Will I get accepted with my tough classes and awards for research?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Grinnell College
1

<p>Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Male
Residence: Minnesota
HS Class: 2012</p>

<p>GPA: 3.74 Weighted
International Baccalaureate Diploma Program
ACT: 22 </p>

<p>AP Biology - (Testing Senior Year)
AP Psychology - 4
AP Spanish - (Testing Senior Year)
AP Chemistry - (Testing Senior Year)</p>

<p>IB History of the Americas HL - (Testing Senior Year)
IB English HL - (Testing Senior Year)
IB Chemistry HL - (Testing Senior Year)
IB Spanish SL - (Testing Senior Year)
IB Psychology SL - 5
IB Math Studies SL - 6 </p>

<p>University of Minnesota- Twin Cities CIS Principles of Microeconomics</p>

<p>IB Creative Action Service (CAS)</p>

<p>C - Science Fair
A - Triathlons
S - Volunteer in Ask An Expert Forum on Science Buddies .org</p>

<p>Awards and Experience</p>

<hr>

<p>Work Experience - Caribou Coffee Team Member since August 2010</p>

<p>Lab Assistant
August 2010 – February 2010 University of Minnesota: Twin Cities – Graduate Department of Neuroscience; Neurochemistry , Minneapolis MN</p>

<p>Lab Assistant
September 2009 – May 2010 University of Minnesota: Twin Cities – Graduate Department of Psychology</p>

<hr>

<p>Student of the Month - Chemistry
Student of the Month - Health</p>

<hr>

<p>Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)</p>

<p>Grand Award: Third Place in the world for Behavioral and Social Sciences presented by Intel and Society for Science and the Public $1,000 (2011)
First place award of $1,500 for "Excellence in Behavioral and Social Sciences" from the College of Psychology at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) (2011)
$60,000 Tuition Scholarship to IIT for Outstanding Excellence in Behavioral and Social Science Research. (2011)
$50,000 Tuition Scholarship to Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, Nevada (2009, 2010, and 2011)
Intel ISEF Finalist 2009, 2010, and 2011 </p>

<hr>

<p>Minnesota Academy of Science: Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair</p>

<p>Recipient of Gold Medal (2009, 2011) – Awarded to top 5% of projects
Wolfram Award, Best in Category for Behavioral and Social Sciences and License to Wolfram Mathematica Software (2011)
Secondary Teachers of the American Psychological Association - Outstanding Research in Behavioral and Social Sciences and Best in Category for Behavioral and Social Sciences: (2009)
JMP Division of SAS Institute, Data Discovery Award – Best Data Visualization, Statistical Analysis, and Mathematics – 5 Year Personal Access to JMP Computing Software (2011)
Seagate Rising Star Award for Top 40 First Year Projects (2009)</p>

<hr>

<p>Minnesota Academy of Science: Tri-State Junior Humanities and Science Symposium</p>

<p>Callback Finalist – Top 9 Research Papers and Presentations in the Symposium: Recipient in 2011
Outstanding Achievement in Tri-State Junior Humanities and Science Symposium and Monetary Award: Recipient in 2011</p>

<hr>

<p>St. Cloud State University – David F. Grether Central Minnesota Regional Science and Engineering Fair</p>

<p>Secondary Teachers of the American Psychological Association - Outstanding Research in Behavioral and Social Sciences (2010)
Outstanding Achievement in Regional Research Paper Competition and Research Symposium – Advancement to Tri-State Junior Humanities and Science Symposium (2011)
Best of Fair and Advancement to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (2009, 2010, and 2011)
Premium Award and Advancement to the Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair (2009, 2010, and 2011)
United States Air force Outstanding Achievement Award (2010)</p>

<h2>David F. Grether Memorial Scholarship $1000 (2009, 2010, and 2011)</h2>

<p>Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) Competition</p>

<p>YES Semi-Finalist in Public Health Research Paper Competition sponsored by Collegeboard and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation $1000 (2011)</p>

<hr>

<p>Anoka-Hennepin District ISD#11 District STEM Fair</p>

<p>1st Place and Outstanding Achievement (2009 and 2011)
United States Navy Award for Outstanding Research (2009)</p>

2

<p>I’ll be entering in the fall, so I might not have the best perspective to give, but from the looks of it you;re one heck of a student, and the only even quibble on what you’ve posted would be your ACT score, which I’m sure you can bring up. The research stuff is extremely impressive, would you mind sharing some more of what you did? I had some research experience when I applied, but nothing near as impressive as yours.</p>

<p>Unfortunatel, though, that quibble could be a problem. I’d definitely try the SAT if I were you, because if you could get even say in the 1200 (of 1600) range I think you’d be an amazing candidate at any school in the country. If not (I’m from the Midwest too, I know the SAT can be rare around here) I’d study a lot for the next ACT you can get signed in to, or maybe even consider an ACT prep class. The world is your oyster, bud, good luck.</p>

3

<p>I am really disappointed. I need to raise my standardized test scores. </p>

<p>These are the three research papers that I have wrote. </p>

<p>A clinical and epidemiological approach to the relationship between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and sleep/wake disorders (2010-11)</p>

<ul>
<li>Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is becoming a widespread epidemic, in which both the diagnosis and understanding of the etiology is quite limited. The relationship between ADHD and sleep/wake disorders is emerging but the results are limited as well. This
epidemiological investigation will examine the role of sleep deprivation, circadian rhythms,
sleep/wake disorders, medical history, and social factors in relation with the core ADHD
symptoms. This research is very significant because it acts as a comprehensive introductory study in which new factors such as sleep deprivation, circadian rhythm deficiencies, and sleep/wake disorders should be assessed in ADHD diagnostics,
along with other significant factors to create an accurate diagnosis.</li>
</ul>

<p>The utilization of VAK Methodology and DSM-IV Criteria to enhance educational development and to find a relationship between learning styles and ADHD (2009-10)</p>

<p>Substantiating the theory that learning styles enhance educational development by analyzing VAK Surveys and Individual Learning Style Assessments (2008-09)</p>

4

<p>There is such a huge disconnect between your test scores and your achievements. Something has to be going on. Did you hit the bubbles wrong?? Do you always score so low on standardized tests??</p>

<p>If you can’t raise your scores, then you really should look at test-optional schools. You could still apply to a few schools which require tests, but look first at the common data sets to assess your odds based on how many they accept with your scores (the CDS shows the SATs based on enrollment, but it will give you a picture of how you fit in).</p>

<p>The question is whether you’ll even make it through the “gate” with those test scores to even have admissions committees look at you holistically. I’d guess that a small school like Grinnell takes a read through the whole file, so you’d have a chance, but perhaps at large universities, you wouldn’t even get looked at (IDK, I’m just conjecturing here).</p>

<p>I do think that with this big a gap between your achievement and your scores, they’d really have to dig into your application and read your recommendations really carefully to see what’s going on. This just raises a huge question mark about you.</p>

5

<p>^Agree^
I know Knox College is test optional, and has a good reputation, if you’re interested. Do you happen to have a strong class rank? That might help get you noticed beyond the test score issue. Definitely have your mentor(s) from your research write letters of recommendation, if you haven’t already asked. I truly wish you the best, I’d love to see you out in Iowa next year.</p>

6

<p>You could try to raise your test scores, and it probably wouldn’t be impossible for you to score in the range Grinnell wants, but it would take a ton of work to make that kind of progress, since Grinnell students usually have ACT scores around 30. More realistically, you might need to look at test-optional schools. I’m a big fan of Bates, so check them out.</p>

7

<p>Were you scoring 22 on the ACT practice tests? (You did practice, right?) I would strongly urge you to try the SAT (after doing some practices uses the College Board’s actual tests). Figure out what your weaknesses are and focus on those.</p>

<p>If you are still at around 22 (and the SAT equivalent), then yes, I’d add test optional LACs like Bates and Bowdoin.</p>

8

<p>3.74 weighted? What’s the unweighted? Have you taken all 4APs or are some for the fall?</p>

<p>You’ve posted this for a number of colleges. In general, kids applying to the upper range of schools you asked about will have that gpa unweighted. And, certainly the higher standardized score(s.) </p>

<p>How did you get so involved in these science pursuits? How adcoms view them will depend on the whole of your app. LoR’s call you brilliant AND describe you as an all-around great guy or gal? You have something besides all the science for the CA? Something that shows you’re well-rounded? You did something at school or with peers? Science olympiad, math bowl, sports or music, etc? You can write a great personal statement? And, you have done something, somewhere, that goes well past your own present and future interests in STEM? Mentoring? Vol work? Organizing something?</p>

<p>So, we don’t know enough. A lot of kids undervalue some of the misc activities. What else can you tell us?</p>

9

<p>What confuses me is that you seem to be a killer student in all aspects… except your ACT score and GPA. Even your GPA isn’t very bad, but you must be able to do better on your ACTs. So I’d say take those again, or at least try the SAT!</p>

<p>Here’s the basic formula Grinnell uses in admission, which I got from Quentin Clay himself: 50% weight on grades and classes, 25% on standardized tests, and 25% on “everything else,” meaning extracurrics, essays, letters of recommendation, etc. You’ve certainly got that last 25%, and your class selection is obviously impressive. The thing about Grinnell, though, is they like to see creativity and flexibility as well as passion in your activities. Do you do music? Sports? Theatre? A foreign language club? If science is your ONLY passion, it won’t be quite as impressive as various interests. </p>

<p>So, in closing, I’d say that you would have a very good chance for admission if you could raise your ACT score. You’d be almost guaranteed acceptance if you can show a different side to yourself in your essays. They already know you love science, so don’t write about science.</p>

10

<p>Also, as a VERY lopsided kid, I can say that Grinnell tends to be more forgiving of deficiencies if you have strengths to make up for them than other LACs of its caliber tend to be. I got a 34 ACT but had a godawful 3.0 GPA; Grinnell was the only LAC I applied to willing to look past the GPA and look at my test scores and EC’s. Similarly, my roommate has a 27 ACT and a decent GPA but amazing EC’s like you. I think if you really put the time into studying and practice tests, you could make it happen. Go to the ACT/SAT forums and read up, then get to studying. You still have plenty of time to improve.</p>

11

<p>OP–clearly, you can do the work. I think Grinnell would be interested in you, but, like others here, I wonder why testing isn’t working out for you. Do you have major test anxiety? Some people do and this is a legitimate reason for a lower score. If you can document all of your achievements, I would think the school would take serious notice, but for your own sake, if you just under-performed on one test, I’d think you’d want to try again. If you always have struggled with standardized tests, I’d say present your accomplishments and if that’s not enough for a school, it’s their loss. Do absolutely apply to the schools that don’t look at test scores, but why not apply to Grinnell?</p>