HI everyone,
So I am a senior in high school doing dual enrollment, I am taking all of my classes at the local university and none at my high school. I just received my grades from this semester and I got 3 B’s (english, biology, math) and a C (in the lab for biology which is just a 1 credit course). This semester was unfortunate because it was very math and science focused which is my weakest point. I took a college course over the summer (psychology) and got an A. Anyways, I am disapointed in how my grades turned out this semester. I have an 88 AVG from my freshman to junior year in high school, but I did fail one math class my sophomore year. I was going through a lot of personal issues at the time and I plan to address that in my application. I only took one AP my 3 years of highschool, so my transcript isn’t that impressive. But neither is my first semester of college one. I have a 1300 SAT score (really high in english, pretty low in math) and my essay is really good. I also have volunteered A LOT. So my college list is as follows:
Safeties:
UNC Asheville
Ithaca
Matches-
Clark University
Skidmore
Reaches-
Macalester
Fordham
Hamilton
So first question-
Should I send my first semester college transcript in with my application even though it’s not that strong because it’s very weighted, or should I just send in my highschool transcript plus my A in psychology?
Second question-
Am I in way over my head here with the colleges I’m applying to? I believe I would have a lot to offer to colleges but I know my grades don’t totally reflect it. Do you think I have a chance with any of my match/reaches with my grades if i have a very strong essay and good recommendations?
Thank you!!
The fact is, you have an 88 avg. through junior year, which translates to a 3.3 or so, and it doesn’t sound like a lot of rigor. Your college results are more or less consistent with HS performance, arguably not as strong. It matters not that you are disappointed about any of this, though I do empathize with you. Also, I won’t pretend to understand how adcoms review a HS kid taking college classes at a local college (freshman? transfer? other?). But with that unknown aside, what I see so far tells me:
Neither Skidmore nor Clark are matches for you. They are both reaches, particularly Skid;
Fordham is, I believe, still easier to get into than Skidmore and, maybe, Clark. As such, Fordham, likely belongs on your match list, though it's hardly a slam dunk and may be a reach with the others ... but I don't think it's as much of a reach as Skidmore; and
Macalester and Hamilton are really a big stretch for you. If your family can afford the application fee, I say take your shots all day long, but unless you're hooked I'd start thinking about life w/o those two.
Your test scores are a separate matter. Fortunately, Skidmore has joined the ranks of selective schools that have gone test optional. Unfortunately, they’re brand new to the game, and so nobody really knows yet how TO plays out there. Is it really a thing for the athletes and other hooked applicants the school really wants who have low test scores? Or is it designed to really help kids with high hard stats (say, an IB kid with a 3.8 or better GPA and a mismatched test score)? It’s very hard for anyone here to say, because there isn’t enough experience with which to work or make an assessment. Maybe @Hanna or one of the other truly qualified posters here would know (there are others whose names are escaping me right now). Clark has been test optional for years. At any rate, some strategic thinking is likely required for you to decide whether or not to send in your scores. I certainly can’t help there, particularly with a composite score. Your GC should be able to help you too.
I do think you need to reshuffle your list and maybe add a few more matches and re-organize and re-assess your match and reach lists. They’re both off in my opinion.
I’m not really saying either definitively, because I don’t know and I didn’t want to go assess the Comparative Data sets. Also, it depends on which schools we’re talking about. Your 1300 converts to a what, 1800 on the old test? I’d guess that number is either not compelling or a little low for a school like Skidmore, and I’m almost certain that its too low for Hamilton or Macalester. Also, I really don’t know what to do with really high and low combos. That may be another, independent factor for admissions. Again, a question for someone who really has a keen understanding of each schools’ admissions practices.
I’m only pointing out that Skidmore joined the TO group of schools in case someone determined that you’d be better off not sending them in. That’s a strategy call, and as I said, I can’t help you there, and I’d be wary of random drop-in advice on CC about it.
The only thing I’m fairly confident about is that you have Skidmore and Fordham in the wrong categories based on the GPA analysis alone.