Will I get into St. Olaf Early Decision?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I have a mediocre GPA, decent SATs, and good E.C.s (I play violin and I'm good, and St. Olaf is known for its music program, which is a big part of why I want to go there).</p>

<p>GPA: 3.45 unweighted. Weighted I'm not sure. Most of my classes have been honors or AP though; I go to the most rigorous public school in a large city. Also, I have an upward grade trend: I had a 3.0 GPA freshman year and about a 3.6 sophomore and junior years. </p>

<p>(I did get one C second semester junior year though, in Latin, which I am not taking this year. That C in third year Latin plus the fact that I'm now not taking AP Latin, which my school offers, worries me.)</p>

<p>Class rank: Unfortunately I have no idea, but apparently St. Olaf doesn't put much weight into it.</p>

<p>SAT: 2170 </p>

<p>(CR: 720, M: 670, W: 780)</p>

<p>SAT IIs:</p>

<p>Literature: 720, Math II: 640 (these aren't required by any school I'm applying to; I just took them for the heck of it)</p>

<p>APs:
European History: 3
Calculus AB: 3
English Language & Comp: 5</p>

<p>ECs: Violin, ran varsity cross-country and track, other random stuff</p>

<p>I think my essays and recommendations were good. I'm a good writer as my SAT writing score implies. My teacher rec is from my AP LA teacher whose class I aced, and my guidance counselor rec basically blames my grades on my highly dysfunctional family.</p>

<p>Oh yeah and I'll be needing some financial aid. :/ I'm auditioning for a music scholarship though.</p>

2

<p>I’m wondering if people haven’t heard of St. Olaf before. If you have I’d really appreciate your input but if you haven’t, what about Lawrence? That’s kind of my second choice. Also, can you think of any other good “match” schools for me? Because of my GPA/SAT discrepancy, deciding where to apply has been hard for me.</p>

3

<p>Your SAT scores are terrific and will help you a lot. Both your critical reading and writing scores are above the 75th percentile and your math score is close to the 75th percentile. Strong scores like that are bound to catch their attention.</p>

<p>Also, it sounds like you are passionate about music and the violin specifically. Which makes you an excellent fit for St. Olaf. When my child and I visited we were amazed to see how important music is at that school. </p>

<p>So your only downside is possibly your GPA, but even that is not bad, especially considering that you have taken many AP and honors courses. If your GPA was weighted it would be much higher and you probably wouldn’t be as concerned about it. St. Olaf is bound to look at the level of rigor and factor that into their consideration. And an upward trend in grades is good. </p>

<p>I’d say you have a very good chance of being accepted. Good luck with the music audition.</p>

4

<p>Thank you! Yeah I had a good interview too… so I have my fingers crossed.</p>

5

<p>2girls4me, I think a 670 is actually around the 91st or 92nd percentile. 720 is probably around 97th and 780 is probably around 99th.</p>

<p>I’m not sure but my 690 in CR was a 93rd, 800 in M was a 99th, and 700 in W was a 96th.</p>

6

<p>@iPacman she meant for St. Olaf specifically
I hope your ED app went well and that you got in :)</p>