SAT (mid 600s CR, 760M,upper 600s W):2100
SAT 2; 800-CHEM, MATH2-740+
GPA(9th and 10th grade) : 3.7UW (had honors classes but were not weighted at my school… received honor roll all years)
I moved to another country right after 10th to a completely new curriculum
GPA(11th and 12th grade): 75% (top 10 percent of my school)
mainly grades in my country are governed by end of year exams and my predicted scores are good
ECS… most of my ECs are from 10th and 9th grade as I couldn’t focus on ECs after I moved and are science related
-First robotics( state qualifiers… i was a lead)
-250+ hours of volunteer for karate and key club
instructor and student at karate 6 hours every week for 2 years
matheletes and Science league
tennis (non school … private for the past 2 years)
“secret” aviation club at our school
few other minor things
I want to apply as Comp Sci or Chem Major: maybe 3-2 program with columbia
I love the location of Middlebury and would love to go there.
I am an international student asking for significant aid and even the application fee will be significant. Should I apply or save my money for applications to some other college. If so can you recommend other colleges that would fit me and give me aid
I think your writing and reading scores are low, and your chances aren’t great. Ypu might want to consider a technical/engineering school with those math/science/ecs. If you want an LAC, it will need to be a less selective one -I don’t think you have gotten other replies because people don’t know what to recommend. Maybe Colgate or WPI?
@OldbatesieDoc - I just came across this thread as my daughter is interested in both Middlebury and Colgate. I was surprised at the uncharacteristic slam of Colgate by one of the more thoughtful posters. I’ve never heard Colgate described as “less selective” in any context and from my own reading, it appears that while Middlebury has a lower acceptance rate, the average SAT scores for matriculating freshman are nearly identical. In any case, both are exceptional schools that claim to rank the standardized scores of applicants within the framework of the entire application.
A reading score in the “mid 600s” is nothing to be ashamed of, particularly if English is a second language. And a 2100 score is not low - even by Middlebury standards. According to Midd’s own data, 25% of the matriculating class score BELOW 1930 on the SAT. I hope that prospective applicants are not dissuaded from applying to exceptional colleges out of fear of rejection or because their scores are not in line with those posted on this forum. Please give Middlebury (and Colgate) admissions officers the benefit of the doubt with respect to their claims of more holistic admissions practices.
@mythics - I hope your search is going well and congratulations on your awesome work in school overcoming all kinds of obstacles. You will surely excel regardless of which college is fortunate enough to get you into their class.
In point of illustration, when ranked nationally by standardized test scores, Colgate recently placed an impressive 44th, Middlebury an also impressive, but lower, 51st. This difference would even be slightly greater if adjusted for Middlebury’s test flexible policy. (Source in post 2.)
@mythics: Wishing you a good outcome. Let us know how you do.
I don’t consider my comment a “slam” of Colgate.I offered it as an alternative to a good student with lots of skills asking for advise.If I was slamming it, I wouldn’t recommend it at all, or would make disparaging comments.
I always give my honest opinion. You can give yours. From my experience of students accepted to Midd with “low” (I meant low for an international asking for aid) SATs in Verbal and Writing are recruited athletes or URM. The ECs aren’t going to help either.
My advise is always kindly meant. I want the student to be reasonable in their expectations. Very high math scores are traditionally more valued at other institutions than one that ranks communication in writing very highly.
I stand by my comments-the chances aren’t high. I’d love to hear that the OP was accepted, but I hope he or she has some alternatives.
I’m not sure Colgate would be honored or embrace advice offered with the words “If you want an LAC, it will need to be a less selective one…Maybe Colgate or WPI.” I don’t think the Colgate admissions folks would use that for recruitment or adopt it as their motto. Faint praise. I stand by my comments as well.
“Very high math scores are traditionally valued at other institutions than one that ranks communication in writing very highly.” (8)
With the referenced schools included, this would appear as, “Very high math scores are traditionally valued at schools such as Colgate than at those, such as Middlebury, that rank communication in writing very highly.”
“If I were slamming [Colgate], I . . . would make disparaging comments.” (8)
The above may not be disparaging, but it’s not not disparaging.
Hello,
My son actually is a freshman in Middlebury college. He is from Spain, he is doing a double major in Physics and CS and he was admitted in regular decission in fall 2015 for the 2019 class. His SAT1 scores were 760 Math, 660 critical reading, He has 3 SAT2 test with SAT Scores 760, 800, 750 (math1, physics and other one that I cannot remember), he was ranked 1/200 in his high school, a Toefl of 109, and has good EC and academic awards. English is his fourth language and he starts to study it when he was 12 years old (he studied in german, spanish and catalan), but he has any problem to understand, write and speak in college and actually after the fall and winter semester ends he has a GPA of 4
Really Middlebury college is very strong in sciences, and not only in humanities and languages.
According to US News and World Report, Midd accepts 17.2% of applicants, and Colgate 26.2%. Last i heard, that made it less selective than Middlebury. It is ranked 19th, and Midd is 4th. I also did NOT say Midd was not good in sciences. People are taking offense where none is meant.
The OP asked for his chances. When I answered, his post had been up for 3 weeks with no answers or suggestions, and a few hundred people had looked at it. I offered advise and an opinion-so shoot me-how about some other constructive advise for the OP? I suggested 2 other schools that I thought, from my experience, might suit him AND were somewhat easier to get into. Note I did not suggest Podunk County Community College…
Now, cut me some slack or make your own suggestions. Or tell the OP “I think your chances are good” if that’s what you think!
Hello #OldbatesieDoc I don’t want to apologise, and I am totally agree with your comments. I only want to encourage #mythics because my son was in a similar situation one year ago.
Really my son would be very grateful if anybody had made him the constructive comments you did. Thanks a lot
@OldbatesieDoc - No worries. I didn’t intend to start any big dispute, and as I said, your advice has been helpful and insightful to me and I’m sure many others. I was just a bit startled when you appeared to group Colgate with WPI as alternatives. WPI has an acceptance rate over 50% and an SAT average of 1935/2400 compared to Midd at 2052/2400. Colgate does not report the writing score but, as has been mentioned, their scores are very close.
Middlebury lists standardized scores as “important,” one step below other factors they consider for admission. The OP reported a score of 2100/2400 which would place him/her well above Middlebury’s average for that (singular) factor. The OP also seems to be in the top 10% of his/her class and has a compelling international history. Your point about chances being “low” and that he/she might consider other options is well intended, I have no doubt. But that’s true for nearly everyone who applies to these elite LACs. Their admission rates are low even for the most qualified students.
My main concern was that the OP (and other interested readers of these boards) might feel like they are under-qualified and opt out of applying. I know that is not what you advised the OP. My limited time reading CC pages has left me with the impression that a majority of the posters are not representative of the applicant pool, even with respect to elite colleges. That is, the scores reported tend to be much higher than average. That might be a result of students with high scores (and their parents) feeling more comfortable sharing their stats - I really don’t know. But when you consider a wonderful place like Middlebury (or Colgate or Bates ), and realize that Midd’s average SAT is 2052 - even factoring in allowances for athletes and URMs - I would encourage an application by a student scoring a 2100, or a 2000. The caveat that most students get rejected by Middlebury is probably already well known by the applicant.
That’s my two cents. For what it’s worth, my husband went to Colgate. He says if he had to do it again he’d select Middlebury over any other school in a heartbeat. I think my daughter feels the same way.
Hey guys its great to see so many replies. I really do appreciate all the comments, whether they are dissuading me from applying or encouraging. I understand they are all for my own benefit and everyone made a valid point. I really do appreciate all your insights.
Midd appealed to me because of the frigid weather and its location in the middle of nowhere, and also because it is a very good school.
Alas I did not apply to Midd because I thought my grades/ECs were not up to par and I was asking for quite a bit of aid(>60%). I did apply to other equally distinguished and well ranked LACs such as Hamilton, Colby, Carleton and a few others and I would be happy at any of those places. If you guys have any insight as to what to expect from those colleges, I would greatly appreciate it.
Anyways I cannot believe so many people replied and I was to thank you all so much. =)
@mythics: I think your chances are fair, in that your applications to your colleges of choice will be competitive and therefore given a thorough review. You really do have some obvious strengths. If that’s what these schools focus on, you will do well. (Which is not, it should be emphasized, a suggestion that your application has glaring weaknesses. Academically, you appear to be in or near the top 10% across the board.) Good luck.
@OldbatesieDoc: Acceptance rate is one aspect of selectivity. However, SAT scores are another, and, of the schools in this thread, Carleton, Hamilton, Colgate and Middlebury are, in order, those with the highest. So, discussions of slamming aside, I think any objections I’ve had relate perhaps to what I saw as an under-recognition of the statistical attributes of a couple of schools, Colgate in particular.
When I slam a school, we’ll all know it’s been slammed…Glad to see you finally offering some advice to the applicant, instead of focusing your comments on what is wrong with other posts.
Mythics- I feel bad if it was me that kept you from applying, but all the schools you mention are excellent. They are all schools that really put a lot into the student , and have great environments. Please let us know where you get accepted and we’d be happy to give advise. You can PM me if you like, as I am familiar with all those LACs
