<p>Hi! Smith is my top choice! </p>
<p>GPA: 3.3
GPA (W): 3.9</p>
<p>I took five AP's junior year, taking two senior year.</p>
<p>My SAT score is 2260. I am taking the SAT II's in November.</p>
<p>Should I apply ED or regular? I want to show my passion for Smith with ED but I also want them to see my good first semester senior grades... </p>
<p>My EC's are decent. </p>
<p>Chance me?</p>
<p>If I were on the admissions committee of any college I’d want to know why you have under achieved-- GPA in comparison with SAT’s. ?? How come? What’s the story?</p>
<p>FWIW I’ve participated on numerous admissions committees over the years.</p>
<p>Just trying to help.</p>
<p>.02</p>
<p>David</p>
<p>Have to agree with Bn. Sends up a red flag. Same as if you had a high GPA and low SATs. If you have good reasons for it, you’re going to have to let the admissions people know. </p>
<p>As far as whether to apply early or regular decision, that is up to you. You must be sure that Smith is your very top choice. Your SATs would likely get you in ED but the GPA will raise some doubts.</p>
<p>In any case, good luck to you in your application process!</p>
<p>Another vote for having a really good explanation. I think low grades & high test scores are a more difficult hurdle than the converse.</p>
<p>MerryHappy wrote:
</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/smith-college/1302447-chance-me-smith-low-gpa.html#post14007470[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/smith-college/1302447-chance-me-smith-low-gpa.html#post14007470</a></p>
<p>A reasonable explanation makes all the difference! Thanks, CrewDad, for your sleuthing. MerryHappy, I think you’ve got a perfectly fine possibility of being accepted at Smith, but you’ll have to make the call on ED or Regular concerning your grades. One question, though: why are your grades so much better this semester? What’s different?</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! I actually do have an explanation but I’m not sure how it’ll sound. I took a lot of hard classes with hard teachers (not an excuse) and got high B’s in all of them (all B’s are weighted as 3.0). I think if I took less AP’s, I would have gotten A’s in some of them, increasing my GPA. That’s also the reason I’m doing well this year, because I’m taking less AP’s. </p>
<p>I think it is a legitimate explanation but it’ll sound really bad to colleges since I’m basically saying that I wasn’t good enough for my courseload.</p>
<p>merryhappy,</p>
<p>as a Smith alum I encourage you to definitely apply! The five APs explains a lot, and your test scores are great. Hopefully your SAT subject tests will be terrific.</p>
<p>As for ED maybe others will have good advice…I see your point about wanting your senior year grades to figure prominently in this equation.</p>
<p>On the other hand I think that now as then Smith is very interested in young women who are certain they would choose Smith. Have you found out the admissions rate for ED (as opposed to RD)? if it is drastically higher it might be a clue for you. If it is not that much higher you might want to think about it a bit more.</p>
<p>Have you done an interview?</p>
<p>Also, if fin aid is a serious consideration, some people think ED can be detrimental…might want to check into that as well (but as I said, if it is a consideration.) Smith – I believe – pledges to cover 100% need but I am not sure that they are need-blind.</p>
<p>The acceptance rates for ED are definitely higher, but by like 10%. Would it help if I’m the first person in my school to apply ED? </p>
<p>Ahhh I really want to go to this school so badly and my guidance counselor doesn’t know enough about women’s colleges to give me good advice! I don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t get in :(</p>
<p>Recommendation-- Go visit. A visit should nail down your perspective far more than that of a counselor who has not been on campus. Do an interview.</p>
<p>.02</p>
<p>David</p>
<p>Hi, merryhappy. I typically don’t visit or post on CC a lot anymore, but tonight I was looking at Smith’s forum and couldn’t help but notice all your chance me threads. They really struck a chord in me; last year I applied to Smith with a 3.3 GPA.</p>
<p>K, so last year I applied RD to Smith. I was also super nervous because Smith was my top choice.
My GPA: Around 3.3 UW (3.4 W, I think)
Test Scores: Irrelevant, as I didn’t submit them.
Extracurriculars: Tons of clubs, but the majority I didn’t join until my senior year.
APs: Only one (this was due to uncontrollable factors, which I neglected to mention in my application)
Recs: 2 were pretty much form letters. The other 2 were out of this world.
Alumna Interview: Went really well
Decision: Rejected</p>
<p>Last year, someone on CC with a 3.3 GPA also applied to Smith, only ED. She was accepted.</p>
<p>At the time, I assumed my rejection was due to my low GPA. In retrospect, I have to admit that as a whole, my application sucked. I didn’t explain my low GPA or lack of APs, I didn’t submit my test scores, and almost every item on my extracurriculars I wasn’t even involved in until 12th grade. To be honest, I probably would have rejected me, too.</p>
<p>Still, it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact reasons why I was rejected and the other person was accepted. Obviously her application was better than mine, but perhaps Smith also thought she’d be a “good fit,” and that made up for her low GPA. Maybe she was accepted because she applied ED instead of RD.</p>
<p>Point is, no one on here can look at your stats and say for sure whether you’ll be accepted. We’re not from admissions. We can’t pinpoint all the reasons why Smith accepts some and rejects others. All we can do is tell you about personal experience and compare you to average stats.</p>
<p>That being said, I totally understand the anxiety that comes with a low GPA! Waiting is the hardest part, so I would recommend applying ED merely for that reason, lol. Seriously, though, you should call admissions if you haven’t already. Explain your situation and ask if they think you should apply ED. Ask them what you can do to improve your application. I kind of feared admissions and didn’t call them until after I was rejected. I wish I had called them beforehand and asked how to improve my application, because then maybe I would have been accepted!</p>
<p>Anyway, I wish you the best of luck! Smith is a great school and I can tell that it’s your first choice, so I really hope you get accepted :D</p>
<p>As a current student, I can tell you it’s really not that difficult to get in, despite what admissions may claim. Women’s colleges (while awesome) are not terribly popular and if you communicate your love for Smith/likelihood of attedance in your application I would not worry at all. I am literally 100% sure that you will get in if you put any degree of effort into the supp. essays</p>
<p>I have to take exception to your assertions concerning admissions to/popularity of women’s colleges. At Smith the past three years there have been record numbers of applications. The admissions rate itself has dropped from over 50% to approximately 42% in the most recent round. The other women’s colleges have also become more selective over the past few years.</p>
<p>You do any prospective Smithie a disservice by making it appear that admission to the school is just a matter of showing an interest in attending. You may have gotten in with ease but nearly 60% of those who apply will not. </p>
<p>So anyone reading this with an eye towards attending Smith, please take this poster’s thoughts with the proverbial “grain of salt.”</p>
<p>Smith vs other top LACs is relatively easier to get into because it is single sexed which changes the dynamics of who applies. However in this highly competitive time of a large student pool, the common app and Smith’s wonderful endowment -it is getting harder. I would say your chances of getting in are good and early admission would make it better. Make sure you send in a quality application, visit and interview - this will all make your case better.</p>
<p>Thank you so much everyone! Unfortunately, my parents are not allowing me to apply ED to Smith (or to any school for that matter) because of money issues so I hope I can show my passion for Smith through my application! </p>
<p>Thanks for your anecdote Kiyatora! Shows me that no one can predict my chances for me and that I should just try my best (and hope for the best). Everyone wish me luck!!!</p>
<p>And sorry for spamming the Smith forum (will not do that anymore!)</p>
<p>Is the Smith ED binding? Some ED’s aren’t binding so you might want to check into that.</p>
<p>Yes it is binding at Smith.</p>
<p>i thought that you are allowed to turn down the offer if the amount of financial aid is insufficient?</p>
<p>Oh, yes, that’s one of the acceptable conditions to break the commitment.</p>