Basically I’m freaking out right now and I can’t fall asleep because I really want to get in, anyway, here are my credentials, I’ll keep it short.
ACT - 34
SAT Math 2 - 790
SAT Molecular bio - 750
SAT Physics - 750
UW GPA - 3.86 (no AP’s at my school but I’m in the top difficulty in all my classes, though I opted out of one difficult chem class because my parents made me)
Club/Activities - beekeeping, meditation club head, environmental club head, rock climber, general outdoors lover
Teacher recs:
Teacher 1 - 9/10
Teacher 2 - 10/10
Essays:
Personal statement - 10/10
Block plan supplement- 7/10
Why CC supplement - 9/10
Extracurricular supplement - 7.5/10
Interview: here’s the thing, I’m afraid in an attempt to show that I was thoughtful in looking at CC I fear I criticized the block plan a little to heavily, I also feel that I may have rambled for one question, that said I feel that the interviewer was engaged and the interview went an hour over. I would probably rank it 7.5/10 to play devils advocate. I feel confident that the interviewer knew I loved the school.
Basically, if you think I’m not gonna get in lmk know where my weaknesses are and I’ve been trying to figure out, are my chances as good ED 2 as they would’ve been ED?
Your stats look good. If you think your block plan supplement is only a 7/10 work on that. That essay is very, very important for CC. They want to make sure that you really understand what the block plan is and how it works and what the advantages are to it. Bring that up to a 9/10 and you have a great chance. Also, your GPA might be slightly low, but not much you can do about that. Good luck
ED 2 typically has around the same acceptance rate as ED 1 from what I have seen.
I think that you look like a very good candidate, speaking as someone who just got in EA. All of the outdoors-related activities are definitely a plus for CC, and you’re stats are very good. Fit and demonstrated interest are what matter a lot to CC though. I did everything possible to show that CC was my top choice. I even sent an email to my admissions rep that was about something else, but I added a line that told her it was my top choice. They really appreciate it when they can tell how interested you are. I’d say definitely reach out to your admission rep for one reason or another. You could ask a question like I did and throw in a line about your interest. Not sure how much this helps, but it definitely made me sleep better at night knowing that I had told her straight up that CC was my top choice. It seems like you have shown a lot of interest though, so you are probably fine.
Like pcmom1 said, definitely work on that essay. The essays also really need to demonstrate fit and interest. For the block plan essay, it needs to be something you are passionate about that takes advantage of everything unique about the block plan. Go into as much detail as possible to show a lot of understanding.
Overall, I think you are a solid applicant, but you never really know with CC. I would just work hard on those essays to show your interest and fit for the block plan as much as possible, and make sure they can envision you on their campus.
Just wondering, @hopingforadmission, what do you mean regarding that you criticized the block plan? I assume that if you want to go to Colorado College, you must actually think the block plan is great (?)? But in any event, btw, all your credentials look great for getting in, as far as I can discern!
Colorado College IS the Block Plan. It impacts the entire fabric of the college. You could have a perfect GPA, 13 AP classes and the best recommendations possible, but if you cannot demonstrate an appreciation for the Block Plan, you will not get admitted. It would take me a dozen paragraphs to explain how the Block Plan impacts every aspect of life here, but I will stick with one: experiential learning. At what other college could you take an entire week on a trip to a destinmation perhaps 1000 miles away? Surely not at Duke, Rice, Yale, Vanderbilt, Stanford or Williams ( my other choices.) 3 or 4 other professors would get mighty angry if a student disappeared for a week. Not at CC. Every teacher teaches a single class per block and every student takes a single class. Virtually every class has some sort of off campus component, whether it be a single afternoon or as long as two weeks. Film classes spend a week at the Sundance Film Festival. I have spent several weeks in different classes at sustainable farms, learning the real life applications learned in class. Students can even get grants to spend a Block in an independent study of their own design - almost always off campus.
The Block Plan is not for everyone. It is rigorous. There is no time for goofing around or missing more than one class. Conversely, there is no white noise from an assignment in a different class. There are no conflicting labs or TA sessions. And since the teachers only have one class, there are no TAs or Grad Students teaching classes. We get lectures by the premier names in each field. Furthermore, you might frequently find yourself at dinner at a professor’s home, continuing a class discussion into the 8th, 10th, or even 13th hour. If this does not sound right for you, try Williams, Swarthmore, Whitman, Reed, Davidson, Washington & Lee or Pomona. All are terrific schools which have the more traditional format. Yet none offer what CC does: the ability to immerse yourself in a subject in a class featuring renowned academic voices.
@Hoping4Admission: If the block plan is not attractive to you, then you should not be applying to Colorado College as an ED applicant.
While I appreciate that a college offers such an option, I am not a fan of this system used by, to the best of my knowledge, only two colleges in the US. Accordingly, if I were of college age, I would not apply to or attend a school utilizing the block plan approach.
If opposed to, but curious about, taking one course at a time on a daily basis, many universities offer such an option during their summer sessions.
If desirous of something between the one course at a time block plan & the traditional 5 courses per semester, consider Dartmouth College which utilizes a trimester system in which students take 3 courses per term.
I just wanna clear something up about how I feel about the block plan. I love it. That said, when I went into my interview I said a few things like, “how do students maintain language skills?” and “I like being able to have time to write so I can carefully consider a prompt.” That said, I did in the end (I hope) make it clear to my interviewer that I really like the block plan.
Since this has been posted, I’ve improved my block plan essay to clearly show I appreciate the focus the block plan provides. I don’t however take advantage of its flexibility. I think a field trip would be out of place, but should I add it to demonstrat that I appreciate the block plans flexibility?
Don’t add it if it doesn’t fit in. I also struggled with that dilemma because my block plan class didn’t naturally include any travel. I ended up adding a field trip to survey local kids at elementary and middle schools, which did fit in with my topic pretty well. I’d say that if your class is unique enough and takes advantage of other aspects of the block plan, you should be okay. If your class could be done at any other school though, you may want to rethink it.
Have you already submitted your application, and are just trying judge your chances? Or are you still polishing? If you have submitted, you have your answer. You are a good candidate, but not all good candidates get in. 15% acceptance in CC is, in my opinion, very different from 15% acceptance at a traditional “name brand” college. CC’s applications come from people who have generally done significant research and sought them out. Everyone is qualified. Thus, think of it as 15% of the people who apply who are qualified get it. If you haven’t submitted yet, know that in the pool of applicants, you will rise to the top if your essay reflects an enthusiasm and commitment to immersive learning/Block Program. Polish the heck out of them - research extensively - find ways to use alternative sources to augment what you can read on the website easily. If your block essay and other materials are not filled with targeted, researched enthusiasm, your chances drop. By the way, one piece that DD didn’t emphasize in her essay (she got in, and LOVES it) is the impact of the professor’s immersion. We “got” the part that she is now facing 17 days where she will live, breathe, and dream about technical drawing. What we didn’t quite appreciate fully is how that same immersion is reflected in the professor. Every professor here spends an incredible amount of time with each student. They are just as immersed as the students, with many tutorials, lots of papers to read in a short time, etc. It is a completely different type of professor that is attracted to the intimacy of being with the same group of students all day, every day for 17 days.
Does anyone know when the Colorado College ED2 decisions are likely to come out? And/or, when did they come out during the previous few years?? (I know that on their website it indicates something vague, like “mid-Feb” and/or “TBD”, but I’m wondering if anyone has a guess of a more specific date?)