Advice?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi! I've been checking out College Confidential for a while now, but just made an account! yay!</p>

<p>Anyway, I have an upcoming talk with my counselor about the next years in school and college and they said to come prepared with talking points. (I'm a sophomore in High School)</p>

<p>Anyway, I feel like I need some direction before I head into the talk. </p>

<p>My unweighted GPA from freshman year is 3.4 and weighted is 3.8 (not great, I know, rough year, family matters, got my first "Bs") </p>

<p>I'm in the honors program at my school which requires me to take three honors classes a year and at least 5 APs before I graduate (doesn't sound like much, we have weird block scheduling that is hard to make fit, and my school doesn't offer that many APs in the first place) As of right now I think I'm taking 6 APs before I graduate though. </p>

<p>I haven't take the SAT yet, but I took the ACT in seventh and eighth grade through the Duke TIP program and received at 23 (haha, I know, give me break. I hadn't even learned algebra yet) So maybe that'll help you estimate where I might be as a senior as far as standardized testing is concerned? My highest score on the ACT was Reading and Comprehension with a 32, I believe, but I could be wrong. I haven't looked at the scores in almost 3 years.</p>

<p>I'm interested in majoring in International Affairs, probably along the lines of International Policy or International Intercultural Communications for specialization, as IA is a broad field.</p>

<p>I'm kind of weak on ECs, but I will work on that this year. Last year I participated in debate, student council and Spanish Club.</p>

<p>As a part of the honors program I am involved in, I will be completing a "Senior Project/Thesis" that I will officially begin as a Junior and finish Senior year. I have a few ideas as to what I will do for this which include write a book, start a charity, or something along those lines. If those sound ambitious, they really aren't compared to some other I've seen done and the whole point of the project is to be ambitious. (Off topic: If you have any ideas for my senior project that you think I might execute well based on previously stated facts, feel free to share them)</p>

<p>I'm not a URM, but I live in single parent ("deadbeat divorce daddy" doesn't pay child support) with a parent who makes under 42k a year (sometimes working three jobs at a time) to support my sister and I. Most of our money gets tunneled towards paying for one of most respected private schools in our area. So, while I have a college fund that was started for me by my grandfather, financial aid will most likely be necessary to pay for college.</p>

<p>(Will the above look good to colleges? Like, will they see the sacrifices we've made in the name of education? I've thought about writing one of my college essays (haha, this site made me start thinking about those) on the fact that I could go to a sub-par school and have more nice , , ect., but instead my mom and I work to pay for (mom) and receive scholarships (me) to go to a nicer school?)</p>

<p>Anyway, my question is where do you think I'm headed college wise, what schools would you recommend I look into? I know my freshman year stats aren't fantastic at all, but they returned to normal the second semester of last year and I hope to keep them up at where they normally are. </p>

<p>I'm very interested in John Hopkins, but I'm in check with reality and I know I'll need to kick it up the next three years to make that a reality. Do you think it's do-able? To reiterate, what other schools would you suggest?</p>

<p>Sorry this was so long!</p>

2

<p>You’re very early to be considering specific colleges. The best thing you can do is stick with your studies, prep for the PSAT in Junior year and SAT to potentially make National Merit Finalist, and become involved in something you love at school.</p>

3

<p>It’s a little too early to say, but maybe look into American (great FA) and GWU. They both have great international relations programs. I would have said Georgetown, but with your freshman year grades I think that it’s sort of a gamble. Come back in a year and a half.</p>

4

<p>Since you’re supposed to talk to your GC…</p>

<p>What state are you in? Hopefully, you’re in a state that provides some state aid since it sounds like your income/EFC will be very low.</p>

<p>Since you have a non-custodial parent that won’t contribute (and probably won’t do the paperwork), you may need to avoid schools that require NCP info. That can be an issue since most of those schools give the best aid.</p>

<p>Once you get a list together, if some of the schools require NCP info, try to get a NCP waiver ASAP. If the school won’t give one, then you know that school won’t work for you. I don’t know if you can determine this info before applying to the school. Maybe someone here knows.</p>

<p>Since any schools mentioned to your GC will not be “set in stone,” you can be rather broad in your list. Include your state flagship, a local state school, and a couple of privates.</p>

<p>Until you have ACT and SAT scores (beyond TIP), it’s hard to know what to recommend.</p>

<p>I don’t think Johns Hopkins meets need, but I could be wrong…and it may be a school that will require NCP info.</p>

<p>The NCP info req’t is likely going to be a big deal for you. A deadbeat dad isn’t likely going to cooperate with forms or anything else…at least not for all 4 years.</p>