New to this! Chance me please? :)

Colleges & Universities A-Z Middlebury College
1

<p>Ok I've never done this before so excuse the fact that I look like a complete n00b.</p>

<p>My stats:
3.75 cummulative unweighted GPA (I know this is low but I had a 3.2 unweighted my freshman year because I have been tutoring my autistic sister and taking care of my physically handicapped grandmother for the past 4 or 5 years. I explained this in the additional info section of the common app but didnt go indepth at all, I just said that I was overwhelmed my freshman year with the high school rigor and my family responsibilities and that I developed better time management skills during my soph and junior years).
4.4 cummulative weighted
3.9/4.64 grades 10-12 GPA
SAT: 2210 (740CR 770M 700W)
ACT: 33 (30E 33M 33R 35S)
took AP world, APUSH, AP calc BC, and AP spanish lang
senior year APs: bio, apes, macro, US gov, stats, and english lit
AP scholar with honors
nominee to take the American Chemical Society's first year chem exam</p>

<p>ECs:
Interfaith youth council: (most significant EC) (4 years)
- board member who attends meetings and works on interfaith projects and an annual dialogue forum
- articles published in 2 different religious magazines
- won a scholarship from the Shinnyo-en Buddhist foundation to work on an interfaith peace initiative in Hawaii
-facilitator who facilitates youth of different faith backgrounds discussing their religions with one another at the annual interfaith dialogue forum the council hosts
-I practice a religion called Zoroastrianism btw..mentioned this in my app --> diversity points or am I just dreaming?</p>

<p>Interfaith youth leadership initiative
- basically just a 3 day camp where I was taught leadership skills to further my interfaith work and I got a $100 scholarship out of it. the camp was hosted at USC.</p>

<p>High School golf (3 years)
-our team finished second in an extremely competitive league and we qualified to CIF but didnt advance from there
-Girls golf scholar athlete of the year (2012)
-thinking of contacting the middlebury coach although I didnt fill out an athletic supplement...should I?</p>

<p>Sunday youth group at the Zoroastrian center I attend (4+ years)</p>

<p>Worked at family business past two summers selling jewelry</p>

<p>volunteer at the world religions tent for a multicultural festival I've been attending for the past 5 years</p>

<p>Pollworker for the 2012 general election</p>

<p>Key club (4 years but not super involved)</p>

<p>I'm a female from California applying to International Relations (studies), I feel like I have very IR related ECs and I speak Farsi fluently which is a supercritical language, so I assume that's kind of a hook among IR applicants but I'm not sure. I'm Persian (which I don't think helps bc I'm still "White") and I am first generation for college.</p>

2

<p>I don’t typically offer an opinion on chance threads because… really? The only people who can adequately assess an application is the person who sees all of it. While I think your “resume” of qualifications looks perfectly within the range of accepted students, no one on CC can truly judge any of it. We don’t see your essay or your teacher recommendations which I think weight heavily at the small competitive liberal arts schools. </p>

<p>However… I don’t think saying you were overwhelmed was perhaps the best word choice, so I am hoping you are perhaps paraphrasing there? Im also not sure where you added that to your application. Additional information? And while it is your life and you need not explain it to anyone, having a special needs sibling is not always easy. My neighbor has an autistic child and I know that his needs often trump those of his brother in terms of time and support. This is not overwhelmed - it’s a time divider. Being overwhelmed could be inferred to mean you weren’t capable of the work vs dedicated to the needs of your family. It is my opinion that reasons are different than excuses. Just throwing that out there. </p>

<p>This said… Farsi is a massively difficult language so props to you! And yes, I would think this is a bonus. Your religion and involvement is definitely a plug for your diversity. Being a first generation is always a plus! Being from California is not exactly a plus or a minus but it sure works better for you than being from the northeast. However, when you say you are persian, but still white - not sure I get how that works. If you are of Persian decent, regardless of skin color, I would have definitely encouraged you to check the box as “other” vs “caucasian” - unless of course, it’s more a case similar to my being Irish (and my family coming to this county via the UK in the 1800’s). :)</p>

3

<p>Does your school rank?</p>

4

<ol>
<li>chance you for what schools?</li>
<li>what did you score in took AP world, APUSH, AP calc BC, and AP spanish lang</li>
<li>ranking, if any?</li>
</ol>

5

<p>oh sorry didn’t realize this was in the middlebury college thread!
Your GPA seems low for this college. I would chance you at 60% because of the Farsi and First-generation.
If you got all 5’s on your AP’s I chance you at 70%.
But if you want to do IR, why Middlebury?..there’s prob better IR programs elsewhere
Just my two cents</p>

6

<p>

</p>

<p>Do you know anything about Middlebury?</p>

7

<p>wow thank you for all the replies! IMO, Middlebury has one of the strongest IR programs among the LAC’s. my rank is 25/649, I know it’s poor but it’s still top 4% and I explained my freshman year grades/family situtation in the additional info section of the common app. My AP scores will also hurt me considering I got three 4’s and a 5, but they’re self-reported, so I feel like they shouldn’t break my app. I haven’t read my recommendations but they are likely to be the strongest part of my app because both these teachers gave me a school award last year indicating I was one of the top students in their subject classes (AP spanish and honors english and these awards are extremely difficult to obtain you have to basically be in the top .5% of students for each subject). I also have a strong friendship with both of these teachers outside the classroom and both teachers are known on campus for their writing skills/phenomenal recs. I really liked my essay bc I managed to relate multiple aspects of myself and my life that would initially seem completely unrelated. It was paradoxical but that’s what I loved about it. My english teacher also said it was one of the most original commonapp essays she’s read. I don’t really know what else to say but thank you again for all the replies!</p>

8

<p>You’re certainly in the range for Middlebury.</p>

9

<p>I think you look really good.Being first generation is a major hook, and everything else is good. I would seek out an interview so you can explain the family issue. That makes you a good person as well as intelligent and interesting. I chance you at 80%, which is the highest I give anyone! Good luck!</p>

10

<p>Wow! You guys are all so sweet and helpful. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I really appreiciate all the input :’)</p>

11

<p>Hey guys I just wanted to update that I was waitlisted :frowning: oh well at least it’s not a flat out rejection. I’m hoping its because I come from a small and not super competitive private school in Orange County and almost no one in my school has applied to Midd. I’ve also never even been to Vermont but I’ll be going there the first week of April so hopefully I can plead my case to someone at admissions how much I want to be at Middlebury. I can’t really be upset because I have 6 other acceptances and no rejections so far, but I really wanted Midd. Thanks for all the help guys!</p>

12

<p>Well, I’m glad you have other good options. If you haven’t explained your family situation, now is the time to do it. If there is anyone you know with a Midd connection who can call or write a letter supporting you, have them do it.
I suggest your guidance counselor call Midd, ask to speak to the person who was in charge of your application and ask what was lacking in your file. I also suggest you assemble a packet with any new information about you, a short letter from you expressing your desire to attend Midd, even with these other acceptances, and why you think it is best for yoy, and you are best for it.
SHOW THE LOVE! My S got off the wait list 3 years ago…Hopefully you can too!</p>

13

<p>If you take any college-level classes such as AP and IB courses then that could boost your transcript.</p>

<p>Lol 3.75 is just fine my school doesn’t really do GPA but mine was estimated to be around 3.3 UW (by sophomore/junior year GPA was 3.5-3.8) yet I got in (it still shocks me to this day).</p>

<p>Just have a strong college essay, work hard in school, volunteer often, study for standardized tests (but not too rigorously), and enjoy your interview because those could be key components to whether you’ll be accepted or not. My scores were above average, but my interview was one of the best I’ve had during my process, and I think that was a definitive factor in my decision. But you seem pretty qualified and surely they’d love to have you!!! I always wanted to learn farsi btw lol</p>

<p>Best of luck!!!</p>