10mwil

I don't want to waste my chances at another school...
I suppose this is a "chance me" thread but I'm trying to be realistic here and not obnoxious and naive. I know that Dartmouth is definitely not an easy shot for me. I am just wondering if, in your opinions, it is too much of a reach.

I guess I'll start off my saying that I am a girl from Ohio. I attend a small, private school that is quite competitive and known for grade deflation. We offer seven AP classes total.
I will have taken a total of six APs when I graduate. I would have taken all seven but we are only allowed to take a three a year because they are so difficult.
Freshmen GPA--3.33
Sophomore GPA--3.33
Junior GPA--4.182 (one of the best junior year GPAs in my class.)
Senior GPA--around 4.2 for midterm grades

National Merit Semi-Finalist for PSAT
Recipient of school's History Prize as a Junior; usually awarded to a Senior

SAT--just took it today. I'm guessing this is a crucial piece of information I do know that to be competitive for Dartmouth, my average would have to be above 700. So no need to give me a reality check on that one.
SATIIs--770 US History, 700 Math I (probably retaking Math)
APs--5 English Language, 5 US History, 4 Env. Science
Current APs--Calc, English Literature, Biology

Leadership/Activities, etc.
Model UN – 10, 11, 12 Founding Member of School’s Team
Awards: Highest Honors—International Court of Justice Mid-American Regional
Model United Nations Conference, March 2009 (Highest Honors awarded to only 49 out of more than 500 participants).
History Club—11, 12 President and Founder
Explores aspects of History through enriching activities; leads the school-wide History tutoring program.
"Under The Sink"--10, 11, 12: Online publication; started a website with a friend that allows all school club leaders to post their events and club descriptions on the events calendar; each club gets their own profile. Moderator/Founder/Head Editor
Student Ambassador (admissions office volunteer) – 9, 10, 11, 12
Upper School Curriculum Committee – 11, 12 (only two students chosen to participate in grades 11 & 12)
Politically Active Student Association/Republican Club—9, 10, 11, 12: President/Founding member
Literary Magazine—9, 10, 11,12 : Head Editor
School newspaper: Maverick—9, 10, 11, 12: Features Editor grades 10 and 12
Quizbowl--12 Just became a new member! So excited to be part of a team, haha.

Lots of community service..no need to list it out for you.

Internships--these are a very important part of my application, in my opinion.
Internship in the Office of Michelle Rhee, Chancellor DC Public Schools, – 11, returning 12
Junior Year: Initiated and made all arrangements to work in the Washington, D.C. in the Office of the Chancellor of Washington, D.C. Public Schools. Specific areas of interest: School closings, community involvement, labor relations

Research Internship with local university Education Professor—summer 2009. Participant-observer in a program that trains graduate students in the context of community organizing and outreach in an impoverished local neighborhood; arranged several meetings and events within the community and became familiar with multiple qualitative research methods, formed working relationships with community organizers. Research Report in preparation with the hope of submission for publication.

I think my teacher recs will speak to my exceptional performance in History and English and my significant contributions to discussion, debate, etc. My peer rec will hopefully also be superlative.
I'm currently working on my Common App essay. My biggest strength is English (particularly writing), so I know if I work hard on it it will be a major asset to my application.

Also, I know none of these are hooks, but I MAY be able to pay full tuition. Still have to check on that. I am not exactly a legacy, but I do have three family members who have attended Dartmouth (yeah...doesn't add up to much, believe me, I know). I may also be able to get a letter of support from a Dartmouth professor.

I'm sorry this is so long. I'm just trying to sort all of this out...Dartmouth has been my top choice for six years. A lot of people are discouraging me from applying and say it would be a waste of my ED option. I don't want to give up on my dream. My worst fear is to regret not applying to the school I want to go to the most. So be realistic but break any bad news gently, haha

BartleDoo

Your GPA brings you down. What is your cumulative gpa/rank? I'd say that it would come down to what you get on the SAT. I don't think your ECs/Teacher recs can buffer your GPA, but if you can get 2250+, I'd say that you have a decent chance.

hmom5

We would need to know class rank or where you are in your class to really chance you. Almost no unhooked students get in who are below top 10% in their class and most are in the top few (not percent) in their class. Competitive SAT scores would be mid 700s.

10mwil

I'm not sure how the cumulative GPA adds up--I did it myself but it doesn't match what my college advisor gave me so I just gave you the year-by-year breakdown to avoid any mishap haha.

And about where I'm ranked...I'm really not sure. There are less than 60 kids in my grade, so any ranking would be kind of flawed. Our honors classes aren't weighted and there are a lot of kids who take no honors and no AP classes who have higher GPAs than I do, so clearly that lowers my rank even when it shouldn't. I guess it depends on how Dartmouth interprets my school profile.

sk8grl

Hey there,

You seem to have a good shot with Dartmouth, but it's so hard to tell these days given the large pool of qualified applicants. I think you should go ahead with ED, especially if this is your dream school.

In regards to your comment regarding internships, I agree with you-- I think internships are really important, especially prestigious ones. How'd you manage to get the internship with Chancellor Michelle Rhee, and what exactly did you do in her office? I was thinking of interning with her next summer…

blue_star_cadet

Race/ethnicity/whatever? It sucks, but it's a factor. Everything looks solid or on-par except for GPA, and a few things stand out (your DC internship, etc.) Apply ED if it's your dream school!

Do you go to Seven Hills in Cincinnati? Just curious.

melin720

How difficult are your AP classes? Only 3 a year?

Dude, IB makes us take 6 college courses in junior and senior years. Three AP in sophmore year to prep us for this and crazy loads of Honors classes it's freakin' insane.

But I wouldn't doubt your high school gives AP classes that are harder than IB.

10mwil

Well, let's put it this way. At my school we have four day weeks every week until November. Then we don't go to school at all in November because we have a program that involves outside exploration of an interest beyond the curriculum. Then we have four day weeks in February, and four weeks off when you combine Christmas and Spring breaks. This leaves us with not a whole lot of time for teachers to prepare us for AP exams. Considering that almost every student at my schools receives 5s on their APs, I think that the amount of work we put in for those 3 APs is far more than many students put into their 5 APs each year. So while it sounds lame at first to only say that we take 3 APs, it really is a whole lot more work than it sounds like

10mwil

Oh and for sk8grl and blue star, I did end up applying to Dartmouth ED.
I don't go to Seven Hills.
And honestly, to get an internship with Michelle Rhee, all I did was email her! She really does respond and will forward it to the right person. Good luck!

sk8grl

I'm glad to hear it! Best of luck with that.

About the Michelle Rhee internship, which e-mail address did you use? Also, did you interact with her on a daily basis? And did you feel like you did meaningful work or was it more clerical stuff? Sorry for the all the questions, but I'm very interested in her work, and I want to make sure that it'll be worth my while to go all the way out to DC and spend money on housing, etc.

10mwil

I think I just used michelle.rhee@dc.gov

There is also a program called UELIP, which is the official intern program at DCPS, so if you googled that you might find the name of the person to directly contact.

I didn't see the Chancellor a lot last year, but I think she is doing less travelling this year, as she has been in the office quite frequently. Even though I was given many typical intern tasks, I was definitely able to complete meaningful projects as well. I think it depends on how long you are here for--if you're thinking a whole summer or a semester, you will without a doubt do meaningful work. I found myself doing many school visits, attending community meetings, organizing projects, etc., which all added up to be an eye-opening experience!

sk8grl

Hey 10mwil-- sorry for the late response, and thanks for your help. I got in touch with Michelle Rhee and she responded within minutes! So did you do UELIP or something else? If by chance you did participate in UELIP, would you happen to know if there's an advantage to applying by the earlier deadline (Dec. 18) as opposed to the reg. deadline (sometime in March) for the summer semester? Do they send out responses sooner to those who apply by the earlier date? The lady in charge of the program said there's no difference, but if that's really true, then why the two deadlines? Anyways, I thought I would ask and see if you know.

Thanks again!