One more Obsessive h.s Jr

m8913s · January 28, 2006, 1:02am

SO can u tell me where i need to improve, come college apps fall 2006? Famale
California
Mexican-American
First Generation
Low Income
Small privet school in a not so good side of L.A, California

SAt- 2050, ( i can’t remember specifics)
haven’t taken SAT II’s or act but will b4 the end of this semester

Frosh year gpa 3.7
classes- English I H, Art/Comp, Algebra II H, Religion I, Pre-Science, Study Hall/Geography, French I

Sophmore year- 3.8
Bio, English II H, Pre-cal, World History, Religion II, Comp, French II

Jr Year- (1st semester 4.07)
Ap Cal, AP U.S History, A.P Art History, English III H, Chem, Religion III,
Problem here, okay so i got 3 B’s will that look Bad?
2nd semester I’m hoping to raise my gpa to atleast a 4.3 or 4.4

GPA W- 3.87
GPA U.W- 3.77
Ranking 7/83

E.C
Prez of Key Club
NHs
CSF
varsity track( 9 and 11),
varsity cross country( 10)
varsity, soccer(9)
,
Ecology Club
Secretary of CSF/ NHS
Lettermen society
Class board ( secretary) soph year
Retreat Leader for Freshmen
TEachers aid at local elementary school
weekend job- from 6 am -2 p.m
300 service hours
Beach Clean up
Tutor at elem school
Student Government 2 years
Attended Leadership conference for my church last summer,
Campus Ministry( we organize Mass etc)

Awards
Certificatein
Religion
History
French
English
Calculus
Geography
Bio

Okay schools’ i’m thinking of
UCLA
UCB
UCI
UCRiverside
UCSB
UCSC
Cal state Long Beach
Cal State poly pomona
Vassar
Wellesley(for kicks)
Columbia(for kicks)
Colgate
U of Chicago(for kicks)
Notre Dame

nom_de_plume · January 28, 2006, 5:36am

Where to improve:

Maintain your grade trend. Increse your SAT scores to higher than 700’s and do the same with SAT II scores (take 3).

Your ECs are all over the place - focus more on a few and your awards are pretty ordinary. Strive for more leadership positions and make yourself known on school. Continue to develop relations with your guidance counselor and teachers that know you well - they will be writing your recommendations next year and anthing anecdotal that will shine your personality will be instrumental for the competive schools you listed.

For the UCs - Maintain that 4.0 in your junior year and continue with your APs.

Don’t slack-off senior year - these grades are crucial.

I would suggest not applying “for kicks” if you don’t know why you want to attend those schools. Find things that are distinct about those colleges/universities to not only highlight why those places are special and unique for you but to also assess what you want for your college experience. (Your reasons will highlight whether or not you belong in the community in your essays so I hope that you do a thorough enough job.)

(If there is something desirable about the “for kicks” places, please open your mind beyond the top25 schools or so and continue the search process - there are some real gems out there.)

Perhaps your obsession will quell as you gain more knowledge about the process… so keep lookin’! And, good luck.

slipper1234 · January 28, 2006, 7:35am

You are WAY underestimating yourself! A mexican, low income, student is a huge hook (make sure to say mexican on your apps). Your scores are very solid and your GPA is strong. I would say:

UCLA: match/ high match (stats oriented + no URM benefit)
UCB: match/ high match (same as abover)
UCI: 100% in
UCRiverside: 100% in
UCSB: 90% in
UCSC : 90% in
Cal state Long Beach: 100% in
Cal State poly pomona: 100% in
Vassar: 70% in
Wellesley(for kicks): 70% in (as difficult as vassar, why for kicks?)
Columbia(for kicks): 40% in
Colgate: 75% in
U of Chicago(for kicks): 70% in
Notre Dame: 85% in (huge need for URM non-athlete females)

My advice is to re-focus your list. I am an alumni interviewer for an Ivy, have worked in admissions, and have a good sense of applicant potential I believe. You are underestimating yourself, you have WAY too many safeties. Also, your list is very scattered. As a person who transferred out of Columbia, I have a hard time believing the same person could like both Columbia and Notre Dame. My advice is to drop a couple safeties and add some more reaches (especially Brown and Dartmouth). Looking at your ECs, Brown and Dartmouth seem like perfect fits. They both have incredible social programs (I swear every third person at Dartmouth gets a 5K grant to help poor people), and an intellectual student body (as in aware, cooperative, and cool as opposed to super cutthroat). Dartmouth is diverse, but still loves low income URMs particularly so its very worth it to apply. Its like Colgate, but more diverse, more fun, and more prestigious. Brown is also a diverse school with an amazing social life. Its very similar to Vassar and its a great balance between a rural and urban school (it has a true and vibrant college campus but an amazing surrounding vicinity. Also, consider cutting Notre Dame, its very conformist and homogeneous for a top school and is by far the most conservtive. I might consider adding Northwestern instead.

Disclaimer: (I have attended both Columbia and Dartmouth, hung out at Vassar two weekends, Brown 5 weekends, Colgate one weekend, Chicago one weekend, and I lived at UCLA for a summer so I know the schools on your list very well.)

flopsy · January 28, 2006, 4:22pm

m8913s:

UCB/UCLA: Slight Reach
UCI/UCSB: Safe Match
UCSC/UCR: Safety

bobbobbob · January 28, 2006, 4:29pm

1st gen mexican? youre in almost everywhere.

slipper1234 · January 28, 2006, 4:38pm

Honestly, consider Stanford as well since you are in California.

m8913s · January 29, 2006, 5:19pm

thanks guys, i’ll look into other colleges, but I’m stil applying for the uc’s and cal states i usually qualify for fee waivers

One more Obsessive h.s Jr

CONNECT WITH US