Are these schools realistic for me?

Parents Forum
1

<p>Hey everyone</p>

<p>I?m just beginning my college search </p>

<p>and these are the schools im Thinking of</p>

<p>Notre Dame, Boston College, Michigan, U of Southern California, Wake Forest, U of San Diego, </p>

<p>I was just wondering if you guys can give me a realistic prediction on what my chances will be next year. I also plan on applying early. Thanks</p>

<p>Grades
Unweighted GPA - 3.85 Weighted GPA 4.0 ( freshman year troubles)</p>

<p>Sophomore</p>

<p>Photo I ? A
Honors Algebra I ? A, A
Honors Chemistry/Physics- A, A
Spanish- A, B
Scripture- A, A
Honors English- A,A
Advanced PE Football- A
Advanced PE Baseball- A
Ceramics- A</p>

<p>Junior ( 2nd semester is based on my 3rd quarter grades)</p>

<p>Photo II- A
Honors Algebra II/Trig- A, A
AP Environmental Science- A, A
AP English III- A, A
Spanish III- A, A
Gospel in Action- A
Christian Ethics- A
Advanced PE Baseball- A
Sculpture- A</p>

<p>Senior Year Schedule</p>

<p>Advanced PE Football
Advanced PE Baseball
Senior Synthesis
World Religions
AP English IV
AP government
AP Economics
AP Psychology
AP Calculus AB
AP Chemistry</p>

<p>SAT- 1950 ( 1st time taking it) im sure ill improve
ACT- 29</p>

<p>E.C.?s</p>

<p>Im a 2 sport varsity athlete ( baseball and football)
I guess Ill just list some of the important ones
Frosh baseball
Frosh football
JV baseball
JV football
Club volleyball 14s-18s captain
Big Brother
Varisty Football
Varsity Baseball
Key Club
National Honors Society
Ive done a lot of animal care and protection stuff
Best Buddies Program
Little league volunteer</p>

<p>I think that?s it? thanks</p>

2

<p>I think your schools seem realistic at this point. Notre Dame and BC will both be reaches, probably, but it depends on what your future SAT scores end up being. I think a lot of it will depend on how tough your school is, which is hard to tell since you have all As. It may be that you are an excellent student, or your school may just grade easily. Some of this will come out on your school report. I noticed that junior year you have three religion classes and no history. In fact, you don't have any history or social studies classes at all. That strikes me as very strange. Are these courses offered at your school? Also, I see that you're dropping Spanish senior year. Though you have a number of APs listed for senior year, many schools really like to see that fourth year of a language. You have AP English listed for both junior and senior years. Do you take one test one year and one the next?</p>

3

<p>Sorry about the history classes</p>

<p>I have had to take them in the summer because I have to fit my sports in my schedule</p>

<p>I ve taken World History/ancient histroy, World History II ( 1815 to present), US history and have recieved As in all of them</p>

<p>as far as my high school goes</p>

<p>its an all boys private jesuit schools thats top 3 in our state</p>

4

<p>Jesuit school--BC will love that, as I'm sure you must know, and it will help you out with Notre Dame, too. Remember to get your history classes included on your school transcript, if they're not listed already. Try to form good relationships with your GC and a couple teachers. A lot of people request recs from their teachers at the end of the school year so that the teacher can write them during the summer. You sound like a good applicant for any of your schools. Good luck.</p>

5

<p>ND will love the Catholic school thing and the ECs, but your scores need to come up. You are approximately in the bottom decile right now. ND doesn't place too much weight on standardized test scores for anything but the honors program though, and if you get recruited your tests don't even really matter.</p>

6

<p>The only (tiny) problem with the Jesuit school thing is that there will most likely be a lot of kids from your school applying to ND and BC. (At least that's true for my sons' school.) But your stats look very good. Be sure to prepare for the SATs (take lots of practice tests and go over ALL your answers - right and wrong).</p>

7

<p>Courseload and GPA rock, but you may want to work on bring up those test scores. The ACT is a little easier since there's the guessing advantage adn most of your schools will just convert it to the SAT equivalent when evaulating your app, so you may want to stick w/ACT.</p>

<p>You also need to work some more on your EC's. Those schools want to see that you've assumed leadership positions, preferably several, or one or two really big ones (i.e. at the state or regional level).</p>

<p>But these are just my thoughts. It's what the AdCom thinks that matters.</p>

8

<p>I don't know how anyone manages the work for 6 AP courses in one year. Plus varsity sports? Be sure you talk to your GC about this. In my opinion, the Economics and Psychology could be subtracted, you'd still have a very strong schedule and maybe a life.</p>

9

<p>Plus, remember you'll need time to work on your apps!</p>

10

<p>The best person to give you an assessment of your chances is your high school guidance counselor. </p>

<p>They can tell you whether people with a similar admissions profile from your school have been admitted to the schools on your list in the past. It is important to talk to your guidance counselor about this because they have more insight into the relationships your high school may or may not have with these schools while we do not. Some Catholic high schools do have strong relationships with Notre Dame and BC; others do not, so don't assume that attending a Catholic high school (even a Jesuit one) is going to be enough to pull you into two very competitive schools. You should therefore discuss this with your guidance counselor, who will be better able to counsel you about your school's admissions ties than strangers on a discussion forum.</p>

<p>One factor to keep in mind with Notre Dame is that they give strong preference to legacy applicants, and unhooked applicants need to have stellar EC's, grades and test scores. Again, if your school has placed students with your admissions profile at ND in the past, that may give you a bit of an edge. </p>

<p>If you're good enough at one of your sports to be a recruited athlete (and assuming you want to play in college) that could also change your chances at these schools. Again, your guidance counselor and coaches would be much more reliable sources of information than us.</p>

<p>Since we don't have your full transcript, your teacher/school recommendations, essays, test score breakdowns, or even details about your extracurriculars before us like college admissions officers will, no one here can really say what your chances are with any confidence. Since you attend a top Catholic high school, it is highly likely that your guidance counselors will be able to give you an accurate assessment, and I would rely on them, not strangers.</p>

<p>But since you asked, I'd say that, based solely on the limited information you have provided, I'd say USD is the only school on your list that is a match. The others are all on the reachy side - realistic reaches, perhaps, but still reachy. I'd recommend adding a few more matches to your list. Suggestions: Santa Clara U, Holy Cross, Providence College, Loyola College in MD.</p>

<p>But, again, I have not seen your full application, do not know your school's profile and placement connections, etc. As with any "advice" from strangers, I could be 100% right, or 100% wrong. Do talk with your guidance counselor, and trust their input more than what you will receive here.</p>