. Whoever reads your application is already going to have some preset attitudes about falun gong just from what they've read in the paper. Your job is not so much to convince them that falun gong is this great thing, but to convince them that there are legitimate reasons why an impressionable 16 y/o would want to know more about it. That's about all really.</p>

7

<p>Just to round out my reply a bit, no, the adcom is unlikely to contact you directly concerning anything in your application. This is part of what makes the process a little bit like playing tennis in a thick fog. All they are going to know about you is what is right there in front of them in that admissions folder.</p>

<p>If you haven't already, you MUST get a copy of a book called "The Gatekeepers", by Jacques Steinberg. It's about the Wesleyan adcom but a lot of its insights can be applied to adcoms in general.</p>

8

<p>To tell you the truth I don't know why you would want to raise the spector of controversy by even mentioning the Falun Gong. No school compels their applicants to mention every group they currently or ever belonged to. You have a solid resume that may get you into this school why create an issue when you don't have to. If you get in you can always touch base with the appropriate school official to see if there is some school policy that would prevent you from starting a Falun Gong group on campus. As Wesleyan is quite an open society politically seeking diverse people and ideas that seems to be the more sensible route for you to take.</p>

<p>Dana's Dad</p>

9

<p>danalynne, I really don't want to raise the topic of falun gong in my application. I don't want to try to convince the Wesleyan adcom to share my view about it either. My guidance counselor just asked me about it in my SSR interview because i listed it as one of my extracurriculars and I think she wrote something about it in the guidance counselor rec. This is the reason why I don't feel compelled to explain my activity involving the Falun gong persecution. However, johnwesley said that the adcom might want to know more about it and i wanted to know by what means should i make that happen. I know WEsleyan is an open society politically and that's one of the reasons why i want to go there. </p>

<p>I just don't know at this point whether I should continue elaborating about my involvement with falun gong through my essay or whether my guidance counselor's rec will suffice since johnwesley and danalynne both said different things. hmm... =T</p>

<p>I really thank you guys for your suggestions, comments and advice :D</p>

10

<p>It's really hard to comment further on the topic of falun gong without more information; this might be one of those occasions when it makes sense to just post a P.M. to me. Feel free. :p</p>

11

<p>A slightly different topic, but to do with admission chances. Anyone know the difference of acceptance at Wesleyan between ED I and II?</p>