<p>Hey you guys! I never thought I would do this, but I'm starting to feel a little faint and I really need an honest opinion.</p>
<p>I'm studying outside the US. I'm not an amaaazing student (I've gotten As and my fair share of Bs in high school), though by the end of my senior year, I should be able to pull up my grades to all As (we don't use the same G.P.A. system, so I'm not sure how my grades will translate to a G.P.A.)
I've taken 4 years of sciences (which would be AP level or more in the US) and my school doesn't offer history and humanities (weird I know).</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:
-I've worked at a national newspaper for their teen section for 3 years now.
-I'm senior editor at my school newspaper.
-I'm on the yearbook committee.
-I've done backstage work for school plays.
-I've done a youth leadership program (BYLC) for 4 months.
-I've taught street kids about various issues as part of a 2-month long program.
-I've raised funds to help street kids, including this one time when we took all of them to an amusement park on Universal Children's Day</p>
<p>I do other stuff - like swimming, camping, biking and sewing outfits, but they don't really sound worthy of mention.</p>
<p>I haven't given my SATs yet and everything seems rushed, so this is where all my indecision stems from:</p>
<p>I went to visit Smith this summer and I COMPLETELY fell in love. I know for sure I want to apply E.D. But, I'm also planning on taking a gap year to do volunteering work in another country (I'm really passionate about the environment and the issues to do with food [go organic!], so I aim to work with those issues and am garnering all the experience I can get) and to focus on immersing myself in the Bengali culture. (I've lived in the US for more than half of my life now, but I'm originally Bangladeshi so my father thinks, and I agree, that it's important to get a sense of where I and the common people come from.)</p>
<p>My counselor has been telling me not to take a gap year and since I'm uncertain about my chances of getting into Smith, she's been reassuring me that I don't need to do "a bunch of stuff in my gap year" to get in. I'd also been thinking that a gap year would give me more time to put everything together. But is this a bad decision?
One of my teachers also said that I could apply now and defer my acceptance for a year. Is that a better choice? I'm worried I don't have what it takes to get accepted, otherwise I'd definitely try to do that. I'm just kind of confused and want a few more opinions before I decide. </p>
<p>I think you have a reasonable chance of being accepted ED. If you want to take a gap year, do it. I’m not sure about being able to defer your acceptance, so I’d recommend you check with the admission office before you finally decide your plan of action. There’s also the option of applying after your gap year and using your gap year experience in your essay which could be very compelling. Good luck!</p>
<p>Sifster-- Sounds like you really, really liked your Smith visit. My daughter a “firstie” felt the same way. You might just break your post into 2 questions-- gap year and then academic performance to date.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I like your out of country volunteer plan for the gap year. I’m sure Smith would note that it is a most worthy EC etc on a submission for admission. I’d say go for it.</p></li>
<li><p>I’d apply ED as you state the following year. As a professor myself I get concerned with irregular submission of academic data. No “humanities” for example- - as you state. A’s and B’s sound pretty good but what would the GPA happen to be-- closer to 4.0 or closer to 3.0 ? You state no SAT’s are available yet. If I were judging a non traditional admissions file, I’d really like to see SAT scores in verbal, quant and writing. I know Smith does not require them but I believe most applicants provide them and they may be supersized over a couple sittings. A nice set of SAT scores would strengthen a non traditional admissions file.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>It might be helpful to disentangle your gap year decision from your anxiety about being accpeted to Smith. Ultimately, you should take a gap year if you think it will be of benefit to you, and not because you think it will improve your chances of getting into college. Gap years are nice, they can add flavor and depth to your application, but they’re probably not going to have a huge impact, at least not a bigger one than your high school record. It sounds like you’re already an international student with a unique perspective on the world (being an immigrant to the US, also studying abroad as a high school student), so it’s not as if adding additional experiences overseas is going to really shift your profile. </p>
<p>That’s not to say you shouldn’t do the gap year. I think it sounds like a great opportunity to do something fun and interesting and to strengthen connections to your cultural roots. But don’t look at your gap year in the lens of your college application. Look at it as a chance to have an amazing life experience. </p>
<p>Also, I know you mention you feel rushed, but I think you still have lots of time to get your application together prior to the ED deadlines for this year. There are two ED deadlines after all, and you could aim for the ED II deadline if you think the ED I is too soon. And keep in mind that it’s usually a lot easier to put together application materials while you’re still in school and have direct access to your counselors and teachers. Have you thought about how logistically you’re going to request and organize transcripts, recommendations, and other materials while you’re in Bangladesh next year? It might be simpler just to apply now and, if you decide to do the gap year, to defer. If you’re not accepted, you could do the gap year anyway and then apply again after you return, but if you are accepted, you won’t have to worry about trying to apply to college and doing your gap year at once.</p>
<p>Gap year is of course up to you. However your activities should be good to get you admitted. Now you just need to ensure you present yourself well. There’s still loads of time and provided you work hard enough, you should quite easily get into Smith.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot. I feel much more calm and settled now. </p>
<p>David, I’m pretty much in love with Smith. I have another friend who is just as in love with Bernard and we’ve driven the rest of our friends up the wall with our obsessive antics. It’s definitely my dream school and the more tit bits I come across, the more perfect it seems for me. To answer your other question, my G.P.A. would probably be closer to a 4.0 - around 3.7 to 3.85. I’m giving my SATs in November and I’m expecting a score of 2050 to 2100. If I end up taking a gap year, I might give SAT II as well. </p>
<p>S&P, thanks for pointing out the difficulties in organizing my application. I talked to my counselor and we’ve figured out how to make everything work. I think the main reason I want to volunteer abroad is because I envision myself working in third world countries in the future (mostly to do with sustainable organic farming) and right now that’s a pretty foreign environment for me. My community service in Bangladesh was easier because I know the people and the language but that isn’t always going to be the case. It might be too early to look for that kind of experience but I want to go into college knowing what qualities I need to work on if I want that dream to succeed. </p>
<p>Of course my rant may have been caused by the fact that my friend introduced me to College Confidential. I scrolled through all the ‘chance’ threads (quite idiotic of me, but the juvenile Siff tends to run away with her ideas) and I became worried about my E.C.A.s. Are they okay? I forgot to mention the internship I did with Gemcon (they’re a pretty big company in Bangladesh) after my freshman year. And should I mention the awards I got participating in high school competitions? (For eg. first place in a programming competition and second place in animation)</p>
<p>Sifster-- Again, as an academic numbers person, your GPA and SAT thoughts would certainly all fit nicely into what Smith accepts. 3.7 is certainly impressive and the V,Q,W pushing 2100 (or let’s say 3, 700’s) falls at or above the 95th percentile. I know scores can vary toward a total. With your interesting EC’s, I’d have to believe that if your numbers are as noted above ^, you’d be competitive for many fine educational institutions.</p>