Please chance this boy. Hamilton ED

Colleges and Universities A-Z Hamilton College
1

I’m a white, upper-middle class boy who is a first generation college student. Please chance me for Hamilton College.

I plan to major in Public Policy, I’m going to apply ED, and politics/speaking is my spike.

Academics:
GPA: 3.35 UW, 4.1 W. (My gpa sucks, but it was in a large part due to extenuating circumstances freshman year.)
13 aps overall, one of (if not the) most in my school, so I have very high course rigor.
33 ACT, likely 34 Superscore in September.

Extracurriculars: (I think this is where I make up for my GPA)

Speech: I’ve placed well in two different events in state in one of the most competitive states for speech. I am also the captain of my speech team, which has been top 3 the last five years. This is my main extracurricular. One of my events is Extemporaneous speaking. (Politics).

Youth and Government: I was elected the Youth Governor of my state, which means that I basically run/am the youth ambassador for this 1300 member YMCA organization. This is definitely my most impressive extracurricular.

Miscellaneous politics: I have volunteered for campaigns near me, I have the YAG governor’s conference in DC this summer, and I am trying to get accepted to give a politically-related Ted talk at a Tedx event in my state.

Theater: I perform in and/or assistant direct most of the shows my school puts on, and am a very active member of the theater community. One of my biggest ECs, but its not really related to the spike.

Improv: I founded and perform in the improv club at my school.

NHS: I’m in it, might run for office, not sure.

Softs:

Recs: I believe my rec letters will be very strong, as one of my rec writers had me both freshman year and this year, in my two favorite classes, and runs YAG at my school. I also believe I will get a very strong rec from the theater director/speech head coach at my school.

Essays: While they obviously haven’t been written yet, I love writing and write a lot, and I have multiple professional writer family members who will look over it.

Interview: I will have a chance to interview on campus this summer, and I believe I am a strong interviewee.

Thank you for your time and consideration!

2

Culturally, you sound like a great fit for Hamilton. Best you can do is court the admissions office. Give a good explanation for the low grade, talk about how you have risen above, made changes - whatever. As long as you stay positive and demonstrate you can do the academic work, I think you have a good chance. But I applied 30 years ago, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

3

Overall, your interests align really well for Hamilton’s public policy program, and your involvement in theatre adds a bit of flair to your profile. Can you report strong AP exam results? If so, then these could serve as an academic counterbalance to your GPA, particularly if they show proficiency across a variety of subjects. Wishing you the best of luck.

4

Your GPA seems to your weakest part of the application, but you have shown course rigor with all those APs. Since you are applying ED, I believe you have a decent shot. Make sure to show why you believe Hamilton is a place where you can succeed and be specific in your supplemental essay about how you will take advantage of what the school offers you. Perhaps practice interviewing with someone as well.

Best of luck!

5

Everything looks great for Hamilton, especially ED, besides the UW GPA. But, LAC’s tend to look at applicants for the person they are and I’ve found that if your GPA is on the lower side, other great attributes will make up for it. Just write great essays and show a lot of interest. You can also explain your extenuating circumstances regarding your GPA, they will most likely understand. I think you’re an extremely qualified candidate. Good luck with everything!

6

Thank you everyone!! This summer I’m gonna grind on those essays. I am interviewing on campus at 4 schools, and Hamilton will be the last one, so hopefully that prepares me for the interview. There are lots of schools I’d be happy to attend, but Hamilton is by far my favorite. This thread has let me know that I’m not insane for thinking that I have a chance. Thank you for the help!