<p>I realise this is very early - I haven’t even passed my GCSEs - but I’d like some critique while it’s still early enough to change. The major issue, I think, is my lack of extracurriculars.</p>
<p>I haven’t yet taken the SAT, but I’m taking the Princeton Review’s practice test this week. My mother, however, is only letting me take the SAT this year if I can convince her that it would be worthwhile, due to how far we are from the nearest testing centre.</p>
<p>Personal:
15. Female. Year 10, at a state comprehensive (in my area, there are only comprehensives), although the plan is, if my grades and my mother’s finances hold, to go to a private sixth form. Possible areas of career interest include commercial law, politics, and international relations. My major personal interests include literature, some areas of history, programming, some areas of web development, and the news media.</p>
<p>I think I’m the oldest person in my year 10, due to my primary school’s insistence on enrolling me in 2001 rather than 2000 based on the fact that I was born at the very end of 1996; that might cause some difficulties convincing the college that I didn’t stay back a year.</p>
<p>I live with a single parent. Family income has fluctuated from £70k to minimum wage and any number of brackets in between over the past years, and I fear it’ll be rather low at the time I apply to colleges/universities.</p>
<p>Academic:</p>
<h1>2 in my year academically, in every year of high school. The boy in #1 every year - my twin brother - was in almost all the same classes as me but in a lower ability set in mathematics, and had a much lower grade in PE, so I’m not quite certain how my school calculates the rankings. I think it’s more likely that he and I moved between #1 and #2.</h1>
<p>I’ve been #1 in several subjects, but I don’t believe my subject rankings are very meaningful, as my mother complained after a girl who was almost sent to the second ability set in English and who only turned in one homework assignment in a year took #1 and I was relegated to #2, and the teacher replied that “it wasn’t fair” that one student was always #1 in English.</p>
<p>I’m taking two A-levels early, this June. Predicted A*s. One is a somewhat soft subject (politics), but I didn’t realise at the time; I was young, and didn’t listen to anything the teacher said after “early A-level”.</p>
<p>I’ve never had any grade lower than an A in any class test, with the exception of a disastrous C in my mock computing exam, but my teachers excused it because I had tonsillitis and had been told to revise the wrong sections. Would a US college see that? </p>
<p>I haven’t had formally predicted GCSEs, but our report cards list teachers’ expectations, and mine were all A*s this year.</p>
<p>My subjects this year, not counting compulsory PE or RE, were:
- English
- Maths
- History
- Geography
- French
- Latin
- Politics
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Computing</p>
<p>Of these, due to timetable constraints, I stay for an additional 1-2 hours some days of the week, and sometimes go on Saturdays, to go to Latin, computing, and politics.</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:</p>
<p>Interact - I can’t say I agree with Rotary International’s tolerance record, but the Interact Club has been a valuable leadership, charity, and community service experience. I have no position in the club other than “member” - I lost the vice-president’s election by three votes to the head girl - but I handle its press and charity contacts and run its website. I partially ran its local fundraiser for a sponsored swim for polio eradication, although I couldn’t run, or participate in, the sponsored swim itself on account of having an appointment that day.</p>
<p>UKMT Intermediate Mathematical Challenge - My school selected me to enter, but I did pretty awfully. Bronze, i.e. didn’t qualify. I will be entering this year, however.</p>
<p>Duke of Edinburgh’s Award - I’m entering the Bronze award this summer, and I hope to do Silver the following year. Financial and health reasons might prevent me from doing Gold.</p>
<p>Student Council - I’ve been a member of the student council for two years. I’m currently working on my re-election campaign (that sounded unintentionally Nixonian).</p>
<p>I recently founded a mock election and political discussion club, and I’m currently trying to start a school newspaper. Last year, I founded a conservative club, but nobody joined, and my cofounder left after we reached the nadir that even the teachers poked fun at it (“how was the Tory Scum Society meeting?”). Other clubs include the sadly now defunct debating society, chess club, and creative writing club.</p>
<p>I ran the international news segment of the school’s student-run streaming broadcast, and helped run its website, but time constraints meant I had to leave. I plan to return after this summer.</p>
<p>Outside school, I’m seeking a part-time job or work experience in a field that I’m interested in, although so far all I’ve been able to find are jobs as a waitress or cashier. In my neighbourhood, I’m something of an unintentional freelance tech support and web development service. I was formerly a member of badminton and squash clubs, but we moved too far away from them for it to be practical for me to attend. I do, however, run, and plan to enter two 5ks this summer and autumn, providing that my health issues (anaemia), or, rather, my mother’s paranoia about my health issues, don’t get in the way. I’m currently working on various small personal projects, some of which might have some academic value, though they’re on hold while I study for my A-levels.</p>
<p>My interest in politics has led me to attend various party conferences and debates in my area, including many for parties other than my own (Conservative) and many in which I was the youngest attendee. </p>
<p>I’m loosely involved in a friend’s iOS development startup, although, due to my age, I can’t legally do very much.</p>