Emory University / Oxford College Class of 2023 Thread

I’m a Freshman attending University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I was accepted to Emory College and Oxford College of Emory University. I got a 1400 on the SAT, a GPA of 4 (on a 4.0 scale), and had a very good extra-curricular background. I also wrote very good essays.

Personally, I think that, as long as you fall somewhere within the range (25-75 percentile) either on the SAT or ACT, you shouldn’t worry. The same goes for GPA. What really distinguishes you will be the quality of your essays (make sure to pick topics that really inspire you) and your volunteer/extra-curricular activities.

Also, for any Juniors listening, keep the Emory Scholars program in mind. It will REALLY help for financial aid. You don’t have to submit a separate app- the Common App will suffice (if I recall correctly). If I had been selected for that program, I probably would have attended Emory.

That’s all the advice I have… good luck to you all!!

I know my ECs and SAT scores are not great but I wanted some input
College of Choice: Emory College

Decision Plan : RD

Major(s) of Interest: Mathematics

Location: (State and or Country) TX

Gender: M

Race/Ethnicity: Asian - Korean

Recruited Athlete, or Legacy: No

GPA: (UW and Weighted) 3.85 / 5.001

AP or IB: Calc BC, Physics I and II, Macroeconomics, Government, Environmental Science, Chemistry, Statistics, Language and Composition, World History, Comp Sci, Human Geography

Class Rank: about 14 - 15% out of 368 students (no rank)

Test Scores: (SAT, ACT, or SAT 2’s) 1440 ( eng: 650 math: 790 really unbalanced) math II: 800 math I: 740

Extra Curricular, Community Service, or Co-Curricular(s):
NHS
Mu Alpha Thet (math NHS)
Nepal refugee (english teacher)
Unicef club
Math tutor in school
Math UIL
Orchestra (all 4 years)
Soccer (only freshman year)
Mock ACT/SAT administerator (volunteer)
Honor roll 10th
Currently all As (senior year)
Few work experiences and more volunteer activities

All in all, your profile is very impressive! I wouldn’t worry about the SAT score- it’s already higher than Emory’s average. Your grades look very good, especially given the quantity of AP classes that you took.

Your extracurriculars look very good as well. If possible, I would try to get at least one work experience on your resume as that’s always important. Besides that, I would try to find a “hook”- something demonstrated by your extra-curriculars and volunteer experiences that separates you from the rest of the crowd. As there are many people applying with a lot of extra-curricular activities under their belt, finding that “hook”- whether it be a special interest or specific career goal- will allow them to understand you better as a person and student.

When I applied to Emory, I conveyed through my essays that I was really interested in law and showed how my volunteer activities demonstrated that interest. I feel like that definitely increased my chances of getting into Emory College.

Good luck!!

I don’t believe 1440 is higher than Emory’s average, especially for those who are enrolled without a “hook”. It’s probably a little below average and more than that for an RD applicant.

@Jacopo
yes, Emory is very holistic. Some people with higher score did not get in ED. It most likely had everything to do with fit than anything else.

Back on topic
@choijiwon526 @captamer @thematrix02
Hey, can you guys post here…

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/emory-university/2117313-emory-and-oxford-ed2-rd-scholars-class-of-2023-p1.html?new=1

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1540 (740E 800M)
ACT: never took
SAT II: 680 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.854
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 5% out of 600
AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (4), Euro (3), Human Geo (4), Physics 1 (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): Mandarin (6)
Senior Year Course Load: IB Theory of Knowledge, IB Calculus, IB Chem Year 2, AP Psych, IB 20th Century History, IB Music, IB English Year 2, Chamber Orchestra Honors
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Strings Club (VP), Musicians Society (VP), UNICEF (Secretary), black belt TKD, concertmaster of chamber orchestra, varsity swim team member
Job/Work Experience: paid intern at SAGE Publishing (International Publishing Company), tutor at school writing center, paid accompanist at church
Volunteer/Community service: 250+ hours at local hospital, 55 hours at local library
Essays: Common App was very unique, supplementals were pretty good
Teacher Recommendation: One probably really good (had her for English for 10th/12th), one that was alright (nice teacher who loved me, bad writer because English is not her first lang)
Counselor Rec: she knows me personally, hopefully good
Interview: Went very well

Other
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: $200-210 K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none…

Reflection
Strengths: Weighted GPA, course rigor, full IB
Weaknesses: Unweighted GPA (maybe?), not super impressive leadership, no major awards, not that many AP scores
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Ohio State acceped so far, deferred from Tulane, waiting on Emory, UVA, Brandeis, UT Austin, UW, and all the UCs
General Comments: I’m nervous ahhh

could you chance me (above)? i know it prob means nothing in the long run but just wanna know your perspective as someone who got in ! @Jacopo @emorynavy

Hi! So, your SAT score is VERY good, don’t have to worry about that. Honestly, while your Math II SAT II score is good, I would say your SAT score is good enough where you shouldn’t have to include it unless otherwise specified. Your GPA is good, especially since you’ve taken a lot of IB/AP classes. Along with your approximate class rank and test scores, your academic profile for Emory is very good.

In terms of extra-curriculars, your work and volunteer history is very impressive (especially an intern at SAGE- when you’re in college, you’ll be reading a lot of studies from that company!!) Also, it’s very good that your essays were unique, as that, along with your extra-curricular history, will make you stand out.

While things like being a first generation college student do make you more appealing, I would say that, as long as you made yourself unique through your essays and extra-curriculars, it might be enough to tip the balances in your favor, as your SAT and GPA are already looking very good :slight_smile:

Don’t worry about it… just do the work and then think about something else until the big day comes!

@jacopo wow thank you SO much!! really appreciate it :slight_smile:

where are you from @ohdearvickie

@openeyesofbrown NJ! sorry copied from wrong thread

@Jacopo : http://opb.emory.edu/academic-profile.html

1440 is hardly higher than Emory’s average. That is really no different from the 1423 average which includes “hooked” applicants of various kinds. Maybe say very little about the SAT, because it is hard to tell where Emory stands with it. Regardless, I doubt anyone between 1420-1500 is particularly special in an Emory context. Emory may also contextualize it versus the person’s school, school district, background, etc. As long as the person’s scores and GPA are not too much lower than average and they have course rigor, I am willing to bet that Emory deems them as qualified or very qualified academically. That leaves us to scrutinize their EC profile perhaps versus their intellectual interests and what type of student/talent is in demand (burgeoning and historically) at Emory.

College of Choice: Both

Decision Plan : ED2

Major(s) of Interest: Public Policy Analysis

Location: California

Gender: Female

Race/Ethnicity: Asian American (Filipino)

Recruited Athlete, or Legacy: None

GPA: 3.8 UW, 4.1 W

AP or IB: (I am NOT a strong test taker) gov, lit, 3 world history, 3 lang, 3 ush

Class Rank: 30/471

Test Scores: ACT 29 (it’s low I know)

Extra Curricular, Community Service, or Co-Curricular(s):
HOSA (4 years)
Tennis (3 years)
Drama (3 years)
Health and Medical Careers Academy (4 years; secretary junior year, historian senior year)
Design and paint murals every year at elementary/middle schools in my district (3 years)
Interact club (1 year)
Yearbook (1 year)
Honor roll my whole life
AP Scholar

Any other interesting Info: I was recently in a car accident lol. My femur broke and despite my looong absence from school, my grades are doing pretty well. Also I’m designing the senior grad nite shirts (idk if all seniors have this event). I did just start an internship at a blood donation center but because of my accident, I wasn’t able to commit to that

I haven’t visited but I’ve gone to informational sessions, emailed my regional counselor, and expressed my interest in the school.

@Jacopo
Yea welcome to CC and all. But please to be so verbose about a school to don’t go to or didn’t graduate from.

@sabrinanr
Well I’m sorry for the trouble you have gone through, and you should be proud of your effort. However admission will be tough, really it will. I’m seem URM’s waitlisted/rejected with profiles similar to yours, and you don’t have any hooks. I will say essays can really help move your application over the accept line.

ughhhh…

applying to Emory RD!

Please chance my DD:

College of Choice: Emory

Decision Plan : ED2

Major(s) of Interest: Undecided, but most likely math or physics

Location: (State and or Country) Washington State

Gender: Female

Race/Ethnicity: Asian - Chinese

Recruited Athlete, or Legacy: Recruited athlete with coach support

GPA: (UW and Weighted) 3.67 UW, 3.84 W

AP or IB: WHAP (3); APUSH (3); AP Eng Lang & Comp (4); AP Calc AB (4); AP Gov (IP); AP Stats (IP); AP Physics C (IP); AP Eng Lit & Comp (IP); AP Calc BC (IP)

Class Rank: Top 20%

Test Scores: (SAT, ACT, or SAT 2’s) SAT 1380; (EBRW 680; Math 700)

Extra Curricular, Community Service, or Co-Curricular(s): State qualifier all 4 years of HS in 2 sports, Top places in conference & district & state athletic championships, regional (PNW) athletic championships, National Honor Society member 3 years; sophomore student of the year; 3 years philharmonic orchestra; athletic event volunteer organizer

Any other interesting Info: Will be AP Scholar with distinction at graduation; age group winner in Seattle Rock & Roll half marathon; teacher letters of recommendation likely very strong, but counselor doesn’t really know her (large school of ~2100 students),so not sure what to expect from him.

College of Choice: Emory College

Decision Plan: ED2

Major(s) of Interest: Biology

Location: Midwest

Gender: Female

Race/Ethnicity: Indian

Recruited Athlete, or Legacy: N/A

GPA: UW: 3.65, W: 4.27

AP or IB:
AP Euro – 4
AP Calc BC – 5
AP Stats – 5
AP Computer Science Principles – 5
AP Comp Sci A – 4
AP Biology – 4
(took physics and APUSH too but not sending those scores)

Class Rank: N/A

Test Scores: SAT: 1550, ACT: 34, SAT II: 800 Math 2

Extra Curricular, Community Service, or Co-Curricular(s): President and Vice President of two science clubs, volunteer at hospital and nursing home, karate, Indian classical dance, HOSA Top Ten Nationals Finalist, Best Buddies (club helping kids with disabilities), shadowed doctor ~ 30 hours

I know my gpa is definitely on the lower side… it’s mostly from my second year when I got a lot of Bs and a C in AP Euro that I’m scared about. Junior year was also some Bs.

@captamer
Where did you ED1, it seems like your app was finished months ago in time for the ED1 deadline for Emory.
As you know ED2 is a bit harder, and your GPA could be a bit higher. However, I think AP scores make up for it, as they are very high. I would say Low Reach, but it might be a Reach if they received a much higher percentage of applicants this year.