What are my chances?? Uchicago, Pomona, and Williams

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey guys! What would be my chances at UChicago, Pomona, and Williams? I’m planning to apply EA for UChicago, ED for Pomona, and regular for Williams.

SAT I: 2230 (720 reading, 750 math, 760 reading)
ACT: 35 (36 reading and english, 34 science and math)
SAT II: 770 USH, 740 math II
Unweighted GPA: 3.79
Rank: top 10% (school doesn’t rank)
AP: 4 Calc AB AP, 5 Gov AP, 4 French AP
Senior Year Course Load: AP stat, AP econ, AP comp sci, AP eng lit, AP euro, orchestra, and study hall

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Debate 3 yrs, Youth symphony 6 yrs (concertmaster 2 years), MUN 2 yrs (VP 1 yr), Student Council 5 yrs (I’ve been secretary, VP, and overall president), NHS, French club, Rec soccer 2 yrs, Piano 13 yrs, Violin 10 yrs
Job/Work Experience: waitress at restaurant 2 yrs (~ 5 hours a week)
Volunteer/Community service: teen court 2 yrs, food pantry summer (total: 100 hours)
Summer activities: debate camp, working
Essays: I’m a junior but I’m going to assume my essays are decent
Teacher recommendation: Probably average
Counselor Rec: Decent; I’m in a small school and I think she likes me
Additional Rec: My debate coach; I know him pretty well so I think the recommendation will be pretty good

State (if domestic applicant): IN
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: ~200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

Political science major (maybe double majoring with history/philosophy)

How likely am I to get in those colleges and what should I work on over the summer to improve my application? Thanks!

2

Oh, I forgot to mention my major awards. I’m a twice-qualifying debater for nationals and I’ve won best musician for orchestra for 3 years in a row. I’ve also qualified for state science fair freshman year.

3

You are in great shape for UChicago EA. If you write great essays, I don’t see why you will not get accepted there. Also, only ED to Pomona if it is your absolute top choice. I mean, you might be doing it to get into some good college safely but, with your stats, you might get into maybe one or two ivies and their equivalents.

The thing that worries me is the average recs from teachers. That will hurt you a lot. Do something to change the average to amazing.

And since you intend to major in Political Science, interning with someone in that area over the summer will help you a lot.

Best of luck!

4

Wow thank you! I’m pretty confident about ED for pomona because I definitely want to go to a LAC and pomona’s pretty up there (like Williams is a better LAC but when I went on a college visit, their attitude reallyy put me off). And I’m not really sure how to get amazing recs from teachers because I can only get recommendations from core subjects. I’m really bad with science and math so I don’t think the teachers there will give me great recommendations. ://

5

D had 36 ACT and 3.82 GPA and she was wait listed this year to both a Williams and U.Chicago. Your nationals in Soeech is stronger than her ECs though. You certainly have a shot but would have an even stronger app if you bumped your GPA a tiny bit. Applying early and directly contacting your admissions officer early and often is a good idea. Use your ED decision wisely

6

@Wje9164be So it seems like my biggest problem is my GPA but I honestly don’t know how to fix it? Like it’s going to be 3.79 at the end of my junior year…Would my midterm grades add to my GPA for my ED?

7

@ravenclaws, my D was admitted ED1 to Pomona, and Pomona did request her senior grades on about 12/9, and decisions were released on 12/12. There was a thread on this on the Pomona board. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pomona-college/1716787-quarter-grade-requests-p1.html. My D was also a debater and had similar qualifications to yours but higher GPA. If Pomona is really your #1 choice, I would recommend ED1.