MT girl's chances? I <3 Barnard!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Barnard College
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<p>I guess you could say Barnard is a high, high reach school. But here is my (unusual) early-decision application. </p>

<p>Verbal-720
Math-640
Sat II-Writing-670
Sat II-Biology-640
Act-28 (33 english/writing combined, 27 math)
GPA: 3.5 (Downward trend junior year, due to a tough parent’s divorce, yada yada. Grades have increased significantly, but Barnard will not see, due to me applying early decision. And here is the killer- C and a D first semester, two C’s second semester (in honors pre-calc and AP Chemistry, junior year) All A’s and B’s other this.
I have taken almost entirely all AP classes offered.
Ap us history-4, AP World-3, AP Bio-3</p>

<p>I wrote a short attatched essay explaining the divorce situation, though I know it shouldn’t be an excuse. I just kind of overloaded myself (I am now focusing on becoming an english major)</p>

<p>EC’s
-2nd degree black belt in taekwondo, been in taekwondo for 9 years. Very extensive competition record, I won a gold medal at nationals last year, and a silver medal at the US Open two years ago.
-Lots of hours teaching taekwondo
-Very involved in violin, play in symphony orch I, and have made All State, first violin
-I am also in a celtic band, and we perform at gigs and weddings and fundraising events. We won our talent show with 1500 person attendance (selected first out of 80 acts.) I sent in a celtic tape, just for fun.
-I want to be a writer (doesn’t everyone?) and I’m working on a novel and all that. I was accepted and attended the advanced creative writing program at Columbia University.
-Writer for paper, news editor last year
-I performed 70+ hours of community service in a Fijiian village last summer
-I’ve gone to many music and taekwondo camps
-Lots of backpacking, hiking, skiing, outdoorsy stuff
-I wrote my common app essay about Montana, which I think you should help, b/c when I talked to the admission counselor, she kind of hinted it was a really great advantage.
-Everyone says they have fantastic essays, so, I will do the same, lol. Assuming I have excellent essays and my interview went really great, do I even have a chance?</p>

<p>After reading all of these brilliant people’s threads, I kind of think it’s hopeless. I absolutely love Barnard and New York (My extended family lives there) and really, really want to go! Thanks for reading, any help would be appreciated! If not, I guess my question will be answered in 8 days, December 15th! Not that I’m counting… hahaha.</p>

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<p>33 views, no comments! I'm doomed (bump, lol)</p>

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<p>I'm not prejudiced by knowledge or experience, so I will offer an opinion. Your numbers are certainly good and you have interesting ECs, but they may want to wait for first semester grades. I think you will probably be accepted RD.</p>

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<p>barnard really prefers mostly a's and a few b's. BUT i got a d in physics first semester junior year and i had i think one or two c's.. i dont remember.. i was deferred ED, wrote them a fabulous letter about how i defy the laws of physics and that's why i got a d, and was accepted RD.
so it is possible!</p>

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<p>Thanks for sharing your "D" situation; it was good of you to offer hope for people with glitches in their record. Would you mind sharing your overall stats so that we can see if we are in the running. Do you have any suggestions for how to show interest in the school without seeming to be fawning? Thanks for any decisions you can supply as my daughter has not yet sent out her rd application.</p>

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<p>kinkosmom, i assume you were talking to me..
i dont even remember my stats, but here is an estimate..</p>

<p>white female (obviously) from dc metro area
gpa: 3.4? 3.6? i did full ib at a magnet school that's considered one of the best in the country, so weighted my gpa was very high, but unweighted it probably was on the lower end of barnard's acceptances.. i had almost entirely a's and then a few random c's and d's. no b's.
combined sat: 1390
act: 33
sat 2 writing: 800, french: 760, us history: 700
i took both ap and ib exams, the scores from junior year (the ones barnard saw, since i hadnt taken the senior ones yet) were 4s on ap us history and microeconomics and french, 5 on english language, and a 6 (out of 7) on ib math.</p>

<p>ECs..
editor on school litmag for 3 years
staff writer on school newspaper for 4
interned at a local theatre for a year and had them write a rec
in the summers i did volunteer work at a butterfly garden, which is what i wrote my essay about
i speak danish and i did a lot of danish cultural stuff
was accepted into a very prestigious seminar at the folger shakespeare library
i had lots of writing and history awards
my recs were so-so.. i didn't see them but they were both from english teachers and barnard probably wanted me to be more well rounded</p>

<p>i was deferred, but my senior grades werent particularly good (and i think they had wanted to see me improve slightly) but as i said, after my deferral i wrote them a really creative and interesting letter, and i had the most respected teacher in my school write me a special recommendation. i think those 2 things were what got me in RD.</p>

<p>however as you probably know, my class, 2009, is especially big and they had to force some lounges into bedrooms because we couldnt all fit; this lack of space combined with this year's especially large applicant pool will make this year probably extremely tough, and happy anecdotes like mine might give you hope but they dont really represent barnard admissions decisions as a whole</p>

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<p>Any news, double?</p>

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<p>Dear Scarf Madness: Thanks for fab. detailed response. Very kind of you. I would bet it was your ECs that helped you the most; B. is looking for unusual and interesting people. The Danish and the folger seminar were probably very attractive items.</p>

<p>My daughter's stats are competitive but not astounding (3.65 unweighted, 1410/2050 sats (sat iis not back yet but she thinks that they will not be so good) and her ecs also are very strong but not astounding (as are yours, I think).</p>

<p>Any other ideas on ways to evince interest and show specialness? Should one try to build a communication with local rep? (Scarf Madness or others can answer this.) (D, is applying rd.)</p>

<p>Also, scarfmadness, you and my d. seem to have many things in common, judging from reading your ecs. So, I am curious as to what other schools you visited that were next on your list of preferences if you had not gotten into Barnard. To which of those were you accepted? We have not had the opportunity to visit that many other colleges (have visited at interviewed at Barnard) and her list is quite eclectic and each one chosen for a different reason. So, I would love to hear what you liked and at which of those you were accepted. THANKS.</p>

<p>Thanks again for your realistic response re the chances and the competitiveness of this year's pool.</p>

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<p>kinkosmom,
i probably applied to very different schools than most people at barnard do.. my desire to be in a city dominated all my other factors in the college process. so while i looked at schools like vassar and dartmouth and thought they were ok, i didnt apply. i also had a really negative view of my chances which affected where i applied - i think i had more safeties than most.
i applied to, in order of preference:</p>

<p>barnard (accepted, obviously)
mcgill (waitlisted)
eugene lang (accepted with 3/4 tuition scholarship)
simmons (accepted with 1/2 tuition scholarship)
nyu (accepted)
boston u (waitlisted)
hofstra (accepted with 1/2 tuition scholarship)</p>

<p>in retrospect i probably would have applied to very different schools, but barnard would remain my first choice.</p>

<p>good luck with your daughter, im sure she will fit in many places even if you dont visit, i know some people at barnard who for financial/geographical reasons couldnt visit but they are here anyway. the college process is really overhyped and as long as your daughter has good support and knows she will be ok wherever she goes, im sure she will be fine.</p>

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<p>Thanks scarfmadness. I was right; it does seem that you and d. have a lot in common. She is also very interested in being in a cosmopolitan city and also is still considering canada. She has mostly applied to city schools including b.u.. Your rejection at b.u. seems a huge anomaly as your credentials more than meet their target. Had you applied to university scholars within b.u. ?? My d. is thinking about that as a possibility but probably will not. University Scholars has much higher requirements--really comparable to Ivy League requirements. If you are rejected to u.s., you cannot get into regular BU admissions, so she will probably not apply to u.s. Thanks again for your helpful and timely responses and for your encouragement.</p>

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<p>i applied to the BU college of arts and sciences, i didnt do any special program. but i really wasnt very excited about it (when i read the question "why do you want to come to boston university?" i thought in my head, "well, i really dont") and they might have sensed that from my application. it did make me very sad for a few days though, because i got my bu decision before my barnard decision and i thought if i couldnt get into bu there was no way barnard would take me! but schools look for different strengths and i really believe you end up where you're meant to end up.</p>

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<p>Hi, Scarfmadness and other Barnardians (a word?) I have read on college confidential that some people think it is a good idea to write a letter to your first choice school saying that it is your first choice. (Of course one would only write one such letter.)</p>

<p>I know you do not have
insiders information but what do you all think about writing such a letter to Barnard? Addressed to the Head of Admissions?Should it be a separate letter or part of the "Is there anything else you want us to know about you? Looking forward to hearing your responses as my daughter is afraid it is simply not appropriate and I am not sure. Thanks for your insights. </p>

<p>Another question. Each person is different but, on average, would you say Barnard students spend almost all their time studying? What percentage of out of class time? Do you feel it is one of the most rigorous--in terms of quantity of work as compared with other excellent schools? Thanks again for your input.</p>

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<p>i was deferred ED and then i wrote such a letter to barnard, saying it was still my first choice and describing my recent accomplishments and why barnard would be sorry if they didnt have me. i think in cases of deferral it's a good idea to show you're still interested; but if you applied RD in the first place it seems a little insincere to me. after all, you could send the exact same letter to each of your schools. maybe if you had an interview, that would be the place to convey that barnard was your first choice.
barnard students run the gamut on studying. honestly i would have to say that compared to columbia dorms barnard students are much quieter.. at least on my floor, we actually observe quiet hours.. but that may just be that the girls on my floor like to study in their rooms while columbia kids prefer the libraries. people definitely take academics extremely seriously here but there is always time for fun and i find that generally barnard students are extraordinarily good at managing their time. the only other similar college i can compare to is oberlin which is where my high school best friend goes; her classes are not nearly as rigorous as even some of our ap classes in high school, but that might have just been the luck of the draw this semester.</p>