George Washington University- Chance me '19

Colleges and Universities A-Z George Washington University
1

So I’m not one for chance threads, but I just want to get a general feel of whether my stats. line up. I visited GW this past weekend and absolutely fell in love with the campus, academics, and location. I will be majoring in international affairs and am still trying to determine whether I want to concentrate on Middle Eastern Studies or Asian studies.

I am a white, middle-class female who attends a small private Christian school in the Northeast.
Stats:
GPA UW: 3.58
GPA W: 3.915 (but my grading scale is really weird, so it’s actually 4.11 on a regular scale)
SAT: 1280 (I know this is low, but I’m not going to retake it because of personal opinions on the SAT)
Rank: in the top 25, (but my class size is about 115 kids so that isn’t too good)

Schedule:
Freshman: Algebra I, Geometry, Honors English, Honors World History, Art I, Physical Science (the rest of my classes are Bible, Health, Gym, and Career Technical Education [basically a required freshman seminar]).

Sophomore: Honors Biology, Cross-Cultural Perspectives and Services (a course revolving around a spring-break mission trip to Guatemala), Algebra II, Honors English, Honors World History, Drawing, Math Analysis, French I (and Bible, Health, and Gym).

Junior (this was my most rigorous schedule and unfortunately, the year of my lowest GPA despite hard work): American History Honors (with dual credit from another university), Honors English (w/ dual credit), Pre-Calc, Honors Chemistry (w/ dual credit), Ceramics, Calculus I (w/ dual credit), and French II (including bible, health, and gym).

Senior (tentative): American History Honors (w/dual credit), Honors English (w/ dual credit), Statistics, AP Art, Biblical Theology [required], Gym [required], Civics, Genocide and Human Behavior, and Personal Financial Literacy [this is required].

Awards:
regional qualifier for my state’s national history day essay competition (1 of 3 qualifiers from my school, 1 of 35 qualifiers in my region)
top 15% of class gets offered a scholarship to a local school and special recognition by the state (I was awarded this my junior year, when I was in the top 15)
High Honor Roll for all years thus far

Extracirriculars:
Historian for/Member of my school’s chapter of the National Honors Society
Co-president/founder of the art club
President of student senate (school-wide tier of student government)
Student Advisory board (top and most prestigious tier of student government, only 2 applicants per grade are selected)
Leader of an All-female Bible study at my school
Astronomy club
Volunteer at a local childcare in the summer (logged about 66 hours over three years)
Piano: intense study for 12 years and 5 performances at Carnegie Hall

I have also participated in a lot of service projects, every summer I go to a different state and serve the locals by repairing homes for those who cannot afford to, I have also been on an international service trip to Guatemala, and will be serving in Ghana this upcoming summer.

I will not discuss the content of my essay, except that it discusses personal growth.

Thank you for taking the time to review my stats., even though I recognize that this is not a 100% accurate reflection of the admissions process, I still value outsider input from those who know a little bit about the process via personal/other experiences.

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****My senior year schedule is not tentative, it is my official schedule for this year. my apologies!

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my stats are pretty close to yours! btw GW is test optional so u dont have to send in ur sat. NOt sure about our chances, but i would love to know as well

4

There are other factors. ARe you applying ED or RD? Would you be full pay or need financial aide? GW is not a needs blind school. Your stats are in line, though with your EC’s other than the service projects, how do they align with what you want to study.

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@sdl0625 Do you think it hurts one’s chances if they apply ED and ask for some financial aid? Not a lot of aid, but some aid?

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applying ED always helps. But you dont know if you will get aid its a gamble.

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Everyone I know who had ED’d paid full tuition, but that is anecdotal. Generally the rule is if you cannot pay full tuition, you should not ED.

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^ Why not? If you’re not offered enough financial aid, you say “Thanks but no thanks” and apply elsewhere.

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Yeah, I don’t think @liveyourlife26 's statement that you shouldn’t apply ED unless you can pay full price is accurate.

@Outin19 Your EC’s are very impressive. You definitely have a background that I think the admissions folks would find interesting. Your GPA is also in-line with Elliott students. I think that with a solid essay you stand a good chance at acceptance.

10

So it looks like you generally have a pretty strong profile and your extracurriculars look competitive. In terms of your SAT score, try taking the test one more time but don’t go crazy if you can’t hit your target or even 1350. Have you taken an official prep course for the SAT or used any books or apps? A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that the SAT is something that you can intuitively well on. However, in my experience I’ve met quite a few people who took the test and had mediocre scores but improved significantly into the 1400+ range. Yes, some students are naturally gifted test takers perhaps because they read so much such as the case with my eldest sister. But some students are what you call “growers,” that is to say they start out with mediocre scores then get really good. For example, my eldest sister used to read incredibly voraciously from a young age and scored a 2250 out of 2400 with no formal preparation. I scored 1560 on my first attempt, cold, but then began studying for the exam formally. I ended up scoring 2150…lesson of the story is that the SAT is very learnable. If you try again and still can’t hit your target range go test-optional. The smart strategy would be to play it safe and play to your strengths. Also, make sure you get your essay proofread by reputable editors. A good rule of thumb that I learned from the Yale School of Management is to show your essays to a friend, family member, or teacher without showing them the question. See if the reader can identify your question…this is a good way to gauge whether your essays clearly answer the question. Do not underestimate the power of essays, and at the same time make sure you write clearly and take time to thoroughly develop your response.

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@vonlost “Early decision” is binding, meaning you have to go there no matter what the aid package is. Thus, you cannot simply say, “thanks, but no thanks” because binding admissions do not work that way. “Early action” is not binding though, which is where you could say “thanks, but no thanks.”

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From the ED agreement: “Should a student who applies for financial aid not be offered an award that makes attendance possible, the student may decline the offer of admission and be released from the Early Decision commitment.”

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I will not be applying ED, and I am applying for financial aid but there is not much need. EA is not offered, so I will be applying RD.

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To address getting out of ED agreement, I emailed admissions and they said that regardless of your financial aid package, if you select ED , you are committed to go. Some schools are not as strict.