Would I have a shot next year ?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Washington University in St. Louis
1

<p>I am an international student applying for FA</p>

<p>9th grade GPA: 8.0/10 (it's considered A where I went to)</p>

<p>10th grade GPA: 9.2/10</p>

<p>Junior year GPA: 4.0 (unweighted, my school does not have weighted GPA)
No ranking but I think I am in top 5%</p>

<p>Repeated junior year to fulfill graduation requirement at a really rigorous private school (I changed school this year due to visa problem, long story)</p>

<p>Grarde Junior year:
AP Cal BC: B
AP Physics C:Mechanics: B,
Spanish 1: A+,
English 11: A,
Biology: A,
Choir: A,
Wind Ensemble: A.</p>

<p>Senior Schedule:
AP Lit: B
AP Physics C: E&M: B
AP Bio: A
Spanish IIe: A
China/Japan (fall) + Economics (spring): A-
Choir:A
Band: A-</p>

<p>AP Cal AB: 4 (Too bad)
AP Cal BC: 5
AP Physics C Mech: 3</p>

<p>SAT: 2000 (CR:630, M:710, WR:660) superscore
Bio M: 700 </p>

<p>Extra curricular:
Soccer team of class: 6,7,8,9,10
Soccer Varsity:grade 11, 12
AFCVN soccer club: grade 10 ( cannot continue due to moving to US to study)
News translator for Arsenal Fan Club In Vietnam: grade 8,9,10,11, 12
Tennis JV ( varsity is super competitive, ranked 7th in the country): grade 11, grade 12</p>

<p>Choir:grade 11, 12 (All-County Choir, grade 12)
Piano class:8 years
French horn: 3 years</p>

<p>Young leader club:grade 10 ( cannot continue due to moving school)
FIRST Robotics: grade 11 (cannot continue due to moving school)
Community service club: grade 11, 12
Community service trip to Costa Rica: grade 11, grade 12
International Club: grade 12</p>

<p>Awards:
Silver Medalists of National Spanish Exam: Grade 11
Semi-finalist of Cornell Essay contest: Grade 11
Best GPA at school : Grade 10
Best final exams record: Grade 10
First Prize at School's English Olympiad: Grade 10
Victoria scholarship: grade 10
High honor roll: grade 11
Best Physical project in Science Fair:grade 11
Highest honor in Chemistry:grade 11
High honor in Maths:grade 11</p>

<p>Leadership:
Chief Secretary, School’s Youth Union: Grade 10
Chief Secretary, Class’s Youth Union: Grade 10
Class’s Vice President specialized in academic: Grade 10</p>

2

<p>It’s hard without SATs. You need to have a legitimate reason for repeating a year.</p>

3

<p>looks a weensy bit iffy…but if you went to a school with a rigorous program, and with all ur awards and junk, i’d bet on you</p>

4

<p>My school is a pretty tough school. I mean it is not as tough as Andover or Exeter or any other top notch boarding schools but it’s still challenging. Actually, one of my friend from Physics class just got into WUSTL.</p>

<p>Thanks for you guys’ inputs though. So you think I might have a shot ?</p>

<p>Any other suggestions or comments for me ?</p>

5

<p>k well I just got into WUSTL like 2 weeks ago. And Idk about all of this over/underqualified junk, but anyhow, I didn’t do an interview or even visit the campus (way too far away). The thing i DID do though was apply to their University Scholars Program in Medicine. Now, I didn’t get into that program (as I didn’t think i would), but that might have shown to them interest in the college, i have no idea. That’s just what I did. So i mean even if you don’t want to do medicine… (I could be totally wrong about this btw). ooh, and you should probably take the SATs again and get a 2100+, a 2000 seems a bit on the low side for WUSTL’s average. Plus, you should DEF take Math level 2, the curve on it is HUGE and you’ve taken Calc BC…like 12% of people get an 800 on that test, so it’ll look good.</p>

6

<p>well… since u r an int’l, 2000 doesn’t look that bad, though u may take it again with a higher reading score… after all I got into school with a 2060… but for SATII you might take more subjects or you may look less competitive.</p>

<p>more importantly u need to write a great essay, but you look great in other stuffs, so u might worth a shot to apply WUSTL.</p>

7

<p>Thanks for you guys’ suggestions.</p>

<p>I will probably take Math II and Biology-Molecular for SAT II. I will also try to raise my SAT score up a bit.</p>

<p>Also, I am trying to get a position in a biology lab at the University of Rochester for a month (this is my project for Senior Study- a program at my school that allows seniors to take the last month off from school to do independent projects). Plus, from the summer, I will try to get an internship at the Center for Genetic Analysis and Techonologies in my city. Will these activities help me at all ?</p>

8

<p>definitely help a lot!! In fact, with all your accomplishments, you really have a great chance of being admitted.</p>

9

<p>Heck yes they will.
do you live in Rochester btw? (I do, sorta. well Webster)</p>

10

<p>Thank you so much for your comments.</p>

<p>I am planning on going for bio or biochem. Will choosing those majors as intended majors affect my application at all since I know that biomedical programs at WUSTL are very strong ?</p>

<p>Also, how strong are the social science departments, specifically econs or sociology ?</p>

<p>@tharp993: yeah, I am living in Rochester now and I am going to Allendale Columbia School in Pittsford.</p>

11

<p>Hi nns91,</p>

<p>I’m actually a bio (biochemistry concentration) major. I’m not sure if competition is stiffer if you apply as these majors, but just give the admissions office a call and I’m sure they will clarify it for you. </p>

<p>‘How strong are the social science departments?’
I’ve only taken mostly anthropology classes at WashU, and they are top-notch in terms of teaching and research quality.
A strength of a department can be measured by numerous factors, and one of them would be research quality and publications. I don’t know for this year, but the recent past WashU has been in the top 10 in 19 disciplines in terms of faculty productivity; "In two of these disciplines, WUSTL ranks No. 1. They are ecology and evolutionary biology and political science. " </p>

<p>WUSTL top-10 rankings for all 19 disciplines </p>

<p>• Anthropology: 2 </p>

<p>• Biochemistry: 8 </p>

<p>• Bioinformatics: 7 </p>

<p>• Botany and plant biology: 3 </p>

<p>• Business administration: 3 </p>

<p>• Cell biology: 6 </p>

<p>• Communication sciences and disorders: 6 </p>

<p>• Developmental biology: 9 </p>

<p>• East Asian languages and cultures: 10 </p>

<p>• Ecology and evolutionary biology: 1 </p>

<p>• English: 4 </p>

<p>• Genetics: 10 </p>

<p>• Immunology: 6 </p>

<p>• Kinesiology and exercise science: 2 </p>

<p>• Microbiology: 4 </p>

<p>• Molecular biology: 4 </p>

<p>• Pathology: 4 </p>

<p>• Political science: 1 </p>

<p>• Social work: 3 </p>

<p>SOURCE: [WUSTL</a> is top 10 in 19 disciplines | Newsroom | Washington University in St. Louis](<a href=“http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/8536.aspx]WUSTL”>WUSTL is top 10 in 19 disciplines - The Source - Washington University in St. Louis)</p>

<p>*****************************8
With regards to your ‘shot for next year’ I think you have a good shot. However, statistically speaking, it IS harder to get in as an international and probably more so as an internation applying for FA. Just from credentials alone, you are definitely in the ballpark to apply. You have the grades and awards (though try to get as high a SATI as you can) One question to ask yourself is- what is your passion and talent? Highlight this on your application and/or essays.</p>

12

<p>When you provide GPA, it should not include non-academic subjects like band and choir.
WOuld that affect the GPA you listed for your first three years in your original school?<br>
Second, I think that the fact that you repeated your junior year might be seen as diminishing the accomplishment of the three As.<br>
Finally, the CR 630 is poor, but that might be less important if you’re a TOEFL student. Is English your first language?</p>

13

<p>Thank you zenith602 for your helpful info. Just out of curiosity, as a Bio major, what do you think about the faculties, the opportunities for research, and preparation for grad school ?</p>

<p>I actually took the TOEFL and got a 109/120, and English is only my 2nd language. At my school, band and choir are actually graded class, even though my school does not have an official GPA system. Will these facts make any difference ?</p>

14

<p>Tharp definitely has a point about “demonstrated interest”. Some definitely make a big deal about WUSTL’s consideration of “demonstrated interest” in the school, but I am skeptical of the importance of this. My friend and I both have gotten straight As all the way through high school and are both strong in ECs. She flew out, visited the campus and had an interview. I did not. She was waitlisted. I was accepted.</p>

15

<p>Academically, I think I am interested in biology stuffs now. So I will try to get some internships in near future to prove my interest. This is just my new interest so I have not been able to do anything that relating to biology yet.</p>

<p>I like sports and music too. I don’t know if you guys can see that through my resume ?</p>

<p>Am I understanding “demonstrated interest” correctly ?</p>

16

<p>Well, first of all, don’t get an internship if you are only doing it for the college apps because the adcoms will see right through it. However, if you are sincerely interested in the interships then I think it would be a really great, valuable experience. And demonstrated interest refers to showing interest in the COLLEGE not the subject area that you hope to major in. So like go to college fairs and fill out a card at the WUSTL booth or visit the campus (probably hard since you’re international) or I bet even just called an asking the admissions office a few questions (though they should be thoughful legitamate questions) would help.</p>

17

<p>I understood that band and choir are grade classes at your school, because you stated your grades in them.
My point was that you need to state/calculate your GPA based on only traditional academic subjects: English;math; history/social studies; science; foreign language. That’s what the college adcoms look at.</p>

18

<p>Oh no, I am definitely not getting an internship to boost up my resume because I know college knows that. I am truly interested in biology now. My point was, I guess, I have not been able to do any biology internship before because I have just developed an interest in this subject this year ( I used to want to major in Economics or Sociology). I want to gain some lab experience and such.</p>

<p>Oh, I see your point, WCASParent. I don’t think taking out band and choir will affect my GPA that much. So will a 3.8 be in the range ?</p>

19

<p>Chance threads are for nubs.</p>

20

<p>I agree with both nate46385 and WCASParent. It makes no difference if your school grades the classes or not. What counts is are they academic or not. Also don’t bother listing activities before grade 9, it just looks like you are attempting to pad your resume. I also see a fall off in ECs and leadership beyond grade 10 (not good).</p>

<p>In general, it is not the strongest stats that I have seen for WashU applicants. But, have a strong senior year and — who knows what can happen. Good luck and figure out a plan for your senior year and then apply it. Just take most postings on a “chances” post with a giant “grain of salt”. Most people answering know either as much as or less than you do.</p>