What are my chances? Bowdoin and Tufts

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I am a rising high school junior. I have yet to take the SAT but I plan to sometime next year. I go to a well-respected high school in New Jersey. We rank in the top 100 or so in the nation. My GPA is a 91. Almost all of my classes interest me, so I do not know what I will want to major in yet. I strive to work hard these next years and get my GPA way higher, do very well on the SATs, and polish my resume. Here is my resume/information. </p>

<p>Freshman Year:
Schedule-
Adv. Geometry
Spanish 2
Global Issues CP
Biology CP
English 9 CP
Food & Nutrition (elective, one semester)
Techniques of Writing (elective, one semester)
EC's:
Sports-
Winter Track (JV)
Tennis Team (earned varsity letter, state champ team)
Other-
Dog Walker</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
In the summer prior to sophomore year I took Spanish 3 out of school. I finished with a 97 but it is not factored into my GPA. However, it is on my transcript.
Schedule-
Latin 1 (I finished with an A in all marking periods and I am working to get into Latin National Honors Society)
Adv Probability, Statistics, Trigonometry<br>
Acc. US History 1
Acc. Chemistry
English 10 CP
Managing Personal Finances (semester course elective)
Public Speaking (semester course elective)
EC's:
Sports-
Tennis Team (earned varsity letter, team was ranked in the top 5 of the state)
Other-
Volunteered in the Kids Alley Program (tutoring elementary school students in Camden, NJ)
Babysat for neighbors in town
Member of DECA (a national business club)</p>

<p>Summer Prior to Junior Year:
Taking Spanish 4
Started to volunteer at the South Jersey Food Bank
Working on starting a ski club for my high school</p>

<p>I have not started junior year but my schedule is:
Acc Physics
Acc English 11
AP US History
Latin 2
Adv PreCalculus
Sales and Advertising (semester elective)
Art Survey (semester elective)</p>

<p>For senior year I am looking at taking many APs: Stat, Biology or Physics, English Lit, Geography, Spanish. I also plan on taking SAT subject tests for some of these classes.</p>

<p>Some colleges that interest me are:
Bowdoin (legacy)
Tufts
Lehigh
Lafayette
Bryant
Bentley
Northeastern
Middlebury
Elon
Davidson
Wake Forest
William & Mary
Richmond
Colgate
Kenyon
Wash U of St. Louis</p>

<p>This is a very long list and I do not plan on applying to all of these schools but these are the ones that I would consider attending. My top two are Tufts and Bowdoin. I am a legacy at Bowdoin, but does that really have any influence whether I get in or not? What do I need to do for the rest of my high school career to set me up to be a candidate for these schools? Should I try to branch out and do more EC’s like a job or another sport? Or should I start focusing more on what I am doing now to get better at those areas? Thanks again for looking at this and any comment or tip will help.</p>

2

<p>I don’t think being a legacy will help very much for Bowdoin. That being said your grades are very strong. I am not sure how strong your EC’s are, it seems that you don’t have any major leadership positions currently and I am not sure how many community service hours you have. So it would depend on how involved you are in EC’s. Keep up your grades and increase involvement and you will have a chance.</p>

3

<p>Thanks. I realize I need a lot of work on my EC’s. I am starting a ski club at my school and will be the president is that good for an EC? Also I will be a captain on my tennis team senior year and if I focus hard on tennis I could probably get recruited. I am very athletic but I only play one sport, do you think that I should start another sport? I am also interested in writing for the school newspaper too. Thanks again for reviewing my information.</p>

4

<p>Besides Bowdoin what would it take for these other schools?</p>

5

<p>Bump- someone could you please tell me what I need to do to become a better applicant</p>

6

<p>I’m not sure. I have attended information sessions for many top liberal arts schools (they are were I am looking at the most). They have a holistic approach to admissions and it will hurt you that you are strong in only one aspect of admissions. Also becoming involved in EC’s late in your high school career makes it look like you are trying to impress colleges (which you are). It also hurts that you lack community service. If I had to guess no (all the info sessions I have attended have talked about how they will reject people with great stats because they were weak in another area). Demonstrate interest in the schools, write to the admissions people that represent your area. That being said I suggest you look for safeties…</p>

7

<p>

As ArtsyGirl mentioned, usually the top schools are looking for leadership in ECs, vs. many ECs (but no leadership). Starting (and leading) a ski club is good. Captain of tennis team is also good. Another sport wouldn’t hurt, but not at the expense of grades.</p>

8

<p>Thanks those are good tips to consider. I need to start contacting the college about admissions. Also I should stick to EC’s that are important to me and to become more of a leader.</p>

9

<p>Anyone else have any opinions/ comments??</p>

10

<p>I know I have no scores yet for SAT or subject tests but I was just wondering what schools would be considered “safety”, “match”, and “reach”?
Thanks and if you chance I’ll chance you back.</p>

11

<p>Anyone anyone… Bueller… Bueller…</p>

12

<p>It is really hard to establish reaches, matches and safeties for you (admittedly I am in the same position in terms of not having scores and I have my full list of safeties/matches/reaches developed). That is one of those things you need to do yourself and not ask others on CC if you don’t have scores yet.</p>

<p>What I did was cross-reference admissions statistics with my grades (I am only looking at liberal arts colleges and while they care about scores they are very holistic in their admissions). That being said I am very confident that my essay and supplemental essays will be strong enough to compensate for possibly lower scores. Talk with your family and/or counselor if you need help, but know your list needs to be flexible since you don’t know what your scores will be. Also know that by making a list you will put pressure on yourself for what scores you need to get (for example I need to get a 30 on the ACT based on my list, 29 at the lowest). Sorry this was sort of long and I hope this helps!</p>

13

<p>Thanks that helps</p>