A Purple Koala's College Application Journey

Applying to College Admission Stories
1

To all who read this:

As a current high school junior in a Midwestern Catholic school with about 160 kids in my graduating class who spends WAY too much time reading CC posts, I’ve decided to start recording my college application story as it goes along. Here goes nothing.

Current Stats

Planned Major: Journalism, with Psychology and English as backups

ACT: 31, retaking in June aiming for 32+
SAT: not taking
SAT Subject Tests: taking Literature and US History in June
PSAT: 195, so no National Merit Anything
AP Tests: US History (5), taking Psych and Chem this year; next year, I’m planning on AP Stats, AP English Lit, and AP US Gov

Projected Senior Schedule: Honors Statistics, AP English Lit, AP US Gov, World Religions & Christian Lifestyles, Print Media 1 & 2, either Honors Physics or Honors Spanish 4, and a year of study hall

GPA: ~3.83 UW, 4.41 W
Class Rank: top 10%

ECs so far (if possible, NHS will be added to this in the spring):
Girl Scouts since 3rd grade (current Ambassador & treasurer of the Cadette/Senior/Ambassador board for my service unit)
3 years school bowling team, 2 varsity
3 years school pep band (clarinet)
2 years school service rep
2 years student council officer
30+ volunteer hours over the minimum
1 year tutoring at local Presbyterian church
1 year liturgical choir
1 year taekwondo

Income Bracket: $80-100K? Not totally sure
Possible Family Contribution: up to $30K/year; the less it ends up being, the better, especially as I’ll have a sibling in college at least 3/4 years I’ll be enrolled

Possible Hook: single-income family? That’s really stretching it, though.

Race: White
Gender: F

And finally, the list of where I’m looking at applying (mom capping apps sent in at 8, but is willing to go over if I get fee waivers):

Arizona State University: Rolling Admission
Indiana University, Bloomington: Rolling Admission
Loyola University Chicago: Rolling Admission
Miami University (OH): Early Action
Northwestern University: Regular Decision
Ohio University: Rolling Admission
University of Alabama: Rolling Admission
University of Dayton: Early Action
University of Maryland, College Park: Early Action
University of Missouri: Rolling Admission
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Early Action

I have visited Miami (OH) and Ohio University; over the summer, I’ll be headed to Northwestern, Loyola Chicago, UMD, UNC, IU, and Mizzou. It’s unlikely I’ll be able to visit the rest (or even all the ones I’ve listed) but if I get accepted, I’ll do my best to make Accepted Student Days.

Any and all pointers/advice would be helpful. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for updates! :slight_smile:

2

Northwestern and Chapel Hill are reaches. The others are matches or safeties.

3

Following :blush: will make my own soon too

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Following! Best of luck, fellow '16er :slight_smile:

5

I have you bookmarked! Good luck to you, my fellow junior! I haven’t decided yet whether or not to make mine, but I’ll keep you updated.

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Bookmarked you too. :slight_smile:

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Thanks guys! :slight_smile: @Woandering‌ @glasshours‌ @ellesea‌ @MYOS1634‌

And that’s what I thought my chances were at those two, @TomSrOfBoston‌

Also, CORRECTION #1: SAT Subject Tests listed in original post are actually scheduled for May, not June.

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Why are you taking honors statistics, with the AP test? Does your school not offer AP Stats?

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@jamesjunkers‌ AP Stats isn’t an option at my school, so honors with the AP exam was the best I could do.

10

As a Midwestern mom of a senior who’s still deciding on schools, but who’s also interested in journalism, I might suggest considering putting Marquette on your list. They have a great journalism school, and with your gpa, coursework and scores, you would most certainly qualify for merit scholarships as my son has. That might be a factor your parents will want you to consider. Anyway, best of luck in your process!

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@MinnMom2015‌ I completely forgot about Marquette - they seem to fit my size preference, it’s Catholic (a plus for my mom), and the merit aid would be a nice bonus. One of my friends has a sister there - will have to ask her about her experiences there. The only thing I’m not totally thrilled with is Wisconsin weather, but it’s not too big of a factor as of right now. Thanks for input and best of luck to your son!

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UPDATE #1: As of Valentine’s Day, I’ve been accepted into my school’s branch of NHS; the induction ceremony’s at the end of the month.

As of today, my courses for next year have been scheduled. Waiting to see if anything gets cancelled/switched around, but as of right now, I should be in:

AP Calc AB
AP English Literature
AP US Government
Honors Spanish 4
Lunch & Homeroom
Print Media 1
World Religions & Christian Lifestyles
Study Hall
Pep Band (after school, fall semester only)

And now, to update the thread I’ve been keeping about my brother…

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Hello @ThatPurpleKoala : how is it going? your thread needs an update :slight_smile:

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I am just wondering how certain you are that your parents can contribute 30,000 a year. I think you should have a nice talk with your parents if you haven’t already and confirm an actual parent contribution so you can factor that in. If they earn 80,000 they may not really have 30,000 a year to contribute unless lots of savings which may be there case. Your list looks great otherwise.

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@ThatPurpleKoala : any update?

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It seems that OP has been banned, what a shame.

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@LBad96 Do you know what for?

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@ambitionsquared no idea. I don’t recall having ever seen him post outside of this thread.