Ch-ch-ch-chances.........

<p>Ready for some fun???</p>

<p>Too bad. Here is my life:</p>

<p>Junior - public high school (sends some grads to top schools, many to U of Mich, which is a good school I guess).</p>

<p>GPA (UW) - 3.989 (school does not weight)</p>

<p>Rank - school does not rank, but I am definitely in top 10 students out of 400.</p>

<p>SAT - 2220
CR - 700
W - 750
M - 770</p>

<p>might retake, but I don't think i need to... advice here?</p>

<p>ACT (projected): 34</p>

<p>SAT II (projected, being conservative here) </p>

<pre><code> Chemistry: 790-800 (i will probably mark the wrong bubble or something)
Biology: 770-790
Math IIC: 770 - 800
</code></pre>

<p>Projected AP scores from this year:</p>

<p>AP Bio: 5
AP Chem: 5
AP Calc BC: 4/5? not sure, i really hope I got a 5. self studied.
AP German: 4</p>

<p>High School</p>

<p>Before 9th grade:
Took Algebra 2 Honors at HS in 8th grade
Tested out of stupid freshman science class</p>

<p>9th Grade:
Literature/Composition 9: A/A
Geometry Honors: A/A
Biology: A/A
US History: A/A
Latin I: A/A
PE: A/A
Orchestra: A/A</p>

<p>10th Grade:
Expository Writing: A Contemporary Literature: A
Algebra 3 Honors: A-/A (argh, had a problem w/ teacher. she made me do my homework.... pointless.)
Chemistry Honors: A-/A (ok, that A- was on me, but the teacher was still bad. :) )
World History: A/A
Latin II: A/A
Orchestra: A/A</p>

<p>Summer after 10th grade:
I decided that I kind of wanted to learn German, so I went to Germany to a school for learning German and lived with a host family and a Mexican and Swiss student. It turned out I was the only American there, and the only native English speaker. Also, I was the only one who didn't know any German. So, it was pretty insane. I was there for 6 weeks, and I became pretty fluent. It was definitely the best experience of my life. (Russian kids are really freaking fun too....)</p>

<pre><code> Tested out of German 1,2,3 when I got back to school.
Tested out of Economics (silly requirement by school)
</code></pre>

<p>11th Grade:
Self Studied BC Calc w/ online course. (school wouldn't let me take it with A- in Alg. 3..)
AP Biology: A/A
AP Chemistry: A/A
AP German: A/A
American Lit: A/A
Orchestra: A/A</p>

<p>12th Grade plans:</p>

<p>First year physics at Michigan State (school does not have AP phys C, and MSU is better than an AP class anyway</p>

<p>Multivariable Calc at MSU</p>

<p>Music Theory at MSU</p>

<p>AP English Literature</p>

<p>Orchestra</p>

<p>Government (1 semester state requirement)</p>

<p>EC's.... I think this is my weaker point.</p>

<p>Violin - I have played since the age of 5, but I am not totally insane with it. I got 3rd place in a solo competition, all state orchestra, state festivals, etc...</p>

<p>I just love playing music and tackling difficult pieces, not competition. I am putting together a CD of my playing which I will send with my app.</p>

<p>Also, I got the the semifinals of the USABO qualifying test, and got Magna Cum Laude on the national Latin exam 2 years.
Volunteer:</p>

<p>I gave free violin lessons to beginning 5th graders in my town. Also, I did tutoring for middle schoolers. </p>

<p>I plan on getting a job this summer in a Lab with a scientist at MSU.</p>

<p>WHAT ARE MY CHANCES AT:</p>

<p>University of Michigan (in state, this is my safety).</p>

<p>Carleton College (possibly Early Decision)
Haverford College
Swarthmore College
Reed College
Oberlin College
Grinnell College</p>

<p>Any other LACs you think would be a good fit?</p>

<p>Ivies? I don't really want to go anyway, and probably won't apply, but what do you guys think? (My brother went to Harvard, does that help me get in?)</p>

<p>If you like Swarthmore, Oberlin, and Reed it would make excellent sense to look at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY. It has a similar feel to Swarthmore, I've found from personal experience, and have been told that it's similar to the other two schools.</p>

<p>Ok, I had considered Vassar, but not deeply. I'll do some more research. I know someone who went there too. Oberlin is kind of low on my list, I visited, and it wasn't quite what I expected it to be, but still good. I have not visited Reed yet. I am leaning away from East Coast schools; I think the atmosphere at Midwest, or even West coast schools is better for me.</p>

<p>bump to the top ;</p>

<p>Wait... you felt like learning German so you went abroad? Oh man... If only I could travel on whim. :/</p>

<p>I know kids with much lower numbers than you who've gotten into Carleton. Go for it!</p>

<p>And don't look at the Ivies just to look at them. It seems like you're interested in smaller schools. If they have the feeling you want then apply to them and not bigger schools.</p>

<p>Sungchul, my parents were very supportive, and since I hardly ever ask anything of them financially (well, i guess food is a lot of money), they were happy to pay. We aren't super rich or anything. Just find a good program and its easy to go abroad. </p>

<p>ses, yeah, I know I don't want to go to the ivies. the people there are just not for me. maybe some of them are, but I would like to go to a place were virtually all the people are my kind of people.</p>

<p>Ok, crap. My SAT score above was just an estimate based on practice tests. I guess those practice tests were not really very accurate. I got killed by the writing test. 64 MC subscore and 8 on the essay? What was wrong with my essay??? jerks...</p>

<p>anyway, that significantly decreased my SAT score. </p>

<p>CR: 700
M: 760
W: 630 :(</p>

<p>So, will this really hurt me, or will my GPA/Classes be good enough for the places I want to apply? </p>

<p>I was expecting a 34 on ACT, but now I have no idea what to expect. maybe I will get a 26, or some similar disaster. dang it.</p>

<p>God no. Some colleges aren't even really counting the writing section. Carleton certainly doesn't place as much emphasis on SATs as other schools.</p>

<p>Calm down.</p>

<p>how'd you get a 760 on math in SAT I when you project 770 - 800 for IIC...
I'm sure you could bring your SAT scores up anyways. G'Luck</p>

<p>I don't know how. The most I missed on practice tests was 1 or 2. The curve for IIC is easier than SATI isn't it? The math is the same difficulty for me. All that stuff was years ago.</p>