Hello! I have applied to the following schools and was wondering if there was even a small chance I might get into my reach schools. Be as brutal as you like, I want a real idea of my chances!
Here are the schools I am applying to:
Reach: Barnard, NYU (College of Arts and Sciences), University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Target: Sarah Lawrence College, Syracuse University
Safety: University of Iowa
Here is all the relevant info:
White dual national (US and Canada) female, equivalent of a US high school senior at an international Canadian boarding school (parents move internationally frequently for work, lived abroad for most of my life), applying as a domestic applicant, no legacy anywhere but UofI
I am completing a full IB diploma for which I just received and submitted the following predicted grades: 7 in HL Biology, 7 in HL English A Language and Literature, 7 in HL Psychology, 6 in HL French A Language and Literature, 6 in SL Chemistry, 6 in SL Math Analyses and Approaches, A in the Extended Essay, B in Theory of Knowledge
Indicating intent to major in biology on every application, added that I wanted to double major in English and bio where possible
My average (converted into percentages for my provincial system) was a 92.3% junior year, 90% first term senior year (but these include PE)
1390 SAT (630 math, 760 reading) but NOT submitting to any school but Syracuse and UofI since I know they are not very competitive
Top of my class in English all four years of high school, in French sophomore and junior year, in ethics sophomore year, and in bio + contemporary world junior year
School-level prizes for poetry sophomore year and a prize for excelling in creative writing + involvement in school life junior year
Leadership: Prefect (school government that’s a big deal at my school, ten juniors are elected and vetted to be prefect their senior year), Lieutenant in my school Cadet corps (sort of like the Canadian equivalent of JROTC), editor of my school’s literary magazine since sophomore year, head of the student news club since sophomore year, went to this year’s Round Square International Conference as part of my school’s delegation
Other activities: dining hall committee (sophomore and junior year), chapel warden (only available to juniors), student life committee (junior year), carnival committee (only available to sophomores), volleyball all four years (my school is not in a league so we don’t have JV/varsity), cross-country my first three years (same deal as volleyball), rugby sophomore and junior year (also no league)
Work experience: three week paid summer work in a security office the summer before junior year, five weeks paid summer work at a regional CDC office the summer before senior year (this one I think is impressive in the sense that I was given real deliverables, such as a program summary of HIV programs in the region that the CDC will actually be using in the future, as well as a presentation on said program to both the office and some of their implementing partners)
Essays/LORs: wrote my essay on being an expat kid, tried my best to describe how it makes me unique but also how I have built an identity around it instead of solely relying on having lived abroad (mostly in Africa) to be interesting (stylistically speaking I write very well but I am a tad worried that my focus wasn’t the clearest), chose the teachers from the subjects I want to major in (bio and English) to write my LORs which works out nicely because they are my highest grades and the teachers I have the best rapport with
Sorry if this was a lot of info, wanted to give the most accurate picture possible! I know I was overly ambitious with my reach schools so I really don’t mind being told so, but if you genuinely think there’s even a chance I’ll get into one of them I would be over the moon
Yes, I would be very happy with my targets and also applied to a couple Canadian schools I really liked that my counsellor said I could get into. I would qualify for in-state tuition at Iowa and really enjoy the vibe of the city so I figured it would make a good safety!
What was the grade average for the entire 3 years, up to and including junior year?
Other than your top-of-class standing in various subjects and years, does your school indicate in which decile (10s of percentage range) your overall 3-year grades fall vis-a-vis the entirety of the class?
Your two summer job experiences are valuable in your application, as they relate to your major and, as you state, required the production of “real deliverables”.
There is always a small chance that one of those three reach schools might offer admission.
Your essay has an interesting angle, your ECs interests are balanced across a good spectrum, and your leadership positions give the impression of an engaging young woman.
There are some open questions – but in the areas known, I don’t see any obvious red flags.
But, realistically, for >90% (in some cases, even >95%) of students with (at least) equally strong RD applications, there just aren’t enough spots at these three schools. You were right in making the attempt, and there is hope for an acceptance - but the odds are very low, in part because they are low for everyone.
Thanks for the insight, much appreciated! My freshman year was pass/fail due to covid but my average was 92.3% in both sophomore and junior year. My school does not provide rankings except for an award to the student ranked #1 in each class overall and in individual subjects. Even if I knew my class rank I think it could potentially hurt more than help, as I know I’m in the top 10% but my class size is very small (only 77), so I imagine anything other than 1 or 2 in a pool that size is not great.
Thanks for clarifying - so this sounds like your unweighted GPA could be equivalent to around 3.8 (depending on which scale is used), which is strong, and if you’re among the top 7 students in your class, you’re in the first decile of your class - which is where you hope to be.
With these two measures you fall into the range of students admitted to these colleges. But, again, giving their extreme selectivity, especially during RD, it also means that regardless of anyone’s excellent grades and rank, unfortunately a very low percent can be admitted.
Wishing you luck that your experiences living in Africa and elsewhere, your relevant summer jobs, and your broad ECs and interests will give your application a slight edge.
Did you demonstrate interest/do an interview with Sarah Lawrence? I toured the school with my daughter last fall, and the tour was given by an admissions officer. She stressed that fit and demonstrated interest (particularly in the form of an interview) was important. If your Sarah Lawrence essays communicated fit clearly, that would help.
I didn’t get the opportunity to tour or interview unfortunately, but I tried my best to tailor my supplemental essay to their philosophy so I’m hoping that’s enough.
Little update in case anyone was interested! Decided not to apply to UMich, did more research and decided it wouldn’t be a good fit which, coupled with the fact that I almost certainly would not have gotten in, made it not worth the time and money to apply (for me personally).
I also got my very first acceptance! I just got into the University of Ottawa (with a scholarship!), which I did not mention in the original post since most non-Canadians don’t really tend to know about it.
I’m predicting that I’ll also get a decision from UofT this month (maybe next), followed by the American schools throughout March and likely a very late offer from McGill (since they are notorious for sending offers ridiculously late for domestic applicants, especially from my province). Fingers crossed! To be completely honest I’m just happy I got into at least one school.
Another lil’ tidbit of good news for those still interested! I got into University of Toronto! Was admitted to St. Michael’s College at the St. George campus as well as to the Scarborough campus (with a scholarship). This was my first choice of Canadian universities so I’m beyond happy!
More news! Accepted to Sarah Lawrence with some nice merit! Was hoping Syracuse would come out today but unfortunately it doesn’t look like it will. Either way, yay!
Another day, another decision! Got into UofI! Also got some merit but to be perfectly honest I’m a bit disappointed that it was so low considering that I was pretty excited about this school as a safety and had a pretty strong application, plus they apparently misclassified me as OOS (even though there’s a special legal provision that grants in-state status to kids of families in my situation) which is gonna be a hassle to sort out… Does anyone have any advice on straightening that detail out with them? They haven’t answered me or my parents, even though we’ve been trying to figure it out for a while now so that I could get an accurate financial aid summary by the time I got an offer.
Accepted:
University of Ottawa (accepted to Honours Biomed with merit scholarship)
University of Toronto (accepted to Life Sciences at St George and Scarborough campuses, merit scholarship to UTSC only)
Sarah Lawrence College (with merit scholarship)
University of Iowa (accepted to the College of Arts & Sciences with merit scholarship)
Awaiting Decisions:
Syracuse University (applied to the College of Arts and Sciences, no clue when decisions come out)
NYU (applied to the College of Arts and Sciences, decisions come out the 28th)
Barnard (no date officially given but I suspect it’ll be on ivy day)
McGill (applied to BA&Sc and BA, probably won’t get a decision until May since I’m in-province, ugh)
