Chance a Rising Junior for T20s in Environmental Science

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics
US citizen
State/Location of residency: Texas
Type of high school : Private high school
Gender/Race/Ethnicity : Black/African female

Intended Major(s): Environmental Science/Studies (considering a double major (or a minor) in something like business or psychology)

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: N/A
Weighted HS GPA : 99.1
*(graded on a 100.0 scale, 3 points are added to the grade average of each class that is honors or AP)
ACT/SAT Scores: PSAT was a 1310 last year without studying…but I plan to take the SAT this August and get a score somewhere above 1500

Coursework
(AP/IB/Dual Enrollment classes, AP/IB scores for high school; also include level of math and foreign language reached and any unusual academic electives; for transfers, describe your college courses and preparation for your intended major(s))

I have taken all honor classes offered (Geometry, Algebra II, and Chemistry) except in language. However, I will take AP Spanish senior year. Junior year, I will take all AP and honors classes offered at my school.

Awards:
High Honor Roll (above 90 grade point average)
Several photography/visual arts awards

Extracurriculars

  1. Community Service Club (2 years) - I am the grade representative this year. We haven’t done a lot this past year due to Covid, but we will next school year. I plan to be president senior year.
  2. Community Service Organization (1 year) - I have participated in a lot of virtual activities, and various in-person activities, to help different areas of my local community. I am currently the student secretary for this organization.
  3. Environmental Science Organization (1 year) - An organization that works in a niche area of environmental science as well as promotes consumer awareness surrounding the downsides of various commodities, like beef, soy, and palm oil.
  4. Piano (8 years) - I have been taking lessons and playing piano for a while now. I have won a few local competitions, but I mostly play the piano for leisure/enjoyment.
  5. Art Business (1 year) - I am still developing this lol, but basically creating art surrounding trending ideas/concepts related to environmental science, and packaging that art in sustainable materials.
  6. This summer, I am going to an internship with an Ivy League graduate who works in environmental engineering. I am going to shadow them/potentially work on a project with them.
    For the future/ongoing projects:
    I might get an internship over junior year working with an EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) employee.
    I am also working on a project to provide food and water security to families in a third world country. My family has an organization that focuses on those issues, and I am helping my relatives out by creating marketing materials and developing a more sustainable, long lasting way to provide food to those families in this newly harsh climate.

Essays/LORs/Other: I haven’t written any essays yet, and I don’t plan to until next summer.

Also, I don’t think I’ll be eligible for financial aid, but hopefully I can gain some aid through scholarships.

Schools

  • UT Austin
  • Rice
  • Stanford
  • UC Berkeley
  • UCLA
  • Duke
  • Maybe Yale lol

In addition to chancing me, I would love any ideas for other colleges that are good for environmental science, preferable not in the south. The majority of the schools are reach schools, but I want to be ambitious when applying for different colleges. Nonetheless, I need recommendations for more target schools when it comes to good colleges for environmental science or just the natural sciences in general. Thanks in advance!

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Are you open to liberal arts colleges? Someone with more expertise than me should respond, but I believe at least one of the elite LACs in the northeast has an especially strong environmental science program (Williams? Middlebury ? Colby?..also, Macalester in St. Paul, perhaps?) Grinnell in Iowa tends to be fairly generous with aid and is an overall strong school, though I don’t know anything about its environmental science offerings. Many of these schools are seeking strong, active students who would bring geographic and racial diversity to campus.

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I have not considered liberal arts colleges. I think I could be open to them though. I think I would be a bit worried about the racial diversity of those colleges (just based on the few things I know about the Northeast). I rather go to a school that is somewhat diverse than be admitted solely to bring racial diversity, if that makes sense.

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There is a big difference between “not being eligible for financial aid” and your family being willing and able to pay $300K+ for schools. I think you should first talk to your parents and see if they will help you run the NPC for some of the colleges you are considering. If the amount seems totally unreasonable to them, you need to see what they are comfortable with. That will tell you how much merit or scholarship money you have to get to make it affordable. Any school where you require the maximum scholarship amount in order to make it affordable becomes a reach, if that award is highly competitive. The thing to keep in mind is the only thing worse than a rejection is an acceptance that is way out of reach financially.

Some of the most expensive schools are also the ones that tend to be the most generous with financial aid and you may be surprised.

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To me, I would start digging more into the specific programs that are offered, and look for the school whose experience will best meet your interests. With your intended major I think you will find some really unique programs that would be a great fit for you.

A few to check out: SUNY - School of Environmental Science and Forestry, UC Boulder, University New Hampshire

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This site may offer you additional ideas:

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Check out for next summer, free APHIS USDA high school discovery program. See list of colleges with ag& natural resources majors.

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