<p>...and advice on what I should do about scores?</p>
<p>HEEERE WE GO:</p>
<p>General stuff about me the person:
- Currently a junior-going-on-senior (rising senior??)
- Applying ED to JHU
- Will major in CREATIVE WRITING ("writing seminars" as they call it at hopkins)
- White (ethnically jewish)
- Girl
- from NJ (hooray...)
- Public HS: pretty good, sending between 5-15 kids to Ivies per year, and most people go to fairly good or okay state/small private universities
- No legacy
-would need some financial aid (not tooo much but yeah)</p>
<p>General stuff about me the number:
-PSAT junior year: 78 CR, 62 M, 80 W ((220 total)) (might be National Merit Commended)
-SAT 1, March 2013: 800 CR, 610 M, 730 W ((2140 total))
-SAT 1, June 2013: 800 CR, 620 M, 700 W ((2120 total)) (more on these scores later...having issues)
-SAT 2, May 2013: 780 Literature, 790 US History
- ACT: should know in 4 days but I'm almost certain it was....a complete derp.
- by the end of HS my AP classes will have been:
AP US History
AP English 3
AP English 4
AP European History
AP Italian
AP Biology
AP Statistics
(I will add my scores for the ones I took this year when I get them back in July.)
- Junior Year Grades:
AP Eng3: A
AP US: A
AP Bio: B+
Italian: A+ (AP is not offered until senior year)
Calculus: B+
- Soph Year Grades:
A/A+ in Honors English, Italian, AP US (my school breaks the course into 2 years)
B in Chem honors
C+ in Math analysis Honors (more on this below)
-Frosh Year Grades: similar, nothing below B+.
- My school does not do class rank. I'm in the top 15% at least, maybe top 10%.
- My school just introduced weighted GPAs, so my GPA is weird to calculate right now. It is probably about 3.8 unweighted, 4.2 weighted (but this is sort of an uneducated guess).</p>
<p>Extra-Curriculars and similar thingies:
- National Honor Society
- National Italian Honor Society
- Piano lessons/playing: 12 years
- about 50 hours volunteering at town's public library
- tutoring 5th grader in English (about 8 sessions so far)
- paid reporter for local online newspaper (freelance)
- local TV news anchor for same news source
- will be starting a "local journalism" club in my HS next year, which will be associated with this local newspaper through my representation
- various summer stints as an office assistant/secretary, cashier, babysitter
- town-travel soccer: 5 years (aged out of league, and i suck so badly no other team would take me...tried to start my own league but no one wanted to play with me...i love it though)
- In-school clubs (besides honor societies)
Italian Club
Art Club
Drama Club: (3 musicals, 2 plays--these are large undertakings jsyk)
- various community theater productions outside of school
- Biology Team participant in Merck State Science Day (science test contest thing in NJ)
- WRITING A NOVEL!!!
- this one is the big one. This is what I want to do with my life. I took my book to the NYC writers' digest conference and pitchslam, where six literary agents were interested in possibly representing my work. One in particular asked for further work, a step towards representation and eventual publishing, and has agreed to accept and go over my manuscript when I complete it.</p>
<pre><code>It would have been finished long ago if not for all these tests and junior year commitments. I sometimes think I don't do as well as I could on this other stuff because I often feel the time and stress i spend studying for SATs AGAINNN (for example) detracts from my writing time and quality...I sometimes wonder if I should have tried harder for publication (and the "hook" that would come with the book!), and let my schoolwork just be what it is, but I chose the path of hard studying and sometimes I sigh about it. Should I have regrets?
</code></pre>
<p>Other:
- Teacher recs should be good
- Extra rec from the owner and editor of the local newspaper I do a lot of work for. Should be great.
- My essays will be an asset.</p>
<p>Things that worry me:
- I am not president or an officer of any of the 5 school groups I am a part of. I have not won any major awards. This is not for lack of trying--I ran for every club office I could, and applied for awards--it's just that honestly, I'm not well known or liked at school, and so I don't get elected or nominated for things like this. How much of an issue is this lack of "leadership positions" and awards?</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Math. SAT math I study a great deal, but it never seems to improve. Same goes for math in school. As for my C+ in sophomore year...my teacher had a terrible life event and nervous breakdown right after it was too late for me to switch out of the class. Everyone else managed to teach themselves what he couldn't, but I got very lost (i was only barely qualified for the class anyways). (I don't blame him for my failure, but he often had to miss class and often went off topic...and because of his particular situation it would have been cruel to get him fired.) I got a tutor, but the damage was done. As a consequence, I could only get into "regular" calculus for my junior year. I bombed the calc final and ended up with a surprise B+ that had been an A all year. JHU has very high math averages, due to the high volume of science-geared kids. Does this hurt my chances significantly?</p></li>
<li><p>The fact that my SAT scores went down, not up. I am shocked about writing, in particular. I never do that badly on practice tests. My essays were a 9 and 8, respectively, which mortifies me (as a writer). It's very frustrating because I don't try at all on Critical Reading--done in half the time and I never check it over, and I get an 800 both times--but actually studying for Writing and Math produces negligible or negative results. Help?</p></li>
<li><p>What do I do about score choice? I don't want to send in this June SAT, not with the 700 writing on it. But JHU doesn't like score choice. They really prefer all the scores, or so I keep reading on here and on JHU forums/site. I'm taking the SAT again in October. If those are good, should I send all the scores to show improvement? Or not? And what do I do if the October scores aren't any better!?</p></li>
<li><p>Does this score choice issue apply to the ACT as well? I know it didn't go well and I never want anyone to see it. Is this possible and advisable?</p></li>
<li><p>So, if you haven't fallen asleep yet, and you're thinking "this crazy chick has no shot at JHU, or itd be a long shot at best", do you think I have a chance at Vassar (regular decision), or Emerson College Honors Program (reg as well)? and......Brown?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>I will give you a shoutout on the local TV show i anchor if you answer!!! (funnn prize i promise). And anything else you guys want--tips on Critical Reading stuff, chances back...anything you need.</p>
<p>If you got through this mammoth of a post and actually replied I'll love you forever! :P</p>