Can i get into BU

Seanlvn
Sun, 12 Jun 2005 01:06:58 +0000

Well I’ve done my HW; that is asked friends, college students, college guidance in my school, etc… but am still left with a lot of ambivalence. I’ve looked into Boston and I think it’s a great city with a large student community. The best colleges are located there, some of which have caught my eye. I live in NYC but the prospect of dorming is appealing. As for the colleges I’m focusing on, Boston University and Brandeis seem the most appetizing. Although neither is Ivy League, their stats are quiet impressive. In both, students are averaging in the 1300s and have fairly high class rankings. Based on my stats, what are my chances of getting into either of the two, or maybe even some recommendations as to other schools I can attend.

I go to a very competitive private high school, and I would appreciate some comments on whether or not this is even taken into consideration in the application process. Just to give you an idea of what I meant by competitive, school starts for me at 7:00 A.M. and ends at 5:30 P.M, and with AP Biology this year, it ends twice a week at 6:15 P.M. I go to a yeshiva; that is a private religious school which is why im in school so long. In addition to all my regular English subjects I have to take almost the same number of classes in religious subjects. Because of this I get home late and yet have a lot of HW due to all the extra classes. The reason im saying all of this is because it has hurt my grades. I’ve been unable to spend the necessary time to focus on each class.

• Im averaging somewhere in the low 80s, which as unappetizing as it sounds is higher than the usual 80 because the school I go to is anything but lenient and does not inflate grades.

• Class ranks are not given out in my school

• I took the SAT in may and am expecting to get anywhere from a 1350-1400 in October.

• I got a 760 in SAT II Biology and might take SAT II Hebrew which would translate to a 700 something as well.

Due to the tight schedule at school, students can only take APs in their junior and senior year in the last three periods of the day which are the elective time slots.
This year I took

• AP Biology
• AP Jewish History
Next year ill be taking
• AP Economics
• AP Political Science
• Possibly AP Jewish History (a different version testing knowledge of a different period of Jewish history)

My extra curriculars are:
• Chess team for the last 3 years.
• Debate team sophomore year.
• I periodically contribute to the school newspaper.
• I was on the choices commission which discusses drug abuse and such.
• I’ve done 200 hours of community service which the school mandates.
• And for the last 5 years, I’ve worked in my uncle’s store for the summer–if that counts for anything.

• I can get good recommendations from teachers because my school is small and I’ve established some relationships with some teachers.

• I have a good college essay in mind and I write fairly well so I think I can do well on that aspect of the admissions process.

• I don’t have any ethnic advantages… Im just your usual middle class white male.

So with all of this taken into consideration, what are my chances of getting into Boston University for example or maybe even Brandeis—and take into consideration that I am willing to apply early admission to either of the two.