UC's, Stanford and two Ivies

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>Hey, I’m currently a junior attending a fairly new school (almost 5 years with two graduating classes so far). I don’t know if that makes a difference. A bunch of people have gotten accepted to UC’s, a handful of people got in to Stanford, and one girl this year has gotten accepted early in to Yale.</p>

<p>As for me, I’m an “average” student. Not too low, but not spectacular either. I haven’t taken SATs or ACT yet, but I do have an idea of where I want to go and what I want to do. I’m just looking for some input on what I should do as far as what extra curriculars I should try to get involved in and what test scores I should be aiming for. Also, I’d like to become a dermatologist (I’m one of the many people who have the skin disease eczema) and I was wondering if anyone knows of a good major to apply to certain colleges so that I can eventually become a dermatalogist.</p>

<p>Freshmen Grades
English 9H A/A
French I A/A-
Geomerty B/ A
PE 9 A/A
Biology H A+/A
Band Symphonic A+/A+
Leadership A/A</p>

<p>Sophomore Grades
English 10H A/A-
French II A/A
Algebra II B+/A
Chemistry A-/A
World Civ H A/A
Advanced Symphonic Band A+/A
Leadership A/A-</p>

<p>Junior Grades (1st semester)
Leadership A-
Advanced Symphonic Band A
Honors Pre-Calculus B
Physics B
French III A
US History AP A-
English 11AP A- (one of only four A’s in two AP English classes) </p>

<p>SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
Advanced Symphonic Band (2003-present): Freshman MVP ('03-'04), Sophomore MVP ('04-'05), Bb Clarinet Section Leader ('03-present), Oboe Section Leader ('03-'05), Band Council Secretary ('03-'04), Band Council Sec/Treasurer ('04-'05)</p>

<p>Marching Band ('03-present): Upper Woodwind Section leader ('04-'05), marched Bb Clarinet ('03-present), marched C Flute (Fall '04), marched Eb Clarinet (spring '05)</p>

<p>Leadership (2003-present): Freshman Class President ('03-'04), Community Service Representative ('03-'04), Historian ('04-present)</p>

<p>Scholar Athlete ('03-present)
Little Shop of Horrors (Winter '04): musical production, chorus
Musical Revue (Winter '04, Winter '05): Soloist Singer
Academic Decathlon ('03-'04): Honors category, Alternate
Drumline (Fall/ Winter '03-'04, Spring '05)
Jazz Choir ('04-'05): 1st Alto
Varsity Girl’s Golf (Fall '03 – Fall '05): Golfed #1 spot on team ladder (Fall '05), MVP (Fall '05)
Badminton (Spring '06)</p>

<p>CLUBS
National Honor Society ('03-present)
Mustang Mentor ('03-'04): Peer leadership through PE classes
Key Club ('03-'04)
Computer Club ('03-'04): Vice President
Loud Crowd ('04-'05): Treasurer
Science Club ('05-'06): Public Relations Officer
French Club ('05-'06): Treasurer</p>

<p>COMMUNITY ACTIVITES
Solano Community College Steel Drum Band (Summer '02)
Solano Choral Society (Fall '03): 1st Alto singer
Solano Winds ('04-'05): Bb/ Eb Clarinet for community band
Solano County Honor Band (Winter '05, Winter '06): Bb Clarinet </p>

<p>Some other info (that may or may not help), is that I was born in Agana, Guam (still in the US, but a tad bit further than the mainland) and that I’ll be a Student Ambassador over the summer to Europe. Also, which of these activities would look best on the actual application (the above is my resume for a scholarship)?</p>

<p>The colleges that I’ll apply to… (in order of preference)

  1. Stanford University
  2. UC Berkeley
  3. UCLA
  4. UC Davis</p>

<p>and just for kicks…
5) University of Pennsylvania
6) Cornell University</p>

<p>Thanks for reading this!</p>

2

<p>I’m also in the top 5% of my class and I’ve had a little work expereince (sales associate over the past holiday season). Any help would be greatly appreciated!</p>

3

<p>sailorbunny:</p>

<p>What are your unweighted GPA, weighted GPA, UC GPA, or SAT I and SAT II scores?</p>

4

<p>Unweighted is roughly a 3.8 and weighted about a 3.9 (I don’t remember the 2 numbers that come after the “8” and “9”, but they would’ve made them round up to 3.9 and 4.0), as for UC GPA I’m not quite sure how to calculate it. All of my classes seem to be a-g, so should I just take ALL my 10th and 11th grade and calculate my GPA that way? If that’s how it works then it’s… It’s a 3.999 GPA, or a 4.0 rounded up.</p>

<p>I haven’t taken SAT I or II yet, but when I take them April/ May I will definately post them. Thanks for your help!</p>

5

<p>As far as goal test scores, oviously as high as you can get. I would say that over 2100 be a reasonable score for the schools you are talking about. Focus on keeping those grades up as well.</p>

<p>Try to stay involved with your extracurriculars, schools really like to see passion and depth. However, if you don’t like something, don’t stay in it - it’s really hard to fake passion for something.</p>

<p>As far as I know, the UC’s and Stanford recalculate GPA to include only academic classes (i.e. no PE, art, etc).</p>

<p>My gut reaction is that Stanford and the Ivies are going to be a fairly big reach for you. You described yourself as an average student, and these schools have more overqualified applicants than they can accept. When it does come time to apply, I might consider looking a little bit lower and/or including more safeties. You can still get a great education at less prestigious school, and if you are considering dermatology, where you do your post-grad work will probably count more than where you got your bachelors from. </p>

<p>For advice on picking schools, I would recommend using the College Search and Selection board; I think you might get more help there.</p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>

6

<p>Thanks ever_after! Your post makes total sense!</p>

7

<p>sailorbunny:</p>

<p>Assuming you are a California resident,
UCLA: Slight Reach</p>

8

<p>Anyone have any ideas on Stanford, Berkeley or Davis?</p>

9

<p>sailorbunny:</p>

<p>Assuming you are a California resident,
UCB/UCLA: Slight Reach
UCD: Safe Match</p>

10

<p>why would sailorbunny be a sliight reach for berkely and la? </p>

<p>gpa is right on par right?</p>

11

<p>The average fully weighted GPA at UCB and UCLA is ~4.25.
sailorbunny’s fully weighted GPA is ~4.00.</p>

12

<p>Thank you very much for your help. Hopefully I’ll get high SATs/ ACT score this spring. Thanks again!</p>

13

<p>How have you been in the national honor society since 2003, your freshman year I presume?</p>

14

<p>Yes, since freshmen year. They consider freshmen to be “guests” to the honor society since our membership was based on 8th grade’s grades and because some schools are 10th-12th, and not 9th-12th.</p>

15

<p>Go for the state schools. Get a good ACT, but it’s still a reach.</p>

16

<p>A reach for all schools listed?</p>

17

<p>I’ve also considered becoming a dermatologist and I’ll share what I’ve learned. Many, many med students want to be derms. You find out that it’s one of the highest paying medical specialties and everyone wants it. Acne is a small part of the business, botox shots and microdermabrasion brings in huge bucks with no insurance company involves. So the best and brightest med students get those residencies. Doing well at a good med school is your key, so go to the best possible college for top med school admissions.</p>