Baffled...

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Help this poor, confused child...</p>

<p>I am currently a junior who is completely baffled as to what level of selectivity in a college matches up to my grades. My family members are no help to me because they're immigrants and the few relatives I have that were born here are younger than me. Most of my friends don't get very good grades so I don't value their opinions at all on this matter. My guidance counselor is a lunatic (no exxagerations), so I'm going to ignore her, too. </p>

<p>Because of all this, what I'd like most is for you guys to give me some pointers as to what schools I would have a good chance of getting into. (preferrably Northeastern ones) The only college that really appeals to me now is Swarthmore, though as I said I don't know much about my chances.</p>

<p>And here's everything:</p>

<p><em>**SATs: 2050
-CR: 750
-W: 700
-M: 600
*I'm taking them again soon. I'm hoping to bring the math to a 700 and the writing to a 750.
*</em><em>GPA: 4.373/5
*</em>*Ranking: They won't give it to us, but I'm assuming I'm somewhere in the top 10%ile. </p>

<p>***Grades:
(1. Freshman Year: )
-World Cultures Honors: A
-French II: A+
-College Biology: B+
-English I Honors: A+
-Algebra I: B+
-Computer Appl: B+
-Art I: A+
(2. Sophomore Year: )
-U.S. History Honors: A
-French III: A+
-Pl. Geometry: B+
-English II Honors: A
-College Chemistry: A
-Art II: A+
-Russian/East Asian History Honors- A+
(3. Junior Year: )
-AP English Language: A+
-Creative Writing: A
-European History: A+
-AP U.S. History: A
-Algebra II: B+
-Human Physiology Honors: A
-French IV Honors (Independent Study): A+
-Latin I: A+
(4. Senior Year: )
-AP Humanities (There's no actual AP Humanities test. This class is a crash course in philosophy, art, music, literature, architecture, etc. and we take the AP English Lit. test for it. Very cool.)
-AP Gov't + Politics
-AP Biology
-AP French V
-Archaeology of the Ancient World
-Math Analysis ( awful, I couldn't get into precalc)
-Latin II/III - I was going to skip a year but it wouldn't fit into my schedule so I'm probably going to study Latin III in Latin II, but I still need approval for it. </p>

<p>***SAT II's:
-French: 740
-Literature: 650 (retaking)
-U.S. History: 690 (retaking)</p>

<p>***Clubs/Organizations/Etc.:
-Key Club: 9, 10
-Interact Club: 9, 10
-Debate Club: 10, 11, (12)
-Literary Magazine: 10, 11, (12- Chief Editor)
-Literature Club: 10, 11, (12)
-Academic Team: 11- Team Captain, (12)
-Animal Rights Club: 9
-French Honor Society: 10, 11, (12)
-National Honor Society: 10, 11, (12)
-French Club (secretary): 10, 11, (12)</p>

<p>***Volunteer/Work Experience:
-Red Cross
-Tutoring French (volunteer)
-Babysitting (paid)
-Dogwalking (paid)
-Working in mother's catering business (I don't know if this counts. I'm not even paid for it, but it takes up a LOT of my time.)
-Painting a mural in Italian classroom (10, 11, still going. There's so much wall left and they /still/ won't give me a ladder. I have to stand on a desk with textbooks taped onto it. If I fall, I sue! Haha!)
-Internship (?) (more like slave labor. If I had been paid I would have broken child labor laws 10 times over) - w/ a stage/costume designer in Manhattan.</p>

<p>***Teacher Recommendations: Both teachers I asked love me to the point where it's almost creepy. </p>

<p>And there it is. Obviously I'm the one who must come up with the list, but a push in the right direction- a few suggestions- would do a great good for me.</p>

2

<p>You mentioned Swarthmore as the only school that appeals to you...I'm sorry to say this, but your chances at Swarthmore are slim to none. I'd suggest looking into some other schools. There are plenty of great schools in the NE that would suit you much better.</p>

<p>I think other people may be able to give you other suggestions if you could supply us with possible majors.</p>

3

<p>I had some same-mostly lower stats than you, and I got into USC honors, Illinois honors, and waitlisted at stanford and cornell. I didn't apply to LACs like swathmore, but I would definitly apply. </p>

<p>But up in the northeast, there are williams, colgate, bowdlin, and others for LACS</p>

<p>Also, take the ACT. It can't hurt, and you may do way better on it than the SAT</p>

4

<p>Anthropology
Archaeology
Linguistics</p>

<p>Um..Isn't Williams even more selective than Swarthmore? And by Bowdlin, you mean to say Bowdoin, am I correct?</p>

5

<p>I actually think you have a shot at Swarthmore. And Williams is much more selective than Swartmore. I think those eastern liberal arts schools would be good for you. Maybe check out Oberlin too.</p>

6

<p>who said you couldn't get into williams?</p>

7

<p>Thanks for the suggestions. </p>

<p>Oberlin sounds nice, but it's a pity it's in Ohio. My parents are very clingy and they think even Swarthmore is slightly too far (2 hours drive!). However, I'm sure they'll slowly bend to my will if necessary.</p>

8

<p>bmanbs2-
Well, dvlfnfv5 suggested I wouldn't have much of a chance getting into Swarthmore, and then I pointed out that Williams is more selective than Swarthmore. So it was implied, not said.</p>

9

<p>Hey, I could be wrong...nothing is set in stone. Anything is possible. I've seen crazier things happen.</p>

10

<p>Eh...no, I myself doubt that I can get into Swarthmore. I'm going to set it as my reach school. I just think it's a pity that my grades don't show the effort that I've put into teaching myself things in subjects outside of school.</p>

11

<p>^^ Looks to me you've got yourself a pretty good essay topic, then.</p>

12

<p>True. First impossible hurtle: getting in. Second impossible dilemma: paying. </p>

<p>My parents are terrible. They are convinced that undergrad education doesn't count for anything, so they suggest to me all these terrible schools, because they think it's a bargain. </p>

<p>Well, at least these suggestions have given me a counterargument against any other monsters my parents plan to introduce me to.</p>

13

<p>Byzantium, I like your humor and I think you’ll do well at any one of a number of good schools. Your grades and rank are excellent and your scores, while lopsided, won’t keep you out of any college as long as you put together a knockout application with strength in essays, recommendations and extra curriculars. Are you the first generation in your family to go to college? If yes, this is a plus.</p>

<p>I recommend that you put together a slide portfolio featuring your artwork. You can find instructions on the colleges’ websites on how to prepare and submit this but if you need advice, just ask. If you are a writer, you might submit some of your literary work as well.</p>

<p>Williams and Swarthmore are about the same in selectivity – e.g., VERY. But they also focus a lot on the whole person and how s/he would fit into and contribute to the campus community. </p>

<p>I’d strongly suggest that you take a look at Williams. They have one of the best art history and art studio departments in America plus three worldclass museums on or near campus. They also have an excellent theater program. They need kids who will participate in both of these areas. This is what I mean by favoring for kids who will contribute to the campus community.</p>

<p>Other colleges that I would recommend for good art and theater programs (plus excellent academics) are Wesleyan, Skidmore, Vassar, Conn College and Kenyon. If you are female, Smith.</p>

<p>What’s your family’s financial situation? If you will need aid to attend be sure to look further into what your family may be entitled to. If you qualify for full need based aid, you’re all set. If you’ll need merit aid to attend, then you may have to modify your list. It’s complicated, but very important to know where you stand. Do this first.</p>

<p>Good luck and let us know how it goes.</p>

14

<p>Thank you very much, all of you. I feel inspired when I should feel tired, since it's pretty late.</p>