Just wanted to do a bit of an update here since this thread got quite a few views, haha! I’ve updated my college list since this post, so if anyone wants to chance me further with the new schools, that’d still be great.
I’ve decided that I’m probably going to apply to Yale SCEA (not Penn ED since my financial situation is a bit atypical). My new RD list is Penn, Brown, Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, UChicago, Hopkins, Vassar, Tufts, McGill, BU, UMD, SUNY Geneseo & CUNY (Macaulay)… I’ll probably take a few off, but not sure which. As I commented above, my ACT rose from a 33 to a 35, which was exciting, so now I’m just waiting on SAT II & AP results. I also signed up for AP Psych as an additional senior class. I’ve gone through a whole bunch of Common App drafts through my AP English class and gotten a lot of feedback. My teacher said the essay has grown tremendously, and I think I’m happy with it, for now, so I’ll be turning to supplements.
As for summer plans, I’m working as a classroom assistant at a non-profit organization in the city that holds creative writing workshops for local kids (ages 7-15) – I’ll be helping with classes like screenwriting & writing about politics, as well as copyediting, conferencing with kids about feedback, and editing an anthology of the students’ work. I also got an internship with a poetry organization, which I’ll leave unnamed for anonymity’s sake, doing social media & editorial work for a project involving urban literary installations.
Thanks again, everyone! 