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I love Wesleyan. I just love it there. The only negative was that I sat in on a class and wasn't thrilled with the professor, but none of the students seemed thrilled with her either, so mmm.

Anyway, I really really want to apply there early decision. My parents think that I can't get in, though. I know it's a reach, but I really want to try. I was wondering what my chances were and how I compare to other students there.

Grades: Not great. There's not even an upward trend - all my final grades in my junior year were in the B range.
I'm not sure of my overall GPA. It's probably a 3.3 or so unweighted, 3.9 or 4.0 weighted. I'm not in the top 10% at my school, but they're in transition of getting rid of rank.

Courses: Most difficult classes available. 7 AP exams taken by the end of senior year.

Test scores: Good.
SAT: 800M, 790V
SATIIs: 790 bio-M, 770 writing, 760 mathIIc, 760 US history.
AP US history: 5
AP Biology: 5
(I'm hoping the 5s on the AP test show that I learned the material in history and in bio, even though I got a B- overall in both courses because I wasn't great about handing in work...)

Extracurriculars:
Newspaper: News editor (11), Editor-in-chief (12)
Animal Alliance: Member (9) Co-president (10,11,12)
Amnesty International: Co-founder of chapter and Vice President (11,12)
Environmental Club: Member (9,10), Co-President (11,12)
Inner Voices literary magazine: Member (10), Board of Editors (11, 12)

Extracurriculars without positions...might or might not bother listing on application:
Gay-Straight Alliance: Member (10,11,12)
REBEL (anti-smoking and drugs organization of New Jersey): Member (9,10,11,12) and might try to revive the local chapter of it with a friend, since the chapter kind of died
The Leo Club: service organization, not very active
The Friendship Circle: visit an autistic girl once a week and just spend time with her (11,12)
Soup kitchen: Since fifth grade, but less than once a month.

My English and Biology teacher each separately came up to me and asked if they could do my recommendation, because they said despite my grades they think I'm such a smart and a good person... that made me feel really special Anyway, so I'm assuming/hoping their recommendations will be very good.

I'm a female Caucasian Jew from New Jersey... do I have a chance of getting in early decision, realistically?

By Xmatt (Xmatt) on Sunday, July 04, 2004 - 05:57 pm: Edit

Well, it can't hurt to try. Admissions usually expects people to be at least in the top 10% of the class, or to have almost all As if there's no rank provided. However, your SATs are rather abnormally high, so they might be willing to overlook it, especially in light of good recommendations and a strong extracurricular record. I'd say go for it; if your parents want you to apply early action somewhere else for safety reasons or whatnot, you can always do ED II, or do ED I at the same time as another school's EA provided the other school allows that. In all cases, applying ED at Wes basically doubles your chances, so it's probably a not an edge you'd want to waste if you're on the fence about being able to get in.

By Rhkid005 (Rhkid005) on Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 07:53 pm: Edit

Sure... why not? Your gpa is low (duh) and your test scores are high (duh), and your activities sound really good, so things might work out. Wesleyan usually likes to see at least an A- average, but if the adcoms see something special in you, they'll take you. You should apply early, as it could give you the extra edge.

By Madjoy (Madjoy) on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - 02:14 pm: Edit

Thanks, both of you, for your advice :D

I scheduled an interview in August, and I'm very nervous but excited... I just really feel like Wesleyan is the perfect place for me. :D And after many discussions with my parents, it looks like they'll let me apply early there :D

By Hammertime (Hammertime) on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - 09:09 pm: Edit

Don't be nervous about the interview. Mine was so laid back and conversational that I almost forgot it was an interview at times.

By Rhkid005 (Rhkid005) on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - 09:35 pm: Edit

My interview was very laid back, although that's mainly because I had a lot to say. My interviewer was like "tell me about your activities," and I talked about them for a really long time. I did get a few tough interview questions that actually fit into the context of the conversation, like "was there one event that shaped your view on life?"