<p>I'm a white male, from Texas. I'm in a pretty competitive high school, and anywehre in the top 10-20 (probably top 15) of my class. I have a 610 Math and 720 reading SAT (writing was 570, but I don't think they look at that??).
GPA: Not sure....Its decent though.
I've taken all honors core classes for all of my years (except for 1 regulars class Juinor year, because there was no honors.) I also took AP english my junior year, and am taking AP Spanish, English 4, Macro Economics, Calculus, and Statistics. </p>
<p>ECs:
NHS (11-12)
Spanish NHS (10-12)
Debate club (9-12). Third place at a UIL (although nobody knows what that is outside TX) tournament.
Orchestra (9-12). </p>
<p>Other:
-Volunteered at the library for hte past 2 summers (about 4 hours a week.) Currently volunteering about 4 hours every saturday.
-Hebrew School Hebrew teacher, taught a bar mitzvah hebrew class & a 4th grade class on Sunday and Wednesday.
-Attented kumon for 5 years, now work there as a tutor. </p>
<p>I am probably going to major in romance languages, or something relating to international business. I think I stand a decent chance...but I'm not sure. </p>
<p>I think you're in the ballpark. Can you visit? My son liked Grinnell best of the 10 schools he applied to. He's in his first week and really enjoying it so far. Of course applying ED is the ultimate way of showing interest, but make sure your parents are prepared to handle paying for it, no matter what financial package is offered.</p>
<p>from what i have read on this site, it doesnt make a huge difference. but grinnell is getting more competitive each year so maybe the interview is becoming more important.</p>
<p>That's certainly a good GPA. I'd suggest you learn all you can about Grinnell, so you can articulate what you love about it for the "Why Grinnell?" question in the supplement to the Common App. Also put a lot of effort into writing a good essay. It should clearly express who you are as a person, apart from your stats. Grinnell is interested in intellectually curious students who want to be challenged and also want to contribute to the community.</p>
<p>I spoke with my Dad who is a Grinnell alum and regularly interviews applicants for the college. A few of his suggestions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You are going to have to get your SAT math and writing scores up (writing does matter!). </p></li>
<li><p>You'll need also to sharpen your ECs so that the adcom can get a very clear sense of your passions and how you'll contribute as a member of the Grinnell community. </p></li>
<li><p>ED is certainly helpful in increasing your chances of admission, but only if there is genuine "fit", so invest some time in getting to know Grinnell and its unique qualities. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Here it says that they don't use the essay component. </p>
<p>What exactly do you mean by sharpen my extracurriculars? Its to late to earn any more awards in them...do you mean give a more accurate description? </p>
<p>I actually don't think I can apply ED anymore, because of payment issues. </p>
<p>Is there anything I can do besides contact an Alumni, to show that I'm interested, I really do want to go to Grinnell.</p>
<p>A couple of points of clarification. Whether Grinnell considers the writing and essay portion of the SAT is not the issue, the adcom committee will see it when it is reported with your Math and Reading scores. Grinnell is an academically rigorous place, where writing and learning to write well is taken very seriously. If you can, you should find a way to raise both your writing and your math score. Currently, they put you in a somewhat disadvantaged spot.</p>
<p>My comment on your extracurriculars is this. You need to find a way in your admission essays to describe the activities you are truly passionate about -- highlighting why you have devoted yourself to them. This will convey what makes you distinct from all the other applicants and reflect your true character. This is what Grinnell looks for -- students who are passionate, committed, goal-oriented and who thrive on learning. Grinnell is more interested in building a community than simply bumping up their average SAT scores.</p>
<p>Here are some of the differences compiled from numerous sources. </p>
<p>The ACT is more of a curriculum based test, designed to evaluate your overall educational development and your ability to complete college level work. It focuses on subjects and skills taught in high school. The SAT tests more of a certain type of critical and analytical thinking, designed to evaluate your "inate ability" also known as general thinking and problem solving abilities.</p>
<p>The ACT has four sections: English, Math, Science Reasoning and Reading Comprehension. Whereas, the English section of the SAT has a heavy focus on vocabulary, the English section of the ACT focuses on grammar and punctuation.</p>
<p>The Science section isn't a knowledge based section. Rather, it tests your ability to look at charts, graphs and scientific information and to interpret that.</p>
<p>The ACT is shorter in time so you may be less fatigued as the test progresses. Also, colleges will only see the score that you choose to send them, regardless of how many times the test is taken.</p>
<p>While this won't answer all your questions, if you google "SAT vs. ACT", you will be able to find far more information than you want. Also, BalletGirl gave you very good advice and you should follow her suggestions. Writing is important because Grinnell is considered to be a writing intensive college. The only required course is a first year tutorial. Whatever the topic of a student's tutorial class, the class is designed to have the student write a lot and hone their writing skills.</p>
<p>Lastly, qualified applicants who apply ED do well in gaining admission. For what it's worth, my S just started his freshman year at Grinnell and couldn't be happier. Hope this helps and if you have any questions feel free to pm me.</p>
<p>well I see I still have time to register for one....so I might as well take it. I signed up to take the SAT again too. </p>
<p>I actually am a pretty good writer, I got a 4 on the English 3 AP Test (do you think that will help?). I just have very bad handwriting (I suspect my essay score was so low because it was illegible. I'll remember to control my self when i retake it). </p>
<p>Also, one of my recommendations is going to be from my English teacher. When i had her, we did a group literarly analysis, which she thought was so good that she sent emails home to our parents (she had never done anything like that before). So she will have some good things to say about my writing abilities</p>
<p>Also, do you think it would be a good idea to wrote about how I chose to go to Grinnell because I wanted to be different (Almost 90% of the top 10% of my class is going to A&M or UT)?</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I can't apply ED. I'm afraid that I might get accepted and not be able to pay for it (my parents are contributing approximately $0 to college, and I dont know if my income out of college is high enough to justify student loans...)</p>
<p>A couple things - I'm a parent from Texas, who lived in the midwest. Depending on what part of TX you're from, you might have issues dealing with the Grinnell lifestyle. First, can you handle the weather? - it can be brutal in the winter. Second, if you're from an urban area, can you deal with a much more rural place? Part of this is speaking from experience. My son chose a different college (fairly rural) and is missing some of the suburban perks.</p>
<p>Don't get me wrong - Grinnell is a great school - we did a visit a couple summers ago and fell in love with the place. If you're on the admissions list, Grinnell will most likely send out a postcard about interviews in TX. I can't remember what time of the year those happened - but I'm thinking Oct/Nov up here in NTexas.</p>
<p>As for being in the top 12% of your class - again, I can identify. My son had a 96 GPA and was in the top 17%. He wasn't the one applying to Grinnell, but the school he ended up choosing has a very strict cutoff on merit scholarships and he got nothing, even with a follow-up letter, great grades an scores, and letters of recommendation. Hope things work out well for you.</p>
<p>The idea about everyone going to UT/A&M/TTU sounds good. Pretty much the reason my kids went out of state. And finally, try to ACT - both my kids did better on that than the SAT. The SAT is one you can study for - the ACT is pretty much about how much you know now. Iowa is where the ACT headquarters are. </p>
<p>I live in spring, a suburb of Houston. I don't know about the weather...I don't like the cold much, but I think I can adjust, as long as the dorms have heating. As for the rural aspect, I think I would be able to live with it (What exactly is your son missing?). </p>
<p>How do I get on the admissions list? Is it based of SAT/PSAT scores (I've gotten lots of letters from other colleges based of off those)?</p>
<p>I think being from Texas will probably help you -- good geographic diversity. You're clearly very passionate about wanting to go to Grinnell, and if you can communicate that in your essay - and show some genuine personality, I think you've got a very good shot. Good luck!</p>
<p>I agreee with everything said..except, don't make your essay about choosing Grinnell so you could be different than everyone else in your class. I would rather see you write about choosing Grinnell becasue the school is a good fit for you..and you are a good fit for the school.</p>