Hey, I’m a hookless upper-middle class white girl at a large suburban school in VA. I’ve included some of the things I’ll be doing in the upcoming year, but I’ve avoided trying to predict any further for the sake of accuracy.
Stats: ACT: 32 (retaking), GPA: 3.9 UW, 4.1 W
APs (so far): AP Human Geo (5), AP Latin(?), AP Gov (?), AP Chem (didn’t take)
APs (jr year): AP Lang, APUSH, AP Calc AB, AP Music Theory, AP Physics, maybe AP Econ
ECs:
Debate (since freshman year, teach at local summer program, won superregionals this year (rip states 2020))
Speech (since freshman year, captain, won regionals and superregionals this year, teach at local summer program)
Orchestra (highest school group since freshman year, volunteer in local elementary school classes)
Rowing (since freshman year, idek if i’m going to put it on my app lowkey)
Internship (i’m working at a local law firm for a few months next year)
Girls Who Code (summer program this year with policy research company)
Volunteer Work (might not happen bc of COVID-19, but I’m planning on working w an organization that facilitates community-based education in local jails)
Co-founded and Co-lead civic engagement club (my friend and I are planning this, doesn’t actually exist yet)
Other:
Legal Track (something my school district does that lets us take intro-level law courses
I know for a fact one of my rec letters is going to be really good, the other probably mediocre, and my guidance counselor doesnt really know anything abt me to write abt
I’m not sure what I’m going to write about in my essays (let me know if you have any ideas based on my app) but I’m a strong writer
Cost isn’t a massive issue for me, but I am concious of it
the volunteer work in prisons is interesting and could be worth mentioning in an essay (perhaps how hearing of jail inspired you to look at life in a different way). Rowing is something worth putting on your application perhaps at the very bottom just to show interest (or could be something worth talking about in an essay)
You have just finished your second year of HS and you “know” that one of your LoRs is going to be “mediocre” and you are just accepting that?! Even if you know who all your teachers are and will be, there is time to do better than “mediocre”- and a GC who doesn’t know you. Be aware that when you actually ask for LoRs (which you do by saying 'would you be able to write me a strong LoR for college?" and be prepared to say ‘thanks anyway’ if there is any hesitiation) you will have a ‘cheat sheet’ ready for them* (and one for your GC as well). The cheat sheet will - in short bullet points! - note where you are applying, what you are intending to study, why you see yourself as a good fit for that school/program, and specific examples of highlights of what they know / should know about you (“I particularly enjoyed the unit on X and really appreciated your positive comments about X and Y on my paper Z” “one of the few students to be in top-level orchestra from grade 9, and shown leadership in X way” etc). You write the cheat sheet as part of putting your overall application together- looking at all the info you want the college to have about you and figuring out how to get it into your app, including which things the adults in your life can say better (or with more authority/credibility) than you can.
And that’s especially important for you, b/c:
ooph. As you know that is an OR group, which makes differentiating yourself hard- and gets no sympathy for it!
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I’m not sure what I’m going to write about in my essays
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Nor should you. That is more than a year away. If you don’t grow, evolve, change a lot over the next 14-18 months something is really wrong!
Please don’t. Right this minute there many, many ways for you to get involved in “civic engagement” through organizations that already exist, where you can have more actual impact. There are better ways to show leadership than founding a club and making yourself the leader of it.
*this is true for your whole life- when asking for an LoR for a job or grad school, etc- you make it easy for the person to do it, and you give them data to make sure they remember what you want to emphasize! and you always, always say ‘thank you’ at the time- and let them know the outcome.
@collegemom3717 Thank you so much for your advice, it really was helpful. I shouldn’t have defaulted to expecting a mediocre LoR, but I didn’t understand how to go about trying to get a better one. As for the club thing, that was definitely an example of my friend and I getting caught up in the “if we dont start a club we’re not getting into college” craze. I really just don’t know what I can do to “spike” my application based on what I have now.
Based on your academic interests, consider researching appropriate schools from this analysis: https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.uslacecon.html. Your achievements already place you at the match level for some of the more highly ranked colleges. If you have an interest in reaches, you will find those as well.
@emistired, are you familiar with PPE programs? Politics, Philosophy and Economics Oxford is the famous one- and famously hard to get into- but there are plenty in the US, including Claremont McKenna & Pomona, UMi, UNC-CH, ND, UPa, URichmond (actually PPEL- w/ law), UVa (PPL- law, not econ), and Wesleyan.
If you have the budget to study in the UK or Ireland, you have more choices: in Ireland I’d suggest TCD, in England Durham or Exeter (3 year programs, btw), in Scotland Edinburgh.
It is the simplest thing to say, and the hardest to trust: keep choosing to do the thing that is truest to you, and you will lead yourself to a path that works for you. People often say ‘you have to run your own race’- which is true, but you find you own path one small step, one small choice at a time, moving forward in the unknown. You don’t have to have a pat answer now- and you might not for a long time to come. But if you are doing things that are where your heart is, you can enjoy the journey even before you can see the destination.
@collegemom3717, Oxford PPE would definitely be the dream. I didn’t realize that there were so many other programs like it stateside. Thank you so much for all your help!
PPE at Oxford is going to expect Calc BC (can be senior year) and a really strong TSA score (Thinking Skills Assessment)- you can find sample tests online to see how it suits you.
@merc81 Thank you so much! The list for Econ departments at LACs is especially helpful because I do like LACs, I just havent heard as much about their Econ departments.
Oxford is the famous one- and famously hard to get into- but there are plenty in the US, including Claremont McKenna & Pomona, UMi, UNC-CH, ND, UPa, URichmond (actually PPEL- w/ law), UVa (PPL- law, not econ), and Wesleyan.