<p>COLLEGES I’M CONSIDERING</p>
<p>uc berkeley has always been a dream of mine, but i am starting to have doubts about how close it is to home. i want to really go somewhere new. but of course, the counterculture atmosphere of berkeley is always exciting. i’m also starting to become less attracted to the UC system due to budget cuts and increasing tuition. they don’t really seem to be that much of a good deal anymore.</p>
<p>usc, ucla, boston university, syracuse, middlebury, university of michigan-ann arbor, university of illinois-urbana champaign, nyu (i do feel that most of these are reach schools)</p>
<p>female-asian american (1st gen)
currently a junior @ prospect high, saratoga (which is not a very competitive high school compared to other ones in the area, such as monta vista, lynbrook, etc.)</p>
<p>ACADEMICS</p>
<p>i am ranked in the top 10% of my class of 343.</p>
<p>at prospect, you cannot change course decisions after may of the previous school year. all class decisions ARE final after a certain deadline, and you cannot make any changes to your schedule. </p>
<p>prospect offers 9 APs: bio, chem, physics, calc ab, stats, gov, us history, spanish, and english (for seniors)</p>
<p>9th grade-2 honors classes (only ones offered for freshmen, which were english and bio), geometry, world geography/health (these were semester-long classes), pe, french 2
GPA-4.0 (my school doesn’t weigh honors classes, which is really frustrating)</p>
<p>10th grade-2 honors classes (only ones offered for sophomores, which were english and world history), algebra 2 (had an awful teacher), chemistry, pe, french 2
GPA-3.83 (B all year in alg2)</p>
<p>11th grade-1 honors class (the only offered for juniors, english, which is weighted for the UC’s gpa scale; there is no AP english 3 for juniors), AP US history, physics, (the only honors science class is bio), trig/precalc (there are no honors math classes at my school, just APs in calc and stats-there’s no reg calc or stats either, just AP), french 3
GPA-unknown at this time
originally, i was considering AP bio, but this class is notorious at our school for only yielding 3-5 students receiving A’s each year. i chose not to take it because i’m not leaning towards maths/sciences for my major, and knew it would be harder to get A’s in other classes, plus i most likely would not get an A. i now feel like i cheated myself out of an amazing learning experience by not taking it, and am constantly thinking about whether or not i made the right choice. </p>
<p>12th grade-I intend to take the following: AP english 4 for seniors (lit. and comp.), french 4, AP calc or stats (cannot decide between which, as i feel that calc is supposedly more appealing on college apps, but stats is a more useful type of math), AP bio or AP chem (i definitely want 4 years of science, and do not want to take astronomy, which is the only other option), not sure about choosing between regular or AP gov, and some sort of fine arts (to satisfy the requirement, but i could possibly just take something over the summer at community college)</p>
<p>TEST SCORES
i just took the PSAT, and haven’t received my scores yet.
in may 2010, i took a diagnostic SAT at princeton review, and got an 1890. prior to this, i had no experience in taking the SAT. i plan to take the SAT a max. of 3 times, and am determined to get at least 2100. i will also take the ACT.</p>
<p>EXTRACURRICULARS
jv field hockey: 9-10</p>
<p>varsity field hockey: 11, and i will be returning as a senior</p>
<p>speech and debate: helped revive prospect’s program, but due to teacher advisors who were inept and uncooperative, i chose to only do speech and debate during my freshmen year</p>
<p>mock trial: started in 10th grade, currently in it, and will be returning as a senior. since my 1st year, i have been a prosecution attorney. my 10th and 11th grade years, i have delivered the opening statement. and as part of being a pros attorney, i direct and cross examine witnesses. next year, i will most likely be giving the closing argument for the prosecution team.</p>
<p>california scholastic federation: a gpa-based community service club. the min. requirement is 8 hours per semester, but i consistently complete more hours than that.</p>
<p>ethos environmental club-i am founder and co-president of prospect’s 1st environmental club. currently this is our first year and we are already estalishing a strong and active presence at the school.</p>
<p>community service-volunteer almost weekly at an organic community garden, other environmental service, was an assistant camp counselor the summer before 10th grade, and volunteer regularly at the library. to date, i estimate that i’ve done about 130-150 hours over my high school career. i know this is definitely not enough, and am planning to do much more.</p>
<p>l’academie francaise/french club-my french teacher chooses students who show “outstanding potential” in their french accent development. we meet weekly to work on improving our french accents (to sound more native). l’academie students are automatically part of french club. </p>
<p>piano-i’ve played since age 7. played in a special arts recital for the bay area chinese american community commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (i’m not a communist, just that it was all part of the celebration)</p>
<p>OTHER</p>
<p>mineta summer transportation institute-this was an environmental science program specializing in transportation, offered to high school students in my county at san jose state university. received 3 college credits in environmental science in the csu system, for having completed “intro. to environmental studies and issues” as part of the program. i received special recognition for consistently competing excellent work during my time at the program. this program also opened my eyes to the transportation field, which i am considering finding a career in.</p>
<p>people to people student ambassador-well, this was the summer after 5th grade, so i don’t know if this counts.</p>
<p>INTERESTS</p>
<p>i’m definitely going to major in something in the liberal arts or social sciences such as:
communications
english
legal studeis
pre-law
anthropology
sociology
etc.</p>
<p>the career that has really become a main interest of mine recently is being a lawyer. i am interested in being either a prosecutor or environmental lawyer. if so, then i’d like to possibly major or minor in environmental studies and policy (not the same as environemtnal science major). </p>
<p>i know that i don’t sound like the typical asian overachiever. i want to stay away from being a stereotype. i don’t feel that you can classify excellent students by certain qualities. i’m unique and i have a passion for learning. i’m an individual and that’s the thing i’m most proud of. i want to stand out by showing people that i’m not just another asian-american “nerd” whose life only revolves around homework. the only label i want to be given is more of a compliment-renaissance woman.</p>
<p>THANK YOU ALL FOR READING THIS INSANELY LONG POST.
in addition to your advice on admissions and school and stuff, could you also give me some ideas as to what other schools would be great for me?
i’m looking for urban or suburban locations, medium to large student body (range of 5,000-25,000)</p>