<p>I am a junior currently and nervous about the realism of a Carleton admission.
-My GPA is a 3.78, and will probably drop slightly.</p>
<p>-I scored a 31 on the ACT with an 11 on the writing. </p>
<p>-I have taken every AP class offered to me so far (4) and scored well.</p>
<p>-Senior year will either be full time PSEO or nearly all AP.</p>
<p>-Speech team since 8th grade. Sections every year, state as an alternate once, barley missed all other years</p>
<p>-I have little to no community service due to being an Atheist in a small town with thirteen churches in other words all community service here was tied in to religion which I could not bring myself to do.
-I am an exceptional writer and public speaker.</p>
<p>I think I covered everything need more just ask, so is Carleton a good expectation?</p>
<p>I edited it, and lopped of a bit… woops xD
I have also been in the musical as a major role, and as a techie for a year.
Knowledge Bowl as well for two years.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. I will try that forum.
It does suck that my town only has it through those groups. The town is only a few thousand people and the churches have provided everything this town needs in that sense.</p>
<p>I don’t buy that you couldn’t do community service. You can ALWAYS do good on your own. You can tutor or mentor younger students, you can refurbish bikes for needy kids, you can make quilts for Project Linus, etc. </p>
<p>I also think it’s too bad you can’t “bring yourself” to work with people who are religious. Volunteering at a soup kitchen run by a local church or at an immigrant literacy program run by nuns doesn’t require you to convert. There are lots of religious people committed to social justice, and they are motivated by human suffering and a sense of morality - not just by their religious convictions.</p>
<p>I don’t see why this has to be a critique of my beliefs. You do not know what it is like here, and you do not know the full situation. I offered a quick explanation.
Did I know of any large international groups that I could assist in? No
Did I expend a large amount of effort to find these groups? No.
Should I have? Probably.
However that time has passed as far as this is concerned.
I did not ask for a critique of my belief system or life, but thank you anyways Green.</p>
<p>Would it surprise you to learn I’m also an atheist? Would it surprise you to learn I once lived in a town of 9,000 with more than 30 churches?</p>
<p>When it comes to college admissions, your beliefs, character and life are very much a part of the package. They won’t reject you for being an atheist, but they may well reject you if you come across as hostile to theists. They may also reject you if they think you lack initiative, or if you don’t appear interested in helping others and building community. Maybe you are none of those things, but that’s how you came across. You have one year to make yourself into the strongest possible candidate. I’m not saying you have to do any CS, but I think it will be worth your while to think about how an AdCom would react to your explanation of why you didn’t.</p>
<p>I am sorry if I came across hostile. It was a convenient excuse that I probably shouldn’t have brought up in this setting. I have never had a cause to believe in that I could help with. Most of High School has been spent finding who I am personally and mostly spent in a state unable to lend a hand out to random strangers. I still have yet to find a cause I truly believe in that I can help with and that, has more than the conceit of the zealots of this small town, prevented me from serving or helping. I love this town dearly and all the people, but I have never found a place that I can truly help or make a difference in.
Is that a better explanation?
It is not out of hatred or indifference that I have not helped my community.</p>
