<p>My stats:
ACT 34
GPA 4.0</p>
<p>All-State track and xc (but no athletic scholarship)
All-State piccolo</p>
<p>National Honor Society
Mu Alpha Theta Math Club
Work at local coffee house</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Jocey, as you probably know, 20 Presidential Scholarships are awarded each year from the larger pool of 300 Old Gold. I’d say your chances of Old Gold are very good but I can also tell you that to snag one of 20 Presidentials is, by admission of our admissions counselor at Iowa, a highly inexact science and certainly not one predictable based on statistics. Her message was pretty clear: the crop of exceptional students is very large nowadays and to win an Old Gold your essay must show you to be a unique individual. They plow through many apps and your essay is a chance to show yourself off, and not by listing your achievements. She suggested taking a little risk by using humor, etc. As for the 20 who get Presidential, this choice is not exactly arbitrary, but she did say that the candidates’ achievements at that point are so similar that the 20 are chosen because of very subtle stuff.</p>
<p>Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Guess I’ll just have to sit tight and hope for the best!</p>