Hi everyone I’m new to College Confidential but I’m having a really hard time deciding if it is worth it for me to ED to Dartmouth or if the stretch is just too big.
I attend a competitive private high school in Florida.
GPA: 3.83 UW / 4.4 W
My school weights the GPAs sort of weird but I’ve taken every honors course possible besides Spanish in freshman year. I took AP Spanish Lang, APUSH, and AP Lit my sophomore year and those were the only ones offered besides AP comp sci. I am now In the IB program and I already took one of my IB tests a year early in math and I received a 6 out of 7.
AP Scores:
AP Lit: 4
AP Spanish Lang: 4
APUSH: 4
AP Psych: 5 (I didn’t take the class but I took the test)
I will be taking AP Calc AB this year since I finished an IB course a year early.
ACT:
33 (33 reading, 35 Englsh, 29 math, 36 science)
I’m retaking this to try and boost my math score but it’s complicated because of COVID.
SAT:
Not submitting
SAT II:
I wasn’t able to sign up because of COVID.
Rank:
N/A my school doesn’t rank
ECs:
Founded and president of a chapter of a national business club at my school
- I’ve competed for this club and moved on to states twice
Varisty soccer all 4 years
President of the psych honor society
Member of NHS, NEHS, and national history honor society
completed a collegiate internship this summer in my area of interest (I am the only high schooler to have been accepted in this internship)
I’ve taken a community college course in my area of study with no credit
This summer I completed a 6 credit community college course in physics because I can’t take it at my school
consistent volunteering with a tutoring organization in my area and I am holding a sort of leadership role with them this year
I am an independent competitive distance runner and have won a few races in my age group
I have a blog about one of my disabilities (it’s not popular at all lol)
I have been a tutor since freshman year for a few different students (not volunteering, I get paid)
I have had two jobs throughout high school, one lasted for about 8 months and I just started my new job recently, they take about 15 hours a week
I have other minor ECs but these are the main ones I’ll include.
Major: Biology
I have a a few areas of my application aligning with this, such as my internship, taking the hardest STEM classes available to me, having my bio teacher write me a rec, and the state level competitions I mentioned earlier
If there is anything I didn’t include, let me know. I generally don’t know if I have a shot at Dartmouth. I feel like my ECs are mediocre and my GPA is not good. Please tell me if it is worth EDing. Thank you.
Disclaimer: I’m an incoming First-Year at Brown who did not apply to Dartmouth, however I know a student going there.
I highly recommend applying to Dartmouth ED as they fill ~1/2 of their class early, your test scores are within Dartmouth’s ranges (class profile here: https://admissions.dartmouth.edu/apply/class-profile-testing ,) and it’s your top choice. However, you shouldn’t apply ED unless ALL of the following are true:
You LOVE the school and would 110% attend if admitted. Note that Dartmouth's in Hanover, which is 1 hour+ from large cities: so it's imperative that you would enjoy living here for the next 4 years.
You're extremely confident that you can present a well thought out and crafted application by the ED deadline of November 1st.
You and your family can afford Dartmouth if admitted (run the financial aid calculators, if applicable.)
For Dartmouth and other similar schools, after Admissions is certain that you can handle the coursework, they look to the rest of your application (essays, interview, letters of recommendation etc.) for evidence that you’ve take advantage of your school’s resources (coursework/extracurricular activities/essays) and will take advantage of Dartmouth and the D-Plan in-specific to achieve your goals. Obviously, you or any other student could achieve those goals elsewhere, but it’s up to you to show, not tell, how Dartmouth is the BEST place to do so. The D-Plan is the aspect of Dartmouth’s curriculum that sets it apart from the rest, so definitely make sure to describe how you will maximize its potential to the fullest (Study Abroad in the Fall? Work in the Spring? School in the Summer?..the possibilities are endless.)
I would just add one caveat, that you don’t need to talk about the Dplan specifically to explain why Dartmouth is the best place for you, but your answers should be Dartmouth-specific.
Other things that make our school what it is is our excellent foreign studies program (best in the ivy league), our fun traditions (like first year trips and corny singing and dancing at the lodge for all students), our close community, undergraduate attention, and outdoor opportunities (due to our location) among others.
I personally didn’t really mention the Dplan in my application, and I got in. But your answers should definitely be Dartmouth specific.
When you get your reasons together, consider this; if you could replace Dartmouth with Princeton or Williams and they would still make sense, then those should not be the ones you’d highlight in your application.