<p>I applied to lafayette rd. scared i won't get in and i actually have a reason to be scared cuz my gpa is crap.</p>
<p>3.28 unweighted and 3.74 weighted
sat 1330/1600 and 2010/2400
sat ii: math 1 750 and physics 600
published poet, piano awards, trilinigual.</p>
<p>do i stand a chance? is lafayette a high reach? low reach? maybe match? lol</p>
<p>please1,</p>
<p>Yes, your GPA is a little low for Lafayette, though not awful by any means. With your weighted GPA significantly higher than your unweighted GPA (assuming a 4.0 scale), you must have taken a few advanced courses, no?</p>
<p>What's the CR and Math breakdown of your SAT?</p>
<p>What languages are you fluent in? I'm just curious!</p>
<p>How accomplished a pianist are you? Might you be able to submit a tape to be evaluated by our music department?</p>
<p>More information would definitely help me more accurately evaluate your chances. As it looks right now, Lafayette may be a slight reach for you.</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>
<p>ah candyman thanks so much for like actually caring lol.
i actually did not take any ap classes or honors until this year, but i took all accelerated classes which are the highest level before honors at my schools.
i speak russsian:
sat break down 650 reading, 680 writing and 680 math</p>
<p>also, i am a pretty good pianist but i don't think i can do anyhting with the music department. i mean, i just have no idea what i would do.</p>
<p>however, as a poet, i am more accomplished and i submitted a poem to lafayette as extra information with the common applicaiton.</p>
<p>i was also born abroad, in israel and lived there for seven years.</p>
<p>what do you think?
candyman you seem like you know what you are talking about</p>
<p>i meant to say i speak russian, hebrew and english for the three languages..
also, if i did want to talk with the music department, would it be too late?</p>
<p>please1,</p>
<p>It's great that you speak three languages. I hope you played that up in your application.</p>
<p>Those scores are fine, but won't necessarily set you apart from the average Lafayette applicant. Hopefully (you would know this better that I), the other pieces of your applications will differentiate you from others.</p>
<p>It is definitely not too late to speak with the music department. Feel free to email the Department Head, Professor Stockton, at <a href="mailto:stocktoj@lafayette.edu">stocktoj@lafayette.edu</a> with questions/concerns. If you decide to submit a recording of your work, he could definitely help you with that.</p>
<p>I'm sure admissions officers will enjoy reading your poem. It's always a pleasant surprise for them to find something unique in any application.</p>
<p>With what you've said, I still see Lafayette as a slight reach for you. We expect more applications than last year (6,364 for 585 spots), but you never know what admissions officers will think of your application. </p>
<p>To be certain, you are the perfect applicant for an "ED boost" (easily doubling your chances of admission), provided Lafayette is your top choice. I see you are considering other comparable schools, though, so maybe ED is not the best option for you.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>
<p>Music department? Yaay :D I am a music major at Laf. Hope you get in! I say you're fine. Music department's professors are awesome!</p>
<p>aww thanks for the help i appreciate it!
also, if i contact the music department, would that mean that i have to major in music??</p>
<p>please1,</p>
<p>Of course not! Although the professors you get in contact with may encourage you to pursue your interest in music, by speaking with them, you are by no means committing yourself to the major. </p>
<p>With that said, you should definitely consider joining a musical group at whatever college you end up attending. Feel free to PM haru07 for more information on what Lafayette has to offer students with musical abilities.</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>
<p>Justin, if please1's stats are essentially the "average" for Lafayette, what woud prevent him from being accepted? If his stats were lower than average, he'd need a hook perhaps. But, with average stats, speaking 3 languages, foreign birth/residency (citizenship too please1?), and the publishing - what might play against his acceptance? Just that he's "average" (at least for L.C.)?</p>
<p>fencersmother,</p>
<p>I never said that please1's stats were the average...I only said that her scores would not set her apart from the average Lafayette applicant. The GPA is definitely my biggest concern, since GPA and curriculum drives the admissions process.</p>
<p>Admissions officers would certainly be impressed by please1's trilingualism, but the fact that she currently lives in the U.S. (citizen or not) makes her seem as "American" as any other applicant. While I do not agree with this manner of thinking, admissions officers might be quick to view her knowledge of languages other than English as a product of necessity rather than as an indicator of true scholarly interest.</p>
<p>You might disagree with this practice, but I also read through a user's other posts before evaluating his/her chances for admission. I do this to get a rough sense of an applicant's personality, which naturally carries through application materials. A distinct aura of defeatism seemed to permeate please1's posts...you might say, "Well, those are just posts on CC." However, from past experience, I've been able to paint fairly accurate pictures of applicants/parents from their words. While I'm sure please1 worked hard to seem enthusiastic in her application, feelings of stress and hopelessness often come through in essays and short answer questions. You might think I'm crazy for saying this, but I've seen it first-hand.</p>
<p>As for please1's published poem...I've seen many applicants boast about "published" work. While I do not in any way intend to deny please1 of the accomplishment, more often than not, such "published" work once appeared in a local paper or small-time "call for submissions" contest. If it was something more, I would have hoped please1 would have made note in her post.</p>
<p>The admissions "hook" is harder to pull off than today's applicant is lead to believe (shame on you, Pam Proctor!). Simply playing an instrument or speaking a foreign language is not enough. A College has to buy into a hook, which takes a well-written essay, extensive involvement in suitable ECs, etc.</p>
<p>Lafayette will be a slight reach for please1, and her GPA is what will hold her back. It's really that simple. At this point, I've already seen the SAT scores and GPAs of many admitted vs. deferred/rejected ED students...add in the fact that we expect a record number of applications for even less first-year spaces this year, and last year's "average", which is sure to increase with the Class of 2012, becomes a scary proposition for anyone.</p>
<p>"Average" can definitely play against an applicant. Unfortunately, "averageness" is something an applicant can't inherently control, as it is largely determined by the overall competitiveness of an applicant pool. Although "averageness" may not be a tangible quality, one that can be pinpointed by the absence of some EC or course offering, it very often places applicants in the reject pile.</p>
<p>I have no idea if anything I just said makes any sense. It is very difficult for me to explain the meaning of my ways without revealing what I have learned goes on behind closed doors.</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>
<p>OK, Justin. Now that makes sense. I proabably didn't express my question well but you certainly answered it very well. When I compared please1's scores to actual "average" students (not at Lafayette, but at lower-tiered institutions), please1's stats glow. For an elite college, you are right, the GPA is not enough, and there needs to be more info than "published poem" (which might be in her school's lit magazine, not exactly poet laureate material, it would seem).</p>
<p>You are correct, as usual Justin, and I am sure Please1 can appreciate your honesty. I do! </p>
<p>Can you explain what factors Lafayette might consider favorably or otherwise in an otherwise completely AVERAGE LAFAYETTE student? Can you make up two ficticious applicants with very similar scores and show us who might get in, and who would be rejected? (If you don't have anything else to do with your precious freetime, of course!) ;^)</p>
<p>fencersmother,</p>
<p>For an "average" applicant (average SAT, GPA, rank, involvement in "typical" activities), admissions officers might look for...</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Most important, by far, is demonstrated interest. Lafayette is, for whatever reason, OBSESSED with College contacts. Has the applicant visited the college, taken the tour, attended the info session, had an interview, etc.? Believe it or not, Lafayette routinely rejects Ivy-type applicants who have never once visited the College.</p></li>
<li><p>A fun, real, honest, down-to-earth personality, which is easily sensed in any written material, through an interview, and even in recommendation letters.</p></li>
<li><p>A well-packaged application. I can't stress this one enough. Even though it probably should have no bearing on a decision, as it may not accurately reflect one's ability to complete college level work and contribute to an academic community, there is just no excuse for sloppy work!</p></li>
<li><p>A small detail, but still important: number of testing sessions. Although two applicants may end up with identical SAT "superscores," the one that took the test fewer times has a slight upper hand.</p></li>
<li><p>Something an applicant has absolutely no control over: a College's "needs" in filling spaces at the very moment the applicant is being evaluated. Maybe the tuba player was already admitted in the ED round, or maybe they are still looking for a Geology major (despite that prospective Geology major's "average" stats), or maybe they would rather admit that "average" applicant from Maryland than from New Jersey (we all know Lafayette has enough of those kids!). What I am getting at with this point is simple: one "average" applicant could be admitted over a remarkably similar applicant out of sheer luck (kind of like being in the right place at the right time, huh?).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Well, that's just some food for thought (at the very least, what immediately came to mind). Hopefully, I've touched upon at least one point you've yet to consider.</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>
<p>I love your #1 point, Justin; on reflection, I think, especially for a small college, there is just no substitute for the enthusiastic student. And, now that I have re-read what you've written, I am so glad we made that trip on that really cold, very icy morning. Would you agree - that showed TRUE interest?! </p>
<p>I didn't realize that about SATs either, that taking the test just once could be an advantage. My kids took it only once, no ACT. You taught me something, because I felt that was a definite disadvantage for them - lacked the push to excel or something.</p>
<p>Thanks, again!</p>
<p>fencersmother,</p>
<p>Haha...let's not give admissions officer too much credit! They are only human, after all. I highly doubt they'll remember your braving the icy tundra, although I was certainly impressed with your gung-ho attitude.</p>
<p>To keep a long story short, yes, excelling on a standardized test with just one testing session serves as a testament to one's "innate intelligence." Improvement over several sessions is usually attributed to some sort of "practice effect."</p>
<p>Now go do something else for an hour. Spending too much time on this site is not healthy for anyone!</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>
<p>I would Justin, but the Steelers are losing!!!</p>
<p>Actually, I was just about to sign off - you should too!</p>
<p>fencersmother,</p>
<p>I've already left!</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin ;-)</li>
</ul>
<p>I think this is the most helpful thread on this website! haha</p>
<p>Yea, it really does suck that my gpa is so low. I don't even know what happened. My parent don't know how the school system works, they don't even know how the college process goes since they both went to college in Ukraine. No one told me what to do, what courses to take. And when I wanted to take ap classes my counselor discouraged me for whatever reason. I really do think that gpa is just bad luck. But it is definitly also me not trying as hard as I can. I am a year too young for my grade, maybe that's it? haha or maybe I just need to improve me work ethic. And I have been this year, hopefully lafayette and other schools will recognize this.</p>
<p>I feel like I defintly had a disadvantage though. Many other parents told their kids what to do, what classes to take, what teachers to request. I really didn't have guidance all throughout high school, and moving to nj freshman year from a small private middle school to this huge public high school was the hardest transition of my life. </p>
<p>haha. maybe i should have told colleges this? but it kind of sounds like "pitty me".</p>
<p>hey, also. I visited lafayette, but i didn't take a campus tour because i didnt realize that tours weren't offered that day and i couldnt find the admissions office (it was in the summer so there was nobody around) i mentioned this on the application i just said that i visited campus on me own. is that okay? or is that still lack of interest? </p>
<p>and that's funny that you say i'm pessimistic. im usually sooooo optimistic! but people really have been discouraging me with the whole college thing, so that definitly diminished my confidence with college stuff. my guidance counselor asked me why i was applying to such good schools. haha it was pretty mean.</p>
<p>sorry this is so long but one last thing. about the published poet thing, i have 3 published poems in books i think one is called A Treasury of American Poetry II. It was off of the internet.</p>
<p>Okay thanks for all the help Justin.</p>
<p>You've done cool stuff :D No need to feel bad or anything :D We'll all keep our fingers crossed for ya</p>
<p>please1,</p>
<p>You are the kind of applicant that would have benefited most from an on-campus interview. You could have explained your situation and given admissions officers a more accurate picture of who you really are. As it stands, your stats may not reflect your potential for success in a college environment.</p>
<p>Touring the campus on your own definitely shows interest. It's a shame, though, that you didn't visit on a day when tours were offered and classes were in session. Our tour guides do a good job of sharing their experiences at Lafayette, and each one would have been more than able to answer your questions.</p>
<p>Oh, I figured the admissions process has just got you down. I didn't think you were a naturally pessimistic person, just that this whole "college admissions thang" has become a great source of stress for you. That guidance counselor sounds clueless (unfortunately, most are at larger public high schools). Don't mind him/her!</p>
<p>After looking into that publication, I am forced to question its legitimacy. It looks to me like some "self-publication" piece. I'm glad you decided to include one of your poems in your application so admissions officers can judge for themselves.</p>
<p>Keep your hopes up. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask.</p>
<ul>
<li>Justin</li>
</ul>
<p>thanks a lot!
so is it too late to schedule an on-campus interview?</p>