I am a senior at a small high school. It is not considered a very competitive high school, despite that, I am the valedictorian. My current GPA is 3.90, which is really good at my school. I have an ACT score of 27. We have very few AP classes, so I did not really get that boost. Throughout high school, I have displayed that I push myself whenever I get a chance. I have skipped many math classes and have taken many dual enrollment classes at local colleges.
Thank you for your input. I understand that what is done is done and that I should stop worrying, but I cannot.
@arodriguez282 : You could check Brown admission facts (https://www.brown.edu/admission/undergraduate/explore/admission-facts) to see how your stats compare with admitted students. Being a valedictorian does help! Don’t worry about AP classes, your regional AO knows your school. As long as you take the most rigorous courses in your school. Your chances are as good as others’.
Once your stats are in the range, your application will be seriously considered. Then it will become much more of a qualitative assessment of your essays, ECs, and LOCs, and other factors that become part of a holistic process … but I do see your ACT is kind of low …
A GPA of 3.9 is worthless without context, particularly at an average to below average high school. The reality is, with a 27 ACT, you are in the 86% percentile nationwide. That is far, far below the norms of a school like Brown. Do you truly believe you will be able to succeed at a school like Brown?
A 27 ACT will hurt you – Brown accepts under 10% of its applicants and your score is well below the 25th percentile of admitted students. It is safe to assume that many people taken with ACTs in the bottom quartile have some kind of hook (ex. recruited athlete, child of a big donor etc.). I would work hard to try to improve that score and perhaps study for and try the SATs as well.
… although their grades are slightly lower. These applicants are held to the same lesser standard as some top athletes; not whether they can excel, but whether they can graduate. “There’s never been a case where I think the student can’t be successful at Duke, and the student is admitted,” …
I think applicants should not doubt themselves if they can succeed in Brown when they are applying to Brown. I would trust admissions office have enough experience to know that the admitted students can be successful if they do make an effort. I personally think high school grades/test scores don’t have much bearing on whether the students can be successful in college, unless the students are in STEM fields.
5--You "personal feelings" are interesting, but actual data proves otherwise. Marginal students, including those who were given special admission status/treatment, attend schools far above their GPA/SAT/ACT. They then have to compete with their peers. Statistically and objectively, these marginal students struggle at schools like Brown.
Encouraging a marginal student to consider schools like Brown leads to the absence of self-assessment. And, if they are admitted, potential future issues.
This student asked for our opinions on whether she is a suitable candidate for Brown. I answered her question–which, of course, she already knew the answer to.
@Overtheline: I agree with you that this student already knows her answer and marginal students in general will likely encounter problems in their extreme reach schools. But they have a much better chance to be successful in Brown.
Not that studying in Brown is easy (actually is a lot of work), but because students know they are lucky to be in the least stressful environment. Yes, some students still cannot graduate and some still struggle. But if they went to other “pressure cookers”, the results would be much worse. In the worst-case scenario, they can take 30 courses all in English to graduate (a joke heard in school). In Brown, there is no need to take five courses per semester. Some people start to break down when they need to take five courses. At Columbia/UPenn/Yale, students must take five courses per semester at least four times in order to graduate. To us, it would be hard to maintain a happy/healthy lifestyle while keeping a high GPA when doing that.
I still encourage them to apply to Brown. If they could get in, they would be given a golden opportunity to thrive here.
@Overtheline : I share your concerns regarding students choosing their reach schools. “Fit” not “Prestige” should be the determining factor in the process.
This New York Times article (https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/02/education/edlife/stress-social-media-and-suicide-on-campus.html) is a must-read for parents before they assist their children choosing where they should attend college. Brown’s name is missing from the article. A quick Google search will only find some special cases. Brown does not have any “Face” or “Syndrom” associated with it for many good reasons.
27 is good, but not enough for Brown University. There are literally 3000 other schools to choose from. You have the stats to earn a scholarship. A lot of schools offer full ride scholarships simply for being valedictorian, you just have to do some research on google.
Brown looks at your standardized test scores in context with your high school and family situation, A student who goes to a small high school (particularly if its rural or inner-city), whose parents didn’t go to college (I don’t know if that applies to this student), will be looked at very differently than a kid from Dalton with parents with PhDs.
I’m not saying that the OP will get in. And yes, 27 is on the low end. But there have been kids with 27 ACTs and low 600 SATs who have gone to Brown and did just fine academically. Perhaps not first semester. But if they sought the necessary tutoring and writing help, they eventually did catch up.
@arodriguez282, you sound like a great kid who will do fine in college. In fact, you’ve already proven you can do college-level work. You’ve clearly challenged yourself academically, which is something many elite schools like Brown are looking for. You may not get into Brown because it’s so darn competitive, but I’m pretty sure that if you did get in, you could handle the work.
ACT 26-28, just the score, not the other expectations in holistic, shows an admit rate.of 5%. OP hasn’t even shared the rest of the picture. One hopes he understands what else that is.