Now that decisions are out, how about chancing a junior? Please?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Washington University in St. Louis
1

<p>First off, I'm an Asian male
Also, I am now a junior, so this is all tentative..
My high school usually sends 20-25 kids to good schools while most go to the state school</p>

<p>UW GPA - 3.7 with an upward trend
W GPA - 4.2
Class Rank - 41/254 (Could Change by the end of the year into being in top 10%)
Workload - Pretty Rigorous (Note that it's not the most rigorous it can be, didn't take APUSH at all and only took Honors English at Junior year =)
Also, I finished at Spanish Level 3 and couldn't move on to Spanish Level 4 due to scheduling conflicts, My guidance counselor said that she would send a letter explaining that had I been able to take it, I would have..Do you guys think that this letter will even do anything? Also, since I couldn't move onto Spanish 4, I ended up taking Italian 1 =&lt;/p>

<p>SAT 1: 2270 (1540) Only took it once..wondering if I should take it again
Math: 790
Reading Comprehension: 750
Writing: 730 (8 Essay.)</p>

<p>SAT IIs:
Math II: 800
Chemistry: 750
Biology M: 770</p>

<p>AP Tests:
Chemistry: 5
World History: 5
At Senior Year, I would be taking (but don't think that the scores I would get would matter as I would take these tests in May, so the application process would have been done by then):
AP BC Calc
AP Biology
AP English
AP Government</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities:
Freshman Year: Key Club, Band
Sophomore Year: Key Club, Varsity Tennis
Junior Year: Academic Decathlon (Made it to States), Key Club, Debate, Math League, Science League, Varsity Tennis
Senior Year: Academic Decathlon, Key Club, Math League (Treasurer), Science League, (Possibly Debate?), Varsity Tennis</p>

<p>Community Service: 200+ hours
Tutoring, Hospital, Babysat little kids while they waited for their parents</p>

<p>Distinctions:
National Merit (Most likely Semi-finalist)</p>

<p>Essays: Okay/Good
Recs: Okay, basically just the usual recs that teachers give to kids that they know to be bright and capable, but don't really know on a more personal basis</p>

<p>Also, how bad does it look if I'm not in NHS?</p>

<p>Thanks for taking the time to read this thread and replying</p>

2

<p>On the Common App, they give you space for around seven of your most important extracurriculars. I don’t think not being in NHS will hurt so long as you have the other spots filled with great extracurriculars. Just by the barebone stats, you are an okay applicant but may need some work to get in. </p>

<p>Hmm…my advice to you is to</p>

<ol>
<li>Try to become president or an officer in another club</li>
<li>Work long and hard on that essay and have a lot of people proof read it</li>
<li>Show a lot of interest in WashU and visit/interview</li>
<li>Apply ED</li>
</ol>

3

<p>keep up the good work. i think you have a great chance of getting in, except that any college can waitlist or reject a qualified applicant.</p>

4

<p>everyone acts like NHS is such a big deal, but I go to a school that doesn’t even have NHS and I’ve gotten into Rice, Vandy, Northwestern, USC, and WashU so far. WashU likes interest. If you get an offer to attend one of their weekend programs, go for it. They’re informative, fun, and sometimes they will pay your flight expenses and everything.</p>

5

<p>A TON of people from my school are in NHS, and I’m not. I still got into WashU; don’t worry about it!</p>

6

<p>I got into WashU after actively avoiding NHS and our school’s founder and president of NHS got waitlisted. hahaha
But I agree. I think you are a great applicant, but not guaranteed. Just try your best to boost yourself a bit to improve your shot. Good luck!</p>

7

<p>I got into WashU, and I think you have (mostly) better stats than me (not that those are all that matters). However, my public school is really big on AP courses, so by the end of this year I will have taken 14 (so far 6 5’s and a 4), and I know about 10-15 people who have taken more or the same number as me, but I don’t know how available AP courses are at your school, which is considered (obviously it would be unfair to not accept a very bright individual just because their school doesn’t offer as many higher level courses).
However, my extracurriculars were definitely lacking compared to yours, which is certainly good for you.
Your SATs are great, so I think statwise you look pretty good.
My reccomendation to you is to try to schedule an interview, which I thinked helped me a lot (I had a really nice young guy who recently graduated interview me, and he was pretty laidback which made the interview much more comfortable for me, especially compared to the stuck-up doctors who interviewed me about a couple Ivy’s I applied to).
Also, you say you write fairly good essays, so try and write a really great one, because it can really help show that you aren’t just a bunch of numbers on paper (similar to the interview). Try writing as sincerely as possible, I had some apprehension about this because I am used to writing really formal type essays without emotion, but after writing a few essays that just seemed really devoid of personality, I finally managed to get past this habit and wrote (what I think) was an excellent essay.</p>

<p>By the way, I was also National Merit (good luck!), which probably helped too, and I don’t think National Honor Society is all that important. During my interview, when the admission officer asked me about extracurriculars he seemed thoroughly uninterested in my honor societies, and basically told me that they don’t mean much, because so many people are in them and they aren’t very unique. He was much more interested in me being in my city’s “Teen Advisory Group”, so don’t be too worried about the lack of NHS.</p>

8

<p>I think you definitely have a shot but I have friends with very similar test scores and gpas who didn’t get in. I also know people who got in with worse grades but showed A LOT of interest. You have a better shot if you show a lot of interest, maybe visit the campus and interview.</p>

9

<p>I definitely know NHS is not a big deal. I wasn’t in it, and I got in with full scholarship. I would also recommend that you apply ED. Your test scores look great, and it kind of seems like you really just need to boost that GPA and rank, stat. Show WashU that you’re interested and get their attention. Diversify your EC’s a little bit more, and show them something about your culture. That’s about the best advice I could personally give you, based on my own experiences.</p>