<p>I wasn't really too keen on making one of these threads, but I'm looking for solid opinions on my college admissions chances. This is my first post on CC and I'm sure the forum is filled with these types of posts. But please, be brutally honest. Tell me the best school I could possibly get into. If more information is needed, let me know (and thanks in advance).</p>
<p>I'm going into my senior year; in other words, my graduation year is 2012.</p>
<p>GPA: 3.3-3.4 (unweighted)
I screwed up my GPA pretty bad this past year. Used to be in the 3.6-3.7 range and I don't think the first marking period of my senior year will positively affect this too much.</p>
<p>ECs:
- Debate club (3 years)
- DECA (2 years)
- Key Club (1 year)
- Class council (3 years, Vice-President of 2012 class for 2 years)
- Student council (2 years)
- Soccer, junior varsity (3 years)</p>
<ul>
<li>Approx. 175+ volunteer hours (almost exclusively at the same hospital)
<p>AP scores:
- AP English & Composition: 5
- AP World History: 5
(I plan on taking two more AP classes next year.)</p>
<p>My dream schools were Fordham and NYU. The latter is looking especially unlikely. As you can tell, I'm inclined to apply to some larger schools, preferably in an urban or suburban setting. The only exception to that would probably be a little liberal arts school. And while I'm on the topic of "liberal", I'd prefer a more left-leaning school.</p>
<p>Okay sorry for all the particulars, this isn't the SuperMatch thing, I know.</p>
<p>Aren’t most schools that are worth mentioning left-leaning anyway? Basically any school in an urban setting is guaranteed to be left of center, I think.</p>
<p>How reassuring it is to know the only way to get attention on this site is to make an addition mistake. Trust me though, I’m not surprised at that.</p>
<p>
Oh, the horror!</p>
<p>
Well, Mr. Laurence “Albert” Nguyen, I could’ve told you that without screwing up. Thank you for totally addressing the topic of my original post, though. You’re the man, Nguyen. You’re the man.</p>
<p>
Probably. Most likely. I bet so. Yeah. Does pointing that out answer the questions posed in my post? No, it doesn’t.</p>
<p>Will there be any more pretentious remarks to imply that I’m a complete idiot?
Will I get a real reply to my post?
Am I a complete, ahem, ■■■■■■ when it comes to math?
These are the questions that haunt me.</p>
<p>(But really, my SAT score was 2010. I meant to write 780 instead of 790 for the critical reading section. Murder me.)</p>
I…I…I…I…I mean 680. I hate myself. Please, almighty Laurence Nguyen, please do not display your superior intellect to me again, a foolish pleb like me cannot handle it.</p>
<p>Anyway, I think you have an okay chance at Fordham. CollegeBoard says that they place a lot of emphasis on standardized test scores, which you have. Unfortunately, they also place a significant emphasis on your GPA. Your particular GPA is considered rather low compared to most of their students. Also, they want a particularly rigorous schedule. The AP’s that you have under your belt so far seem to be sufficient. However, if you can take a third or even fourth AP your senior year, I’d suggest you do it.</p>
<p>Your EC’s are great, so that’ll give you a significant advantage over other applicants with similar number stats to yours.</p>
<p>And I’m not going to bother trying to figure out what the ‘best’ school you can get into is. For one, I don’t know what you want to study. And second, I’m too lazy to search numerous schools for you when you could be doing that yourself. Not to mention the fact that you can never take someone’s analysis as fact when it comes to college admissions.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. I think I’m coming out of a school year where I did worse than ever before and I kind of want a definite idea of where I stand. That’s where the whole “best school” question comes from. I am certainly searching, almost frantically, for prospective schools, so it’s not like I’m trying to get people to do the “dirty work” for me. Just wanted to hear some people who have knowledge of the admissions process or are getting ready to apply soon to weigh in on my chances.</p>
<p>I would like to eventually go to law school. Right now I’m looking at schools with good prelaw programs (although some say the whole “prelaw” thing isn’t important), a focus on liberal arts/humanities, or the option to major in English language or literature. Those three things don’t have to be mutually exclusive and I know many colleges have all of those options available. Even still, narrowing it down to only colleges with those traits won’t eliminate too many. They’re very broad and popular fields of study, and for that reason, I’m a bit lost.</p>
I was stupid with my class choices and how much effort I put into my work. That’s really all I can say for the first few things you mentioned.</p>
<p>As far as the Presidential Volunteer Service Award goes, I’ll definitely have to look into that. Hopefully it’s not too late. For outstanding EC’s, I’m really not sure. Does releasing a chapbook or maintaining a personal website even qualify? You’ll probably laugh at this, but I’m relatively active in a certain literature and poetry scene/niche. Honestly, that’s all that comes to mind. My recommendations should both be very good, unless I do something so outrageously offensive to the teachers who are writing them that they refuse to glorify my love for academics.</p>
<p>Sorry, that last sentence was a bit of that “quasi-smartass bull.” I figured that the ordinary user on here is so tired of seeing “CHANCE ME!!!” threads that maybe a little self-aware title would garner some attention. I tend to write a little bit more than I need to. Like right now.</p>
<p>Do you have a class rank? That could help put your UW GPA into context if you go to a tough school. 3.3/3.4 and a 2010 aren’t proportional.</p>
<p>I think NYU is probably a a reach if you can pay, high reach if you need Financial Aid. Not sure about Fordham, but from what I know if it you’re definitely in the ballpark. </p>