Would you mind helping me find a good college?

College Search & Lists
1

<p>Okay, well I am a 17 year old male, Mexican/American (Living in Mexico), and am currently looking for a good school to go to after next year.
The school I go to is the American School of Puerto Vallarta, so don’t worry about my education being invalid in the U.S.</p>

<p>My current G.P.A. is about 3.6 (sometimes higher, sometimes lower. This has been a weird year for me.) and I am taking A.P. U.S. History and plan on taking A.P. English Literature as well as another third A.P. class (either Anatomy or Economics.) and perhaps A.P. Calculus, Art and Spanish.</p>

<p>I just took the SAT IIs for U.S. History and Spanish. Spanish was a piece of cake and I expect an easy 800. U.S. History however was much harder, but I still think I might end up with a 500+.</p>

<p>As far as extra-curricular things go I only have a few 36+ hours or so of community service under my belt, but my main thing is art.
If you want to see some of my work here:
[DragonicDarkness’s</a> deviantART Gallery](<a href=“DragonicDarkness - Professional, Digital Artist | DeviantArt”>DragonicDarkness - Professional, Digital Artist | DeviantArt)</p>

<p>I plan on someday becoming a Plastic Surgeon, but I would like a minor in art as I wish to have graphic design as a side thing. =/
(One feeds the pocket, the other the soul dont’cha know).</p>

<p>Now that that’s over, let me get on to my point…
The colleges that I have planned on applying to are:
Boston University
Boston College
Tufts University
Amherst College
Harvard College
NYU
and maybe Williams.</p>

<p>Now, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, most of these are hard to get into (as most don’t have early action, and I’m pretty much just submitting to Harvard with hopes that I’ll hit that one in a million shot), but I really like them and they meet what I want to do with my life in stride.
Especially Amherst and Harvard, since those two pretty much pay for you to go to school and I get the feeling I’ll be working my way through college.</p>

<p>Are there any other schools that I should really consider going to? Especially ones that, though excellent, are easier to get into? I really want to get out of Mexico as I’ve had it with this place. East coast is preferred (as I have some family in New York), but I have nothing against the West coast.</p>

<p>Thankyou! =]</p>

2

<p>U Texas Austin
Rice
Stanford
Cornell</p>

3

<p>U. Rochester and Michigan are both good schools and not too hard to get into (atleast compared to their peers).</p>

4

<p>I’ve always wondered how many Harvard apps are those “why-the-hell-not” apps…no fair!</p>

5

<p>Well, it’s kinda always been a dream of mine to go to Harvard… So it doesn’t really hurt to try right? =]</p>

6

<p>Why is it your dream college? Just because “it’s Harvard”? Probably.</p>

7

<p>Yes. Ever since I was a child my parents engraved it in me “Go to Harvard and you’ll be great.”</p>

<p>I see now that that’s not necessarily true, but still…</p>

8

<p>As long as you can get an application fee waiver. Otherwise that’s a waste of a perfectly good $70.</p>

9

<p>It’s impossible to recommend schools without a SAT or ACT score. I would have to agree with ilovebagels, that even for a URM, a 3.6 gpa and 500+ SAT II is likely not going to come close at H (unless you have overcome large obstacles to do so). I would recommend taking other SAT II’s as well, taking the language test for a native speaker is not particularly impressive.</p>

<p>I know this sounds harsh, but you still have time to put together a reasonable list, not a wish list. What some people don’t understand is that first one needs to be in the ballpark for schools like H, at which point you then hope for the luck of the draw (ie. that you’re what they’re looking for that year). But to apply without the most basic qualifications is not going to cut it.</p>

10

<p>Hmmm… So, what would you suggest I do?
I’ve been hoping to pep up my resum</p>

11

<p>When looking at schools at the level of H, academics come first unless your ECs are at a very high level (recruited athlete, national recognition, etc.) or you show that you have overcome significant obstacles (low income, come from a school that sends few kids to 4-yr colleges, etc.). I suggest you look at the 2008 results threads for some of the schools you’ve listed to get an idea of the level of kids that are accepted and rejected. </p>

<p>There’s not much you can “do” now to change your resume, but what you can do is develop a realistic, well thought out list of safety, match and reach schools so that next spring you will have several acceptances to choose from.</p>

<p>And don’t forget paying for school, you should be talking with your parents to find out how much they are able/willing to pay and have them work through some FA estimators to get an idea of how much their EFC will be, for both the Federal and Institutional methods.</p>

12

<p>I am all for reaching for your dreams. But unless you can get an application fee waiver, then it’s really not worth it.</p>

<p>Your eligibility for getting a waiver might be a good indicator of whether Harvard would consider you “disadvantaged” enough. You’re in an American school which doesn’t strike me as the “grinding-curse-you-NAFTA-poverty” kind of life.</p>

<p>PS I actually <3 NAFTA</p>

13

<p>You need to read this thread and the related article:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/498251-another-applicant-rejected-all-ivies.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/498251-another-applicant-rejected-all-ivies.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You need a reality check. As you can see with the kid in Texas, nothing is a sure thing. You need to bump off a couple of those status symbol schools and add in some more variety – geographic, public, large/medium/small, matches, safeties, etc.</p>

<p>If you feel you have to apply to Harvard, go ahead. But, you do understand that millions of students have graduated from other schools and gone on to successful, fulfilling lives. Try to get out of the mindset that if you go to Harvard (or one of the other status symbol schools) you are guaranteed success and riches and a BMW. </p>

<p>When you do have a reasonable list, make sure that all of the schools on your list know you are interested – visit, call, return the interest cards. My cousin’s daughter had very lofty stats, applied to 13 schools – accepted at 11 including Notre Dame, Duke, Johns Hopkins, U Maryland, Villanova, Virginia Tech, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia and I can’t remember the rest and turned down at Bucknell and Princeton, the only two she didn’t visit. She chose Villanova with a partial or full ride. </p>

<p>Good luck with whatever you do and wherever you end up.</p>

<p>–K9Leader</p>

14

<p>You know, if you go to U Mass Amherst, you can take some classes at Amherst.</p>

<p>You need some safety schools.</p>

<p>Since you like NYU and have relatives in NYC, consider that:</p>

<p>In NYC, Fordham is very nice and not too difficult to get into.</p>

<p>Near NYC, Drew is a nice college and not difficult to get into.</p>

<p>If you would consider Chicago, Depaul is very nice and not difficult to get into. The largest Catholic college in the U.S. and has made the list of “happiest students” in the past.</p>