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Chance me for Political Science/International Relations Schools
scottt23
14 replies9 threads Junior Member
Hey everybody! I'm currently a highschool senior, and I'm well into working on my Common App and supplementals. I'm looking to major in international relations, but for colleges that don't offer that program I'm applying for polisci. I've been getting myself pretty nervous that I'm being overly ambitious with my college list. I know my academics are on target for most of these schools, but my main concern comes from the fact that my EC's don't really line up with my intended majors. If anybody would have the time to chance me it would be greatly appreciated!
Myself: White male from New York. Parents are in upper middle income range (no hooks that I know of). No legacy to any school I'm applying to (parents both attended local state college).
My School: Competitive public high school in NYC. Ranked in top 50 nationally, and top 3 in state.
Academics:
- GPA (on a 100 scale): W: 103.89 UW:??
- Context: My school won’t tell us our unweighted GPA, but the lowest grade I’ve ever received was a 92 in one semester of Geometry Freshman Year. After freshman year we switched to letter grades and the lowest I’ve got was an A.
- Class Rank: N/A
- Honors Classes (all classes at school are honors): Geometry H, English 9 H, Chemistry H, Russian 1 H, Algebra 2 H, English 10 H, Physics H, Advanced Russian 2 H, PreCalculus 11 H
- AP Classes: World History (5), US History (5), English Lang (5), Bio (5)
Dual Enrollment Classes: Russian 2 (with SUNY Albany)
- Senior Schedule: AP Psychology, AP English Lit, AP US Gov, AP Calc BC, Russian for Business H
Scores:
- SAT: 1550, 20 on Essay
- ACT: N/A
- Subject Tests: US History (800), World History (790), Math 2 (760)
EC’s:
- Founder and President of a TEDx club. Hosted school’s first ever TEDx talk focused on Mental Health and Wellness (2ish hours weekly)
- Manager of Stage Crew for school productions. Participated in every show since freshman year. Became Junior Manager of Spring Musical my Junior Year. Currently manager of Fall Musical, will be manager of Spring Musical (10 hours weekly, over 650 hours total)
- Event Coordinator for Freshman Outreach program, serving about 350 students yearly
- Head Bailiff for Mock Trial (small, non competitive)
- Russian Olympiada (came in second regionally in a Russian speaking contest 2 years in a row. Currently a semifinalist competing to represent America at the International competition in Moscow)
- National medalist for Russian essay writing contest (2x bronze, 1x silver)
- Model UN (not heavily involved, normal club member)
- Key Club (not heavily involved)
- Volunteer at a rec center for special needs teens (4 years, every weekend from October to May, 5 hrs a weekend)
- Summer Camp Counselor (360 hours a summer for 3 summers)
My List:
Safety:
SUNY Binghamton (EA)
SUNY Geneseo (RD)
University of Pittsburgh (Early honors deadline)
Fordham University (RD)
Drexel University (RD)
Target:
American University (RD)
GWU (RD)
Northeastern (RD)
University of Richmond (RD)
Reach:
Princeton (SCEA)
Yale (RD)
UPenn (RD)
Georgetown (RD)
Stanford (RD)
Vanderbilt (RD)
I'm sorry this post was so long, but if anyone could chance me for these schools it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!!
6 replies Myself: White male from New York. Parents are in upper middle income range (no hooks that I know of). No legacy to any school I'm applying to (parents both attended local state college).
My School: Competitive public high school in NYC. Ranked in top 50 nationally, and top 3 in state.
Academics:
- GPA (on a 100 scale): W: 103.89 UW:??
- Context: My school won’t tell us our unweighted GPA, but the lowest grade I’ve ever received was a 92 in one semester of Geometry Freshman Year. After freshman year we switched to letter grades and the lowest I’ve got was an A.
- Class Rank: N/A
- Honors Classes (all classes at school are honors): Geometry H, English 9 H, Chemistry H, Russian 1 H, Algebra 2 H, English 10 H, Physics H, Advanced Russian 2 H, PreCalculus 11 H
- AP Classes: World History (5), US History (5), English Lang (5), Bio (5)
Dual Enrollment Classes: Russian 2 (with SUNY Albany)
- Senior Schedule: AP Psychology, AP English Lit, AP US Gov, AP Calc BC, Russian for Business H
Scores:
- SAT: 1550, 20 on Essay
- ACT: N/A
- Subject Tests: US History (800), World History (790), Math 2 (760)
EC’s:
- Founder and President of a TEDx club. Hosted school’s first ever TEDx talk focused on Mental Health and Wellness (2ish hours weekly)
- Manager of Stage Crew for school productions. Participated in every show since freshman year. Became Junior Manager of Spring Musical my Junior Year. Currently manager of Fall Musical, will be manager of Spring Musical (10 hours weekly, over 650 hours total)
- Event Coordinator for Freshman Outreach program, serving about 350 students yearly
- Head Bailiff for Mock Trial (small, non competitive)
- Russian Olympiada (came in second regionally in a Russian speaking contest 2 years in a row. Currently a semifinalist competing to represent America at the International competition in Moscow)
- National medalist for Russian essay writing contest (2x bronze, 1x silver)
- Model UN (not heavily involved, normal club member)
- Key Club (not heavily involved)
- Volunteer at a rec center for special needs teens (4 years, every weekend from October to May, 5 hrs a weekend)
- Summer Camp Counselor (360 hours a summer for 3 summers)
My List:
Safety:
SUNY Binghamton (EA)
SUNY Geneseo (RD)
University of Pittsburgh (Early honors deadline)
Fordham University (RD)
Drexel University (RD)
Target:
American University (RD)
GWU (RD)
Northeastern (RD)
University of Richmond (RD)
Reach:
Princeton (SCEA)
Yale (RD)
UPenn (RD)
Georgetown (RD)
Stanford (RD)
Vanderbilt (RD)
I'm sorry this post was so long, but if anyone could chance me for these schools it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!!
Replies to: Chance me for Political Science/International Relations Schools
For Georgetown, you mean SFS yes? I would put them as a high match for you. Ditto Vandy. Fwiw, to me 'match' doesn't mean 'likely', just that you are a solid match for what they look for and the numbers are not against you
Show AU some love if you mean it- they don't like knowing that they are not high acheiver's first choice. Fwiw, between GW & AU, imo GW is better for in-term internships (but- not great housing. fact of in-town life).
I have a soft spot for theatre techies, and think that stage managers in particular often don't realize just how transferable those skills are: managing very disparate groups of people, who effectively speak different languages, and typically have conflicting agendas, through a project with a drop-dead hard deadline (aka opening night) can only be done successfully with good project management, realpolitik, and human dynamic skills. Comparatively speaking, herding cats is a walk in the park!
Is AP sci offered? Any experiences outside the school setting, besides the olympiad? Both can matter.
But the Russian is the wild card, in your case. It may tip you somewhere.
Your targets would be great opps. Both AU and GW, being in DC. Great place for exposure.
Perhaps in your all important essays, tell the AOs some of these EC achievements. I am not advocating for a list, but do include a few short specific examples on what you have learned from these ECs and how they have benefited YOU as well.
Good luck; I am rooting for you.