Hello fellow AAs! I am a junior in Montgomery County, MD with a 3.3 UW GPA (very low, I know, I didn’t take my underclassmen years seriously), 3.9 weighted GPA, and a 31 ACT (going to retake it). I am in the Full IB Diploma Program. I am interested in International Business with a minor in a science discipline.
I have a smorgasbord of schools that caught me eye and I’d like to narrow down the Liberal Arts colleges based on chances first (I don’t wanna just essentially donate the application fee to the reach schools), then running the NPC, then taking visits to look at factors such as vibe, etc.
May I please have chances for:
Dickinson, Union, Hobart and William Smith
Lafayette, Bucknell, Colgate, Richmond
Davidson, Haverford, Hamilton, Trinity, Bates
My counselor told me to look into LACs due to their amazing professional networks, reputation, and the fact that they actively recruit POCs.
I’d say you have a decent shot at Dickinson if you have an upward grade trend. They are test optional, but you should send your ACT. They are also strong in your major interests.
@intparent I’m very high on Dickinson also because it’s decently close to home and it’s one of the few LACs that offer early action along with early decision. They have very nice business (one of the few LACs that do that) with so many important academic and life skills and not just mostly pre professional classes where it’s hard to incorporate that second major. I’ll definitely send my ACT since it’s in their 75th percentile and I’m hooked. Looking at naviance, kids got in with even lower stats without a hook.
Any word on the other schools above?
I’m also aiming to get into the posse program because if you don’t make it as a finalist, I can request to have my application sent to other schools to apply EDII. Dickinson isn’t a school I can choose for the DC area which is why I’m saying this.
bucknell, colgate, richmond, davidson, haverford, hamilton, trinity, and bates are all really high reaches given your unweighted gpa. what about skidmore, occidental, and rhodes?
I think you have a shot at all of them if you have a strong upward trend. In other words, assuming that your GPA was dramatically lower freshman year. It’s if always hard to know but lots of schools are forgiving of a rough start.
If you have good SL scores this year, self report those. You will need to make the case that you matured and have hit your academic lick. You may want to think about an essay that explains that.
For all these schools, admissions can be a bit random depending on what they need. So while
I think Colgate and Haverford may be the reachiest in the bunch, I know that most of these schools are working hard to attract more AA students.
Dickinson is a good to high matches, Hobart and William Smith a match to low match
Lafayette and Union are high matches.
All others are reaches to high reaches.
Add Denison, American, St Olaf, perhaps Macalester (high reach), Mount Holyoke (reach).
I thought Questbridge wanted kids with like a 3.8+? I was told by another parent in a PM that Davidson, Haverford, and Hamilton (didn’t ask about Trinity and Bates) were low reach and Richmond was a high match
As far as I’ve seen, any major admissions hook can create a bit of a wildcard status for a given applicant, @bigboyk_ . Therefore, your decision as to where to send your applications might reasonably depend more so on whether you would prefer to reach with some of your choices than on where you might actually get in. In other words, if you think you would prefer the atmospheres and, particularly, the academic programs of some of your more selective options, then consider that they may actually be possible admits for you.
Looking back on it, I really regret not working hard enough in Freshman and sophomore year. A 3.3 would be Max top fifth in Montgomery County, if that. I should’ve learned about what was needed for selective admissions earlier to make a better plan for classes, etc. I think that what I’ll do is that I’ll definitely apply to Dickinson EA (a match I have a good chance to get into) since it has a business program, and then reach with some choices based on atmospheres, programs, etc. Lots of reading to do over spring break! Luckily, my family kind of went in reverse – I did some tours of schools with different attributes which is why my list is closer to set than others and I know what I want.
Also, how prestigious are some of the low matches suggested for grad school, job placement, etc. (Dickinson, Hobart and William Smith, Union is a match based on my school’s naviance profile)?
Yes, first gen helps too.
But it doesn’t miraculously make you in range when you’re not in range academically; it tips in your favor if most things are within range - so, you can afford a lower GPA, but only if course rigor is there (check) and if test scores are good, with a couple soldiers ECs that let them envision how you’d contribute to campus life.
Dickinson and Union are significantly harder to get into than Hobart&WilliamSmith. Head to their respective forums to read stats if students who were admitted and rejected in this cycle.
In your case, Match means you’re near the top 75% for test scores and above 25% mark for GPA, odds are about 50-50 you’ll get in; high match means it’s closer to a reach but your odds are still 40-60. Low match means it’s closer to a safety so 60-40 odds of admission.
@MYOS1634 for my ECs, I was in the orchestra last year as one of the first chair violinists when my school team won an international competition in New York at Riverside Church. We’ve played at Strathmore with Black Violin as well.
I am an AP Scholar with Honors and also won a National Academic Achievement Award from the black fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha. I have also done more than 350+ community service hours and will win a regional award for MCPS.
Lastly, I was able to shadow a prominent DC banker through my school’s career partnership day and be able to even make some financial funding decisions on social impact investing, too (it was simulated).
@bigboyk_ in regards to your plans you need to look at URichmond. Their Robins School of Business and the Jesup School of Leadership would be great fits for what you are looking to study - plus their sciences building is amazing! Actually everything about it is amazing from the campus (gorgeous) to the students (so friendly and open) to the professors (all classes taught but professors not TAs)! With all that you did in just your first two years of high school, you could apply to be part of the Bonnor Scholars (a service organization that comes with a stipend!) UR was my D18’s first choice but she got better FA from another top ranked school so had to ‘follow the money’. But we visited campus 3 times to tour, back for an interview and then Into the Web (and it was a 14 hour drive so that should speak to how highly we though of it!) It will forever be the ‘one that got away’.