Hispanic Junior Girl -- Match?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

My daughter is a Latina HS Junior in a competitive HS in NoVa. Upper MC family (no Fin Aid expected); fluent Spanish, but not true native quality. Taking all honors/AP classes where available. Should have 9 APs at graduation.

Current GPA is approx 3.94 UW, and 4.07 W; With APs, graduation GPA probably in the 4.3 range. We are concerned that her school list may be too top heavy. Can you chance her?

Junior schedule: All As at the semester

US/VA history (Gen Ed – no honors offered)
AP bio
AB calc
AP Span (lang)
AP English
Arts electives

Senior schedule:

AP Stat
AP Span lit
AP English
AP Gov
Econ (Gen Ed – no honors offered)
Honors physics
Arts electives

Will have 6 yrs of math and 6 yrs of foreign language.

One AP during Soph year – World Hist (5)

ECs – NHS (probably will be chapter pres next year); Music Honor Soc (Treasurer 2yrs, will be officer next year); Band (Marching and Concert 4 yrs – likely section leader next year); 2 student drama clubs, which produce student-run shows (she created one of these clubs and is currently its president); tutor in peer writing lab (3 yrs); Community theatre 6 yrs, including 4 yrs of classical (shakespearean) theatre productions (has graduated to featured roles).

Will have excellent recs. Interested in a bio major at this point.

Has taken SAT one time – 2120: CR 740; M 660; W 720 (no prep class); We expect that she would do better with a prep class, but cannot take a structured class without biting into her ECs. She will take again in June; we are considering a private test prep tutor for Math.

SAT IIs – Math 2 (720); will take Bio and Spanish in May.

Favors LAC or smaller university (no 10K student + schools). Looking for urban/suburban schools on the East Coast or California, and not too far north on East Coast (tho would consider it for the right school).

Current School List (which we know that we need to pare down, as she visits schools in the same tiers)

Harvard
Princeton
Columbia
Duke
Stanford
Pomona
BC
Tufts
William & Mary
Claremont McKenna
Scripps
Occidental
Villanova
Richmond
Gettysburg
Fordham
Ursinus

Her choice school right now is Pomona, and we know that it is a reach, but are not sure how much of a reach (especially because of her math SAT), given her whole package. Though we are hispanic, given that Pomona is in SoCal, they may not need to really give any ethnic preference to reach diversity (?). She also really likes Claremont McKenna, and the in-state favorite, W&M. But, if she gets into an Ivy, that might turn everything upside down.

Can you chance her? Thanks!

2

With Ivies, you just need to reach a certain level to have a chance, and then it’s a crapshoot until you reach the rarefied air of top-50-in-nation academics or nationally prominent EC activities (e.g. 3rd nationwide in sport X, Y, or Z). Your daughter’s academics are enough to put her in the range of uncertainty. Her EC activities could be better, but aren’t bad either. The SAT score needs to go up some, but a 100-point increase should be enough. Being an URM will definitely put her in contention.

With a better SAT score, I’d give her a 10-15% chance at most Ivies, which is above average. It’s still a long shot, but Ivies are a long shot for almost anyone.

3

Thanks NotVery. We are shooting for a better SAT score, but even if that doesn’t happen, she would be very happy at W&M, or any of a number of the schools on her list. Her quality of life during Junior and Senior year are more important to her/us than making her life all about hitting a particular SAT number.

4

The good news is that an improvement in SAT scores shouldn’t require very much effort. I was able to raise my scores from a good-but-not-great PSAT to an SAT that will be OK for anywhere I apply by doing 3-4 practice tests (each of these will take a weekend morning). I’d actually suggest this option over expensive prep courses. Prep is all well and good for those who have enough money that they can throw oodles of cash at the problem and accept $1000 for every 20-point gain in a student’s score as decent value for money. For the rest of us, it’s usually not the best option. The Barrons SAT guide, for about $50, will provide 99% of what you’d get from a $1000 prep course.

5

Thanks again, NVS!

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Structured prep classes are a waste of both time and money.

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Right now she’s not competitive for the Ivies. Coming from an Upper Middle class family and attending a good school, far more would be expected from her - academically she’s fine, her SAT score is in range, but her ECs are too run off the mill for HYP and co. They do expect national awards in many cases (community theater is good, but the rest, while excellent, doesn’t “stand out” as in “one in thousands”). Still she can try, because she’s got a slim chance depending on how compelling her essays are, but keep in mind how many Nova kids apply.
A lot of the colleges on this list have admit rates 30% and below and should be treated as automatic reaches. There’s only one safety and not many matches, so she needs to find more colleges where her odds are better. She should also find a better safety than Ursinus, ie., a college ranked about 45-75. For a real safety, Muhlenberg, Goucher, or Wheaton (MA)?

Based on what you told us, she should look into Dickinson, Macalester (not East Coast but very good), most of the Seven Sisters + Agnes Scott (even if it’s in Atlanta).

Harvard
Princeton
Columbia
Duke
Stanford
Pomona
=> all are high reaches

BC => match/reach
Tufts => match/reach
William & Mary = match

Claremont McKenna => match/reach
Scripps => match
Note that the Claremonts frown a bit on students applying to more than 2 colleges in the consortium, because to them it indicates an interest in location rather than in the college’s “personality”, which are all very distinct, and thus poor fit or not real “interest”.

Occidental = match
Villanova = match
Richmond = match
Gettysburg = match
Fordham = match
Ursinus = safety

8

MYOS – Thanks so much for the detailed feedback. We knew about the top-heaviness of the Ivies (and equivalents) on the list, but were having a hard time distinguishing between true match and safety. We will look at Goucher. She doesn’t want to go to the Midwest, and will only go to New England for a truly exciting school. Small towns are out (most of the Sisters, as well as Dickinson are out). She has a lot of requirements, but at least she knows herself. Access to urban stuff is important to her, and she gets the winter blues, so North is hard. Thanks again. This is great feedback.

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Bryn Mawr is by Philadelphia (easily accessible by public transportation) and Barnard is right in NYC. Agnes Scott is in Atlanta. College of Charleston for a city safety and no winter blues?

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We have been considering both Bryn Mawr and Barnard. She’s not big on the thought of a women’s school (except for the Claremont “hook”), but it’s on the table. True South is hard for her – very liberal kid. Thanks again – all great ideas!

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I know Amherst and Williams are a bit more North than preferred, but both are amazing. And what about Davidson in North Carolina?
Honestly, I think she has a solid shot. ECs can only be so diverse and add so much variety. Good for her for pursuing an interest in theatre, taking leadership positions and excelling. There’s true depth there. The schools care less about the activity and more about her roles and the lessons she learned in the activity. They’ll appreciate her ECs.
Her scores aren’t bad either. Have her independently try to bring up the math. It really isn’t worth paying a tutor to plop down and just have her do practice problems that she should will herself to do. Besides, she’ll be more invested in the outcome if she’s responsible for it. I recommend Barons or Dr. Chung’s.
Ivies are reaches for everyone, but they can be pretty overrated too. I live in Williamsburg (haha no prejudice against NoVa) and can testify to the incredible school that W&M is. Spend time crafting those essays and cultivating the recs. That’s my advice! :slight_smile: Go big or go home, but make sure she isn’t doing too many apps and essays into senior year. She needs to enjoy it too!

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CVisser – Thanks so much for chiming in.

We have eliminated all of those amazing small town LACs, because she really needs access to the urban experience (she is not outdoorsy at all, and loves the arts). We are thinking hard about Davidson. She has a friend who goes there and who likes it.

She will independently work on the math. If she landed at W&M, she would be very happy. It’s actually her first love, though Pomona is her dream. She is a very good writer (the only Soph at her school to be chosen to work as a peer tutor), and she will work hard on the essays. We are trying hard to maintain her quality of life in senior year (and the summer before). She will have a big community theatre show this summer, in which she will probably play the lead. We really want for her to enjoy that. Then, starting in late August, Marching band will take over her time. 4 nights a week rehearsing plus homework for 4 APs is nothing to sneeze at. So, we don’t want her to go crazy in applying to too many schools and turning those months into drudgery. Thanks again from your input.

13

If Pomona is her dream and financial aid is not a factor, consider applying ED1. Also, Claremont McKenna has a lower acceptance rate than Pomona and should definitely be considered a reach. For 2018, Pomona’s acceptance rate was 12.1% and CMC’s was 10.8%. A recent poster on the CMC board who is a freshman says that the Dean of Admissions at CMC estimates that the 2019 CMC acceptance rate will be 9.5%. Being a female applicant probably lowers her odds some at Pomona and maybe helps at CMC.

Also my D applied to 3 of the Claremonts: Pomona, CMC and Scripps. She withdrew her CMC and Scripps apps after she was accepted ED1 to Pomona. Her dad went to CMC and she was pretty familiar with the differences and “personalities” and had her preferences, but felt she could fit in at any of those 3.

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Hi Corinthian – ED1 at Pomona is the plan right now, unless we get the feeling that she would be wasting the ED. It may depend on whether she can bring up her SATs – particularly math. If I may ask – What were your D’s scores? Thanks!

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Here’s a link to the list of 2019 Stats/Results so far on the Pomona board (my D’s stats are on there): http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pomona-college/1716453-pomona-stats-decisions-thread-for-the-class-of-2019-p1.html (The results threads for CMC ED1 and 2 are rather discouraging, I must say.) Has she tried taking a practice ACT to see if that works better for her?

My D didn’t take a SAT prep class, but instead prepped on her own using books that were recommended on the SAT forum here on CC. Specifically, she used: (1) 28 SAT Math Lessons to Improve Your Score in One Month - Advanced Course: For Students Currently Scoring Above 600 in SAT Math and Want to Score 800; (2) The Insider’s Complete Guide to SAT Vocabulary: The Essential 500 Words; (3) SAT Prep Black Book: The Most Effective SAT Strategies Ever Published; and (4) How to Write a Killer SAT Essay: An Award-Winning Author’s Practical Writing Tips on SAT Essay Prep. Not that these are the only good prep books but it goes to show that she can prep on her own if she is sufficiently motivated. Good luck!

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Thanks Corinthian!