Can I buy my way in? Help me!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Ok, I've succumbed. This is a chances thread and if I could get any feedback of any sort, I would greatly appreciate it. I want to go to Vassar. Chances for other similar schools would be good too.</p>

<p>I'm a junior at an extremely small, poor public school in California. We have only a few sports for extracurriculars and few advanced courses, but some advanced classes are available online. Most students go on to community college, state university, or the UC system. I think the most competitive school anyone has gone to in recent years is Berkeley. One girl is applying to Cornell this year. Basically, I'm looking for schools out of my area and I fell in love with Vassar. I think my chances are pretty low, but advice would be great.</p>

<p>Race: White
Gender: Female</p>

<p>SATs: 1990: 660 V, 540 M, 790 W, 12 essay (the math is abysmal, I know)
SAT II's: 550 Bio (as freshman), 630 World History
Class rank: 1-2/25 (school doesn't rank, but this is most likely right)
Current GPA: around 3.8 UW, 4.4 W, unsure at the moment</p>

<p>Classes:
Freshmen: english 9, geography, integrated science, biology, IMP 2 math, state requirements
Sophomore: english 10 intensive, chemistry, world history, PE (required), Algebra 2, spanish I
Junior (present): english 11 honors, AP U.S. History online, spanish II, art
Projected second semester junior: english 12 honors, AP U.S. history online, physics, trig/pre-calc</p>

<p>Extracurriculars/Activities:
Varsity Volleyball - 2 years
Varsity Basketball- 3 years
Varsity Softball - 2, maybe 3 years
Boys' varsity soccer substitute - 1 year
Private piano lessons - 3 years
Youth and Government - 1 year
I'm looking to start a school debate club and a swing dance/jazz club, but lack of funding is a problem
120+ community service hours
Cabin leader at week-long children's camp - soph.
2005 Regional Science Bowl team- placed 9/25
Quiz Kids game show - team won first round, lost second
Summer: volleyball camp at Stanford</p>

<p>Awards/Leadership:
Best Student in English 9
Best Student in State Requirements (9)
Best Student in World History (10)
Best Student in English 10 Intensive
PE excellence awards (one of four people)
Two scholar athlete awards</p>

<p>Class president sophomore year
Student council secretary junior year
Several published poems
1st place (English) in poetry contest with cash prize</p>

<p>I know my scores are pretty low, but I took the tests without prepping. Bad decision on my part, yes, so I'm planning to take them again. I seem to choke on math tests, so any advice on that would be great. I also plan to take a more rigorous courseload in senior year. I'm trying to do the best I can at my school of limited opportunities and become competitive enough for Vassar.</p>

<p>Any feedback, tips, or advice would be fantastic!!!</p>

2

<p>Try Mt. Holyoke</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm not really looking for an all-women college....my school is small enough as it is.</p>

4

<p>To be safe at Vassar, you're going to have to be above 650 math. Coming from the school you are coming from, however, I would reccommend aiming for 700+ on both Math and Reading. Also, your subject tests are not very strong. The college won't care that you took Bio as a freshman. They will see just the score.</p>

5

<p>I should aim higher because of the school I'm from? I'd love to get my SATs up anyway, but I've heard it's an advantage to come from small, rural schools because not much is expected of them. That rogue 550 Bio - I didn't understand the SAT II when I took it; I didn't even know it was on an 800 scale! I wish I had been a little more knowledgeable in freshman year - it could've helped a lot. Anyway, I might be able to get the math up to 650 or something, MAYBE, but I really think 700+ is out of my reach right now. Is all lost?</p>

6

<p>if you dont get the sats up your chances are pretty small</p>