can somebody help me determine my chances at dartmouth?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
1

<p>My parents are clueless about college; my counselors are overworked and are mainly concerned with getting kids in my high school into public Texas universities. I spend my time in between double shifts at work sitting in Barnes & Noble pouring through college guidebooks (because, pathetic as it I can't spend money on them) and trying to figure some of this stuff out. I'm still overwhelmed though. Essentially I have nobody to help me, my parents think UT-Austin would be a good match for me but I'm already in because of Texas top 10% ruling. Both my parents went to college but my dad was the first in his family and went to some tiny private NJ college...basically NOBODY has any experience or knowledge.</p>

<p>I'm a Hispanic female from a public high school in Texas (I'm half Meixcan and half white, I don't think that matters though.)</p>

<p>TEST SCORES:
PSAT: 214 (I will probably get National Hispanic Merit Scholar and cross-my-fingers Commended??)
SAT Math: 650 (I hope to raise this to above 700 when I take it again, but I couldn't afford to do a prep course like most other kids I know)
SAT Critical Reading: 800
SAT Writing:800
--I haven't taken SAT Subject Tests but I should probably score high on Spanish and Literature. Kind of freaking out about the Math IC or IIC (haven't chosen yet) though!
AP Spanish: 4
AP Psychology: 5 (I don't know if this one matters much though)
AP English Language: 5
IB Psychology: 6 (on a scale of 7)</p>

<p>** I'm an IB Diploma candidate. I also did the Middle Years Program, which is a 5-year IB track from 6-10th grade. I KNOW colleges could absolutely care less about middle school activities but this was a 5 year program that extended into 2 years of high school, I'm not sure if I'll end up including it in my apps though.</p>

<p>GPA: 4.2 W (have no clue what it is unweighted, but I only have 3 Bs on my transcript)
Rank: 14/468 (this will hopefully go up in the next few months)
Course Load: I have taken the hardest courses possible in every aspect.
Senior Class Schedule:
AP/IB Bio II (fourth year of science)
IB World Area Studies (fourth year of history)
IB Theory of Knowledge (required for IB Diploma)
AP/IB English Literature (fourth year of English)
AP/IB Spanish V aka Spanish Lit (fifth year of Spanish)
AP/IB Calculus BC (fifth year of math)</p>

<p>ECs:
-National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta (my filler ECs, I know they don't matter)
-Swimming
JV 9th, 10th
Lettered 11th
Varsity 11th, 12th
-Debate
5th-place UIL All-District Prose Interpretation 10th grade (not sure if this is anything worth mentioning or not)
-Elected VP of National Spanish Honor Society
-heavily involved in Youth Council (leadership position) and youth activities at church--about 10/15 hours a week for 52 weeks a year for the 4 years of high school
-Elected student body Vice President --requires about 10 hours of work a week
-Physics Club (I only did this junior year, becuase that's the only year I was eligible for it, but I devoted 10 hours a week to it...not sure if it's worthwhile mentioning though)</p>

<p>AWARDS:
-Academic All-District for Swimming 9th, 10th (missed it 11th because I was doing mission work in Honduras and missed the qualifying meet)
-Trustee Award 9th, 10th, 11th (awarded to top students at my high school)
-Outstanding Hispanic Leader Award (awarded to one or two students from each high school in my city's district, I think)</p>

<p>COMMUNITY SERVICE:
I have about 400 years of community service over the past 4 years; none of it is soup-kitchen-type work though. I have taken many trips with my church during the summers and have done everything from repairing run-down churches in New Orleans (pre-Katrina, however) to spending 8 hours a day with inner-city Nashville kids at a Boys & Girls club to re-roofing houses in 110 degree heat on the Mexican border. Last year I received a scholarship to go to Honduras and do mission work. I think I could write great essays about any of these trips (too cliche of a topic, though??).</p>

<p>WORK:
I couldn't get a job until this past summer because I'm young for my grade, but I worked 3 jobs this summer for about 40-50 hours a week.</p>

<p>During the school year I'm working 10-15 hours a week, all of this to save money for college.</p>

<p>My recommendations will be great, the teachers know me well and understand how badly I want to break the mold of settling for what's easy in my family and go to a great school. </p>

<p>Sorry that this post is so long and obnoxious, but I am COMPLETELY IGNORANT AND CLUELESS. I don't know if setting my sights on Dartmouth is being unrealistic, any advice would be appreciated.</p>

2

<p>This was not ignorant or clueless. You have every right to post this on here and ask for basic suggestions. I am no Admissions Counselor, but here is what I think...</p>

<p>First off, you have an excellent chance at getting into ANY and I really do mean ANY University that you truly care about. If you stay on track I think that Dartmouth is definitely in your reach. And if you are expecting need-based aid it will work quite well for you.</p>

<p>Some ideas:
-Bring up the SAT Math by doing the free practice tests only in Math available for free online. If you need help finding these PM me.
-Try to raise class rank if at all possible
-Really focus on one of your mission trips and sound real about it. Focus on this trip in your essays. If you truly did the trip because you wanted to better others, and not just better your resume, it will show there and will not be too cliché.
-Don't let work get in the way of your studies. It's the LAST thing you need.</p>

<p>Other than that, good luck! Consider applying to merit-based schools as well, and apply to any/all schools that your parents would like you too, because it will gain you trust in their book. But in the end, this college experience is ABOUT YOU, NOT YOUR PARENTS!</p>

<p>Good luck, and remember that the Ivy League isn't going to give you success, you will, in the end, give your own success in life.</p>

3

<p>Thank you so much for the absolutely genuine and flattering post. I really appreciate it. </p>

<p>And my mission work, when I started it, I didn't even know that you could tell colleges things like that. It wasn't until one teacher pointed out to me that I could use it as an addition to my application that I even thought about it--I am happiest when I am messy, exhausted, slightly frustrated all for the sake of someone else--no joke about that. In fact, I considered taking a year off to live in Honduras and do mission work, but I decided to wait until after college to do that. </p>

<p>I have a question about SAT IIs. Does Dartmouth prefer the IC or IIc? I do fine in math in school (I'm in AP Calc BC right now and doing fine) but obviously on standardized testing I don't do so wonderfully. Any advice about that?</p>

4

<p>You have a disgustingly long PM waiting for you. ;)</p>

5

<p>what high school do you go to? is it a competitive public</p>

6

<p>It's pretty competitive I guess, an IB school, if that means anything? Less than 500 in my grade but it's a little bigger each year below me. Out of my graduating class, maybe 5 or 6 people will apply to Dartmouth, if that. Last year out of 06 a few people got into Rice (I live in Texas) and 2 got into Stanford, but nobody else got into any Ivy League or highly-selective schools (I'm not sure if they applied not, I would assume that very few did).</p>

7

<p>but oh yes, I forgot, it's public, and we're not that rich of a school district, our school is in a nice area of town but nobody is insanely rich</p>

8

<p>I think you definitely have a good chance of getting into Dartmouth, or any other competitive college you apply to. I was a lot like you when applying to college. My parents did not go to competitive schools and would have been just as happy if I had decided to attend a community college. My college counselor also provided little help. </p>

<p>Your scores and SATs look fine, and you have plenty of ECs and community service to mine for your essays. Also, your unweighted GPA would be less than a 4.0, so your 4.2 sounds like it is weighted. If you are doing fine in calc BC, (I struggled in calc and it was only AB!), I would recommend taking the SAT IIC. </p>

<p>If your heart is set on Dartmouth, I would recommend applying early. However, I was too stressed out with the whole process and hadn't even started my essays by the time the ED date came around. If you think you need more time to make your app shine, wait for the RD date.</p>

9

<p>You'll have an excellent shot, my bet is that you'll be accepted. Dartmouth looks like a great fit!</p>