I've been very interested in NYU...

caesarea1
Fri, 01 Oct 2010 19:29:25 +0000

I’ve been doing a lot of research on the school, and I love how (1) it’s in the city and (2) it has a very diverse population. However, I don’t actually know anyone that goes there!

First of all, though… What are my chances of getting in?

3.9 unweighted GPA, 4.8 weighted.

Freshman year:
English Honors - B/A
French 1 Honors - A/A
Geometry - A/A
Physics Honors - A/A
Chorus 2 Honors - A/A
World Studies Honors - A/A

Sophomore Year: (I moved to a different state and went to a private school.)
Biology Honors: B/B+
AP World History: A/A
Algebra 2/Trig Honors: A/A
English Honors: A/A
Liturgical Music (Chorus) Honors: A/A
Spanish 2 Honors: A/A

Junior Year: (moved again… third high school!) I’m currently taking…
Spanish 3 Honors
Pre-Calculus Honors
Chemistry Honors
Chorus 5 Honors
AP Statistics
AP Biology
AP Language & Composition
AP US History
[My school’s a public “gold” school or something like that and I currently have all As.]

Test scores:
AP World History - 5
SAT Subject Test World History - 740
SAT Subject Test Biology - 730

SAT Reading - 710
SAT Writing - 720
SAT Math - 570 (no clue how that happened… although I got a 69 out of 80 on my PSAT during my sophomore year)
I took the SAT in March of my sophomore year, and I’m definitely retaking it this year!

Activities:
Boys & Girls Club Tutor
Mu Alpha Theta Honor Society
Rho Kappa Honor Society
English Honor Society
International Thespian Honor Society (plus numerous awards at district and state Thespian competitions)
Numerous awards for district and state music festivals and solo/ensemble competitions
Training at Broadway Artists Alliance summer intensives (trained under Tony-winning actors, casting directors, talent agents, etc.)
Summer theatre camp intern at community theatre
Over 100+ hours sophomore year (My freshman-year school didn’t collect service hours, but if it did I’d have over 200 hours for helping with the community theatre)
Active in community theatre (performing, set-building, ushering)
Church youth choir
Freshman year student government, peer leadership network, and peer counseling (in my first high school)

– Yes, there’s a lot of focus on theatre and music. They’re my main activities, but I’m primarily interested in pursuing a career in forensic or biological anthropology or paleontology. However, I haven’t found any extracurricular opportunities in any of the places in which I’ve lived that relate to anthropology or paleontology! I might audition for Tisch, but I honestly don’t think I’ll get in!

If it matters, my grandma was a fellow (and alum) at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Medicine. Both my parents (and my step-parents) graduated from college (my stepmom spent a year in Harvard but got homesick and moved back to the Philippines) and are successful. I don’t think I’ll qualify for financial aid, but I’ll try anyway because I want to pay for college as much as I possibly can. (And no, I don’t have a job. It’s only because I’m not allowed to have one… my parents are still in the Philippines mentality that kids in school shouldn’t be working.)

Please be honest! I’d rather take criticism and work on things now rather than regret not doing anything later.

Second, what is it really like there? What are the people like, and what is the environment like? I’m not talking about the city itself because I’ve been to NYC many times, but what is the social atmosphere within the university?