<p>Chances? What can I do to improve? Thanks so much in advance!!!</p>
<p>ACT: 35
PSAT: 199
AP English Lang: 3</p>
<p>AP Classes:
11: AP English Lang, AP Chemistry
12: AP English Lit, AP Calculus BC
(the only other ones offered are AP Stats and AP micro/macroeconomics)
Also, honors classes and 3 years of Spanish</p>
<p>GPA: 4.0 unweighted, 4.057 weighted
Class Rank: 1/500 unweighted and weighted</p>
<p>Volunteer
NHS Member
Youth leader of summer volunteer program at church (5 hours per week)
Peer tutor (grades 9-12, 15 hours per year)
Mission Trip for one week (grade 11)</p>
<p>Work Experience
Piano Teacher (self-employed, 2 years, 5 students, hoping to have atleast 8 for next year)
Performed music with one other high school musician for a wedding
Working on getting retail job currently</p>
<p>Extracurriculars
Jazz Band (9-12)
Marching Band (9-11)
Pep Band (10-12)
Pit Orchestra (12)
Travelling Soccer (9)
Recreational Soccer (10-11)
Piano Accompanist (10, 12)</p>
<p>Awards/Leadership
Math Student of the Year (11)
Superior Rating at Solo/Ensemble Contest (9, 10)
Flute Section Leader (10)</p>
<p>I'd say you're a pretty strong candidate for WashU (but not a shoe-in, mind you. Hardly anyone's a shoe-in). The 35 on the ACT is equal to a 1560 to 1590 on the old SAT - a very good score. That your GPA is 4.0 and you're # 1 in your class is also a very big plus. So, academically, you fit. You're ECs aren't great, but they are consistent and show a clear devotion to a number of things you enjoy and apparently do well. That you play more than one instrument (flute and piano) is also a plus. In short, all this is good stuff.</p>
<p>What can you do to improve? In terms of your grades, standarized test scores, and ECs, you do not need to improve much at all. Just keep doing what you're doing 'cause you're doing fine. Perhaps the only thing you might want to do in that regard is do better on any AP exams you take, and do a bang up job on any SAT2s you take.</p>
<p>What can you do to improve your chances on getting into WashU? As every one on this board has said numerous times: Show interest. Show lots of interest. Check out WashU's website (<a href="http://www.washu.edu/)%5B/url%5D">http://www.washu.edu/)</a>. Request information. Get on WashU's mailing and e-mailing lists. Visit the campus. Have an interview. Stay overnight on campus if you can. Visit the department in which you have an interest. If WashU has a presentation in your area or your school, go, and make sure you talk to the presenter and say how interested you are in WashU.</p>
<p>Finally, before you do your app, take a look at two books by Katherine Cohen: Getting In and Rock Hard Apps. Although they are written to help kids get into one of the Ivies (heck, every one knows that WashU is as good as any Ivy), both books offer a lot of good advice about how to present yourself in your app and the kinds of info you should emphasize, etc.</p>
<p>Oh, and I should add that I did a lot of the stuff I mentioned, and I was accepted at Wash U this spring.</p>
<p>Wow, thanks so much! </p>
<p>I'm going to visit Washington University on Saturday, so hopefully I'll get to talk to some people and show my interest then.</p>
<p>I'll be sure to check out those books too!</p>
<p>And, one question. I haven't taken any SAT IIs yet, and I'm not sure if I'm going to. How necessary are they? Also, if I should take them, which ones? I'm very good at math, so I could propably ace that one. But I'm not sure which other one or ones I should take. I did take AP Chemistry last year, but I don't think that I learned a lot. How hard is the subject test? I really enjoy biology, so maybe I could study for that one. Another option is Spanish, I have taken it for three years, however last year I had a horrible teacher and didn't learn anything.
So anyways, I guess I'm basically asking: Should I take some SAT 2s? and How difficult are they?</p>
<p>Well SAT II's are required for some schools (Ivy's) but not for Wash U. So take em, by all means, they can't hurt you. for example, those SAT II's were a painful experience for me and i did pretty badly but wash u ignores the fact that u did poorly and it doesnt even factor into their admissions decision. however, if you do well, it'll help you.</p>
<p>in terms of other stuff, showing interest is definitely important. that's why they accept so many kids early because they show interest and they know they want to go to the school. also, wash u doesn't just want people that are awesome in the classroom. if you visit the campus you'll see that wash u's a strange environment. people are motivated, intelligent, overachieving, but they also have a lot of fun and are highly social. there's definitely a community there. good luck on your college search =)</p>
<p>i heard spanish SAT II was heinously hard, but that's hearsay...I'd say take whatever subjects you feel most comfortable in, and hope for the best...even though I enjoy science, my high school was heinously bad at it, so my sat II's were Math II, US History, and World History, but i'm sure it helped me, since i aced two and nearly aced the third...so really, the specific tests don't matter for washU, since they don't require them.</p>
<p>as to your qualifications, I'd say you're doing pretty well, I got into washU despite not being a valedictorian, but I had great test scores, extracurriculars, and recommendations, so I'd say, providing you work hard on your essay(s) and have some good teacher recs lined up, you've done most of the work you possibly could do. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Take the SAT2s in subjects you are good in, and take them the same year you have a class in those subjects. Also, pick up an SAT2 practice book for any of the tests you intend to take and do a few practice tests. It helps.</p>
<p>By the way (and I hate to say this) if you plan to apply to other schools, check out their SAT and SAT2 requirements. Some schools require you take a specifice number of SAT2s and some actually require specific tests. Once you know what you need, plan accordingly.</p>