The opposite of chancing

Colleges and Universities A-Z Barnard College
1

<p>After posting my stats, about 5 girls have sent me very polite emails essentially asking how I got in over them. After reading their stats, I’m not so sure myself. It’s not that I don’t think I deserve to go there. I know I got picked for a reason, but why would Barnard let me in over someone with perfect grades and SATs? How on earth did I get in?</p>

<p>STATS
GPA: 3.84 W (school doesn’t calculate unweighted, but I generally have B’s and A’s)
Rank: n/a
SAT I: Writing: 750, Verbal: 590, Math: 650
SAT II: [lolz] USHistory: 610, Litt: 550
ACT: [lolz] 24
Other Stats: AP US: 4, AP Lang: 3
Senior Classes: AP French, AP Lit, AB Calc, AP Art, American Foreign Policy, Film Studies</p>

<p>SUBJECTIVE:
Common Application Essays: Made my college counselor cry. PM if you’d like to read it.
Barnard Essays: Had typos, but were very honest. Do some reserch, talk about a professor you’d like to study with.
EC’s: Figure Skating, Yearbook (editor in chief), Art (art club president, photography commissions, school paper photographer), Youth in Government (outstanding statesman, Presider), Community Service Leader, Speech and Debate (speech captain, NFL degree of excellence), School Chorus, NHS, NFHS, Girl Scouts (silver award), French Club.
Teacher Rec’s: One should be good, the other I pretty much wrote myself (the teacher had a “recommendation application”).
Counselor Rec’s: My college counselor loves me.
Major Awards: none really. Art Award, Outstanding Statesman, NFL degree of excellence
Hook (if any): I’ve gone through hell and turned out just fine.
Interview: I talked about how awesome it was that Barnard had access to the resources of an Ivy League school. It’s safe to say I put both feet in my mouth. I kept digging myself deeper and deeper into a hole.</p>

<p>LOCATION
State or Country: SC
School Type: 96 in graduating class, episcopal private school
Ethnicity: did not list, but white</p>

<p>OTHER FACTORS:
General Comments & reflections: I’m one of those people who shouldn’t’ve gotten in but did. I think my essays, my recs, and my extracurriculars got me in. I’m still in shock really. I am very proud of myself. Good luck to those who were deferred/rejected. You will still do great things.</p>

2

<p>Because figureskater, a person’s SATs/GPA say very little about who that person is. Especially if they’ve gone through a lot of stuff, which it sounds like you have. Barnard wants people, not machines. I’m guessing your essays were pretty spectacular and since your college conselor loves you (s)he probably called BC and communicated your strong desire to attend.
As for the whole putting your foot in your mouth duing the interview, I think sometimes that’s a good thing. It’s better to say something awkward that’s genuine than to have generic rehearsed answers.
I’m guessing you had excellent essays, since that’s what the Barnard adcoms read first to determine whether or not it’s a fit.
I think it’s also because Barnard doesn’t play the ranking game. One of the reasons (apart from the fact that the BC/CU relationship isn’t considered) why the BC rank is so low is because Barnard admits girls based on fit, personality, merit etc not based on statistics that will give them a lower acceptance rate or higher average SAT scores. Barnard doesn’t seem to care too much about what the US World and News report has to say and, to be completely honest, they really shouldn’t.
So congratulations and I look for to meeting you next fall <3</p>

3

<p>And I would like to add that I am sorry those five young women asked you that question. Of what possible benefit could that be to them at this point? None of us knows the reasoning behind the Barnard adcom’s decision, but I am confident that they made a good decision about you. In my never-to-be-humble opinion, it was fairly rude of them to ask you this. </p>

<p>Sorry if that sounds harsh, but there you go. Such a question could only serve to undermine your confidence, I think. I am glad you do not seem to have let it do that.</p>

4

<p>Barnard is a small community, and, as such, the admissions committee looks for people from a variety of different backgrounds, who do a variety of interesting things. I am sorry that people have been projecting their disappointment onto your accomplishment. It’s a stressful time for a lot of people, but petty competitiveness is a wholly un-Barnard way of responding to a set-back. Furthermore, from your hook, it sounds like you’ve been through some difficult times, but have rebounded. Resilience, grace under pressure, and the ability to learn from adversity are huuuuuuuuuge hallmarks of a Barnard woman. Plus, it seems like you have a pretty good sense of purpose, and of the sort of contribution that you might be able to make to the community. </p>

<p>When you get here, be sure to keep in mind that you were chosen for who you are, and the wonderful things you’ve accomplished so far. Self-awareness and self-evaluation is essential; self-doubt, on the other hand, is counter-productive (we all do it, though). The admissions committee clearly thinks that you’ll make a great Barnard student, and there’s no reason for you to doubt their decision. Congrats on your acceptance, and welcome to Barnard!</p>

5

<p>You have passion…something way better than high SATs/GPA. Remember Barnard takes a holistic approach. I got into Johns Hopkins over many 2400-scorers.
Ignore those haters who emailed you :p</p>

6

<p>You don’t have to, but if you PM a summary of what was in your essays & LOR, I might be able to give you some insight. That is… the part that’s missing for me is, “who are you beyond the stats” … but that’ the part that was critical to the ad com’s decision. </p>

<p>In all of Barnard’s history, the most highly selective year was 2006, when less than 26% of applicants were accepted. That was the year my daughter was accepted, RD, with scores in the bottom 25th percentile for Barnard. Your individual scores are pretty close to the median for enrolled students – your SATs are better than my daughter’s, your ACT is worse, and your GPA is a little weaker (but then, maybe my daughter went to an easier high school) </p>

<p>In any case, I think I know exactly why my daughter was admitted to Barnard-- though I’ve always wished I could have been a fly on the wall in the room where her application was discussed, so I could know for sure. But I think it’s a matter of personality and her specific interests and ECs – and enough there that kind of screamed out that she was the quintessential Barnard woman, even if she didn’t know it yet. </p>

<p>I am sure that you are in the same boat. Barnard LIKED you. </p>

<p>Stats tell us very little about applicants. They are a baseline – from there, there needs to be something about the applicant that intrigues the ad com, or that fills some sort of need.</p>