Wesleyan chances

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wesleyan University
1

SAT : 1430/1600 (Math 730, English 700)
SAT II’s : 720 Math 2, 660 Literature
GPA : 3.6 for 9th-10th grade, 3.85 for 11th grade.
If I continue doing well in Senior year my overall GPA would be around 3.75 unweighted
Rank : N/A not entirely sure if I’d place top 10%

Course difficulty : No IB’s or AP’s offered ; very little advanced classes offered (small public school)
Started in beginner’s Spanish class and moved up to advanced Spanish
Took Calculus in 11th grade

Subjective :
Red Cross 10-12 Just a member, I don’t do too much
Varsity Soccer 9-12 (Co captain, 12) We were league champions in 10th grade (Soccer season is only in the spring)
College Preparation Program 9-12 Program that guides people through the college application process and also gives test prep (throughout the majority of the year)
Church member and volunteer 9-12 (Leader in 11th and 12th grade) Club that introduces newcomers to our church and helps them feel welcomed
Christian Summer Camp 9-12 Various volunteer activities like helping out in homeless shelters, renovating abandoned homes, etc. for ~30hrs/summer
Work for 1 summer
Volunteer at a physical therapy clinic for ~20hours… not that much lolz
Creative art workshops 11-12 in the fall

Income : 30k/yr
Hooks : First gen
Ethnicity : Asian-American male in Washington

I am aware of QuestBridge and I would appreciate being chanced for that as well!
Constructive criticism on certain aspects of my application is helpful too.

2

What I am about to say, I say out of absolute, yet respectful, conviction: You will probably not get into Wesleyan with these stats.

Wesleyan is a top-notch liberal arts school, and with these stats, I just don’t see how you could get in. You do have an interesting hook, but your GPA is mediocre in comparison to other applicants. You say that your school offers few AP or advanced courses. If this is the case, then a school such as Wesleyan would be looking for a higher GPA to compensate (for the lack of advanced courses). Your GPA is fine, I just recommend applying to some target and safety schools as well (ex. Conn College, Bard, Marist-- if you’re into LA schools with easier admissions policies).

Your ECs are also weak in comparison to that of a typical admitted Wesleyan student. Most of your activity is centered around your church, and top LA schools like Wesleyan love applicants with a diverse set of ECs (along with leadership)… something that you don’t seem to have.

In short, I apologize for being too brutally honest, but I don’t think you could get in. Definitely apply! If it’s your top choice, I recommend applying ED. Schools like Wesleyan always surprise me in who they admit because, well, they’re quite sporadic. You may get in. You may not get in. It is what it is.

P.S. Definitely look at Conn College, Bard, and Marist! I feel they would be perfect matches for you! Wesleyan is a high reach. I’d say you have under a 20% chance of getting in. Then again, I’m not an admissions counselor.

Best of luck to you! Let me know if you end up getting in!!

3

@chappaqua Thanks, I really appreciate the honesty and detailed criticism. Weird question, but if my junior year GPA was a 3.9 or 4.0 unweighted through the whole year, would that make a significant difference? I’m a junior right now, and 3.85 was my guess for how I was going to do this year.

Also, If you know about Questbridge, do you think I have a shot at being a prep scholar and/or finalist?

4

I’m sorry, but I am not familiar with Questbridge. But, to answer your question, yes. If this year’s GPA improves from last year, that will show admissions that you’re constantly improving, and that you’re worth a review!

And I didn’t realize this before, but since you’re currently a junior, you still have time to diversify your ECs! With this in light, I’d say that you may be able to pull this off! Work hard and branch out in your ECs, and I believe you’ll stand a better shot at getting accepted!!

5

@chappaqua Thanks! Not really sure if I can gain leadership roles and diversify my EC’s at the same time, but I’ll try my best lollol.
Do you think it’ll be worthwhile to write supplements and apply to Wesleyan and schools that are just as competitive as Wesleyan, or am I wasting my time?

6

Oh! You should most definitely apply! You never know what you’re going to get, and if you end up not applying, you’ll be kicking yourself the rest of your life over the fact that you never got a “yes” or a “no.” It’s in your best interest to aim unrealistically high, as long as you have target and safety schools as well. If you have these three, you’ll end up at a reputable school no matter what.

I know this is cheesy, and is used constantly, but I try to live by this idea:

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”

It’s the same thing with college. Reach high, but have a Plan B, C, E, F, and G (I’m personally going on to include an “H” and an “I”). That way, you’ll end up at

a) A place that you love

and

b) A good school !!

7

@chappaqua Thanks, I’ll keep all this in mind! :slight_smile:

8

@pokemon1 - I usually avoid chances threads like the plague, but since this did land here and is rather visible, I don’t want people to get the wrong impression. You do NOT need to "diversify"your ECs. Wesleyan isn’t Amherst; it wants a well-rounded class of individuals, not an entire class of well-rounded people. There’s a difference. So, your instinct is correct; spreading yourself too thin will not improve your chances of admission. However, you do need to show some initiative, if not outright leadership, in what you are doing. Church work is a great place to start. And, expressing your faith is a great way of standing out from the crowd. Consult your pastor. Is there some way that you can build on your experience in the homeless shelter? What’s the food situation in your community? What’s the recycling situation? Think in terms of creating something that will still be in place after you graduate. Chances are, there are people right under your nose who have thoughtful ideas and are just looking for someone they can brainstorm with.

9

@circuitrider Cool, I get what you mean! However, it would be fine if I showed colleges that I joined a few silly clubs as well, such as a videogame club or whatnot, as long as I’m still showing depth in other areas, correct?

Also, im kind of confused with the Amherst reference… Do they prefer well rounded people?

10

That’s it exactly. It’s estimated that, on average, an AO spends about twenty minutes reading a file. That’s how long you have to leave a coherent picture of who you are. Your ECs and essay are the only tools you have available to do that.

Yes, I believe they do:
https://www.amherst.edu/sitesearch?keyword=well-rounded#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=well-rounded&gsc.page=1

11

I agree with circuitrider. Work hard to bring up the GPA (and SAT scores) and double–or triple!–down on community work through the church. I suggest not merely participating in programs already in place–anyone can show up and follow instructions. Give some careful thought to whether some community need is going unaddressed, perhaps one that eludes people’s notice and show your leadership by drafting a proposal for the creation of some new initiative that will, as circuitrider suggested, remain in place after you leave. That would result in one or more stellar recommendations. If you accomplish this and can appreciably bring up the SAT score (already good, but everything helps), I’m fairly certain Wesleyan (and many other schools) will enthusiastically accept you. At a school as rampantly secular as Wesleyan, doing innovative service work as an expression of your faith will make you stand out. Even Amherst would take an interest in such a candidate (if you can megaboost the GPA and SAT scores). “Branching out” will look like precisely what it is–a desperate attempt to be all things to all people. Take what is uniquely yours and commit fully–your time, energy, and intelligence–to it.

12

@wesleyan97 cool, I love that advice, thanks ! My only concern is that I wouldn’t be able to do anything innovative (I know this is not the right attitude, but…) because it’s less straightforward than just working harder for a better gpa. I’m not too sure how I’d go about making that significant change in my community.

Say my GPA and sat were boosted significantly. Would the ECs I currently have been enough to still have a decent shot at schools like Amherst and Wesleyan?

13

“Significant change in [your] community” can’t and won’t happen on the brief time scale you have to work with, but you can do some research among church and other community members, asking about needs going unmet or, better still, problems that have gone unvoiced and unaddressed because they’re so woven into the culture and plant a seed of change by founding an organization that others will want to carry on. Taking something like that on would be fulfilling independent of the college admissions game, and it would show schools that you’re more visionary than the typical applicant and more than compensate for not having set the world on fire with your grades and scores (which are good but below “shoo-in” level). If everything remains unchanged, you’ll probably have less somewhat less than even odds at Wesleyan and comparable schools (Amherst, by the way, isn’t comparable, at least in terms of admissions; the student profile there looks much more like Harvard’s than Wesleyan’s). At the very least make your essay memorable–wit, depth, honesty, insight will help keep you in the running.

14

There is not a magic formula for admission in any school using holistic admissions. Be yourself, enjoy high school for its own sake and do extracurriculars that you actually like. Study hard and do well. Apply early if it’s your favorite. Be sure to interview at Wesleyan if you can. If you are potentially a candidate for Questbridge, the college’s desire to diversify may help you as well. Good luck!

15

@TheGreyKing ,

Great advice.

16

@MiddleburyDad2 do you think I have any remote chances at schools like Wesleyan or Northeastern or Haverford?

17

you know, @Pokeman1 , I really like @chappaqua 's advice on this, which makes what I think mostly irrelevant. Apply and see what happens, but have some back ups.

I try not to hold myself out as a guy who can really assess admissions chances, though if you compared me to most on these forums, you’d find me to be an optimist on this topic.

You have good grades, a good trend and solid scores. It sounds like you pursued the rigor that was available. I’d mention that somewhere in your application and not rely just on the counselor letter. Strong LACs, and selective colleges in general, really do weigh rigor quite heavily in admissions based on my travels. Is your whole package going to make your admission to one of those three likely? Eh, I don’t know. I know little about Northeastern, but Wes and Haverford are tough hurdles, so I wouldn’t bet the farm on it.

There are so many other good schools though … my advice is to avoid getting too wound up or focused on a few, and be open. It’s like falling in love at the dance before you’ve even asked anyone to join you on the floor. Bad idea.

If you like strong LACs, you should be thinking about Whitman College, Kenyon, Bates, Skidmore, Conn., Trinity, and the bevy of other strong LACs in that category to go along with your reaches at places like Wesleyan and Haverford. I can’t imagine you wouldn’t gain admission somewhere in that neighborhood, and if Wes and/or Haverford work out, then you got it. And add one or two other reaches. If you like Wes, you’d probably like Vassar. Why not apply there too?

I may be naïve, but I believe in holistic admissions, and I know for a fact that at a place where someone actually reads your application, grade trends matter. You have that going for you too.

I wish you all the best of luck, and do try and keep in mind this one thing: your life opportunities are not going to be affected one bit whether you attend Wesleyan or Whitman, Kenyon or Bates, Skidmore or Vassar … I have my own views about those schools and which are “best”, but that and $3.75 would still leave you short for a decent cup of coffee in Seattle. :slight_smile:

18

@MiddleburyDad2 Thanks for your input, I appreciate it!
I do have my safeties (mostly state schools) and matches organized, so no worries on that.
I was just curious whether I should consider applying to schools like Wesleyan, Vassar (which I am interested in as well), and a couple other LACs in the northeast.

When I looked at my application, I really couldn’t find any strengths - perhaps I was being to critical of myself, I don’t know… which is why I wanted other opinions. I think my GPA and SAT are good, not great (I do have the upward trend going for me though). My EC’s do not stand out either :frowning:

Nevertheless, thanks! I think I’ll apply to these schools and hope for the best. I’ll also try not to get too caught up in any rejection letters, though that’s not a guarantee lol. I’ll also look into the other schools you’ve mentioned!