neonbird

I can't help myself. I know that a "chance" holds no meaning when the application hits the fan, but I'm really anxious about applying to Carleton in the fall. I think I'll apply regular decision because I will likely be a National Merit Finalist, in which case I don't want to eliminate a potential full ride somewhere else. That being said, Carleton is my first choice.

GPA: 3.87 unweighted in the IB program.

I have the hardest class schedule of anyone I know, taking 20th Century Topics over Psychology, Bio HL and Physics SL at the same time, and Math SL my junior year, followed by AP Calc AB (BC didn't fit my schedule).

I will have IB Physics and Math scores, hoping for 6s, but we'll see about that!

ACT: 31, 32 super score.

33 English
31 Math
34 Reading
29 Science

Probable National Merit Finalist

EC:
School and local orchestra freshmen and sophomore years.
Local orchestra junior and senior years (I play cello).
Yearbook staff for sophomore, junior years, senior year editor.
National award winning yearbook design.
Awarded two national photography honors.
HOBY Leadership ambassador for my school
Competitive jump rope national competitor.
Teach jump rope and babysit for employment.
JV Tennis sophomore, junior, senior years.
School musical Junior and Senior years.
Carleton Summer Science Program this summer!
Volunteering at therapeutic riding center summer camp.
National Honor Society.
Random Acts of Kindness Club (founder).

I'm really enthusiastic about Carleton. Hopefully that will show in an interview/essay!

I'll have one really good rec, but I don't really know my counselor so that one will be generic.

I want to major in geology, which might be good for a girl.

Thank you so much. I just feel like I'm in the dark about how hopeful I should be. I can't believe I'm applying this fall!

mflevity

(Not really a chance response, but you might be interested to know that majority of geo majors at Carleton are female!)

musicguru5

You're in the hunt, so give it your best shot. I'd especially play up your fun and unique extracurricular things - pick something you do that you're really passionate about and use it as your selling point. (My essay was about eating bugs as a volunteer at a butterfly house and how that translated to my passion for science, so....clearly weirdness is something they embrace.)

That being said, I hope to see you in a few years at AGU as a next-generation Carleton geo lady! (AGU is the biggest geology conference in the country, and we always have multiple-generation Carl parties there - things often get delightfully out of hand.) The geo department is among the best in the country, and as mflevity points out, the geo folks are almost perfectly matched on the lady front. As far as how the department matches up, here's a nice little list that Earlham puts out for the number of earth science Ph.D.s that come from a given undergraduate institution, when corrected for the size of the school. http://legacy.earlham.edu/ir/bac_ori.../earthsci.html

In the most recent generations, Carleton comes out as #2 or 3 for the greatest proportion of undergrads from the whole school that end up with earth science doctorates. Which is awesome, because geology nearly requires some sort of advanced degree to practice in the field (M.S. or Ph.D.), meaning that folks don't just get a geology degree, they actually intend to continue using it. But don't sweat all that just yet - anyway, grad school in geology is, um, free. Also, awesome.

You will be outside from about, oh, week 3 of intro geo (need the first week or two to learn some rocks and minerals) until the day you graduate, minus winters for the most part (having to shovel outcrops = not awesome). Field work is a huge part of the geology experience at Carleton, so get ready to get on outcrops and get dirty. The department ends up being an incredibly tight-knit bunch, because, well, you spend untold hours with them in all sorts of incredibly weird situations. (Hunched under canoes to wait out hailstorms? Learning to make PROPER coffee with a delightfully cantankerous Eritrean? Developing a gift for speeding in minivans, and chilling beer in bathtubs? Check, check AND check!)

Anyway, I just think this is marvelous, because relatively few people come in wanting to be geology majors (we pilfer heavily from other science departments - I was a biologist). So, if you have any questions about Carleton's department, or geology in general, then shoot!

neonbird

WOW! THANK YOU! This is such a helpful and inspiring response, I actually hadn't seen it until today! I spent three weeks this summer at Carleton and I definitely got a taste of the AWESOME geo department. I was doing field work on Bell Field and it was SO MUCH FUN. Right now I think I'm going to apply early decision, and this just makes me feel even better about that option