chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Washington University in St. Louis
1

<p>Pardon the interruption from someone who lives on the parent's side of town. D has got was she says is her final list. What are her chances at Wash U?</p>

<p>D is a rising senior from a relatively small, relatively poor, rural district in Texas. </p>

<p>2160 New SAT, 730CR, 740Math, 690W (same sitting), 32 ACT w/ a 36 Math. Currently 1/140. 4.64w,4.0/4.0uw.</p>

<p>Toughest courseload available including several college level (and EPGY BC Calc). School only offers two AP's for junior year, 4 in Lit and a 5 in AB Calc. 7 best in school awards: for Math (3 times), English (2), Physics (1),and Chemistry (1). (all honors sections, or AP)</p>

<p>4 year Varsity Basketball starter, 2 year Co-captain on Area Championship Team. Extensive Summer Basketball experience every year.</p>

<p>Marching Band and Symphonic Band Section and Line Leader on State Ranked Band (2 years officer, member all 4), State Qualifier -UIL Solo and Ensemble as a Tuba Player in a Bass Quartet.</p>

<p>Girl's State delegate, and minor elected official.</p>

<p>Regional Sixth Place Math UIL Competition and Math Team Co-captain (2 years)- District Champion (1), 3rd place large Invitational Math Tournament. </p>

<p>Hospital Volunteer (100 hours), community volunteering , school volunteering including tutoring at risk kids and hearing impaired kids for several hundred hours.</p>

<p>Part-time work: Raises sheep and goats of her own for her spending money. Lives on a ranch and performs general ranchhand activities for additional pay.</p>

<p>Normal boring Student Government, club, or organization stuff that probably won't make it to the app.</p>

<p>Rec's should be very good to exceptional, essays will be good.</p>

<p>Thanks, 6 more to go.LOL</p>

2

<p>Okay, another all-around great student. What do you expect us to say? She's not lacking in any area. One, I would get an interview with your local admisions representative, not a graduate student or local alumni. You want someone that has a good chance of being there when they are deciding the application. Visit, tour, and talk to the admissions people to show interest. Your D is a candidate for being waitlisted because WashU doesn't want to be her backup. Show them this is a top choice for you. Finally, of course, an essay that shows another side, something they will remember. Not just something about one of ECs or another example of how great she is.</p>

3

<p>St. Louis is a painful but doable weekend trip so we will be able to get her up to an interview. D doesn't have HYPSDMC-XPalidocious on her list, so how do we get across that they are the top of the ladder for her? (she had Penn but it didn't make the cut.) She has had some correspondence with the basketball folks, will that slop over to admissions as interest or is that separate? I wasn't fishing for compliments as I've certainly seen kids with better stats get slammed down on the mat pretty hard in RD at similarly selective schools.</p>

4

<p>Yes, she not a "shoe in" but I'm sure she'll get into one of her choices. To make them know your interested, develop a repoire with your local admissions person. This is the person who would visit your D's school or hold a hotel banquet for local schools. (Good schools have counselors that also know these people well and can vouch for students) Get an interview with that person either on campus during your visit or when they visit. It is a very lax interview, but your D should be ready with questions that reflect your enthusiasm for the school. Not just praise, but say, "I heard WashU has a great advising program, can you tell me more about it?" Or, ask if you can contact a current female basketball player/student and ask about their experiences. Also, email them with any questions you might have. Some people recommend an extra essay about why you love the school. But, if you don't make it work, it just leaves them with an impression of a pandering suck-up. Also, early decision or EDII always shows them they're at the top of your list.</p>

5

<p>


Am I to infer from this that "pandering suck-up" is a bad thing?</p>

<p>And the only way an adcom for Wash U or any other top college would ever end up at our school would involve zip-ties and a black hood.:eek:</p>

6

<p>No, your to infer that if its not done correctly she will not stand out in any way. The admissions people read through thousands of apps, and the "i love washU" essay will not impress them, especially after reading 10,000 just like it. After two minutes with your D's apps, someone will most likely say, "Good grades, good scores, but a weak, impersonal and cliched essay, has little to add to the WashU community" You don't want that happening, do you? You would rather have someone step up and say, "I've met and talked to this girl on several occassions, and she seems very enthusiastic and informed about WashU."</p>

7

<p>mike, it was supposed to be funny. Obviously I missed. I get it. Pandering suck-up equals bad. Thanks again.</p>

8

<p>Sorry, i'm pretty tired. I think what i said is good advice for anyone, for any school. Alot of people just go through the motions at the last minute and significantly decrease their chances. Also, judging by your, "some ECs won't make the app" comment, your on the right track. You probably want to have the top 3 ECs listed in bold (Sports, Service, Research, Honors ect..) each with a subsection of an explanation/description. Not just a laundry list. They admin people should be able to read the app, look away, and remember the top ECs/accomplishments easily.</p>

9

<p>Tried to send PM but your mailbox is full. Please clear so you can receive new PM.</p>

10

<p>lol... :) good applicant. however, if u no show interest, you won't get in till hell freezes over (pardon me).</p>

11

<p>does showing interest in an athletic team at wash u equal showing interest in the school as well?</p>

12

<p>If they show interest in you; yes. But if they are'nt that enthusiatic about you, probably not going to help alot.</p>

13

<p>they won't be enthusiastic about you until you're crazy about them. Then comes the massive bombardment of newsletters and letters. I get around 3-4 from WashU each day. once you get these barrages of messages, then you know that WashU knows that you are interested in them. :)</p>