Blame it on me.

18thSky · August 2, 2011, 11:16pm

So. This is a really long story. -

I want to attend UC Davis.
I know I should've been studying for the SAT I's since freshman year, but until the end of the 10th grade, I thought that I was going to attend a university in a foreign country.
It wasn't until spring break of sophomore year that I realized that I should attend a university in the States, since I was born and raised here & it would be very hard for me to adjust to the foreign country's culture.
I never really thought about taking the SATs because the university that I would attend there wouldn't really require them;
I attend a private, Christian school in Mobile, AL; it's a requirement here that we take the ACTs, instead of the SATs. So, I thought that I could just use my ACT scores to get in.
Anyways after spring break, I got a few prep books for the SATs, and went to visit relatives abroad over the summer. When I got back, I had the entire month of July to study for the SATs without school work and pressure.
Due to my stupidity, I failed to take studying seriously and blew most of my time on television and facebook.
I did not have a study plan and was not aware of how the SAT exam was formatted.
I did not take the exam seriously; I thought that I was going to do fine.
I decided to take the exam in December to see how well I'd do.
Ended up with a 1760. [CR: 600 M: 540 G: 620 w. 8 on essay] With my mind blown, I decided to study harder.
Cruising through CC forums, I felt the motivation to do better on the exams and try my hardest.
But, as hard as I wanted to try, some habits failed to die.
Anyways, I did work hard ~ Just not as hard on the essay and vocab portion of the exam. I didn't memorize and practice a few grammar rules that i should've (past perfect crap :/). I need to work on word problems and permutation stuff for the math portion of the exam.
But, on the recent June exam, I ended up with a 1920 [CR: 610 M: 640 G: 670 w. 9 on essay].

My academic stats are:

9th Grade Subjects - i) 4.5 ii) 4.5 (Weighted)/ i) 4.0 ii) 4.0 (Unweighted)

<ul>
<li>Speech (Reg) - A/A</li>
<li>English 9 (Hon) - A/A</li>
<li>World History/Geo (Hon) - A/A</li>
<li>Algebra II (Hon) - A/A</li>
<li>Biology (Hon) - A/A</li>
<li>Health (Reg) - A/A</li>
<li>P.E (Reg) - A/A</li>
<li>Bible (Reg) - A/A</li>
</ul>

10th Grade Subjects - i) 4.7 ii) 4.7 (Weighted)/ i) 4.0 ii) 4.0 (Unweighted)

<ul>
<li>English 10 (Hon) - A/A</li>
<li>US History I (Hon) - A/A</li>
<li>Geometry/Trig. (Hon) - A/A</li>
<li>Anatomy&Physiology (Hon) - A/A</li>
<li>Psychology (Reg) - A/A</li>
<li>Bible (Reg) - A/A</li>
<li>French I (Hon) - A/A</li>
</ul>

11th Grade Subjects - i) 4.7 ii) 4.57 (Weighted)/ i) 4.0 ii) 3.8 (Unweighted) ---> Lost my title of becoming potential valedictorian. =[

<ul>
<li>Bible (Reg) - A/A</li>
<li>French II (Hon) - A/A</li>
<li>Art (Reg) - A/A</li>
<li>Pre-Cal (Hon) - A/B</li>
<li>US History II (Hon) - A/A</li>
<li>English 11 (Hon) - A/A</li>
<li>Chemistry (Hon) - A/A</li>
</ul>

UC GPA: 3.96

Anyways, I know my UC GPA is low - My school offers only 2 AP classes (both offered during senior year - AP Cal & AP Stats). I wish I had more AP options.

Im taking AP Cal this year & dual enrollment classes at the University of Alabama for English 101 & English 102.

But the main problem is, I want to take the SAT II exams - Math II, Bio M, and U.S H.

And I want to retake my ACT (Got a 26 the first time…I took this exam a week after I took my first SAT exam).

I studied for Bio M this summer from a Barron's AP book. Im just going to review from here on out.

I just have to study for Math II (Need to review and memorize formulas since I took PreCal last year).

But I took U.S History last year, but it wasn't a very comprehensive course.

I plan on retaking my ACT on September the 10th. My ideal score is a 32+.

I plan on retaking my SAT I in November (the 5th). (Just a few weeks before the UC app. deadline); my ideal score is a 2100+.

And taking the SAT IIs in October (the 1st). My ideal scores are 800s. I mean, I heard that there is no point in taking the subject exams if I don't end up getting a 700+.

My EC's are

<ul>
<li>Art Club. (1 yr. & continuing hopefully if they don't get rid of the club)</li>
<li>Piano (1 yr. & continuing if nothing bad happens to the teacher)</li>
<li>Religion school every saturday (during 8th & 9th grade)</li>
</ul>

I may be a part of a new club this year.

I wish that I could've been a part of many other clubs, but unfortunately, I have an over-protective father; once when I was in the 8th grade, my step-brother's high school counselor told him that "EC's aren't important; only grades and scores are". Or else he would've considered letting me a part of many different clubs.

Another thing is that, majority of the clubs in my school are Christian clubs - and im not a Christian…so I can't be a part of them; So, i've ran out of options.

My community service hours are

20 hrs. - Daycare
80 hrs. - Hospital in a 3rd world country over the summer

I might do more, if my dad permits.

My achievements are

~ 9th Grade - Subject Area Awards - English
~ 9th Grade - Art Competition - First place: Collage
~ 11th Grade - Art Competition - First place: Mixed media
~ 11th Grade - Art Competition - Honorable mention: Painting
~ 11th Grade - Art Competition - Honorable mention: Color photography
~ 11th Grade - District Art Competition - Third place
~ 11th Grade - Subject Area Awards - English

Im considering on applying to:

UC Davis
NYU
University of South Alabama

and maybe Irvine...not sure.

So my main questions are: Should I take the SAT II U.S history exam? Do you think I have enough time to study for it, considering the other exams and stuff I need to review on?

Do you think I can make it to UC Davis, based on the scores and stats I have now?

zephyr15 · August 3, 2011, 12:28am

Sky

Your second Set of SATs is above average for admitted students for Davis (based on reported stats) and are about average for either. Your GPA is fine for either (as well as probably any other school in the US). If your School only offers 2 APs, and you take both, you won’t be penalized in most places.

South Alabama seems to be beyond safety school for you.

happymomof1 · August 3, 2011, 10:44am

Every single college and university in the US that requires a standardized exam for admission will accept scores from both the ACT and the SAT. You only need to take one of them.

If any of the places that you will apply to requires SAT Subject exams, double-check the requirements. Many will accept the ACT instead of SAT Subject exams.

If any of the places that you will apply to requires the Writing portion of the exam, be sure to take the ACT with Writing instead of the ACT without Writing.

You do not have to take the general SAT exam in order to take the SAT Subject exams. You can prep for those exams and take them separately.

Your step-brother’s guidance counselor was correct: the majority of colleges and universities in the US don’t give a rip about your ECs when it comes to college admissions. More selective institutions (and scholarship committees) that practice holistic admission do look at that. For in-state public universities (which is where most students end up) it is almost entirely a numbers game.

Most importantly, you do need to sit down with your parents and have The Money Talk. Can they pay the full out-of-state cost of attendance at UC Davis? Can they pay the full cost-of-attendance at NYU? If your family can’t, you need to find more options for yourself.

18thSky · August 10, 2011, 7:07am

@Zephr15: Thank you for the advice! I know - South Alabam is just a safety school for me. :)

@Happymomof1: I just wanted to take all of the exams I could (SAT I, ACT, Subject Exams) just to show colleges my academic ability & so they could take the place of my lack of APs. Im still worried about EC’s though. I just REALLY want to get into UCD, and being an out-of-state-er, I just wanted to make sure that I could give my best effort . But im going to try to get into as many EC’s as possible.

My parents are pretty sure that they can pay for UCD. But, ionno, i don’t have an exact plan for the financial aspect of it. Im just worried about getting accepted. :)

moonman676 · August 10, 2011, 9:15am

If your school does not offer APs, then you don’t need to put in extra effort and take a multitude of tests, especially if you do better on one than the other. If you have above a 30 composite score on the ACT, SEND THAT.

18thSky · August 13, 2011, 3:09am

@Moonman676: Yea, i understand - but ionno, I don’t have many ECs and APs, so that’s why i want to take these exams. Maybe they’d make up for it? Ionno. But yea, if preparing for the Subject Exams gets a bit tough for me, I’ll just retake the ACT.

stagemum · August 13, 2011, 8:13am

Are you considering an art major, where you would have to submit a portfolio?If so, your SATs are probably more than adequate at most art schools. Your grades are good enough for any college, anywhere, and your SATs place you close to the average at NYU (other than the Stern School) - with geographical diversity in your favor (they don’t get many kids from Alabama Christian schools, as a rule), you certainly have a shot. Are you a CA state resident? I would have thought that your stats would be fine for every UC except, possibly, Berkeley, until recently, if you’re in-state. If you need financial aid, you should cast a wider net, including reaches, matches, and safe schools - you’re an excellent student, with respectable boards, that could earn you merit aid at many colleges. Are you considering any religious-affiliated schools (e.g. Pepperdine, et al)?

18thSky · August 14, 2011, 2:08am

@Stagemom: I was thinking about majoring in Art, and take Medical School Pre. Req.'s…but im guessing that wouldn’t be a bright idea. But, other than that, I wanna major in Neuroscience.

Thankkyouu; I hope my scores/GPA and such match up to UC Davis’s standards…it’s just that it’s kinda hard to tell, since my SAT scores aren’t as amazing…so im not even sure if im completely in.

Im not a CA state resident; so that’s definitely not really working in my favor for the UCs. Im going to make a bigger list of schools; it’s just that the schools that I named above are the schools im sure i’d attend if i got in…other schools…im not too sure about, since im not too keen on the idea about moving into an unfamiliar state.

I hope that I could get Merit Aid. Would I have to apply individually to the colleges for merit aid…or is there a place/organization-committee that gives out such aids if you apply like the BillGates Scholarship.

Im not considering any religious-affiliated schools either.

Blame it on me.

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