Official Acceptance/ Stats

Colleges and Universities A-Z Smith College
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<p>I know theres already another thread going around but for this thread, post your information so others who are applying next year can get a sense of what a Smithie applicant consists of:</p>

<p>*Decision: Accepted *</p>

<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] SAT:600 V, 660 M, 640 W (I really didn't study and I dont think the SATs mean anything. Its apparent through the mistakes CollegeBoard makes anyways...)
[</em>] SAT IIs:700 US History, 660 Chemistry
[<em>] GPA:3.7 UW, 4.1 W
[</em>] Rank:unranked
[<em>] Other stats:
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Essays: Great. I think its what got me accepted
[<em>] Teacher Recs: I've know him for four years, and he knows me well.
[</em>] Counselor Rec: I didn't read it but I assume it was all right.
[<em>] Hook (if any): Single-Parent household.
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[</em>] State or Country:Los Angeles, CA (more like Pasadena, but whatever)
[<em>] School Type: Small Public
[</em>] Ethnicity:Asian
[<em>] Gender:Female
[/ul]Other Factors:[list]
[</em>] Extracurriculars: Model United Nations Club President, Speech and Debate Club, Track, Cross Country, Club Volleyball, Tiger Newspaper, Choir, Columbia University Summer Program, Art Center College of Design (Photography, Figure Drawing, and Environmental Design), and more.
[<em>] Why I think I was accepted/deferred: Probably my Teacher Recs, and Essay. The soft factors.
[</em>] Other thoughts: I'm just happy i got in. I also got an unofficial acceptance to NYU tonight, so I'm superrr overjoyed.</p>

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<p>Can't wait to see these!</p>

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<p>Decision: Accepted </p>

<p>Stats:
SAT:800 V, 630 M, 800 W<br>
SAT IIs: 750 US history, 730 Lit (I think? I don't even remember, haha)
GPA:3.6 (this is what I thought would screw me)
Rank:unranked
Other stats:
Subjective:
Essays: Not the best things I've ever written, but I felt very good about them.
Teacher Recs: Excellent, I would think... had them both for seminar and really got to know them well.
Counselor Rec: My gc and I are tight ; ) so I assume this would be very good as well.
Hook (if any): sent in a classical vocal recording, very good interview (drove up from Jersey)
Location/Person:
State or Country: northern NJ/ NYC metro area
School Type: large public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female (this is a bit of a strange category, considering it's Smith ; ))
Other Factors:[list][<em>] Extracurriculars: student representative to the Board of Ed (first junior to ever do this); classical voice-- top 10 in All State Chorus, #1 Region Chorus, Maroon and White recitalist, NJ Opera Festival finalist; Vocal Jazz Ensemble for 3 yearsharp for 2 years; School administration: Curriculum Council, IB Steering Committee, Absence Committee, QR2 Committee; Model UN/Congress[</em>] Why I think I was accepted: I think it was my essays, interviews, teacher recs, and EC's; SAT's were good and might have helped, but I don't get the sense that Smith places too much stock in them. [*] Other thoughts: As is detailed in other posts, my junior year was an absolute train wreck for a variety of personal reasons and my grades suffered greatly for it (my gpa basically took a dive from the over 4.0 range to a 3.6). After an ED rejection from Swat and an EE unlikely from Wellesley, I was really worried that my grades last year were going to kill me for all of my schools. Honestly, any school that admits me is taking a chance... and I am beyond thrilled that one of my top choices decided to do just that : )</p>

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<p>
[quote]
After an ED rejection from Swat and an EE unlikely from Wellesley, I was really worried that my grades last year were going to kill me for all of my schools. Honestly, any school that admits me is taking a chance... and I am beyond thrilled that one of my top choices decided to do just that : )

[/quote]

So are we, ladylazarus, so are we! I think you sell yourself short. Your scores are very good, EC's great. Colleges know when someone had a tough year, for many reasons. Smith's gain is the others' loss.</p>

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<p>: ) Thanks so much... I can't wait to get my packet in the mail.</p>

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<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Stats:
SAT: 650CR 630M 700W
SAT II: 710EB 670US
ACT: 30C 34E 33R 26M 26S 33E+W
GPA: 3.9UW 4.1W
Rank: 3/83
APs: Bio 4, this year: calc AB, US gov't, macro, self study: micro, lit, & lang
Number of apps from your school: just mine. Half of the kids from my school go to community college, the rest go to nonselective religious schools instate, 1 or 2 a year go to a UC or USC.
Harvard SSP '04, Spanish A-</p>

<p>Subjective:
ECs:
-senior class president, class rep in student council (9, 10)
-varsity track, co-captain (11, 12), varsity swimming, most improved (9, 10), varsity cheer, co-captain (9, 10)
-ran a marathon this year, fundraising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
-literary book club, Spanish club vp & co-founder
-gourmet cooking club, co-president (10-12), I have 5 published recipes, and am active in a Community Supported Agriculture program.
-tutoring & after-school program for at-risk youth (11-12)
-active member of a social justice and peace group in my community
Work:
-sales manager at farmer's markets for my family's farm (7-12)</p>

<p>Essays: common app was about the contrast and (figurative) tension between living on my family's small farm in CA and the summer I spent in Boston, and the domination of big-business ag vs. my personal experience. Very heartfelt.<br>
Recs: didn't see them. I had one from my honors english teacher, the other from calc. I'm the only one in my class applying to pretty selective places, so I'm sure my counselor had time to write something well thought out.</p>

<p>Location/Person:
State: CA (near Fresno... or better yet, the middle of nowhere!)
School type: parochial
Ethnicity: white (specifically, Mennonite, which is a distant cousin to the Amish)
Gender: female</p>

<p>ladylazarus - I got deferred from Swat, and I'm amazed I didn't get out-right rejected. But now we have the opportunity to choose Smith, which is awesome! :)</p>

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<p>Yayyy : ) Better town, better study abroad, better food... who needs Swat. Where else did you apply, Mimeaa?
Ohh yeah and to add to stats, I work at Starbucks and went to Governor's School for International Studies. And CTY.</p>

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<p>ladylazarus: I know how that goes! I really screwed up during my Junior year (I don't know what was going on with me, I was on edge the whole year), but for my Senior year I worked really hard and got mostly As. I'm very thankful Smith decided to "take a chance" with me as well. :)</p>

<p>I may post my stats a little later, if it helps future smithies.</p>

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<p>Better town, better study abroad, better food... who needs Swat.}}</p>

<p>Much better housing and dinning at Smith :)</p>

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<p>Well, so far I've gotten in to Smith!!, Colby, UCLA, & Grinnell, & a likely at Wellesley. I'm still waiting to hear from Bryn Mawr, Mt. Holyoke, Middlebury, Bowdoin, Scripps, Haverford, & Berkeley. I know it's kind of a mixed bag, but I have yet to visit any of them, save Scripps. I'll be spending my spring break in April in the northeast, though!</p>

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<p>Honestly, any school that admits me is taking a chance}}</p>

<p>No they aren't. As hard as it may to believe, some adults know what they're doing. :) You were accepted b/c you are extremely bright and motivated. Smith was intelligent enough to see that fact and sympathize with your situation.</p>

<p>Here is a good example of how Smith thinks: A friend of my daughters didn’t even score 1100 on her SAT’s but had great grades, EC’s and is an <em>amazing</em> writer. SATs don’t measure everything. She’s thriving at Smith and is nationally known for her endeavors.
Which brings up the point of rankings. Wellesley, et al colleges, care more about their SAT middle 50% range than students who may not test well or hit a rough patch but recovered. It’s their loss when they deny those who may not /statistically/ add to their college.</p>

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<p>"Honestly, any school that admits me is taking a chance... and I am beyond thrilled that one of my top choices decided to do just that."</p>

<p>Funny, but I see you as a perfect fit. Opera and vocal performance at Swarthmore? They did you a great favor. </p>

<p>By the way, I sing with a local opera company (Opera Pacifica) and one of our regular featured artists is a Smith grad (Amanda Brown) <a href="http://www.skagitopera.org/artists/artists.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.skagitopera.org/artists/artists.htm&lt;/a> and had the same voice teacher as my d. Small world. </p>

<p>There are some extraordinary singers at Smith, one of whom has sung with the San Francisco Opera, and who we saw in the Five College Opera Consortium performances in February. If you'd like to meet them while you're visiting, I'm sure my d. would be happy to arrange it. (Contact me via PM.)</p>

<p>My d., while home, told she has found out that Smith has a wonderful voice teacher in Florence, and is looking forward to meeting her!</p>

<p>Mimeea - I doubt that Smith could resist the cookbook thing. ;) Perhaps you'll eventually get to join the Hopkins or Tenney coops and get to perfect your work!</p>

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<p>Ladylazarus - If you haven't done so already, make it a point to meet with Karen Smith-Emerson and Jane Bryden while you're on campus. When my d. went for "open campus", the college made it a policy to have all profs on campus and in their offices to meet prospective students for the full two days, and, in the case of my d., even called one up who was on sabbatical, who came in. Same for others, too - if there's someone you want to meet, or an area of study you'd like to discuss, just send an e-mail. You can likely arrange while you are there, but to be sure, take the opportunity.</p>

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<p>Mimeea...sounds like you haven't yet made up your mind; which is just fine because you are still waiting on many other schools. Visiting all of those schools might be a bit too much, even for a week visiting the northeast. Try to narrow the scope down a bit. Remember, housing (you'll live there for the next four years of your life), and dining options. Location, location, location! I feel confident that you'll soon see what we all see in Smith and its surroundings. Have fun!</p>

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<p>BJM8- don't worry, I couldn't imagine visiting all of them in a week, that would be way to much! Tentatively, and these are dispersed throughout April, I'll be visiting Bryn Mawr (just got accepted today!), Grinnell (where I received a very nice scholarship), and then Smith & Wellesley. I agree- housing, dining, & location are very important! </p>

<p>mini- I'll have to check out the coops, that's something I would be very interested in!</p>

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<p>Decision: Accepted (early decision)</p>

<p>Stats:
SAT: 650V 660M 680 W
SAT IIs: I didn't take any
GPA:3.9
Rank: 9/120
Other stats: ACT: 30E 36R 30M 28S 30E+W. I took no APs but I took college courses. No one else in my school applied to Smith. The ones not going to community college or SUNY schools, mainly applied to state schools in other states.</p>

<p>Subjective:
Essays: My essay was...interesting. It was different, from what I was told, by the teachers who read them through it. I told them a story about my childhood when I was playing hide-and-seek while it was snowing out in the middle of the night and everyone forgot me and how bad that made me feel.
Teacher Recs: The one I saw was alright though it seemed generic. The other one, from what the teacher's opinion is on me, probably sold me to them.
Counselor Rec: It was bad. She only just met me and wrote it using my resume.
Hook (if any):</p>

<p>Location/Person:</p>

<p>State or Country: Upstate NY, middle of nowhere
School Type: Small Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender:Female
Other Factors:
Extracurriculars: Did ballet,tap, jazz for 9 years. I have had a job since I turned 13, working as a dance instructor, then worked at a daycare, and now currently, at a library</p>

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<p>Decision for Daughter: Accepted Early Decision II</p>

<p>Stats: SAT I: M 700 CR 710 WR 760
SAT II: Math IIC 720 Biology (M) 750
GPA: 4.2
Rank: 2 out of 250
AP's (taken): US History 4, Biology 5
AP's (current): Stats, English, Calculus
National Merit Finalist
Rensellaer Medal Winner: 11th grade
Harvard Book Award Winner: 11th grade
National and RI Honor Societies</p>

<p>Subjective: Essays were very good. Concentrating on how ballet has<br>
impacted her life as a student. Very well written.<br>
Two recommendations (11th grade English Teacher, and AP Bio<br>
teacher (both excellent)</p>

<p>Hook: We think ballet, performing in state ballet for over ten years with
a multitude of parts (big and small)</p>

<p>State or Country: RI
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender:Female
Other Factors:
Extracurriculars: Danced for over ten years for State Ballet (over 25 hours
per week), Literary Club, Secretary for National Honor
Society, math and physics tutor, etc.</p>

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<p>Decision: Accepted </p>

<p>Stats:
SAT:740 V, 670 M, 690 W
SAT IIs:780 Literature, 640 US History and i forget my math score
GPA:3.3 UW
Rank:unranked
Other stats:
Subjective:
Essays: Pretty good
Teacher Recs: Excellent
Counselor Rec: Uber Excellent (the other day my gc turned to me and was like "i love you, have i ever told you that?" and it was totally creepy and random)
Hook (if any): Strong commitment to social change and racial diversity
Location/Person:
State or Country: Takoma Park, MD
School Type: Small Private
Ethnicity:Caucasian
Gender:Female
Other Factors:[list][<em>] Extracurriculars:
School theater, City at Peace, Editor of the school literary magazine, Leadership, Peer Counseling, Varsity Yoga
Why I think I was accepted/deferred: Probably my Teacher Recs, and kickass interview
The soft factors. [</em>] Other thoughts:</p>

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<p>Congratulations McFabulous!!! :) :) :)</p>

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<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Stats:
ACT: Composite-30, English-33, Math-24, Reading-36, Science-28, Essay-12
GPA: 3.34 UW, 3.89 W
Rank: 178/488
AP scores: World History-5, U.S. History-5, English Lang-5
AP's this year: Psych, U.S. Govt, Microeconomics, English Lit, Art History, European History, Human Geography; self-studying Comparative Govt</p>

<p>Subjective:
EC's:
Debate 9-11th grade, captain 11th grade
Founder and president of the Amnesty International chapter at my school
Academic competitions
Many hours of community service
Recs: I hope they were excellent...
Possible hook: I had a terrible 10th and 11th grade, but I made up for that by getting all A's in 7 AP classes in the 1st semester of senior year</p>

<p>Location/Person:
State: North Texas
School Type: competitive large public
Ethnicity: Filipino</p>

<p>Why I think I was accepted: I had extenuating circumstances so I tried my best to emphasize my writing ability, growing leadership skill and concern social change. I hope breaking at a few debate tournaments helped too.</p>

<p>I was absolutely THRILLED to find out that I was accepted to Smith. I went home for a few minutes before a writing competition because my boyfriend needed superglue (he broke some static generator in his physics class, hehe) and I knew that I needed to check BannerWeb somehow. When I found out I was accepted I screamed so loud! My boyfriend said it was loud even for me. I was jumping up and down and totally ecstatic.</p>

<p>So I guess my point is that Smith really looks at the whole person. I'm so glad that they chose to accept me. I don't know if I'll end up at Smith, but now I can't help but imagine what life will be like if I did go!</p>