<p>Lafalum81,</p>
<p>Thanks for the update!</p>
<p>You know, it's true the only thing that matters is beating Lehigh.</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>
<p>hi justin
I have one more question and I know how ppl hate the "what are my chances" questions but thats what I have
What do you think are my chances of getting into Lafayette? </p>
<p>Class Ranks 13/596</p>
<p>Sophmore Year
Honors Pre Calc (As both semesters)
Honors Chem (B first semester, A 2nd semester)
AP Euro (As both semester)
Honors English (As both semesters)
Spanish 2 (As both semester)
Art (As both semesters)
Varsity Swim</p>
<p>Junior Year
AP Physics (Bs both semesters)
AP Calc BC (As both semesters)
AP US (As both semesters)
AP Comp (As both semesters)
Spanish 3 (As both semesters)
Varsity Swim Team (As both semester)
Academic Decathalon</p>
<p>Senior Year
AP Stats
Honors Brit Lit
honors Anatomy
AP Econ
AP Spanish
I have straight As for senior year</p>
<p>APs
AP Bio (freshman)- 1
AP Euro (soph)-5
AP US-4
AP Physics-1
AP Calc-3
AP Comp-3</p>
<p>SAT I
Math:680
CR: 550
Writing: 640</p>
<p>SAT IIs
Math II: 650
US history: 680</p>
<p>Extra Curriculars</p>
<p>Scholarship Program since 7th grade and I did over 3000 hours of community service- I volunteered for over 90 non profit organizations (I will go into more detail later)</p>
<p>Volunteered for Special Olympics for 4 years
A member of the Assistance League: 2004-current and I help raise money and collect clothes, backpacks, toothbrushes, shoes, etc for children who can not afford these neccesities
Work and raised over $15,000 for a therapeutic horse back riding facility for disabled children- 2002-2006
helped raise over $8,000 for single mothers and abused women in my community
Worked for two months and helped raise of $50,000 for Tsunami victims in Asia Hurricane Katrina victims and I helped gather tons of food and clothes
Chairwoman of my school for Giving Tree Drive
Chairwoman of my school for Pennies for Patients Drive
Actively involved with American Cancer Society and Relay for Life
I work very closely with cancer victims and a non profit organization near my home ( I dont want to name it bc i am paranoid about stalkers, lol, pathetic i know)
Volunteer at the Homeless shelter near my home (over 80 hours a year)</p>
<p>School Activites
President of Environment Club
Treasurer of Cancer Awareness Club
Member of NHS (2004-current)
member of National Art Honor Society
Member of Spanish National Honor Society
Member of Spanish Club
Member of key club
Treasurer of California Scholarship Federation</p>
<p>SPORTS
Varsity Swim Team since freshmen year
2005 Athlete Scholar Award</p>
<p>OTHER AWARDS
AP Scholar
Principals honor roll from 2003-current
Academic award 2003-current</p>
<p>Great Essay
Great Teacher Recommendations
Have an outstanding rec from a powerful politician in my area
first generation College student</p>
<p>Female/ Japanese (Asian)
resides in California</p>
<p>I also visited lafayette this summer (they ask that on the supp)</p>
<p>Boonies13,</p>
<p>I don't feel it is necessary for me to go down your list of accomplishments and comment on each one individually. If you would like to get a sense for how I usually rate an applicant's chances, please see a few of my previous posts.</p>
<p>I will, however, point out the pros and cons.</p>
<p>PROS: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>You are an applicant from California. Even though we do have a good number of students from California, that always helps us as we attempt to diversify our student body.</p></li>
<li><p>Your class rank and academics are really good. Ok, maybe I'm holding back...they are great! You are challenging yourself with those AP courses, and even though you did not score that well on a few of them, the fact that you are taking a difficult courseload will reflect highly on your potential for academic success in college. Keep in mind that your grades are the single most important part of your application.</p></li>
<li><p>Your volunteer work is quite extensive. I hope you spent the time in your application explaining your role in each activity in some detail.</p></li>
<li><p>You hold positions in many extracurricular clubs/organizations. That President position in the Environmental Club shows leadership.</p></li>
<li><p>You seem to be an accomplished swimmer. That "2005 Athlete Scholar Award" sounds impressive!</p></li>
<li><p>The fact that you are a first-generation college applicant always helps.</p></li>
<li><p>You made contact with the college by visiting the campus, which is very impressive considering you live in California! That shows initiative and enthusiasm on your part.</p></li>
<li><p>Even though I have no idea how "great" your recommendations really are, just know that the recommendation from the "powerful politician" won't help your case. How well does this politician know you?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>CONS:</p>
<ol>
<li> You know what your major weakness is...SAT SCORES! From browsing through your other CC posts, it seems that you have a few reach schools on your college list. It also seems that you are already preparing yourself for rejections. While SAT scores aren't everything, that CR score will definitely hurt your chances at any ivy.</li>
</ol>
<p>In your post, you say that you are Japanese...may I assume that English is your second language? If so, that lower CR score may be overlooked by admissions officers at some schools (like Lafayette), but not by admissions officers at the most elite schools.</p>
<p>At Lafayette, SAT scores aren't everything. To see where your scores stack up against other applicants from the past year, please visit this link:</p>
<p>You'll see that we still accepted many applicants with an SAT CR score in the 550-590 range. Your Math and Writing scores, by the way, are just fine.</p>
<p>I hope my short evaluation of your credentials helps you in some way. If I had to place an exact percentage as to your chances: 60%.</p>
<p>All the best,</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>
<p>thanks for all your help!
just wondering, do you have any experience with the government department?
also, this may be a really stuck-up sounding question, but why would you say lafayette isn't considered a "top liberal arts college" I know many do, and rankings suck, but i'm a little considered that laf won't offer the same opportunities as other schools do for liiberal arts majors. i know they're great in engineering, but for govt i wasn't sure laf was the best fit.</p>
<p>any idea when early decision candidates can plan on hearing back?</p>
<p>passionflower8,</p>
<p>Lafayette's Government & Law department is quite strong! They always offer a great selection of courses each and every semester for majors and non-majors. It's really a well-balanced curriculum...you take courses relating to American Politics, International Politics, Comparative Politics, and Political Theory. </p>
<p>Even though I have yet to take a gov/law course, I have only heard great things from my friends about the quality of professors in that department.</p>
<p>For more information on Lafayette's gov/law program, please visit the following web page. Be sure to check out the newsletter!</p>
<p>Lafayette College isn't considered a "top liberal arts college" simply because we haven't really pushed for that reputation until recently. It's true that we have the stats to be considered a "top liberal arts college" (FYI we are listed as "Most Competitive" in Barron's Guide to American Colleges 2007). We now feel it is necessary to really "push" the College to that next level, and there are many ways to accomplish that goal (specialized recruitment fairs, better marketing strategies, etc.).</p>
<p>Don't worry...Lafayette definitely offers the same academic/social opportunities as the "top liberal arts colleges".</p>
<p>Yes, we are great for Engineering...but what does that mean to a prospective gov/law major? Diddly-squat! Just know that our departments of the social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities do not suffer in the least from a "lack of attention" on the part of the administration. Just because our Engineering program is always being touted doesn't necessarily mean we are lacking in our other programs.</p>
<p>Oh, did I mention the Kirby Hall of Civil Rights (built in 1929) is the most awesome looking building on campus? It really fits the "gov/law mold" with its elegant neoclassical stone facade, marbled staircase, hardwood paneled classrooms, and 19th century gentleman's style library.</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>
<p>ericapaige626,</p>
<p>Admissions officers are still hard at work reviewing ED applications. According to the Lafayette website...</p>
<p><<< Students who have decided that Lafayette is the college of their choice may request early consideration of their application under the Early Decision Plan. Decisions on such applications normally are made within 30 days of receipt of your completed application forms. >>></p>
<p>So, if you sent in your application by November 1st, you should expect a decision around the end of the month.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>
<p>Justin-</p>
<p>How does Lafayette compute your SAT1 scores?</p>
<p>janesmom1,</p>
<p>I'm not sure exactly what you mean by that question, but I'll attempt a response.</p>
<p>Lafayette does not "compute" SAT scores by placing them in some crazy admissions equation (like the Academic Index described by Michelle Hernandez in her "A is for Admission" book). Is that what you are asking?</p>
<p>The SAT scores are evaluated in the context of each individual applicant. For example, upper-class applicants should have higher SAT scores than lower-class applicants because they should be able to afford taking an SAT preparation course. Get the idea?</p>
<p>SAT scores are also looked at along with an applicant's transcript. Low SAT scores and a high GPA may just mean that the applicant is a poor standardized test taker. High SAT scores and a lower GPA may hint at laziness.</p>
<p>Also know that the Writing score is not as important as the Math and Critical Reading scores. This is the case with most schools simply because they don't know what exactly to make of a good or bad Writing score. It has also been shown that the SAT Writing score is not always accurate nor consistent.</p>
<p>If you are asking about which scores they look at...well, they will look at all of the scores from all of the testing sessions. Supposedly, they only consider an applicant's top score from each section. I can't imagine that the other scores have no effect at all, can you?</p>
<p>There is really no hard and fast rule as to how Lafayette computes SAT scores in the whole scheme of the admissions process. Yes, they are considered, but they are definitely not everything.</p>
<p>I hope I understood your question. If I did not adequately answer your question (or if I just made absolutely no sense) please feel free to rephrase your question.</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>
<p>wow thanks for all that great info!</p>
<p>passionflower8,</p>
<p>I'm glad you found the information useful!</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>
<p>Justin,
Finally back here, just so busy it's beyond crazy. Thank you for all the info and insight. It's ED Lafayette for me, Can't wait - cross fingers, chant, knock wood - just hope for the best now that I'm finally set that Lafayette is and has been for me all along. Thank you again-you're more helpful than you probably know and better than any other info sent by the college - do they get that?</p>
<p>bgirl,</p>
<p>I'm rooting for you! I know any admissions officer would be crazy not be admit such an enthusiastic applicant.</p>
<p>Maybe we'll be seeing each other around campus next year!</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>
<p>Thanks! Hope I get football tix for Laf/Lehigh this Xmas!! Top of my list.</p>
<p>Passionflower8,
I thought I'd chime in here. My son (now a freshman at Lafayette) chose the school because of the strength of the Liberal Arts curriculum for the Government and Law major and the Economics and Business major. He took two government classes first semester (which basically ends next Friday). When he was home for the Thanksgiving break last week I couldn't believe how much he had absorbed in just three months. I'm not talking about book learning or amount of information (although I'm sure there was plenty of such learning). I'm talking about the more elusive goals of a Liberal Arts education, such as a thirst for keeping abreast of domestic and world political news, the ability to analyze the complex inter-relationships of different world events and a passion for spirited discussions and sharing of views with others. In high school he was taught to always use the third person when writing an essay, and use facts or quotes but never his own opinion. For his first written assignment at Lafayette, his class was instructed to use the first person for the essay they were to write. When he asked his professor if that meant he should write from his own perspective he was told that that was the point of the assigment, to get the students to think about, analyze and form their own thoughts on the subject. So far I'd give Lafayette an A++.</p>
<p>joinville,</p>
<p>I'm so happy to hear that your son is doing well his first-year. Keep in mind that the best years are yet to come!</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>
<p>Hey Justin,
My son just took the SAT again to get his CR score up into range. Are applicants disadvantaged the later they apply ED</p>
<p>jam1ie,</p>
<p>No, your son would have the same chances as every other applicant who applied ED. He is still making that very important commitment to attend if accepted, which conveys his enthusiasm for the school. If anything, the fact that he delayed his intention to apply ED specifically to raise his CR score shows that he cares enough to improve upon any weaknesses in his application. Admissions officers would look favorably upon such efforts.</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>
<p>Does Lafayette have any written or unwritten policy about admitting a certain number of students from any given high school? Or in awarding scholarships?</p>
<p>bluejay,</p>
<p>That's a great question!</p>
<p>Lafayette, as you might have guessed, does not have a written policy about how many students they admit from particular high schools.</p>
<p>However, as you might imagine, if quality students are always admitted from a particular high school, admissions officers are more likely to give those applicants "the benefit of the doubt" if they are lacking in any way. However, the distribution of financial aid does not seem to work this way.</p>
<p>Think about it...doesn't it make sense? We want to admit students who will be successful and make a name for themselves during their four years here. If the students we admit from X High School are consistently high achievers who take advantage of college resources, why wouldn't we continue to admit students from X High School? Obviously, X High School is doing something right to churn out these high-achieving students.</p>
<p>This practice is especially true for international students. Once we find a particular high school we "like" in some foreign country (e.g. Kenya), we often stick to only admitting applicants from that particular high school. Part of the reason for this is because it is oftentimes difficult to find even one foreign high school with appropriate applicants. Unfair for applicants from high schools other than the ones we "like"? Yes! Smart on the college's part? Hell yes!</p>
<p>Just know that I am basing my commentary on real applicant data that I have access to in the Admissions Office.</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>