What are my chances of getting into Dartmouth College? Any Advice?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
1

Hello! I am currently in high school starting to get extremely serious about college and where to go. I am seeking out guidance. If you could assess my stats and achievements below and give me some advice, that would be wonderful. Thank you!

SAT I (breakdown): 1500 (New SAT)

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0

Weighted GPA: 4.79

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%

AP Classes: Took AP Government and Politics, AP Physics I, AP Lang, AP World History, AP Calculus

Senior Year Course Load: Plan on taking AP Calculus BC, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP French 5, AP English 12, G/T Symphonic Band/Marching, G/T Intern/Mentor

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Not much, AP Scholar, 2nd place at Maryland State Piano Competition, 4th at National Theatre on Ice with skating team, 4th for bridge building at Regionals for Science Olympiad, Girl Scout Silver Award (appeared on local news channel)

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): NHS, Sapphires Figure Skating Team (Team Captain), Columbia Figure Skating Club, Figure Skating, Women’s Choir, Concert Choir, Marching Band (Section Leader), Orchestra, Student Executive Committee (Learning Conference planning group in county), Orchestral Pit for Theatre Productions, Tri-M music honor society, Science Olympiad (Officer), Future Doctors of America (President/Co-founder), Red Cross Club, started a local pet food bank in my county

Job/Work Experience: Tutoring elementary students, babysitting neighbors, internship at KinderMender (walk in pediatric center)

Volunteer/Community Service: Volunteering at local library, Success in Style (secondhand stores/organization to help people prepare for job interviews), Red Cross Volunteer, NHS, help out school’s music department

Summer Activities: Terp Young Scholars program @UMD (earn 3 college credits) Kinesiology , annual competition for figure skating out of state, internship at local hospital, normal volunteer opportunities

Additional: I took a course called Independent Research at my high school where I was able to research the effect of social media on the transgender community. I attended Gender Conference East, a conference for the transgender community. I also worked with local support groups and created lesson plans for the school. I am very big on social activism if that counts for anything

Intended Major: Neuroscience (Pre-Med)

  • Wondering if my race will cause any issues, such as lowering my chances of getting into a university simply because I am a part of a stereotype (Asian doctor)

-Also, I have a large amount of music EC. Will this negatively impact my application since my intended major is neuroscience?

Other
State (if domestic applicant): Maryland
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: Public High School
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: ~120,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

2

Subject tests? AP Scores?

3

790 on math 1, 780 on chemistry. Received 5 on AP gov, ap world history, ap calc ab and bc, ap psych

4

Not a safety (no Ivy is safety for anyone); not a reach either. You have a solid chance; raising the SAT score would be optimal. The music ECs are fine; there is nothing bad about having two strong interests.

5

Your GPA and scores are impressive.

I might call Dartmouth a low reach for you. I don’t think a high-stat, highly selective school like Dartmouth can really ever be referred to as a match, but you’d likely be a highly competitive applicant.

If you can make your ECs sing in your app/essay and show them who you are and how you will augment campus, you’ll have about as good a shot as anyone (without a major hook…).

I suggest maybe adding a couple more reaches (if you like others…), a couple of matches, and at least one safety (UMD, maybe?).

6

I’m a Dartmouth alum. I’ve been doing admissions interviews for 30 years. At Dartmouth, alumni handle the interviewing process. I’d say you have a very solid shot. Hate to say it, the high scores and challenging coursework is key. But, it’s Dartmouth, so they are looking for much more as well. Character is important. Your figure skating is a singular talent, and Dartmouth offers lots of ice! Try to broadcast things that you’ve done/accomplished with your talents that have made an impact beyond yourself. There is also a “Dartmouth women in science” program that someone with your interests and aspirations should look into. You can investigate via online. Dartmouth is also adding graduate students to these departments which will broaden your experiences in STEM classes (IMO). In addition the climate will make research opportunities for undergrads more cutting edge. My son recently graduated and I serve on a few boards up there, so my recon is current. It’s a fantastic school. Dartmouth is quite special, but keep in mind there are other great places to get a great education. What you end up bringing to a campus (your intellect, curiosity, enthusiasm, open-mindedness, sense of adventure, etc.) is always more important than the institution. Though the institution can be the frosting on the cake. Best of luck!

7

Do you guys think that amazing afterschool activities for Dartmouth? E.G I started a business/ wrote for a newspaper. I’m also Vice President for 2 clubs at my school and treasurer for another. I teach Classical Dance to underprivileged girls and play the flute. I also tutor for French. I dont have an amazing GPA, its 4.0 (Weighted) and my SAT score is 2150. What are my chances for ED Dartmouth?

8

@HopefulyIvy123 I’m not familiar with your synchro team. If you are truly a very good skater and can be an asset for freestyle or solo dance contact the Dartmouth team to meet with the coach. My son did that (and had similar stats as you) and is a Dartmouth 20!