<p>so i just had my interview today, and im more in love with dartmouth than ever after my interviewer confirmed everything i already thought about the school. but im having anxiety about not getting in given the record-high number of applicants. please just chance me, i don't want to get my hopes up if i shouldn't, because at this point i'd be devastated to get rejected :(
btw, i made a thread earlier but it didn't really get comments so im starting this new one</p>
<p>State: Illinois
HS type: Public
Gender: Female
Class Rank: 1 of 900
ACT: 35
SAT: 2370 (800 CR, 770 M, 800 W)
SAT II's: 760 US History, 780 Math II
Extracurriculars:
Varsity Gymnastics Team Captain
Student Council Executive Board Secretary
30+ hours volunteering at a hospital
AP Scholar with Distinction
National Merit Semi-Finalist
Link Crew Leader
Graduate of local medical program for high school students
Youth and Government Legislator
3rd place statewide poetry contest
Honorable mention at state in PTA Reflections contest
Illinois State Scholar
Math team 3rd place regionals, partner division</p>
<p>I agree with the above. If you are concerned about your chances, I would send a note saying something along the lines of “Dartmouth is my #1, and I will definitely attend if accepted.”</p>
<p>Hm… really? Admissions says it doesn’t take demonstrated level of interest into consideration, so I don’t know if a letter like that would actually help you. After I found out we were supposed to send in the supplement as soon as we decide to apply to Dartmouth (it didn’t say that on the common app website, so I handed it along with my application right before the deadline), I thought about contacting them, but decided it would be better not to bother them.</p>
<p>But…they mention all the different ways you can express that Dartmouth is your #1, if you feel inclined to do so. Why mention using the additional information section of the Common App to reveal that if it means nothing? Clearly, visiting Dartmouth, bombarding them with calls, emails, etc. will not get you admitted, but I assume if you are as qualified as the OP is, it could be a tipping point factor.</p>
<p>Look, it won’t hurt her to send them a message saying Dartmouth is her top choice. Worst case scenario would be that the secretary or kid responsible for reading emails looks at it, decides nobody cares, and deletes it. BUT, it may also find its way into her file, and if she is on the fence it may be the difference that gets her the green A. Who knows. </p>
<p>Point is, it won’t do any harm but might help. I vote send it.</p>
<p>I think you have a really good shot at admission. Your stats are really good and you are ranked first in your class. However, Dartmouth will assume that your are applying to lots of competitive colleges. They will not know where they stand unless you tell them. Dartmouth like every other college wants a high yield rate. If it is your first choice you should let them know. I think it will make a difference. It certainly can’t hurt.</p>
<p>^I completely agree. She has an extremely high chance of admission, and her supposed level of “interest” will have no impact on Dartmouth’s decision.</p>
<p>Dartmouth is already ranked very highly, especially in undergraduate teaching, so there’s no reason to assume that they’d reject a candidate like the OP in order to protect their yield. The school wants the best students possible, so the higher caliber of people they admit, the ‘better’ the incoming class will be. ED has already accounted for a good portion of their class, so their RD yield rate does not have to be as high as, say, Princeton. They already know that if they offer her admission, there’s a decent chance she’ll matriculate, possibly better if they presume she won’t be accepted to a ‘more selective’ university.</p>
<p>That being said, I’d say that the OP is very competitive, though its difficult to predict Ivy admissions, so don’t take anything we say too seriously as its possible that all of us could be very wrong.</p>
<p>Also, would just like to say that the admit rate for 800 CR is 34.4% and 800 W is 32.2%; since the OP has both of these, her chance of admission is statistically about 55% based off of these figures alone.</p>
<p>I’m not sure that you could really combine those statistics between CR and W because its possible that a portion of the students those percentages refer to got 800’s in both like the OP. Her application is pretty solid from what I can tell, I’d say she doesn’t really have to worry too much. On a side note that is a huge graduating class.</p>
<p>You guys are acting like she’s a shoo-in. This is Dartmouth we are talking about. You know, Ivy-league Dartmouth with a projected <10% acceptance rate this year. I don’t care how qualified she is academically, she still has just as good a chance as many others who are applying. The admissions process is holistic, and I’ve heard about people with perfect SATs and perfect ACTs getting rejected.</p>
<p>That said, I do think she sounds like an outstanding applicant and I think Dartmouth would be lucky to have her. But at this level it’s a crapshoot and we don’t want to get her hopes up too much.</p>
<p>@OP - It’s good to see how much you love Dartmouth. Dartmouth is my 2nd choice, so I understand where you are coming from. haha I wish you the best of luck!</p>
<p>Agree with FallenAngel. You seem like you’d be a great addition to the Class of 2015, but you’re competing with Olympic gold medalists and the works. This year will be brutally competitive, so don’t get your hopes up too much. I do think you have a strong shot at ending up at one of the ivies or their peers, though.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your opinions, truly. I would consider such a note indicating my interest, but I can assure you I made it readily clear to my interviewer dartmouth is my first choice. I think a note could be redundant at best and at worst, indicative of a hyper-intensity of personality I’d like to avoid (especially given some ivy candidates can be a bit eccentric). Thanks again, and id appreciate any new chancers, as well!</p>
<p>None of the ivy leagues really take an applicant’s level of interest into consideration. </p>
<p>They do not have to protect their yield rates. Sure, most people would choose HYPS over cornell, brown or dartmouth. But really, there are only a handful of such colleges and they know that.</p>
<p>That said, sending them a note will have no effect on your admissions decision. You have excellent chance with or without it though. I would be surprised if you don’t get in but it is a possibility. </p>
<p>There are acceptance rates and everything but it eventually comes down to simple “acceptance or rejection.” I think acceptance. Not saying Dartmouth isn’t a reach for everyone, but you’ll probably get in.</p>
:)</p>