RD Chances? Please Help Out a Stressed Senior

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
1

<p>GPA: 9-12: 3.71/4.24
10-12: 3.73/4.35
Senior year grades haven't been factored in yet, so it should go up in a while
Courseload: Most rigorous or close to it. Three honors freshman year; three honors, 1 AP sophomore year; 4 APs junior year; 4 APs senior year.</p>

<p>SAT I: 2210 (690CR, 730M, 790W)
I took it for the second time in October. We'll see how I did, but I think I did really well and I'm pretty sure my score improved. But again, we'll see.</p>

<p>SAT II: American History: 770
Literature: 720 (I'm gonna retake this and I think I'll do a lot better b/c literature is kinda my thing)
Math II C: Haven't taken it yet, but I expect this to be the most challenging SAT II for me because math isn't my strongest subject. I'm expecting low to mid 700.</p>

<p>APs: AP Euro: 5
APUSH: 5
AP Psych: 5
AP English Language: 5
AP Chem: 4</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: to be honest, I don't really have anything that amazing.</p>

<p>Tennis: all four years. Played some tournaments. Had major surgery on my feet my junior year, putting me on crutches for months, so I didn't play much that year. I'll be on varsity this year.</p>

<p>Music: My main instrument is the clarinet. I've had honors like All Southern California band in 9th grade, All State Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Wind Orchestra my junior and senior years, and Colburn Wind Ensemble (a music conservatory in Los Angeles) grades 10-12. I also give clarinet lessons as a part time job. And I have like 70-80 hours of service from either musical therapy or teaching piano at an elementary school. And I love playing the guitar, but I don't have any awards or anything for it.</p>

<p>Writing: I love writing, but alas, nothing much to prove it. I had something published in my school's literary arts magazine my junior year, and I write some stuff for this website online, but that's pretty much it. This year, I have an independent project for school where I'm writing a novel.</p>

<p>Tutoring: I tutor about 5 hours a week. Math and English and Science. So I guess that counts as a part time job.</p>

<p>Green Club: I'm president of this club. It's basically an environmental club, where we recycle all our school's trash and fund raise for certain causes. Last year I was secretary.</p>

<p>Art: I've been in art for 3 years. I love it. Big hobby of mine. No awards though. Just take the class at school and do it for fun.</p>

<p>I'm also a national merit semifinalist, and I think there's a good chance I'll be a finalist.</p>

2

<p>I’d suggest you compare your stats against published info for Dartmouth. Rank will be very important. Your CR score is lower than most admits and as you say your ECs are a bit light.</p>

3

<p>Sorry, but you won’t get in. Very, very little chance, if any.</p>

4

<p>Your ECs are fine. The only issue is your GPA, the most important part of your application. I think you have a decent shot.</p>

<p>If you really like Dartmouth, why not apply ED?</p>

5

<p>Because I think my scores and GPA will be higher by the time I do RD, and I’m not entirely sure I can commit to Dartmouth at this point because Brown is also a very nice school I’m looking into. But mostly because I don’t think I can whip up an application in just a few days, and my teachers haven’t even written my letter of recommendation yet, so everything would be rushed and probably not as good as if I took my time and just did RD</p>

6

<p>Wait, I have a basic question. If RD apps are due around January for most schools, how do they know what your senior year grades are? My first semester ends after January. Do we just send the new grades to em once we get our transcripts? And do they look at the grades after reviewing your application? Or does it become a part of the whole package? I’m asking because my first semester senior year grades will most likely boost my GPA</p>

7

<p>Most RD students will have first semester grades coming in when yours do. Don’t worry about it.</p>