<p>Hello. I have a son who is a rising senior at Boston college and will be graduating in 2013. My daughter is a rising high school senior looking to apply. She has been told by her guidance counselor that her brother’s attendance at this school, despite not having yet graduated, gives her an admissions advantage. However, other sources have disagreed. Does the fact that her brother will be graduating from Boston College next year in fact give her a better chance of acceptance?</p>
<p>It can be a small plus factor, but will not outweigh low gpa, test scores, etc. Low-stat sibs can end up on the WL, and be pulled later.</p>
<p>here are her stats…applying for communications and/or english major…does she have a realistic chance?</p>
<p>3.55 (weighted) GPA - rigorous catholic school
2030 SAT (writing: 700 cr: 730 math: 600) (first scores)
4 years math (alg.I h, geometry, alg II/trig, precalc)
4 years english (I honors, II honors, AP english language, AP english lit)
4 years french (I honors, II honors, III honors, AP)
4 years PE
4 years science (bio, chem, anatomy honors, physics)
3 years history: (west civ honors, US I honors, US II honors)
4 years electives (art, journalism, creative writing, film production)</p>
<p>EC’s
4 years varsity cheerleading (1 year captain)
leadership postion at school’s television studio (3 years)
2 years film club
2 years editor at school newspaper
literary staff member at school’s lit magazine (2 years)
member of culture club (3 years)
member of traffic safety squad (2 years)
2 summers working at grocery store
3 week creative writing workshop at columbia university</p>
<p>considering applying early decision to BU…but would like to know if she has a realistic chance at BC before locking herself into an early decision…she would prefer BC over BU if given the choice</p>
<p>I was a part of the admissions committee at on of the HADES schools (the top prep schools in the nation) and got to read apps and participated in committee reviews. The competitiveness and process mirror those of the Ivies. Let me tell you what I know.
If a sibling was applying to the school, we had to have NOT liked them in order for them to not get in. Unfortunately for you, both kids will not be attending at the same time, so it is much different. You would have to be a large donor for the sibling thing to have any influence, as the reason most schools do this is to not **** of the parents. Also, although BC is needblind, it is not for the large donors. </p>
<p>I think you’re daughter deffinetly has a shot, although it’s deffinetly a reach. Also note that if you look at the BU college board site, the statistics say that ED vs RD for admissions does not make a difference. I would apply EA to BC if I were you.</p>
<p>What most schools do for legacies and siblings when they apply to a school that is a reach is deffering them from EA, waitlisting them on the regular round, and ultimately never getting off the waitlist. They call this a “soft deny” a letter that tells you that you haven’t gotten into the school yet, but never a letter saying that you’ve been rejected. Take this in mind in case you hear that it is more competitive EA and so thus you should wait for RD.</p>
<p>I think bluebayou’s reply stated it best. </p>
<p>No one on this forum can tell you what the adcoms will be discussing and thinking next fall when reading your daughter’s application. We can gain some insight based on the years of discussions on this topic in this BC forum.</p>
<p>If you read through this forum’s archives searching for this, you will see angry parents who attended BC and have been giving annually in the $100-$500 range, but will never give another dime because their son/daughter was not admitted.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t suggest applying ED to BU unless your family can realistically afford the full COA. BU does not meet need. </p>
<p>College and prep school admissions are not the same thing. Her brother will help a tiny bit, but may not make up for her GPA. What is her unweighted? Class rank? Her class rank will tell us much more than her GPA.</p>
<p>Your D has a shot, but BC is a reach. Numbers-wise, she is an average (test scores) to below-average (gpa) candidate. (I’m assuming that a 3.5 is top ~20%, when nearly 90% of BC’s matriculants are top 10%).</p>
<p>Other slight negative factors:</p>
<p>Female applying to A&S.</p>
<p>AP’s in only one discipline (humanities). </p>
<p>Average ECs, but no apparent real standout.</p>
<p>OTOH, her SAT score is near BU’s 75th %. Probably not worth the ED unless she just wants to be done by mid-December.</p>
<p>Thank you - this feedback has been valuable</p>
<p>the GPA is really the problem. I’m under the impression that the weighted GPA of a BC accepted student would be above a 4.0.</p>
<p>I suggest talking with her HS GC about admit rates from her high school. BC does take a lot of Catholics and I have read elsewhere that some of the Catholic HSs get a bit of a bump, but that is rumor. Her GPA weighted is awfully low for BC, but there may be other mitigating factors. Also talk to BCs Admissions Officers. They are terrific.</p>
<p>LilyEmery – Does BC recalculate GPA? I ask because at many of the publics in my part of NYS there is no such thing as a weighted GPA above 4.0.</p>
<p>^^From a practical matter, few college recalculate gpa’s (even if they claim to do so.). It is just physically impossible and too time intensive (not to mention prone to errors).</p>
<p>Most colleges quickly review whatever the high school sends them, and compares the grades to the high school Profile. Thus, if the transcript show weighted grades, the profile would should a distribution of weighted gpa’s so the adcom could put the 3.xx into perspective.</p>
<p>Hrm that’s a good question. I’m not sure, but aren’t weighted GPAs out of 5 or 4.5 or something along those lines because APs are out of 5, not the regular 4. Most BC applicants are going to be A, maybe a couple Bs, students.</p>
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<p>There literally dozens of grading scales (which makes it impossible for colleges to recalc grades). Some high schools are on a 100 point system. Others, a 4.0, 5.0, or 6.0. Some offer a full bonus point for AP/IB, while others only offer the bonus point for acing the test. Some high schools offer 0.5 for honors courses (however defined). Our district uses the Univ of California gpa policy (bonus points only for UC-appoved honors/AP courses).</p>
<p>Most BC applicants are in the top decile of their class. Indeed, ~90% are top decile. But remember, many of those high schools are parochial, and can be really small. A HS with a graduating class of 30 is a lot different than one with a class of 600.</p>