a nervous wreck

Colleges and Universities A-Z Pomona College
1

<p>hi everyone...this is my first post in the pomona thread, but i have been lurking for a few months now. pomona has been my number one choice since december, and i was very close to doing ED II but didnt for financial aid reasons. i'm making myself sick worrying about getting into pomona...reading the threads on this board does NOT help! i decided to finally post my stats so that maybe I could make myself feel a little bit better? good luck to everyone who applied RD...and may all our suffering be over by next week.</p>

<p>HS: crappy, small, public HS in hudson valley, NY
GPA: 4.0
UW GPA: my school doesnt give out anything higher than a 4.0..but i'd imagine maybe a 4.1 or 4.2?
Ranked 2 of 144</p>

<p>best SAT scores
Math: 660
Verbal: 770
Writing: 800
together :2230</p>

<p>SAT2s:</p>

<p>Lit: 720
US History: 740
Bio molec- 650
math 1 - 640 (math is obviously not my strong point)</p>

<p>APs:
my school only started offering APs last year. I took the only one available, US history, and the only availabe this year, AP Lit
AP tests: Us History- 5</p>

<p>Current Schedule:
mix of honors, one AP, and college spanish. regents physics, but thats the highest level my school offers. my school offers college calc but i took precalc last year and calc over the summer at the local community college,. my school does not offer AP calc or calc BC, so i have no math class this year. i do take the most rigorous courseload available, which is not rigorous at all compared to most other schools.</p>

<p>ECs:
WELV Radio (10, 11, 12- Operations Co-Manager)
(i elaborated on this in my commonapp extracurric statement. basically, my school was granted a license to operate a low power FM radio station. a student who graduated ten years ago and went on to harvard, returned to run the station. i became very involved, and have two shows aweek, apart from doing other production and maintanence. the manager left this december and i have been running the entire FM station by myself with slight help from the tv production advisor. its very, very time consuming but i love it)</p>

<p>Class President (9, 10, 11, 12 )
Quizbowl (9, 10, 11, 12- Captain)
Key Club (9, 10, 11, 12, 11- Vice President 12- President)
Mock Trial (10, 11, 12- Captain)
Ellenville Echo School Newspaper (10, 11, 12- editor)
Science Olympiad (10, 11, 12- Vice President)
Student Council (10, 11- voting representative, 12)
TV Production Studio (9, 10, 11, 12)
Jazz Band (9, 10, 11, 12)
Chamber Singers (11, 12)
Womens’ Choir (9, 10, 11, 12)
Drama Club, various plays and musicals (9, 10, 11, 12)</p>

<p>Athletics:
Varsity Tennis (9, 10, 11, 12- Captain)<br>
Varsity Golf (9, 11, 12) </p>

<p>Awards:
HONORS AND AWARDS:
National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar Finalist
National Merit Scholar Commended Student
National Honor Society Inductee
HOBY Ambassador at NYE Conference
Varsity Tennis MVP 2006-2007 Season
Performing Arts Award- Outstanding Achievement in Theatre, 2006-2007
Area All-State Vocal Mixed Choir, 2007
Student of the Month, January 2006, February 2008
First place in regional Quizbowl tournament, April 2007</p>

<p>Community Service:
COMMUNITY SERVICE/VOLUNTEER:
Coordinator and volunteer, first through fourth annual Key Club health fairs (9-12)
Usher at Shadowland Theatre (summer 2006)
Village Beautification Day (9, 10)
Toys for Tots (9, 10)
Trick-or-Treat for Unicef (11,12)
Key Club Winter Food Drive organizer (12)
Filmed over 50 hours of board of Education meetings, played on public access (9, 10)
Student Council Think Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Walk (10, 12)
Winter Formal Organizer (10, 11, 12)
Key Club Film Festival Coordinator (10)
Usher at Shadowland Theatre (summer 2006)</p>

<p>plus work experience as a busgirl and box office assistand during the summers. btw, those things are all off my resume...so dont know if pomona looked at all of them.</p>

<p>:/</p>

<p>good luck to everyone</p>

2

<p>also..i'm half hispanic on my mother's side. dont know if i get URM status as for that, or if it would help me in any way.</p>

3

<p>I'd say you have a great chance to get in, as far as i can tell. Your EC's are definitely good, and your ranking/test scores are excellent as well. I doubt they're going to penalize you for not being able to take 13 AP classes. Also, being 1/2 hispanic definitely would be a positive thing; you are granted URM status (unofficially) as long as you are at least 1/4 of an ethnic background. Just also mark down your other races as well in all fairness</p>

4

<p>I am not in yet so I don't know whether I am qualified to judge, but
The SAT II scores seems a little low, but you have much better extracurric's than I do. I would say it depends on your two essays and maybe some extra submissions would boost your chances.</p>

5

<p>I got in and honestly... its tough to say with your stats. I mean your EC's are pretty decent and your grades/scores are up there (except for some of those SAT II's) but those aren't everything. Just because you do a lot doesn't mean you're not a robot. Do you have anything that shows a genuine display of chracter? How are your recs and essays? What do they highlight... any excitement or interesting personality present (not just the default "hard-working dedicated student" stuff)? You have all the stats to meet the bar, but what do you have that will get you above that bar?</p>

6

<p>well my commonapp main essay was a really quirky, personal piece that all my teachers really loved. i did the "what do you do for fun" supplement and talked about my experience at a sixties music festival called Hippiefest, and I think it really gave a better portrait of the kind of person i am. my recs (at least one of them) is stellar, but i'm not sure of the other because i wasn't allowed to read them before they were sent out. i know the other one was really good also, but just not sure of the teacher's writing abilities, and hope it wasn't too cookie-cutter.</p>

7

<p>Pomona has a radio station........
That could get her above the bar.</p>

8

<p>I think Pomona will be very interested in you - the school is full of self-starters, especially from non-high-powered schools (my D for example). And yes, URM status is a plus. I actually know your school - we played you in sports in UCAL when I attended years ago - and agree it's no powerhouse. But I think Bruce Poch and the folks in the admissions office love finding diamonds in the rough, and I bet you fit the ticket. Having said that, competition will still be tough. Be sure they know about your school's (lack of) AP exam options, and I agree Pomona's KSPC radio station may help.</p>

9

<p>beccaco- I hope Pomona sees what I see in your resume. You have been a very active participant and leader in a wide variety of ECs, yet most of the activities you've chosen seem like things you did out of your own interest and passion, not just to build a resume. You seem like a very interesting and well-rounded person.</p>

<p>I don't know if being Hispanic will help all that much at Pomona, however. It is in Southern California, after all. But I'd bet you don't need that tip. Good luck!</p>