I got a letter from a reach school saying I was unlikely to be accepted. It’s ACT score is 31 while most of my other schools hover around 30 to 29, so I’m worried since I won’t even get wait-listed. After I talked to my guidance counselor, she suggested I email the other schools about how interested I am to increase my chances of getting accepted into one of the easier ones. To show demonstrated interest. I’m not sure what to write that won’t sound desperate and weird.
Usually students only write this letter after getting wait-listed (or during the application process to ask questions), but this is what my guidance counselor suggested. Any experiences with this? It’s only two months after submitting my applications as it’s February now, so honestly I haven’t achieved much since application due dates. I can’t really talk about recent achievements because I haven’t had any. I can’t talk about my summer plans since I haven’t gotten into any internships or programs yet.
What is your ACT score? You might want to reach out via email to the local adm rep for each of the schools telling them how interested you are and ask a question like “while I was visiting your school I noticed an article in the school paper about research chem majors where doing on XXX, is there a prof I can reach out to to find more info?” , “I just read online that XXX scchool, won the league for men’s basketball. While I will not be playing a varsity sport I am interested in club basketball. Do you know what the time commitment for club ball is” etc. Find something specific to ask about.
My ACT score is 33 but my UW GPA is only 3.4. My school’s grading sucks; only one student in its history ever got a 4.0. I believe my high school’s average GPA is only 2.6. This is all included in the profile but I still suspect my low GPA drags me down.
Like you said the college gets your school profile. If this school that sent you the “unlikely” letter is really one you want to attend, ask your GC to make a call to them for you. Send them a letter telling them why you would be a great fit, and send any additional honors, scores and achievements. Make them want you.