Hi, I’m finishing up my first semester of my junior year and I’d just like to know if I’m on the right track.
Objective:
SAT: 1550 (800V/750M)
AP: Human Geo (5), World History (5), Biology (5), currently taking APUSH, Physics I, Lang, and Calc AB (online).
GPA: 4.0 W, 3.93 UW (expect A’s in French, Physics, Drama, APUSH; not sure about AP Lang and Calc)
My school does not provide class rank.
Subjective:
Cross country: almost certainly all 4 years, JV first three years/probably JV senior year too
Golf: probably 10th-12th grade, varsity on a small team
Theatre: almost certainly all 4 years (notably, I was assistant director for the fall show - basically I was second-in-command to the teacher who ran the production, overseeing both cast and crew, and also served as stage manager)
Thespian: inducted as a freshman, historian as a junior, likely president next year
Student Council: organizing prom/homecoming/various school events, fundraising
French Club
GSA
I volunteer with my church as a student mentor for our special needs youth group, a few hours a week.
My mom has a master’s degree and my dad has a bachelor’s degree, I am white and upper middle class. I live in a middle-class suburb of Atlanta and go to a diverse public school.
My list right now is:
Barnard (super-duper reach)
Georgia Tech (low reach)
Sewanee (match??)
Reed College (not sure)
Auburn (safety/low match?)
Can you recommend any schools to me and/or let me know if I stand a chance at any of these schools?
Auburn is definitely a safety. You’ll most likely get into sewanee too. Tech may be harder for you, but your scores and gpa are competitive; if you’re female I’d say your chances are very large. Barnard will be tough because it’s Barnard, maybe try to add a unique EC to increase your chances.
have you considered Belmont? Looks like you are involved in Theatre.
Others to consider would be Rhodes, Furman, and Elon
@jennacwa I am female, that’s one thing in my favor for Tech 
And for Barnard - would interning (paid) for a business writing press releases be a good EC?
@maroon79 Thanks for the suggestions, I will look into them! I don’t plan to major in theatre but I do want to stay involved through college
That internship sounds awesome! Keep up the good work! I’d say you’ll very likely get into tech. What are you looking for in a school?
Your scores and grades are great. Your ECs are impressive, though the most impressive aspects of it are the Varsity Golf and your key leadership roles in Theatre and running major school events. Honestly, activities like Thespians and French Club are ok but not material here unless your clubs have done some extraordinary things and you were in charge of them. The other things are so good that you’ll want to focus more on them when discussing your ECs.
If you are at all interested in the sciences/math or the things that will help you at GaTech (a great school, by the way), this will also help you at Barnard. I would have a pretty unique, intriguing direction to talk about for your Barnard application. It’s also a wonderful school (I am the father of an alum).
Your list is intriguing but I’m having a tough time figuring out what kind of school you want…Auburn (yes, it’s a safe safety for you) is really different from Reed, which is really different from Barnard. If you like Sewanee you should also be looking at Vanderbilt and Rhodes. If you like a lot about Tech, then you should also be considering UVa and UNC. Tulane? I think you’d have a good shot there, largely because of those scores. If you want to be in a Big City up north, then you could add another super-reach school like Penn or Georgetown.
Good luck. You are a strong candidate in a lot of places and will do well…just work a bit more on that list-- visit schools during your Spring Break.
@jennacwa Thanks so much!
@mayorshinn I am still trying to figure out what I want from a school - I have toured Columbia, GA Tech, Vanderbilt, and Johns Hopkins and liked different things about each school. I have also spent time on and around Sewanee’s campus as my grandparents live nearby, and regularly visit Auburn for football games (my parents both went there).
I want to major in biology, so a diverse offering of courses in that field would be good.
I will look into those schools - thank you!
Update: Pulled an A in AP Lang So far I’m shaping up to have straight A’s, or all A’s except for a B in Calc (yearlong class, don’t get my grade until April).