Please assess my chances of getting into Amherst

Colleges and Universities A-Z Amherst College
1

<p>I don’t want to post the name of my high school, but It’s a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence! A private, Catholic school</p>

<p>GPA:
3.8(out of 4.0) unweighted, 4.0(out of 4.0) weighted</p>

<p>SAT:
2070 (680 Math, 720 Writing, 670 Critical Reading)</p>

<p>SAT II:
660 Literature, 560 Math II</p>

<p>Class Ranking:
19/173</p>

<p>Senior Schedule: Semester Grade
Government H/Economics H 89
Latin III H DC 96
Calculus BC AP DC 78
Physics B AP 92
Computer Science CP 99
English IV AP 92
Theology IV CP 95</p>

<p>My only other B (ever) is from last year, in my English III AP class.</p>

<p>**My school only offers 4 AP classes for seniors.
I’m awful at calculus, but I wanted to take the most difficult math course offered at my school, so I went for cal BC AP (last year I took pre calculus because calculus AB wasn’t offered). I am very concerned about my calculus semester grade. It’s not like I didn’t try, and it’s not like I’m bad at math. I made A’s in all of my previous math classes. I guess calculus just isn’t my thing :/</p>

<p>Major: Classics
I love Latin and all things Roman! I was on the 1st place team at this year’s National Junior Classical League certamen competition (a classics/Latin competition similar to an academic bowl). It was pretty intense… Classics is my passion! So I wonder, how many people actually apply as classics majors? Does this make me more interesting than, say, an applicant who wants to major in biology? I have the extracurriculars to back me up (aside from my 1st place certamen medal, I also have many awards from different NJCL competitions ranging from Greek Derivatives to Greek Mythology). With this all being evident, will my bad semester grade in calculus still be my downfall (along with my awful SAT II math II score)? </p>

<p>Leadership:
President of Renaissance club (supports those who make Honor Roll every quarter) (member 1yr, President 3yrs)
Vice President of Med-Team (member 2yrs, VP 2yrs)
Secretary of Latin club (member 2yrs, Secretary 1yr)
Team Captain of school certamen team (member 1 yr, Captain 1yr)
Treasurer of NHS chapter (member 1yr, Treasurer 1yr)
Mu Alpha Theta Member (2yrs)
Student Ambassador (3yrs)
Prom Committee (one time thing)</p>

<p>Athletics:
11 belts from Kenseido and Okinawan Shorin Ryu Karate (4yrs)</p>

<p>Volunteerism:
SPCA Humane Society, Hospital Volunteer, various school functions</p>

<p>Dynamite Essay</p>

<p>The kid who wrote my peer evaluation is a blooming William Faulkner; she really highlighted my successes in classics.</p>

<p>I have teacher evaluations from my Latin and English teachers.</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

2

<p>SATS might be a problem, but who knows</p>

3

<p>Not good- I think Amherst is harder than Midd to get into, my oldest S (4.0+ IB), 800/760/690; 780/770, fab ecs, state prizes for newspaper was wait-listed last year, my 2nd S recruited for diving(4.0+ IB) SAT 1s about the same as yours and SAT2s 690, 650,640; ACT 31 told by coach not competitive enough, need to retake ACT and get at least 32. There are just so many qualified kids…
I think you should take the ACT if you still can.</p>

4

<p>Why the ACT? (Thank you for the hints!)</p>

5

<p>Because the ACT traditionally tests more of your knowledge base than test-taking skills, and I assume with your academic credentials, you have a large general knowledge base. My second S was only 85% in SATs, but 95% in the ACT-without a prep course.He has great grades in IB, but just not good at standardized tests.</p>

6

<p>I put a similar post for another student applying to Amherst who is interested in classics.</p>

<p>I think it is difficult to predict chances at Amherst or schools with similar selectivity. There are so many qualified applicants applying. Moreover, Amherst tends to look at the whole applicant, not just numbers. They want to select interesting students who will contribute to campus life. In your case, I think you will be compared with other candidates who have a strong interest in classics, and the strength of that group, may well determine whether you are accepted. It is hard to compare your application with someone who is a diver even though your stats may be similar.</p>

<p>My son scored 2300 on SATs, was a national AP scholar with 12 APs (all 4s and 5s), captain of two varsity teams, and legacy, and unfortunately was rejected RD. Both he (and I) were disappointed but there are a lot of smart athletic suburban kids who are not recruited athletes that apply to places like Amherst. I can only surmise that somehow his application did not stand out enough.</p>

7

<p>We’ll see how DS does - the track coach sure wants him! I wonder how much pull he has. Wow, pmyen, that’s amazing your son wasn’t accepted. Thanks for sharing, though - I keep warning DS he’s not likely to make it, but of course he thinks he will!</p>

8

<p>The chances are slim to none, magnanima. The majority of Amherst applicants are overly-qualified (and with slightly higher SAT scores). Amherst routinely says no to students that achieve at the same level, if not higher, than you do. Since it is such a small school they heavily weigh factors like ethnicity, first generation, legacy, and recruit - meaning there are few spots for those who don’t satisfy any of the above.</p>