What are my chances for Admissions, Scholarship, and the Honors Program? How is the school?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rollins College
1

Hi everyone! These are the universities I am planning to apply out of state. Up until this past summer, I wanted to pursue a degree in Biomedical Engineering. Now I am oscillating between a double major in Economics and Education, or International Business and Education. Both “tracks” would probably be with a minor in Physics (still deciding this). So what was the catalyst for the sudden 180 you might ask, well over the summer I enrolled myself in an Entrepreneurship Program where we had to create our own businesses and compete among our peers for seed capital. My business idea ended up winning second place and $1000 seed capital. After the program/competition, I decided to pursue this business and have now turned it into a small NGO aiding a couple of countries in Central America. When my senior year started, I enrolled in an International Relations class and completely fell in love with it. Add all these factors into the equation and boom. Now I want to pursue a field of study that is more pertinent with my interests. Also, the classes that I have achieved the highest grades in have been my Social Sciences classes from 9-12 grade, with the exception of AP World History for which I finished with a B. Anyhow, below is general overview/resume of my high school career.

GPA:
Unweighted - 3.529
Weighted - 4.471

SAT:
Highest Reading - 570
Highest Math - 580
Highest Writing - 610
Composite - 1760

ACT:
Highest Reading - 27
Highest Math - 26
Highest English - 27
Highest Science - 25
Highest Writing - 27
Highest Composite - 32

Extracurricular Activites:

  • Founder and President of my school’s Biomedical Club
  • Co-founder and Treasurer of HOSA Chapter
  • President of the SECME Club
  • Vice President of Future Educators of America
  • Vice President of Music Club
  • Member of National Honor Society, FBLA, Investment Club, and Film Club

Activities External from School:

  • Chairman of the ByLaws Committee of the Miami Dade County Youth Commission
  • Former Chairman (resigned) of the Advocacy and Legislation Committee of Miami Dade County Youth Commission
  • Volunteer work at a local non-profit program for autistic children
  • Canvassed for the campaign of a local commissioner

Accomplishments:

  • 1st Place Winner of the South Florida Regional Future Educators of America Conference in the Impromptu Ethical Dilemma Competition, 2015
  • 2nd Place Winner for the BizNovator Entrepreneurial Program, 2015
  • 2nd Place Winner for the SECME Yaeger Bionic Hand Competition, 2015
  • 3rd Place Winner for the SECME Yaeger Bionic Hand Competition, 2014
  • 3rd Place Winner of the Hispanic Youth Awards Scholarship presented by the Hispanic Heritage Foundation in the category of Education, 2015

Hobbies/Leisurely Activities:

  • Playing Guitar
  • Compose Lyrics and Poetry
  • Compose Short Stories

Note: My school is one of the most rigorous in the state of Florida and in the nation. My school resides and has a partnership with Miami Dade College, which allows for all the students to be fully enrolled at this institution. My curriculum consists of all AP classes and Dual Enrollment courses. By the time I graduate, I will have 60 college credits under my arm, and will be receiving an Associates of Arts degree.

I hope all this info helps in giving all of you an idea of my chances of being admitted into Rollins.

Regards,

theaddresser

P.S. How is the school academically, especially the Honors Program? Additionally, how are the graduate school opportunities? Do a percentage of graduates make it into Ivy League grad schools?

2

@theaddresser My D is a freshman at Rollins. Your SAT/ACT scores are right in the middle 50% of admitted students with your GPA a bit above this. I think you have a great chance of being admitted. However, I don’t think you will be admitted to the honors program with these stats.

Certainly, a student at Rollins can be admitted to top graduate schools. Where you end up in graduate school is completely up to how you perform as an undergraduate, recommendations, and internships.

An equally important consideration to those above is you and your family’s ability to pay for college. Have you run the net price calculator for Rollins? If you need financial aid to attend, you must do this with your parents.

Good Luck! Rollins is an excellent college!

3

@dadof1 Thank you so much for your information and your thoughts! It really lifts a lot of weight from my shoulders in terms of acceptance. You mentioned that your daughter is a freshman at Rollins. How does she like Rollins so far in terms of freshman experience, adapting to college life, academics, style of teaching, and housing? I visited Rollins around Spring of 2014 and really enjoyed the campus. However, I saw that a significant amount of the students there had a very high income image (most of the people I saw there wore very preppy “Ralph Laurenish” clothing) and snobbish persona. I know that every where one goes, one will always encounter people of different types. However, I wanted to ask if your daughter has encountered that snobbish vibe at Rollins?

P.S. What I really want to find in the college of my preference is one where I can have intellectual conversations with not only my professors but my fellow peers.

4

@theaddresser Sorry I haven’t replied sooner. Would have wanted my D to give her thoughts directly but that never happened. D is really getting immersed in the life at Rollins and is enjoying it more all the time. Her classes are interesting to her, and she finds (most of) the professors very engaging. Class sizes are as advertised… very small and personal.

D hasn’t encountered the snobbish vibe as far as I can tell. Although the reputation of the Rollins is what you write about, she has found a variety of student types… typical for this kind of LAC. The area around Rollins is extremely wealthy, as you have seen, but lots of opportunities just off campus.

Are the students constantly having intellectual conversations? I don’t know, wouldn’t think so, and D hasn’t mentioned this to me. It’s quite a nurturing environment but not super intellectual like a Brown or Swarthmore.

5

@theaddresser My daughter is also a freshman at Rollins. She has definitely found it to be a supportive and intellectually engaging environment. Classes are small, professors love teaching, and she has good things to say about her classmates. Students come from a variety of backgrounds, but she has not mentioned a “snobbish” vibe.

In terms of the interactions you can have with other students, I think that depends on the activities you choose to participate in and the types of people you associate with. I think you can definitely find what you’re looking for at Rollins.