Wellesley College: Do I Ever Stand A Chance of Getting In with An SAT Score of 1390?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wellesley College
1

Hi, people in the CC community. Here are a few facts about me:

Numbers
My SAT superscore is 1390, with a writing score of 7-6-7. I took it twice, got a 1370 on both tests.
I am taking three SAT subject tests this October. (USH, Math II, Biology E)
My GPA is around 4, freshmen year: 3.6, sophomore: 3.8, junior 4.3, senior: >4. My course load isn’t considered as rigorous: 6 college classes in total (I enjoy every single one of them and learned much), other course choices vary based on interest (from Holocaust Studies to Poetry Classes).

ECs
I am lucky to participate in many ECs which I actually love and enjoy so much and have taken up leadership roles in them.

  • volunteered as a newsletter writer for an education company for underserved youth for three years, articles have appeared in local newspapers. My boss recommended me to a company for international education, so I got a job as a paid vlogger and have become more proficient in video editing.
  • vp of the school international club in my sophomore year
  • president of the school international club in my junior year (learning about different cultures is just amazing!)
  • I fell in love with poetry after taking Studies in Poetry class at school, and I have one poem published so far! :slight_smile:

(did my capstone research on Chinese people’s attitude toward environmental pollution. The research is mentioned in my personal statement. I’m an environment protection advocate btw.)

Work

  • tutored American History and Physical Science for at least 7 hours per week in my junior year
  • work three part-time jobs in my senior year. (My family isn’t affluent, so I’m really working a lot to save for my college tuition.)

Letters of Rec
Spanish teacher: we are both nature advocates & feminists. She thinks that I have deep insights.
English teacher: he has inspired my writing style and changed the way I view the world. We have discussions after classes on books and world issues all the time. He knows me very well, and he was really happy when I asked him to write my letter of rec.

I’m Asian of Chinese descent, and I intend to pursue environmental studies major with a journalism minor.
I had to transfer school in my senior year due to a change in my dad’s job, but I’m adjusting pretty well so far.

I checked the official Wellesley website which states that for the redesigned SAT, the average scores of Class 2021 are:
Reading and Writing: 697
Math: 699
(Total: 1396, although according to many other tutoring websites, the average scores are higher)

Today, my mom just told me that I basically have no chance of getting into Wellesley because my SAT is below the average, and there are so many other smart Asians who score a thousand times higher than me. Chancing myself is the last thing I wish to do, but I love Wellesley with ALL my heart––it’s my ED school. I feel so heartbroken after my mom said those words to me. I’d love to hear about you guys’ opinions.

Thank you so much for reading this. It means a lot to me.

2

It’s not correct that you “basically have no chance”. Your test scores are in the middle 50% of admitted students, so at least 25% had test scores lower than yours. Now, of course you realize that admission to Wellesley is extremely competitive for ALL applicants, so it’s a long shot regardless of your stats.

I’ve shared this before, but it bears repeating…I recently had a discussion with the Dean of Admissions. She shared that the admissions committee rejects many extremely high-performing applicants because they just weren’t a “fit”…meaning that they didn’t see the student thriving in the Wellesley environment. So as you prepare, be introspective about why Wellesley would be a fit for you and be sure to convey that in your application.

As a backup plan, you might also check out some of the other women’s colleges that have slightly higher admissions rates (e.g. Smith, Mt Holyoke, Bryn Mawr).

Good luck!

3

Applying ED will definitely improve your chances. Good luck!

4

Your SAT score doesn’t look like a dealbreaker, and you have a lot of interesting, unique extracurricular activities and academic strengths. Emphasize what makes you different and how attending Wellesley will help you further develop your interests and passions. Also, be sure to request an interview before the deadline. Good luck!

5

You are a smart and talented kid, as evidenced by your grades and scores, they are very very good. You, and your mom, are smart enough to know they are not exceptional so you are not a shoo-in, but by no means would I agree with your mom that you have no chance.

Some might depend on your high schools - while you say you transferred because of your dad’s job, was your prior high school more stingy when it came to grades, or is your new school much easier/less competitive? Or did you finally begin to soar as you hit junior year? When you say your course load isn’t considered as rigorous: 6 college classes in total - that needs to be put in context - do other kids take a dozen more than that? What is your class rank - or can you estimate what % you are in? If you are in the top 5 to 10%, it would improve your chances, but if you are at the median, it might hurt.

My prediction is that with a great essay and interview, and with a stellar rec letter, you will get in, perhaps you’ll get deferred from ED to the regular round.

If you don’t end up at W, you will undoubtedly attend a great school. Best of luck to you!

6

Thank you so much!!!