<p>I’ve spent the first three years of high school in a high-poverty, rural area in the Deep South. Now I am expecting to move to a major metropolitan area for my seniorit’s out of my control. I have done what I can as far as academics and extracurricular activities: FBLA (placed at Nationals, which although is easy, was something new in the area I live), AMC / AIME (Only this year with a terrible AIME score), and a variety of local things, but nothing exciting because there are no research opportunities or anything too exciting. As far as academics, I am probably much behind where other students shooting for HYPSM
are in terms of level, but maybe not quantity of work; I have stacked APs (11 exams by the end of this year), but linear algebra, Calc III, foreign languages courses beyond AP Lang onesand those only Online, etc. weren’t even options for me.
</p>
<p>I know that I will likely lose any hook for geographic diversity and probably for being a URM with how Fisher v. UT is looking. But how much more harshly will I be judged now, and what can I do to make up for what is would be now expected from me? </p>
<p>Short story:
Hispanic (FISHER V. UT
) from Deep South —> Real World for senior year
Weak ECs and Coursework
2400 SAT (somehow
)
No SAT IIs yet
I am really not going be where I want to be unless there is something magic about being spending time somewhere different than being just another nearly, but not quite qualified person from an over-represented area.</p>
<p>Really, what I am getting at is: What should I expect from college admissions now compared to before?</p>
<p>None of us have a crystal ball, so we can’t tell you what you want to hear. College admissions at the selective institutions is unpredictable. Apply to the ones that appeal to you and that you believe will turn out to be affordable for your family (run the Net Price Calculators at their websites to get a ball-park estimate of your family’s cost), and see what happens.</p>
<p>Things that you can do for yourself now:</p>
<p>1) Ask several of your teachers at your current HS who know you well if they will be able to write letters of recommendation for you. If necessary, help them draft those letters so that all they need to do once you make your college list, is to print them out and pop them in the mail/email. Speak with your current guidance counselor about this too. Some places you apply to may ask for a counselor’s letter from that school. </p>
<p>2) Carefully verify the in-state residency policies for public colleges and universities in your current state of residence and in the future state of residence. Will either of those states consider you in-state for tuition and fees by the time you enroll in the fall of 2014? If that decision isn’t automatic, what is the waiver process?</p>
<p>3) Have “The Big Money Talk” with your parents about how they expect you to pay for your education. What are they ready, willing, and able to chip in each year? How do they feel about you taking on student loans? How much money do they expect you to earn in the summers and during the school year?</p>
<p>4) Have “The How Far From Home Is OK Talk” and “The What About This Major Talk” with your parents. Some parents are picky about those things. Others aren’t.</p>
<p>5) If it turns out that money is a serious issue for your family, but the location of your studies is negotiable, pay a visit to the Financial Aid Forum and read through all of the threads on Guaranteed Merit-Aid and Competitive Merit-Aid. If your GPA is in the range expected with that kind of SAT score, there will be good places you could attend for free that would serve as your dead-on safeties when you make your application list.</p>
<p>Wishing you and your family all the best as you move to the new place!</p>
<p>your ecs dont have to be week, there will be plenty of opportunities, in and out of school</p>
<p>take the best courses you can and study for the SATs that can be your summer job</p>
<p>^^ Hmm… I have a feeling my SAT I cannot go up any higher, and I am already okay on the Subject Tests as far as studying. </p>
<p>I wonder if I should put to use my self-studying maths with the Siemens or Intel competition.…</p>