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Hi I'm the father of a highschool senior from a fairly prestigious private school in Hawaii, and he recently sent in
his early decision application to Bowdoin College. I was wondering if anyone could evaluate his
chances. Here are hisstats:

SAT I: 690 Verbal, 680 Math
National Merit Commended Scholar
SAT II's: 770 US History, 680 Writing
AP's: 5 US History, 4 AP Comp
Top 5% of hisclass (they don't really rank)
Member of Cum Laude Society
Tutor to ESL students
Teaching a beginning Spanish class to 3rd graders at a local elementary school
Highschool Newspaper Editor
4 year volunteer for a Children's Justice Center (here they do forensic interviews for kids who have
been sexually or physically abused"
3 year hospital emergency room volunteer
Started a Yoga program afterschool in my junior year (30 kids joined in the first year)
Started a business selling faux sunglasses
Won 4 awards last year-Algebra II Trig. Award, Composition Award (given to best writer in the
junior class), 1st place in school short story competition, Young Writer's scholarship to attend the
Maui Writers Conference on Maui.

There is more, but this is most of it.

He wrote his essay on his spiritual faith and on being a vegetarian. His teacher reccomendations will
be excellent and so will the college counselor report. He also has a letter from the lady in charge of
the Children's Justice Center.

I appreciate any comments.

P.S. Also, what about Brown, Grinnell, Amherst and University of Chicago

By Sally R. on Wednesday, November 13, 2002 - 10:30 am: Edit

It sounds like your son has a strong shot at Bowdoin, but there are lots of factors that go into admission decisions, so no determination can be fairly made based on info on a discussion board.

For instance, the topic of your son's essay is not nearly as important as how well it is written. That's a biggie. Also, it sounds like he has some unusual extracurricular undertakings, but some students do not present their ECs in a way that gives admissional officials a real sense of what each activity entails. (I would love to know what faux sunglasses are. The ones I buy for myself in the All For a Dollar store would surely qualify, but I don't think that's what you're talking about!) Hopefully, your son was able to convey to the Bowdoin admission folks exactly what was involved in each of his many undertakings.

The fact that you live in Hawaii is also a big consideration. If your son attends a prep school (e.g., Punahou, HPA) that sends a lot of kids to elite colleges in the Northeast, then he will also be evaluated in the context of other students who have been accepted--or denied--from his high school in the past, as well as in comparison to
those (if any) who are also applying ED to Bowdoin. If his schoool is new to eastern college officials, that could be a plus.

As for the other colleges you named, the same comments apply. Grinnell, above all of them, will probably be delighted to welcome an accomplished Hawaiian to Iowa. Bowdoin, of course, does not require SAT scores, and your son's are slightly below the norms for Brown and Amherst but--again--depending on how well he presents himself in the rest of the application, and the other considerations named above, he is certainly in the ballpark for all of his target colleges.

Good luck.

By JSwanson on Saturday, November 16, 2002 - 01:30 am: Edit

Thanks for the feedback Sally R. My son attends HPA.

By Sally R. on Sunday, November 17, 2002 - 10:09 pm: Edit

Thanks for the info on HPA. The counselors there should have the experience to know how applicants from that school tend to fare in the various elite-college pools.

Do let us know how your son makes out with Bowdoin, and if you are planning to drop him off in Brunswick, Maine, next September, be sure to make a stop in nearby Freeport and buy him the warmest coat that L.L.Bean's has to offer, or he may be on the first plane back to Honolulu come November!

By JSwanson on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 - 04:47 pm: Edit

My son was just accepted to Bowdoin!

By CollegeMom on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 - 05:22 pm: Edit

I wouldn't care too much about your son's SAT scores. The rest of his application can also play a big part. Someone I know just got accepted to Columbia with a 1350 SAT and average IIs. She is not a legacy either. She said the essay did it probably. I believe your son could easily get into Amherst and maybe even Brown.

By Dadster on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 - 09:15 pm: Edit

Congrats to your son, JSwanson!