parentofteen

I think the addition of the writing section is wonderful, personally. It sounds like you are more talented in that area than you thought. Overall, that is a fantastic SAT practice score! You should be in great shape for the fall testing.

Where do you plan to apply for college?

Godfather

Safeties- Baylor (full ride opportunity), Texas Christian University, Southern Methodist University, Washington University.

Matches- UCSD (safety if I move to my relatives house and gain residency), UCLA, Case Western Reserve University, NYU, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt.

Slight reaches- Rice, UC Berkeley.

Reaches- May apply to Harvard, if I lie about my major due to faculty affiliation Harvard will actually be in the slight reach category most likely. But the medical schools sucks. Oh and I might apply to Brown, my SAT will be above their median, but I don't know if my GPA cuts it or my ECs.

parentofteen

Like we have been saying on this thread, the quantity of ECs is not that important. It's the quality and the passion that really grab the adcom's attention. Figure out which EC is your passion and develop your essay around what you have gained from your involvement in that area. You will have the scores to get in anywhere you want to go, but the essay can really make the difference when you are being compared to others with similar scores.

As for your GPA, get extremely serious about raising it this fall!!!! Junior year can be one of the toughest for many students, and GPAs and class ranks do tend to shift more because of rigorous classes. Then, a lot of seniors will slack off their last year, and that will be to your advantage if you vow to really focus on the academics. Take the toughest course load available to you so that colleges will see that you are committed to a strong pre-college background.

I hope you will take the academic potential your test scores indicate and run with it! Don't waste your gifts! If your GPA doesn't match up with your SAT potential, colleges will not be impressed. You still have time to improve your grades.

Godfather

I have around a 3.7, it's nothing to whine over but it's not excellent.

Piano is obviously my passion, but I'm not going to go award hunting, I just want to do it for fun. They'll see that I didn't pick it up in my four years of high school, I was born to do it, I think that will help.

How much do you think the SAT and PSAT correlate?

There are a lot of idiots around here that think your SAT will be your PSAT multiplied by ten.

parentofteen

In my daughter's case, her junior fall PSAT was higher than her junior fall SAT(taken only 3 days earlier). However, her junior spring SAT was almost identical to her fall PSAT. Every SAT she took, though, showed higher verbal than math scores. (PSAT was quite the opposite!)

By fall of senior year, her SAT went up exactly 200 points over her fall junior SAT. This was with no prep at all - just lots and lots of reading of classics! (790 V on that last one)

Godfather

Nice. I don't know what to expect with the SAT, they say with the practice tests they have access to at this thing, we can expect almost the same thing, maybe a slightly lower score due to stress.

I'm betting on a near if not perfect math score, 750+ writing, and unless they can really help at this PSAT program, I'll end up with a 700-750 in Critical Reading.

idiias

I agree. don't underestimate the importance of sticking out to an admissions officer. at my school we had group interviews to be tour guides in the admissions office, and one girl introduced herself with her name and where she's from....and one of the admissions officer recalled what her essay was on, what her SAT scores were, etc....it was crazy

Harvard2400

Parentoften,

Thank you very much for your advice. I will follow with this procedure. However, personally, I actually had been part of a dance program in boarding school and I have danced for only about 4 and a half years. I am not much of the ballet/tap major but rather the hip hop, modern, and interpretive dancer with good performance and choregraphy experience. I also have a good yoga/pilates background which stemmed from my dance experience.
Our program takes great pride in our accomplishments as we send several people each year to great dance programs such as Penn and Georgetown. I hope that Duke is not ultra-competitive. At Duke, I am not sure if I am leaning towards the minor but perhaps clubs, performances, and taking classes.

By the way, I am also male, and one of two competitve male dancers in the program. I suppose I hope to have dance as I guess a 'hook' based on my background and Duke's need of dancers of my background. As you had mentioned, your daughter seems to lean really towards the dance environment. I hope to have a great recc from my teacher, who absolutely loves me. Could you give me some advice on how I should approach the resume and video tape processs? Should I perhaps exchange emails with the dance teachers at Duke?

P.S> Could you activate your private message system so I can communicate with you more personally?


Thank you once again!

parentofteen

Harvard 2400,

I think exchanging emails with the dance teachers is a great idea. All I can tell you about the video submission is to follow their instructions explicitly and to choose dances that you feel best showcase your talent. Most dance departments would love to have more males in their classes, whether or not you plan to minor. Duke is known for choosing applicants who fill a variety of roles in the makeup of each class. That is why I feel that using dance as your hook will definitely get their attention.

By the way, there are several dance clubs at Duke. My daughter actually belongs to one (DanceSLAM) that specializes in hip hop! They meet all year and put on a performance in April. She enjoys all types of dance, and her freshman seminar was in modern. Every freshman has to take one seminar class, so it was especially nice that they offered one in dance.

Duke is not ultra-competitive in dance, and I think that's why so many students opt to participate in the courses and in the clubs. Most of you who have a passion for dance simply don't want to give that up once you go to college. Also, Duke offers everything from classical pointe to even African dance and Flamenco!

If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.

I have activated my private message system now.

eternity_hope2005

All this talk about dancing makes me want to pick up salsa dancing or something.....It's time to get back to the dance floor... I particular like swing dancing - now if I can pull off one of those feverish dances with a women....my life will not have been lived in vain so far...

Harvard2400

Parentoften,

I still am trying to private message me, but apparantly it is still not activated. Perhaps, you could check your options again? Thanks.

Well thanks once again for your input on Duke Dance. DanceSLAM sounds really great and appealing for someone like myself who wants to engage in one or two of these groups. I have been more of the rehearsal/performance type of person and I would love to be in one of those groups. I hope to exchange several emails with the Duke Dance department and really put myself out there as a good candidate. I think it truly is one of thsoe environments where academics and dance can be maintained without too much stress.

But, I was curious as to how many people are in Duke's dance program and particlarly how many males? I guess I want to find out what Duke's need is in terms of their style and diversity. I really would like to present myself as a unique individual to Duke's dance department and I truly hope that it will help me get into Duke itself.

Thanks.

Godfather

I could be a male dancer for Duke. If the population is low I'd do it. I can salsa, swing, dirty dance.

Harvard2400

Godfather,

YOU ARE NOT MAKING ME AN OFFER THAT I CAN'T REFUSE!

Harvard2400

...help???????

Harvard2400

parentoften, I hope that you can answer my previous post

Thanks.