Case Studies

Case Study #1

Secondary School Record
Karen S. Abraham
1100 Lakeview Drive
Forden, Vermont 22222
 
% going to college: 55%         Rank: 72/528
SAT 520V 650M  |   ACT 23   |   GPA 3.549
 
SUBJECTS 1st 2nd
9 English 9 A B+
Geometry A A
Spanish I B+ A
U.S. History A- A-
Biology A A
Physical Education B A
Typing B B
10 English 10 (Honors) C+ A
Algebra II B- A
Chemistry B- A
European History C B+
Spanish II C- A-
Physical Education B- B+
Art-Basic B A
Dancing    
11 English 11 (Honors) A- A-
Math Analysis A A
Physics A A
American Gov't/Econ A- B+
Spanish III A A-
Computer I/II A A
Art-Ceramics B+ A
12 English 12 AP B+  
Calculus A  
Biology II AP A  
Spanish IV AP A-  
Psychology A-  
Health A  
ACTIVITIES
SADD
National Honor Society President
COMMENTS
  • Taking both the SAT and the ACT as Karen has is a good idea if the schools in which you are interested will accept either. Some students will perform better on one test than they will on the other. Karen's score on the SAT is much more consistent with her grades in school than her ACT score.
  • Karen has taken advantage of many science and math courses offered at her school.  The opportunity to take a second year of biology would coincide with an interest in any science or health science field.
  • The rank provided here is not "weighted."  This means that had Karen not taken advanced courses, her rank might be higher.  Many admission committees will take this into consideration to be sure that Karen will not be penalized for taking a challenging schedule.
  • Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) courses made Karen's schedule increasingly difficult each year.  Clearly she is challenging herself.  Not all schools offer AP courses; Karen is very lucky that these opportunities exist at Forden High.  If she earns competitive scores on the AP examinations, she may earn college credit.
  • The grades that Karen received during the first semester of her sophomore year are considerably lower than the remainder of her record.  In this case, there may be extenuating circumstances that may have contributed to Karen's struggle.  Problems such as illness or death in the family should be brought to the attention of the admission committee if it appears that they have affected classroom performance.

 

Case Study #2

 

Secondary School Record
Robert Robinson
4567 Great Lakes Road
Octavia, Illinois 32980
 
% going to college:
SAT 460V 590M  |   ACT 24  |   GPA 2.94
 
SUBJECTS 1st 2nd
9 English I B- B
Algebra C C-
Social Studies 9 B B
Industrial Arts I B C
Study Hall - -
10 English II B B+
Geometry C C+
Home Economics B- B-
Health C+ B-
Study Hall - -
Mechanical Drawing A B+
11 English III B+ B+
French I A- B+
Asian Studies B+ B+
Biology B+ A
Algebra II B B
12 English IV AP B  
French II A  
Chemistry A  
American Gov't/Econ B+  
Trigonometry B  
Computer Science B+  
ACTIVITIES
None
COMMENTS
  • Robert is taking a minimal number of academic courses during his 9th and 10th grade years. If he wants to go on to college, as opposed to a technical or vocational school, he may need to concentrate on academic classes during his 11th and 12th grades
  • Not having studied a language during his first two years, he is just beginning to fulfill this requirement during his junior year.
  • Robert's improving grades and more challenging courses (upward trends) illustrate his increased interest in his schoolwork and his academic future. His English grades improve enough during his junior year to qualify him for Advanced Placement (AP) level work in his senior year.
  • Robert was lucky that he changed his direction when he did. By doing so, he has proven that he is a capable student. However, by not proving this sooner, he may have damaged his chances of being accepted at a very selective college.
  • Since Robert has not participated in any school-related extracurricular activities, he may want to list any activities or responsibilities he has outside of school (i.e., work, community service, civic or church duties, etc.)

 

Case Study #3

 

Secondary School Record
Melissa Drake
467 Sunset Strip
Los Angeles, California 44567
 
% going to college: 90%         Rank: 83/126
SAT 670V 750M  |   ACT 32   |   GPA 2.71
 
SUBJECTS 1st 2nd
9 English 9 C C-
Math C- C
Social Studies B B-
Physical Education A A
Band C C
10 English 10 D+ C-
Geometry C C
Biology C- C
Political Systems C+ B
Latin I C B-
Physical Education A A
11 English 11 B B+
Trigonometry B C
Chemistry C C
American Civilization B B+
Latin II C- B
Physical Education A A
12 English 12 A-  
Pre-Calculus A-  
Physics C+  
Health A-  
Psychology B+  
Latin III C+  
Physical Education A  
ACTIVITIES
Swimming
B-Ball Captain
Track Captain
Youth Leader
Student Union
COMMENTS
  • Melissa's standardized test scores suggest that she has very high ability, certainly greater than her grades suggest.
  • Melissa has been very involved in her high school and community activities. Perhaps she has sacrificed good grades in order to maintain her other interests.
  • The high percentage of students from Melissa's high school who are going on to four-year colleges suggests that the environment at Great Sands Academy is a competitive one. This is information that many admission committees will consider during the application process. This may work to Melissa's advantage.
  • Despite all the factors in Melissa's favor, most college admission committees will struggle with the obvious gap between her ability and her performance. Those schools whose application pools consist of many high ability applicants will be likely to accept those who have achieved, not Melissa.

 

 

Student Profile

“Despite her status as an undergraduate student, Hilary Blake from Grapevine, TX, can boast to her friends that she is now an official real estate agent for the state of Indiana.”
Hilary Blake '08 (Grapevine, TX) - Economics and Psychology double major.