Dartmouth, UChicago, Holy Cross and Juniata

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Some background: I'm a graduate of a very small parochial (baptist) school. I applied regular decision to dartmouth for the class of 2009 but was waitlisted. Due to the utter lack of college guidance at my school, i didn't apply to any safety schools. So i've decided to re-apply ED at Dartmouth for the class of 2010, and at UChicago, Holy Cross and Juniata if I don't get in at Dartmouth.</p>

<p>GPA:3.43 unweighted
Class Rank: 1 out of 4 (this really kills my academic index, which would be a '9' with quartiles but is instead a '5')
SAT: Verbal 800, Math 740
SATII: Writing 800, Math II 760, Latin 720</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Soccer-4 years, couple awards, captain in senior year</p>

<p>Volleyball-no awards, school had no team, but pursuit outside of school</p>

<p>Band/Choir/Bellchoir- several band/choir awards, band captain, and our bell choir performed at 2 inaugural balls for Bush in 2004</p>

<p>Trumpet-teacher is first in the Hartford Symphony, and I've won a couple national competitions (in baptist circles, to be sure). - sending a tape in</p>

<p>Piano-finalist a national competition - sending a tape in</p>

<p>Church-15 hours a week, assistant choir director, choir pianist, congregational pianist, orchestra, choir</p>

<p>Community Service: none</p>

<p>Academic Awards/honors:
First in high school for: Math, Science, English and History
Valedictorian (of 4...)
Placed third in Algebra/Geometry in national competition
Placed third in Extemporaneous Speaking in national competition
National Merit Scholarship Commended Student (in CT)
Honor Society member.</p>

<p>Academic activities of note:
I taught myself 2 years of Latin and scored a 720 with only 3 semesters under my belt. (recommended 3-4 years)
I taught myself Algebra II in the summer because the teacher was less than talented and took Calculus I by myself in my junior year.</p>

<p>Lets say I write a good essay, given my verbal and writing scores, get excellent recs from my english, math/music, and trumpet teachers, and have a good interview.</p>

<p>In my year off I am working a 40-50 hour job, taking spanish and maybe french at a community college, playing soccer and volleyball in leagues, attending/ministering at church, translating the Gallic Wars by Caesar and doing as much critical historical reading as I can (I'm working through Heroditus and Thucidydes right now)</p>

<p>I intend to major in business or history and minor in music while taking as many language courses as i can.</p>

<p>So there are my stats. Can I get in ED for Dartmouth, especially if they want me for a couple orchestral groups?</p>

2

<p>I would really try to highlight the uniqueness of your situation in your essay in terms of your school. I think you have a good shot.</p>

3

<p>wow, a class of 4 students? i hope everyone got along...</p>

<p>anyhoo, im not really in a position to give you advice, but if you were waitlisted at Dartmouth before then you certainly have a better-than-average chance of getting in. i do know, however, that you will get into Holy Cross and Juniata. As for Uchicago, it's all about your essays. speaking of which, you should definitely describe your intriguing school situation, and maybe the Latin test thing, which, by the way, is pretty awesome.</p>

4

<p>Czech, I have resisted replying but here goes - your GPA is low for Dart, I think that might have been a bigger problem than class rank. If you have concerns about the college advice you were given at high school, then I have suspicions about how well the counselors explained the grading system at your school, which would exacerbate the GPA problem. I would suggest this -
Write a killer essay about your off year experiences, how much have learned after being waitlisted.
If you are being recruited for a music ensemble, get the trumpet prof on your side.
Talk to whoever wrote your GC rec at school, and (if this is the case) explain to them that a 3.4 GPA is low for a school like Dartmouth, and while it may be prefectly justified by the teachers, it still has to be explained - "first in class, average GPA of entire high school is x.yy, school has strict grading policies, traditional standards, students typically attend X,Y,Z colleges, or no college, we do not offer foreign language, student self-studied" You get the idea, it needs to be a more detailed picture of your high school. YOU SHOULD NOT TRY TO EXPLAIN YOURSELF - it will come across as whining. If you made Bs because you were off doing wonderful trumpet things, then the letter should explain the heaviness of your commitment, but the best explanation is a rigorous, non-inflated grading system. Any self-studying should be reflected in either credit from the school, or an independent exam (AP or SAT II) validating you effort.
Don't say "no community service", at least some of your work at church has to fall under the wider banner of community service, and it is good the way all your interests fit together.</p>

<p>Finally, the only other thing that might trip you up is if courses in your school are being perceived as lightweight (this fits into what I discussed before, please, please don't be offended). You do not have to go to a name school to get into an Ivy, homeschooled students are admitted to Ivies, BUT, small church schools may get a certain askance look, and you may have to prove yourself - consider taking a math course or rigorous writing course at college in addition to Spanish or French this year.</p>

<p>Good luck, my DD is a Dart 09 - she had almost exactly the same SATs, applied ED, from a little known private school far away, she had a higher GPA - so I know your in the ballpark.</p>

5

<p>With interest in Latin, Holy Cross has a strong Classics major.</p>