Hi everyone! I’m pretty new to the college application process in general, and even newer to this site. Please bear with me; I know I’m probably doing something wrong. Also, sorry if this ends up being very wordy - it’s 3 am, I think I’m having a manic episode, I feel like everything about my high school experience needs explaining, and I’m usually just a very wordy person lol. Anyway…
I’m currently a junior and will be applying to colleges next fall. Right now I REALLY love Barnard, and I plan on applying there ED. Just because I feel like this is necessary background information, I struggled with pretty serious depression pre-high-school and well into my freshman year. It affected virtually every part of my life, so while I did get significantly better before my sophomore year, I made a lot of mistakes during my freshman year that still have repercussions (I guess I’ll give more relevant specifics later). I do plan on mentioning that somewhere on applications (if not in essays, in personal statements/additional information or in my counselor’s letter). Thanks in advance to anyone who takes time to help!
Gender: female
Ethnicity: white (ethnically jewish but I don’t know how much that really counts for)
School Type/Area: competitive public (among the top 10 schools in the state), suburbs of PA
My unweighted GPA is around 3.7, weighted is around 3.9. There is definitely an upward trend; my freshman WGPA was around a 3.5, sophomore was a 4.1, and first semester junior year I’ve calculated to be around a 4.2. By the end of junior year my overall WGPA should be over a 4.0. My school doesn’t rank.
SAT: 2110
CR: 710
W: 760
M: 640
I’m taking them for the 2nd time soon, aiming for above 2200? I haven’t taken any subject tests yet (sorry!) but I plan on taking USH and maybe math 2 or lit (??) this spring
Extracurriculars: (I know they’re pretty weak, if anyone has tips for improvement here I would love that)
-Figure skating: (very involved in middle school, depression forced me to stop during freshman year, currently in the process of starting again) tested up to pre-juvenile in freestyle and juvenile in moves in the field, participated in multiple showcases every year at my rink, competed a little but nothing significant
-Dance: (started the summer before my sophomore year) ballet at two different studios (currently level D [which is the highest level offered] at one and 3/3x [out of about 5 levels?] at the other), performed in showcases for each studio, participated in a summer intensive, currently taking classes about 6 hrs/week
-Yearbook: (11) active contributor, ~5 hrs/week
-Hospital volunteer: (11) patient transport worker, 3 hrs/week
-Local library volunteer: (10-present) book shelver, ~2 hrs/week
-School library volunteer: (10-present) circulation desk manager, irregular hours (but pretty infrequent)
-Art Center summer volunteer: (summer before 10th, planning on working there this coming summer as well) teacher’s assistant, 15 hrs
-Music for Memories treasurer and co-founder: (11) club to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s and to raise money for treatment for Alzheimer’s patients
-GSA: (10-present) member (hoping to become more active soon)
-FBLA: (11) member, currently awaiting results of a test so I guess we’ll see if I get to states?
-Service Board: (10-present) member
-I didn’t apply to NHS this year (which was a mistake but I have a horrible fear of failure lol) but I plan on applying during the fall of my senior year
-currently applying for summer internships in the psychology/psychiatry field
-hopefully I’ll get a paid summer job too?
9th grade classes (7 credits):
Honors 9th Grade English
Honors Government and Economics
Honors Geometry
Honors Biology
Spanish 2
Drawing
Art Studio 1
Gym
Health
10th grade classes (7.5 credits):
Honors 10th Grade English
Honors World Studies
Algebra 2 (I dropped down from honors math because I didn’t do so well freshman year. Again, depression. It was a mistake and this class was way too easy, so for junior year I’ve moved back up to honors and it’s definitely a better match)
Chemistry (I had to drop down for chemistry because I was dropping down for math. Another mistake; way too easy. However, I didn’t move up for physics for junior year because my school doesn’t offer honors physics, just AP, and I was too scared to jump 2 levels. Which turned out to be a mistake again, lol)
AP Psychology (5 on AP exam)
Spanish 3
Health
11th grade (current) classes (7.5 credits):
AP English Language and Composition
AP US History
AP Art History
Honors Pre-Calculus
Physics (way too easy, I’m pretty mad at myself for not learning from past mistakes and just taking AP)
Honors Introduction to Engineering Design
Spanish 4
Gym
Future 12th grade classes (probably ~6.5 credits):
AP English Literature and Composition
AP European History
AP US Government and Politics
AP Biology
AP Calc AB
Gym
and maybe sociology or another elective, or econ or stat ?
yeah that’s pretty much it lol, sorry that this is so long… I would really love it if someone could chance me for Barnard, and/or tell me how I can improve my chances of getting in there? thanks guys