<p>I'm applying early action to Wellesley, but the deadline for the early action interview (dec 8) passed. Is it okay to not have an interview? I haven't visited the Wellesley campus either because of extenuating circumstances, but I have practically everything available online and on the brochure.
I'm very concerned about my stats since wellesley's average SAT scores are...well...above average, though that may be an understatement.
So heres my stats:
SAT: 560 V. 560 M. 610 W.
SAT II: 460 Spanish. 530 Literature. 620 Math IC</p>
<p>I retook the SATs Dec 3. Hopefully, the scores will improve...</p>
<p>GPA: 4.3 weighted (upward trend in grades from 9-11th grade)
AP Psychology: 4</p>
<p>Senior Courses:
AP English
AP Spanish
AP Government
H. Physics
H. Research
Calculus
Religion 12</p>
<p>My first language is Korean. I'm a US citizen. I live with a pastor's family, and my family lives in S.Korea. I've transferred highschools 3 times. </p>
<p>I'm the president of my Spanish club. I started a club called Babel Tower (mulicultural awareness club). I'm not an NHS member because I haven't been at any of my highschools long enough.</p>
<p>I play in the Greater Miami Youth Orchestra (first violing - kind of the typical asian thing to do, I know) </p>
<p>I tutor ESL students the pastor recommends me. (Korean-English, usually)
I volunteer at this Hispanic organization called Su Casa.</p>
<p>I am not involved in any sports because I don't have transportation after school. </p>
<p>Thanks for your time. Please respond if you're feeling generous~</p>
<p>I have one word of advice for all people asking whether or not they should apply to a school/job/[whatever] that they truly care about: yes.</p>
<p>Yes, you should apply if it matters to you. Accept the untrained opinions of the people around you, but understand that there is more to the admissions decision than test scores. How much of a difference they make is anyone's guess, but remember that you have individuality and a story. Take what you think you own strengths are, and capitalize on them--especially in the essay.</p>
<p>All you have to lose is the application fee. Conversely, you potentially have an incredible future to gain.</p>
<p>I fully agree that you have nothing to lose. (Plus the fee is waived if you apply online anyway.) When I had my interview at Wellesley, the lady was a person from admissions and she pretty much shrugged off SAT scores, emphasizing that they consider so much more than that one test. Of course your scores are quite a bit lower than the high standards of the school, but that doesn't mean that you don't have a shot. </p>
<p>Also, if you can do a good job of making yourself stand out through your essays and really demonstrate that you believe this is the right school for you, then I think that could help put you closer to the "likely" side. But this is just coming from another applicant, what do I know.</p>
<p>Many schools, and I recall W being one of them, had a handy little chart buried on their website outlining admissions percentage by score range. Scores will not get you admitted...but they will likely determine whether or not you're even in the game. </p>
<p>There are two bad things about this board: people being overly discouraging and people being overly optimistic, sometimes rooted in a misguided attempt to be "nice." </p>
<p>The worst words I see on this board are at the other end: "You're in!" And then the decisions actually come down....</p>
<p>I appreciate everyone's comment, thank you. TheDad, I've seen your posts on many other boards, and I like your constructive criticism. But to be honest, I was kind of discouraged...and I guess I should be. I'm applying anyways though (thanks again to ringer05, esperanto76, joekind). I'm still crossing my fingers for the December SAT results. Esperanto76, do you think that your interview helped you immensely? Because I have dual citizenship, I'm not sure if I would have to send in my TOEFL scores too. I'm still working on that Wellesley essay, and I'm not sure whether or not to go over the word limit. I've heard in other colleges (Brown, for example) that it's ok if applicants write over the word limit as long as the essay gives a comprehensive view of the self. Advice on that, anyone?</p>
<p>Well no, I didn't feel like my interview helped much to be honest. It was in the summer, when I happened to be visiting campus, and it was extremely laid back. It was more focused on me asking her questions about the school, with some questions for me as well. I didn't really feel like it would have affected my chances of getting accepted very much.</p>
<p>H20, it is true that the if the odds are against you, you should still apply if you want to. If you don't apply, it's an absolute certainty that you wont' get it.</p>
<p>If I seem a little, ah, discouraging, please forgive me: this is my fourth cycle of watching decisions come in...the previous three weren't pretty for most of the elites, of which W is surely one. The participants of this board actually do better than the overall average, due to the fact that it's a self-selected group that hangs out here. It's still ugly.</p>