Hello! What are my chances of getting into Barnard, regular decision? I have a 4.36 weighted GPA, and my ACT score is a 35. I’ve taken most of the AP classes offered at my school, and I’ve been studying creative writing at a competitive arts high school for the last four years. I’m the president of two clubs, one of which I founded. I also run a play festival, and my plays and films have been in some festivals around my city. I also a composer and a librettist, and I’ve been working on an opera that will be produced next year. So, my academics are okay I guess, I have some artistic accomplishments that might make me stand out, and my interests are relatively streamlined-my biggest concern is, due to a scheduling conflict, I was unable to take a math or a science class this year. (All of my other classes this year are AP). Will only having three years of math and science bar me from Barnard? (I took AP Calc last year and scored a 4 on the test, so maybe that will show them that I like math?? Idk)
Make sure your application focuses on the thing that makes you stand out:
Your stats are fine and Barnard is going to look at your coursework in conjunction with your interests and accomplishments.
The question that the ad coms ask themselves as they make decisions is: “what does she bring that no one else does?”
So in your case… to paraphrase Hamlet, “the plays are the thing.” (unless you have something else really special you haven’t mentioned).
A college certainly wants you to succeed in their school academically, and your GPA, ACT score and AP course load is ONE indication for that. But there is a chance for people to perform differently once away from home, where they have to structure their own time, have to form their own social bonds, cope with live independently. Colleges will try to gauge how well someone is a “fit” for them and their urban setting in general. Therefore, if you browse the previous year’s results, you will see that exceling academically in high school certainly is NOT an automatic “in” – people with similar stats were in utter disbelieve to have been declined.
On the other extreme, people with much lesser stats were happily surprised to have been accepted! Maybe their résumé and essays painted a picture of someone strong and independent who’ll do “well enough” in courses, but is also a go-getter, willing to stand up, take charge and ready to turn over a few rocks – something that works well in the NYC environment in general, and something that Barnard values.
So I think it is fair to say your chances increase beyond 50/50, the more “rounded”, yet consistent, your overall picture is. Leadership positions in clubs, sports, orchestra, band will help. Being active outside high-school-organized “realm” can demonstrate that you are not just sticking to your district’s conveniently accessible “résumé-padders”.
That doesn’t mean everyone has to start a civilization-changing charity. A passionate, meaningful involvement in a particular cause may say more about you, your commitment and persistence, than spreading yourself thin while trying to check-off every possible box.
My daughter had very similar academic and extra-curricular profile to you, in addition she was very involved with one township organization, and otherwise occasionally volunteered at some events here and there, thus still leaving time for a social life. She was accepted!
But another, equally bright and successful friend in her class, was not. The difference might have been that her friend’s application/essay may not have conveyed sufficiently well, how wonderfully creative that other girl truly was, because her performing art passion was mostly independent, self-organized and unstructured and thus did not show up on any transcript.
My point is – I think you are good candidate, but for anyone to assign ANY “chance” percentage would not do you any service because there simply are too many facets to the decision-making process. It’s important to realize that the outcome is truly uncertain in every single case.