OP, what are some of the things you would like in terms of setting, curriculum, location, etc.?
You mentioned favoring Dartmouth over Duke – why? If you would like additional schools that are similar to Dartmouth, we could help.
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I actually used to live 20 minutes away from Dartmouth when I was younger and it makes me feel like home. For dartmouth, I think they have a strong econ program with one of the strongest alumni networks in country. I also like how it has a great work hard play hard strategy. I also am considering the job opportunities after college. They have a high placement on Wall Street and in particular finance/business related jobs. I also like the rigorous 10-week quarter system and how they have the D-Plan, which I think could help me try certain internships. For Duke, it has a similar feel to me as Dartmouth. I know freshman live on the other campus freshman year, which would not be a problem for me. I also like how duke has rigorous courses and still a social scene. I’m very open to recommendations about similar colleges if anyone has any. I just want a college where there will be other kids that want to be challenged but still want to have a great time. Most importantly, I don’t want to go somewhere because of a ranking or name, I want to go for the opportunities and benefits that I can grasp while I’m there.
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It may have helped if you had started in an appropriate more advanced Spanish course in high school instead of starting in Spanish 1. That may have let you reach a higher level of Spanish (possibly AP if you wanted).
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Okay. Some outstanding schools similar to Dartmouth in multiple aspects – but which are likely easier admits – are:
Middlebury
Hamilton
Colby
Colgate
URichmond (too urban/suburban?)
Bucknell
Lafayette (too suburban?)
Trinity College (too urban?)
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My first recommendation if you want a shot at Dartmouth is to drop the 2 DE business classes and take 2 DE Intermediate Spanish for Heritage Speakers classes. This will benefit you in two ways 1) it’ll fulfill the entrance requirements at all colleges in the country because College Intermediate2= HS level 4 and 2) it’ll connote Hispanic Floridian which some colleges may find valuable information.
You must improve your SAT verbal and general reading skills. Use the summer to read - I assume you have the August test booked already:
Recommendations for maximum rewards (ie., best combination of fun/easy to read/appealing + SAT helpful + useful for AP Lit) with a broad variety of styles and themes.
Hinds’ graphic novel version of the Odyssey
Miller’s Song of Achilles or Circe
Pride&Prejudice&Zombies
Fordham’s graphic novel version of To kill a mockingbird
Spiegelman’s Maus
Lewis’s March
Gann’s The Wager
Skloot’s The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks
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I think colleges and universities with an undergrad business program often have the sort of work hard/play hard mentality you are describing.
Richmond and Bucknell I think are excellent suggestions. You might also consider Villanova, Lehigh, and Fordham.
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No one can ever really know, but I don’t think you have a great shot at Dartmouth as an ED admit. Dartmouth has some institutional priorities that they are very vocal about supporting, and from what I can tell, you don’t fit into any of those priorities (15% of the class of 2029 at Dartmouth comes from rural communities, a full 27% qualify for free tuition, 16% are first generation and approximately 15% are international students). If you don’t fall into one of those priority buckets, you’re not a legacy or a recruited athlete and you have stats slightly below their admitted students profiles, I think it’s unlikely. You might have a slightly better chance at Duke, simply because it is a bigger school so they’re taking more kids, but also I think they don’t have the “rural” focus. But if Dartmouth is your dream school and you will forever regret not shooting your shot, then apply ED regardless of the chances. (I’m assuming you are not rural FL based upon the description of your school. If you are indeed from a small town, this will help you in your Dartmouth application.)