@corrjayna let’s hope the reason is less people applying. Also I come from Naperville, so much competition
@lsutiger25 Best of luck, and don’t give up!
hey…
what are my chances for imsa?
Im asian and female. I go to school in naperville 203 dist. Im currently taking adv alg2/trig, adv chem, adv eng, ap hum geo, french 2, and orch. My current gpa unweighted is pretty low at a staggering 3.3 and weighted at a 3.9. My 2016 sats are at eng 590 and math 610 and I am retaking them later in jan. I also do plenty of volunteer work.
My ec includes…
society of women engineers (swe)
STem
science club
tech and robotics club
forensic sciences
FAsca for oversees cultural student ambassadors
Tutor (instrument)
dog shelter
Leaders in progress
Tech for theater program
Young entrepreneurship Program
yrbook club
badminton
fencing
lacrosse league
dance
chinese language and culture classes
symphony orchestra
My awards include…
7th in math count
2nd in district science fair
award for modeling the schools guidelines for success
outstanding orchestra
high gold in international dance comp
certificate for excellence and achievement
lacrosse tournament 5th place
solo and ensemble orch
Advice and such would be verry very much appreciated… thanks!!
^^ also my english teacher has something against me, so teacher recommendations may be a total bust…
@xjayy13
You have a lot of extracurriculars varying from science to sports, which is very good. I believe IMSA uses unweighted GPA (? - correct me if I’m wrong) and with your current unweighted GPA you should try to bring your grades up. Your SATs seems to be a little low, not too much, so aim to bring it up as well while retaking it.
Regarding your English teacher, on the IMSA application it says that you can request a teacher evaluation from this year OR last year as well - so you can ask your English teacher from last year instead of your English teacher this year. Have you talked face-to-face (or emailed) to your current English teacher about your IMSA application yet?
regarding essays, do they have to be a typical 4-5 paragraph essay including the intro, 2-3 body, and conclusion, or should it be in your style, and you decide however you format it?
@birdie02 I think that they usually see people do the typical essay format but if you find a style that is unique this may separate you from the typical imsa essay
Hi guys, I’m another freshman applying to IMSA this year.
Looking back at the previous page, people were wondering if there would be less applicants to the academy than normal due to the lack of comments on this discussion. I don’t mean to discourage anyone, but at my school in Naperville, I know several people who are planning on applying. At the top of my head, I can think of at least seven students other than me. (and that’s only the people that I know)
@birdie02 I have not talked to my teachers yet. I am planning to do so before finals which are a week after break is over. Its probably not the best idea, but… Thank you for the advice!!
@birdie02 I’m going with 4-5 paragraphs because its the best way for me to organize my ideas efficiently. I don’t think you have to have all the typical conventions of an English essay though, like for example, I don’t have a thesis statement because my essay would be too rigid in structure that way.
@bluehorse123 Yepp, a lot of people from the naperville 203 and 204 districts are applying this year. Honestly though, a bunch of kids just apply to see if they get accepted. Quite a few people (from past years) get accepted, brag, and just forget about it. It’s mainly becuz they dont want to leave home so soon. Imsa is like the Sats, some people just wanna see if theyr good enough to get in, but don’t actually want to go. Though there are a lot of kids that are actually applying too, so…
regarding the essays, can it be 550 words? like their range is 300-500 but can it possibly be a little above it?
Hey guys! I’m a freshman applying from Naperville/204 (wvhs)
Asian (yikes)
Hopefully you guys can chance me! @lsutiger25 do u go to wvhs?
SAT
CR: 710
Math: 780
GPA: unweighted: 4.0 (all honors/ ap and pa during middle school)
Awards:
Illinois Junior Academy of Science Gold Award
Illinois Junior Academy of Science Gold Award
National Fluid Power Association Engineering Challenge
Nomination as Delegate for Congress of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists
Presidential Scholar Award
ECs:
Northern Illinois University Engineering Workshop
Science Olympiad
Aspiring Medical Leaders of America
Alive Center STEM Club (President)
Volunteer Tutor at 95th St. Library (President)
Badminton
Choir
Alive Center Student Advisory Board
Other Info: Taking all honors and ap; female; v competitive in my area (wvhs/mvhs/nvhs)
^^ sorry i go to metea … using my friend’s account cause mine got locked out
@xjayy13
about the Naperville students applying for IMSA - since they are applying to see if they have chances to get in or not, is it implicit that they will not actually go to IMSA, so there are higher chances of more waitlisted people to be given the ‘yes you can come to IMSA’, then?
regarding the word count, I do think it is possible for a bit over 500 (again, correct me if I’m wrong lol). if you want, you can always email them at admissions@imsa.edu (taken directly from IMSA website) to ask them; it doesn’t hurt to ask.
my gpa is currently a low 3.6 ish (which I aim to increase). can I (sort of) cover it up with my SAT scores, which are 760 math, 630 reading?
I have a GPA of a low 3.6-ish; can this be sort of covered up by my SAT scores, which are math 760 and reading 630?
also does anyone know how to calculate RCE score?
((oops sorry about the double comment – didn’t see above comment load so typed it again lol))
Anyone know how important the sat essay score is for the application process. I got a 6/6/6. Is this good?
@mknsdh123 Nah, I go to Nvhs. Also, kudos for managing to get straight As in high school and pa in middle school. 7th grade PA for me was quite rough, so I am hoping IMSA will see my grades progressively getting better. All your other stats seem fine, so basically you just need to write good essays and hope to get good recs 
Regarding essays, I feel like it is too hard to try and fit five paragraphs into a 500 word essay, but the problem is that I don’t know what format to use instead. Would one long paragraph be too unstructured and informal?
@birdie02 Those are pretty good scores, and as long as you have good teacher recs, essays, and ec’s, I think you should have a fair shot. Also, they do take the unweighted score, but if I recall correctly you had all advanced classes. They do mention this when they are going over GPA so that the judges know that even though you didn’t get a great GPA, part of it might have been because of difficult classes. Also, just to be clear, the GPA they take is only math, science, and english from the past 2 1/2 years, so if you aren’t calculating it like that you might have a better (or worse) IMSA application GPA than you thought.
@XxSwegLordxX This is the first year essay is seperate from everything else, and it is not mentioned anywhere on just about everything I’ve seen or heard about the application process, so I think it is just there to act almost as a tie braker. If two people have exactly the same everything else, they can take a look at their SAT essays. s