Match a junior with unusual circumstances [US citizen homeschooled in a small town in Mexico]

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Demographics

  • US citizen
  • Mexican
  • Homeschooled in a small town in Mexico with limited educational and super limited extracurricular opportunities.
  • High schools in my town are low ranked

Intended Major(s) Art History, Anthropology, or English/Creative Writing

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • GPA: 3.9
  • Predicted SAT: 1510 (haven’t taken it yet)
  • Planning to take National Mythology Exam

Coursework
I don’t have any APs (the nearest test center is 3 hours away–yikes) but my coursework (the course descriptions reflect that) is very rigorous and I have some unique courses on my transcript. For example, I have a Greek Philosophy and Literature course where I read many works by Plato, Aristotle, and other greek philosophers. Other examples of unique courses I have are Daily Life in the Ancient World and Comparative Religions. I’m planning to take 2 online dual enrollment courses senior year. I am also working on a hands-on research project abt the issues in my town.

Awards
Finalist and first place in a lot of creative writing competitions

Extracurriculars
I wrote 2 speculative fiction novels (both 330+ pages) and I’m working really hard to finish my third by the time I apply. I’ve already received manuscript requests from literary agents. I also write short stories that have been published in a ton of selective and nonselective literary magazines. I’ve been writing novels since I started high school.
I am the editor-in-chief of a literary magazine for local students that accepts submissions in both English and Spanish. I am also the lead designer of the magazine and market it online on my own.
I own an online business where I create and sell courses to homeschooled students (local and all over the world) and teachers. One of the courses I created was a complete creative writing course complete with tests and assignments, and I’ve done a ton of research in order to know how to design a curriculum. I am currently working on a complete art history curriculum.
I’m a high-level editor at two literary magazines and a smaller editor at two other litmags.
I have a selective online creative writing mentorship where I receive professional advice on my writing.
I attended free workshops at my local writers conference (this year) and got a special invite from the conference’s director to attend an expensive paid workshop for free. I also might go to equestrian camp this year.
I attend a pottery workshop, equestrian lessons, and french lessons with a tutor.
I attend an informal dance workshop (2-3 hours per week) and work out (pilates, running, cardio) for an hour, 5 days a week.
I used to attend a book club at my local museum where we would have analytical discussions about mexican literature, and I used to attend an outdoor activity club for teens that include camping, traveling, and volunteering.
And finally, I am an active member of teen writing communities online. I’ve reviewed 20+ books on goodreads & storygraph and have collaborately written short stories with a bunch of people on Wattpad

Honestly, my lack of competitive in-person ECs is because of the lack of ECs here, especially ECs where the people are nice :sob: And COVID made it even worse

I am also hoping for scholarships.

Schools
(List of colleges by your initial chance estimate; designate if applying ED/EA/RD; if a scholarship is necessary for affordability, indicate that you are aiming for a scholarship and use the scholarship chance to estimate it into the appropriate group below)

  • Likely (would be possible, but very unlikely or surprising, for it not to admit or be affordable)
  • Match
  • Reach

Please suggest some schools! :))

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A very strong standardized test score in your position is, i believe, crucial in validating your homeschooled achievement. So take a practice ACT too, see which test is best for you, and do some serious self prep for it, trying for the best score possible. With a high SAT score, i think you have a shot even at tippytop schools, with your story, grades, ECs. Without that? Less so.

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@AustenNut usually finds good suggestion!

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Also, when you say you are hoping for scholarships, what does that mean? Are they nice to have, or absolutely crucial? Do you have a budget?

Agree with @parentologist about test scores.

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Also, do you live in the US now? If so, what state?

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They are “homeschooled in a small town in Mexico” although a US citizen.

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Agree that for a homeschooler, a standardized test score will help with offering suggestions.

Can your parents contribute anything to your college costs?

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For your reach selections, the colleges in this article would align with your interest in creative writing as well as for your academic interests in general:

As other suggestions in the same general selectivity range as that of the colleges in the site above, look into Williams, Vassar, Kenyon and Skidmore.

For a school of moderate selectivity, research Wheaton (MA).

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I would add University of Iowa - I am surprised it’s not on the list give it’s one of the most prestigious writing programs in the country.

If OP were younger, I’d have suggested Iowa Young Writer’s Workshop.

OP - ECs have to show passion and commitment. Depth is better than variety. I wouldn’t worry on that front.

Having said that, it’s A LOT of supposedly high level commitments. I’d be careful on how to present this. Make sure it’s verifiable and “quantify” your participation in these activities.

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We need to know more about your financial situation. How much can your family afford to pay, realistically, for four years?

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While a good list, and worth considering and specific to creative writing it is 9 years old. Here is USNW most current.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/writing-programs

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This…AND…does your family qualify for need-based aid? For instance, your family might want to run a Net Price Calculator (NPC) at Stanford or Princeton or similar, which are among the most generous universities in defining a families’ need. After completing the NPC, it will estimate the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). If that EFC number is affordable for your family, then we can consider meets-need schools. If it doesn’t (and for many families, the EFC is not affordable), then we know that we need to focus on merit aid to meet your family’s budget.

You’ve told us a lot of your extracurricular interests, but what are you interested in from your college experience? Do you have preferences concerning climate, states/regions of the U.S., size of the university, religious affiliations, whether a school is urban/suburban/town/rural, etc?

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I don’t believe that that U.S. News list pertains to creative writing in any capacity.

With respect to recently created lists for creative writing, this is one of several available:

However, I regard it as too broad to be especially useful.

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EDIT: I do qualify for need-based aid and I am also seeking merit scholarships. Some of the competitions I will apply to in senior year, like YoungArts, offer big scholarships in writing, so I have to work hard to make my writing really stand out. Also, I’ll be seeking merit scholarships directly from the schools I’ll be applying to in the fall (though I’m still unsure about which ones). I’ll also try applying to 100% needs-met schools even though I know it’s a crapshoot.
Because most of the schools that meet 100% of need are super selective and because I’m not sure if I’ll qualify for merit-based scholarships at other schools (and I haven’t even taken the SAT yet lol) , I have inexpensive decent options in my country that I’m looking at as safeties—which are the most viable options for me. Still, I wanted to know if I had a chance at selective schools in the US because many of them have strong programs in my intended major(s).

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I think you do, IF you have a stellar standardized test score. Without it, your homeschooled GPA means far less. Your story is very unusual, will attract interest.

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I hope that the ACT is available to take where you are located. Some students are more suited to the ACT than to the SAT. In our household, we really only knew about the SAT (Northeasterners x 3 generations - the ACT was not a thing in the Northeast). One of my kids, whose PSAT didn’t even qualify them for a commendation, tried the free practice ACT on the ACT website. They came away from it saying, “I think this is a better test for me.” Kid was getting top scores on the two ACT verbal sections, just based upon having read a lot, and having been raised in a household where people spoke grammatically correct English at a high academic level. The science section doesn’t require advanced knowledge of science, just the ability to interpret data presented in various ways, and so some easy prep by simply doing a few practice sections of science can lead to a perfect score in science. The math section is tough, but is not tricky - one just needs straight forward mastery of the math, and the ability to work rapidly and efficiently, since the test doesn’t allow enough time to work slowly. Kid did some serious self-prep for the ACT (no classes, just the Official Guide to the ACT book, and downloaded a few old tests that were legally in the public domain, had been legally released by the ACT), probably did a total of maybe 60 hours of self-prep. I don’t think that they would have had a similar outcome with the same approach for the SAT.

In your case, it’s really crucial that you have some concrete data points to support your application. You are planning on applying this fall, and yet you have never taken a standardized test yet. The classes that you did in Greek Philosophy and Ancient World and Comparative Religions sound very interesting, but there are no confirming standardized tests to measure what you learned (although I am sure you did learn a great deal). You won’t have any AP scores. You plan on taking some online dual enrollment classes next year, but that won’t affect your college applications.

You need to approach the SAT or ACT in the same way as professional school grads approach a brutally tough mandatory certification exam. First take a timed practice test, under circumstances identical to what you would face on the test day, for both the SAT and the ACT, and decide which one you’re going to focus on. Then do massive self-prep for the one you are planning to take. If your family has the means, maybe an online test tutor, too. If not, there are a few people on here who are professional test tutors who I am sure can give you some tips on how to approach the exam. Take a test in mid summer, after having prepped for it until your practice scores plateau. Then plan your applications based upon how you do on the test. You will still have a chance to take the test again in early Sept, if you don’t do as well as expected.

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If a women’s school would work for you, I think you would have a good shot at Hollins University in Roanoke VA. It’s well known for Creative Writing. I’m sure some scholarships would be available, but not sure how much. Check it out at Hollins.edu

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Agree with all this. If the SAT is the preferred test Kahn Academy offers an excellent test prep that’s free. You can even input paper tests (my son did this as he took most practice tests on paper as that is how he was being tested). Through analysis it determines where you are weakest and focuses on that. He didn’t prep for the ACT (took both once) but took after Kahn prep and got comparable scores (1560/35).

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Thanks for the additional info you’ve provided regarding finances. Can you shed any light on any of these questions?

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With respect to cost, this site can be especially convenient for estimating expenses at a variety of desirable colleges: