<p>I hear a lot of talk about how being at a competitive high school gives you an “edge”…well I am a really good student, but I don’t know if I can say our school is really competitive. We do get people into Harvard and Yale and such. Is it about AP classes? Our school offers 9 (I’ll have taken 5 by the end of high school). My GPA is a 99.43…am I in an okay spot for the stats part of my application? If you really want to know my SAT scores, check a few threads down. If I really work hard on my essays and supplemental material, do you guys think I have a shot?</p>
<p>I think as long as you apply, you have a shot.
I can't tell you if you'll get in or not, but you have a shot if you apply.</p>
<p>the thing about competitive high schools is that it's like a name brand. If someone's from Horace Mann, they know that that student has had a rigorous four years of high school and has been academically challenged. They also know the counselors and teachers there, so they know how to take and read their recommendations.</p>
<p>Nobody at my relatively new school has ever applied to Barnard. Few grads go to top schools. Although my school has good academics compared to most schools in my state (rated as one of the academically-worst states by the way), most grads go to mediocre colleges and universities.
Also, it is Catholic - I am not sure what Barnard generally thinks about Catholic schools. I am not the best or second-best student in my smallish class, but I am in the top 10% (we do not rank). I think that the rest of my app is pretty good.
I have danced ballet for many years at a prestigious ballet school. Will this help me?
I'm terribly sorry that I have wandered from the topic a bit.
Thanks!</p>
<p>I think there are benefits and downsides. On one hand, there are advantages because they know how hard your course load was, know the GCs, etc. On the other hand, they have very high standards (in terms of course load, etc.) because they know what kind of opportunities you've had (plus competitive schools tend to be overrepresented in top college admissions).</p>
<p>I think Barnard generally looks for students that have challenged themselves and done well. So they want to see that you have taken the most challenging courses available at your school and they do like to see diverse activities and dedication to excellence (so yes, the work at the prestigious ballet school will be a "plus"). </p>
<p>My daughter was, I believe, the first to be accepted to Barnard from her very large public HS in Georgia. She may have been the first to apply, I don't know. I do know that at least one girl has applied since but did not get in. My d had taken the most challenging courses, was in the top one percent of her class, and had danced pre-professionally for years. I think Barnard does look to accept students from under-represented areas of the country (like the Southeast), so obviously an application from that area might get looked at more closely than one of many from the North East. I am just a mom, though, so I really don't know any more than you do!!</p>
<p>thanks churchmusicmom, that kind of makes me feel better. i'm from a small but pretty competitive public high school in new england (kind of funny how barnard has fewer students from new england than the west!) and nobody has applied to barnard within the last 10 or 15 years. i have tried very hard at many things over the last four years and have done pretty well for myself. i can only hope for the best now!</p>