The "secrets" of college admissions - from an accepted student

<p>So helpful. Daughter applying this fall. Made us feel better about applying to those “reach” schools and the whole process. Thanks!!</p>

<p>I am applying to mostly southern schools which are more ACT schools and I have taken the ACT several times. My score is not high at all.(Embarassed to say 24) I wanted to take the SAT but my counselor suggested not too because I have not done well on my PSAT. I am not a good test taker. My GPA is 3.8 and I have great EC and leadership spots as well. I go to a Math and Science school and I am strong very strong in Math but weak in English. So should i take the SAT’s?</p>

<p>I have taken the SATs twice now, with my higher score being a 1750. I did prep for the second one. I took the ACTs once with no prep and got a 27. I do have a 3.75 GPA though and a well rounded EC list. I am a senior now. Do you think I should take the SATs or ACTs again with more prep to try to raise my scores?</p>

<p>Thanks Sid… I appreciated your advice on the importance of practicing for the SAT. So often posters on CC say that they don’t study and get awesome scores. I will print this for my daughter. This will be great reinforcement for her! Thanks again…</p>

<p>Very gracious of you to share your experience! The best of luck to you at BU!</p>

<p>This is great information.</p>

<p>Great advice. Also, be truthful to who you are. With thousands and thousands of essays coming in, they can spot the ones that are just fluff and bs.</p>

<p>Hey guys i just wanted to say that i taking a couple clubs this year and i do plan on staying with them until i graduate, im a junior this year…But the reason im here is because i didn’t join or do any ECs freshman and sophomore year because i had some problems at home and family. How should i explain this in the application : /. i’m a strongly dedicated person when i passion about something but my depression over those 1 1/2 years really got to me…</p>

<p>Did you send an optional resume in addition to the ECs you listed in the Common App? If so, what format did you use, i.e. category names, list the hours per week, etc.?</p>

<p>I see this word everywhere: “leadership.” what does that mean??? Do I have to be a president of a club to show leadership?</p>

<p>^ I don’t think you definitely have to be a leader to get in. A few leaders here and there in a college community is surely needed, but not every single college student can be a leader. By leadership, I think they’re looking for people who engage in activities on their own, and take the initiative.</p>

<p>I’m a high school senior so I may be wrong. That is just what I think.</p>

<p>This is really helpful! I was wondering if you could help me though? I’m a senior this year and will be starting college applications in about a month and I really want to go to SDSU. I have no extracurricular activities or volunteer work (except for helping at a church festival the past 4 years) and I was wondering if I could get in without any EC’s?
I have a 3.95 GPA.
I’ve taken 3 years honors English.
I got a 1600 on the SATs.
I was on honor roll all my sophomore and junior year.
I live in California.
I’m hispanic and plan on majoring in business or communications.</p>

<p>I’m really stressed about getting in because this is the one school that has everything I want.</p>

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<p>What - do you think the entire universe of “awesome jobs” is only found with banks and consulting firms?<br>
This is, in essence, what you’re doing:</p>

<p>List of Awesome and Well Paying Jobs in Business:
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWYZ</p>

<p>You: “But G and Q don’t recruit at Boston U!”</p>

<p>So what?</p>

<p>This post is so awesome!!
I took the sat at the end of eighth grade and i got a 1450. What would you guys recommend i do to get it up to a perfect or very close (sorry if i sound pretentious).
Thanks</p>

<p>What SAT practice tests did you do?</p>

<p>Great thread. Good luck to you at BU. Can you tell us how you studied vocabulary for the SAT?</p>

<p>Love this thread. Thank you!</p>

<p>…Oh and I would also like to know more about how you mastered the SATs, very inspiring! What practice tests, what vocab list did you use, etc.?</p>

<p>@sid the kid: if you could answer/help me with this question PLEASE do.</p>

<p>Our school only offers 2 ap’s max.
I’m taking AP Calc and Lit now. Calc is killing me, 4 weeks in, and my grade is dead. Consequently, Im thinking about dropping it. Im just worried how colleges will take this, I mean I am taking 1 out of 2, and if I do, I will have more time for other thigs like my SAT scores and volunteering, and my college apps and stuff…</p>

<p>please let me know, how much it could hurt you. some reference to YOUR schedule would be great!</p>

<p>thankssss!!</p>

<p>Thanks for this thread!</p>

<p>I’m currently set on EDing at Vassar, and am also considering Colby, Whitman and Claremont McKenna, among others. </p>

<p>Academically, my stats are quite good. I take honors courses, have a 4.0 unweighted, 2140 SAT and 32 ACT on first attempts. However, I am nervous about my extracurriculars.</p>

<p>So, here’s what I have done: I have played basketball and soccer all three years and will continue to do so (however, I’ve been JV in the first three years). I have been in student government all four years as well, and am part of a program of student advisors for underclassmen. I just finished a summer internship. And I am a frequent writer for a popular sports website which I’ve been a part of for 2-3 years now. </p>

<p>What concerns me is this: I haven’t done any clubs. Mock trial, speech and debate, model UN, etc…I have never done any of this, whereas it seems like most my friends (who, granted, aren’t as athletically involved as me) are involved in multiple. Clubs just never really appealed to me, but now I’m worried my lack of involvement in the many clubs offered will hurt me. </p>

<p>So, essentially, my question is this: How much emphasis do colleges put on club participation (are all EC’s created equal?), and is a short list (4-5) of EC’s that I have stuck with and attained leadership positions in equally/more impressive as participating in a bunch of clubs?</p>

<p>Anti, admissions folk want to see some depth of interests beyond academics, consistency and commitment seem to trump what appears as shallow EC stacking. Student Government is highly valued and I think the sports writing coupled with the sports participation show genuine involvement. You’ll be fine.</p>