is carleton realistic for me?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Carleton College
1

<p>I'm a junior; class of 2006.</p>

<p>I will not be indicating my race on my apps because I do not believe in that. I do not need the pity of admissions officers and I do not believe that apps should even have a space for this. What does race have to do with anything?</p>

<p>Then again, I have thought about how diversifying is supposedly an issue at Carleton and Macalester...so would it prove helpful for me to indicate that I am Asian? Hm...In the end, however, I probably won't indicate my race. I don't feel that by placing racially different students on a campus makes it any more diverse.</p>

<p>Competitive public school.</p>

<p>GPA by graduation should be 4.02 or so weighted. I don't know about unweighted.</p>

<p>Currently top 15%. </p>

<p>Activities:
French Club, 4 years (possibly an officer next year)
Possibly NHS (I haven't gotten my acceptance/rejection letter yet)
Possibly French Honor Society and/or Quill and Scroll (for journalism)
Newspaper staff, 2 years
Lit Mag, 2 years
Starting up a French painting club
Applied to a mini-medical school for high schoolers, I need to get through interview before I know if I've been accepted or not
Piano
Translator at my church (consecutively from Korean to English...hopefully I can work at it and do it simultaneously)
Volunteer at hospital, should have over 100 hours by graduation</p>

<p>The only standardized test scores I have are my PSATs...I got a 189 on a practice one, and just took the real thing this morning.</p>

<p>I am reaching for the equivalent of a 1400+ on the new SAT I that is out of 2400.</p>

<p>I will be taking SAT IIs, but I don't know what subjects yet. Probably something to do with English, French, and maybe math.</p>

<p>I hope for a 30+ on the ACT.</p>

<p>I plan to study various foreign languages in college, especially French.</p>

<p>Schools I'm interested in (I live in the Chicago land area):
*U of Chicago
Northwestern?
*Illinois Wesleyan
*Grinnell
I guess I'll have to apply to U of I at Urbana-Champaign (would this be considered a safety for me?)
U of I at Chicago would probably be a safety for me as well...
Harvard (def a reach for me, my dream; cousin and uncle went there)
Wellesley (cousin went there)
Barnard
NYU??
*Carleton
*Macalester</p>

<p>I've recently thought about the issue of getting as far away from home as I could once college rolls around...But I figure that sticking around for undergraduate years might be more of an advantage for me...I'll truck it when I go to med school...The starred schools are the ones that I'm really looking into.</p>

<p>What would be some good matches for me if these schools don't fit? And yes, I do realize that it's extremely hard to predict these things, especially since I do not have my test scores.</p>

<p>Your efforts are appreciated.</p>

2

<p>I'd say you could definitely be optimistic about getting into Carleton; you're involved in extracurriculars, have a competitive GPA, and a decent PSAT (which doesn't matter too much for anything except National Merit). Carleton would be a very different experience from you from Harvard, for instance, but it's a choice I made in Carleton's favor - smaller liberal arts just fits better for some people. Choice is yours, looks like you'll have options, good luck.</p>

3

<p>I think Carleton would be a reach. D had 1400/31/top 10% NHS etc, etc. Rejected at Carleton, waitlisted at Macalester, accepted at Grinnell and U of I. The Macalester thread says it's harder for girls than boys.</p>

4

<p>Carleton decisions are difficult to predict because its admissions isn't very stats-oriented. Obviously Carleton looks for academically strong students, but there have been plenty of people admitted with worse stats than yours and as many rejected with better ones. You definitely have a chance of being admitted, but if you plan on applying, here's my advice:</p>

<ul>
<li>get very good fall semester grades and bring up your rank/GPA</li>
<li>prep for the standardized tests you take so that you're scoring well within or above the 25-75 range for Carleton. IIs are optional here last time I checked but high scores will help you</li>
<li>really emphasize and play up your interest in foreign languages both on your application and if you interview. Carleton has great study-abroad programs, several of them in the French language (Mali and Paris are led by Carleton faculty and I can vouch that the guy who leads the Mali program is wonderful, but there are also affiliated programs that students do), and I believe the admissions office would like a student who was well-researched in Carleton's options for foreign study</li>
<li>indicating your race would at best give you only a small advantage at Carleton and probably no advantage elsewhere except some of the whiter midwestern schools, so go with your conscience</li>
<li>visit visit VISIT if you can at all and establish contact with the admissions office so they know you're serious</li>
</ul>

5

<p>I agree with use a toothbrush's suggestions. </p>

<p>If you can apply ED (if finances are not a consideration), and you have a clear favorite, you may want to play that card. My son was WL'd at Carleton with 1460 SAT's and top 13% uw class rank. In his class, I think the rank was the issue - ED might (or might not) have helped.</p>

<p>Have you thought about Bryn Mawr?</p>

6

<p>I also was waitlisted. I personally thought I had a good chance at Carleton . I'm interested in foreign language as well and I had lots of language and math awards and leadership/community involvement, along with NMSF standing, 1500+ SAT I, 780+ on three SAT II's, and ranked around 11%. I think class rank and interest in Carleton are really important for them. Try try your hardest to get the highest rank you can. Although I would never choose this path, this should be your highest priority when you are in school. As for out of school, make yourself seem interesting. This will definitely go a long way.</p>