<p>Hello, all-
Barnard is my top school. I thought I had a very good chance of getting in but I just received my SAT scores and now I'm very unsure. I've taken the SAT three times and worked my butt off studying and preparing with very minimal improvement. Currently my best scores in each subject are 730 in Critical Reading, 570 in Math, and 690 in Writing. I'm kicking myself because I know I'm smarter than this and I worked so hard. I have a 720 in the Literature SAT Subject Test, a 700 in the Physics one, a 650 in the Math I, and a 670 in World and US History.
My school and grades will take a little bit of explaining. There are no weighted GPA's or class rankings. All classes are extremely hard to get A's in because a huge chunk of your grade relies on group projects-if you are saddled with a bad group, you can't just do all the work on your own; the projects are designed to make it impossible, so you have to take a bad grade even if you did all the work you were supposed to and well. Even if you succeed in doing everyone else's work you will still get a bad grade, as they see this as being a bad group member. In addition, the classes themselves are very rigorous. There are no AP's, but students are allowed to take classes at Cal Poly Pomona for credit. I have straight A's at the college and have taken multiple difficult courses which I'm sure they will be able to easily evaluate. It's my regular courses I'm worried about-I'm very afraid that they won't see the level of difficulty and will just see average grades in average classes. My college counselor is terrible and I don't expect her to do a good job explaining our school. My GPA with my college classes is a 3.65.
My extracurriculars are pretty good-I've been in Girl Scouts since I was six and have earned my Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards, the latter of which I completed by teaching knitting at a women's shelter for eight weeks. I have been continuing that class because I liked doing it for no additional credit. I have over 400 service hours from the Girl Scouts and beyond that I have put in since freshman year. Also, I am working on a year long project on physics, during which I will be completing a research paper on supersymmetry and dark matter with additional experiments. I will be entering my project into a few national science fairs. I was my school's Poetry Out Loud champion last year and am going for that title again. I was also third place in the district finals in this competition last year. I have done drama since first grade and have competed in theatre festivals and had a role in the play all four years I've been in high school. My friends and I are also working on producing and starring in our school's first musical.
My essays for the Common App and the supplement have been reviewed several times by professionals and I am told they are very good. That is the one thing I think I have above the rest.
Can anyone help me? Don't be afraid to be blunt with me. I'm just feeling upset and frustrated. I can't tell you how much time I've been dedicating to make this dream of going to Barnard come true for me and it's just starting to not look good.</p>
<p>Make sure you don’t mention the fact that the relatively low GPA was due to being placed in a poor group of classmates. Even if you were placed in an underperforming group, you are expected to demonstrate leadership to get projects done. </p>
<p>Other than that, your SAT scores are a little on the low side, but if you are able to show the adcom how much your ECs have allowed you to mature in life, then Barnard would be a slight reach.</p>
<p>I know I sound like an idiot, but what exactly are ECs? Also, what do you mean exactly by a “slight reach?”
The problem I have is that sometimes I literally have no control over my grade. I am the kind of person who takes charge and is a natural leader. Each and every time I have tried to make it my personal responsibility to ensure everyone understands the material, is assigned a fair amount of work that plays to their strengths, and, what I feel is most important, everyone gets something out of doing the project. I work incredibly hard on every project-I stay up until 4 in the morning more often than not. But at a certain point I just can’t be responsible for other people’s work (or lack thereof.) I have not had a single group in my entire high school career that has performed up to par. Teachers have made it clear to me that they assign me underperforming groups on purpose and I am STILL expected to take a low grade. All of this is just compounded by the fact that the school does not weight GPA’s or offer AP’s. Honestly if I went to a normal high school I would be doing less work than I am now and getting a 4.5 or higher. I really, really feel like they need to know this to accurately assess me as a candidate.
How do my subject test scores look? What about my extracurriculars?
Thanks for answering.</p>
<p>You dont want to be seen as a complainer. I may believe you completely, but the adcom will see it as an excuse, and even worse, that you dont work well with other people. </p>
<p>EC = extracurricular
Slight Reach = your stats appear to be a little below the average</p>
<p>It still leaves me in a bad position because I look like I took average classes and got average grades when I didn’t. My school barely offers any opportunities and virtually no support so I have no idea what to do. Any suggestions? I need to explain the way the school works, not necessarily my own situation. I cannot rely on my college counselor for anything.
How do my extracurriculars look? I forgot to mention I am a Nanowrimo winner two years in a row and my research paper has a good chance of getting published. Also I had an interview at Barnard which I feel went very well.
And my subject test scores? Do you recommend taking some of them again or taking the reasoning test again? Can I take one in December and one in January and submit one after the deadline?</p>
<p>*bumping this thread</p>
<p>My other two top choices are Smith and Mount Holyoke-what do you guys think of my chances for those two?</p>
<p>Quick second bump since I’m curious about those other schools.</p>