Chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z College of the Holy Cross
1

<p>Hello all! I am a white, male, rising senior from northern Mass and I attend a competitive private school that sends around 15 kids a year to Ivies and then many others to top 20/LACs, etc.</p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0 unweighted, 4.6 weighted
Rank: 2-3 / 370</p>

<p>Freshman Year:</p>

<p>English 1 Honors- A+
World History1 Honors- A+
Spanish Honors- A
Algebra 1 Honors- A
Biology Honors- A
2 required CP Religion semester courses- A+
Percussion 1 Accelerated (level required) - A+</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:</p>

<p>English 2 Honors- A
World History2 Honors- A
Spanish 2 Honors- A+
Geometry /Alg2 Honors- A+
Chemistry Honors- A
2 Required CP Religion Semester Courses- A+
Percussion 2 Accelerated ("")- A+</p>

<p>Junior Year</p>

<p>AP English Language- A
AP (2 year program) United States History- A+
AP Calculus AB- A
AP Physics B- A
Race and Gender Honors- A
Spanish Honors 3- A+
2 required Accelerated Religion Courses - A+</p>

<p>Senior Year Schedule:</p>

<p>AP Biology
AP Calculus BC
AP English Literature
AP Spanish
AP US History
Ethics H
World Religions H</p>

<p>Sats: (2230)
Math- 740
Critical Reading- 740
Writing-750</p>

<p>SAT subject tests:</p>

<p>760 Spanish
740 Physics</p>

<p>Extra Curricular activities:</p>

<p>-Freshman/JV division 1 soccer
-Varsity division 1 soccer (Junior/ Senior years)
-Junior/Senior Student Leader of "Beverly House" (Community service program)
-Spanish club (4 years)
-Sophomore Retreat coordinator/ leader
-Eagles Wings Freshman Orientation Planner/co-leader
-XBSS (one of six students chosen from grade to meet multiple times a week to plan new activities for to the school that will honor its charisms)
-Co-Leader of School-wide Immigration Initiative designed by XBSS
-Ecuador service trip
-Spanish exchange program
-7 years of drum lessons- 3 years of African Hand drumming (studying specifically the djembe), with multiple ensembles
-100 hours of community service for/with NHS
-Tons of little jobs around campus- i.e. filming videos for the admissions office, going to prospective student meetings at houses, blogging, etc.</p>

<p>Jobs:
Summer day camp counselor, in charge of recreational activities at Camp (3 years)
Soccer referee (2 years)</p>

<p>Awards/Recognition:</p>

<p>Harvard Book Award
AP Scholar
XBSS nomination (one of six students chosen from 370 kids)
Headmasters list three years (a- average or above)
Campus Ministry Award
National Merit Commendation
National Spanish Exam Gold Medals: 2009, 2010
Academic Excellence Awards:
2008: Religious studies, English and history
2009: Religious studies, English, history, chemistry, mathematics
2010: Overall Academic Excellence (English, religion, Calculus)
National Honors Society (3 years)
Foreign Language National Honors Society (3 years)</p>

<p>Recommendations:</p>

<p>2 (I hope) awesome recs
counselor rec I assume will be good, I know him decently well.</p>

<p>essay is deep, about how my experiences in Ecuador connect to my daily life</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>You will most definitely get in. You have a marvelous record. Please visit the school in person. It seems like a great match given your service work and religious studies interests.</p>

3

<p>I just visited campus with my D in late July. Holy Cross is sat optional, as you probably know, so they state upfront that students only submit their scores when those scores can help them. Your SAT scores exceed those submitted by the incoming class, so your scores can only help you. They do require an interview and are looking for kids who are serious, mature and ready for college and students who will fit in well with their rigorous academics and student body. I cannot see how you could accomplish so much and not be the kind of student HC is looking for. Congratulations on your excellent high school record. </p>

<p>I can tell you that we found our student guide to be well-spoken, very smart, academically driven and open to fun. He was an excellent spokesperson for his school. The campus is stunning. We went to visit because it was close to where we were vacationing and thought it would be great to see somewhere else beside BC. Having seen both, I am much more impressed with HC. I know it doesn’t have the popularity or cache of Boston College, but IMHO, it is the superior school. Students go to BC for the thrill of studying in Boston and there is no denying that Boston is a great place to go to school. Students would choose Holy Cross because of its strong academic programs and faculty, and the opportunities that cannot be offered by a large institution. My D’s head has been turned by UND, but I seriously hope she considers Holy Cross!</p>

<p>Good luck to you in every endeavor.</p>

4

<p>I agree you sound like you have a great application. My daughters loved HC when visiting and although they loved Boston, didn’t like other things about BC, freshman housing, not guaranteed housing, the diversity seemed less than HC and it wasn’t as “intimate” to them.
The students we have met that went to HC all seemed to love it and they have many grads that keep in touch with the school long after.
Good luck!</p>

5

<p>Thanks everyone!</p>