Chance a Junior from PR? Will chance back, with cookies.

Colleges and Universities A-Z Middlebury College
1

<p>Hey guys, I'm a junior from Puerto Rico that is currently interested in applying to Middlebury. Here are some of my basic stats:</p>

<p>GPA: unweighted around 3.7/3.8, weighted prob at around 4.3/4.2</p>

<p>Class Rank: not offered to Juniors, but it's a very small and competitive class so could be anywhere from top 25% to top 10%.</p>

<p>Freshman year, A/A- average:
World History 1
English 9th (all classes except Spanish are taught in English, so this is the equivalent to a US high school English class)
Honors Geometry
Physics
Spanish 9th (Spanish equivalent to an English lit class)
Health
French II</p>

<p>Sophomore year, A/A+ average:
World History II (straight A+ in this class, outstanding achievement)
Chemistry (outstanding achievement award)*
Honors Algebra II
English 10th
Spanish 10th*
French III (outstanding effort)
AP Psychology (5, outstanding achievement)
<em>For some reason my school doesn't offer AP Euro to sophomores even though we cover a condensed version and it's not being offered anytime in the near future.Sigh. I really would have enjoyed that class...</em></p>

<p>Junior year, A-/A average:
Biology (my class can't take the AP, ever, long story)
Spanish 11th (AP lit can't be taken until 12th)
English 11th (AP lit can't be taken until 12th either)
AP French language (A-)
AP US (B+/A-)
AP Human Geo (A+)
Honors Pre-Calculus</p>

<p>Senior year course load (if schedule permits):
AP Chemistry
AP English lit
AP Calculus AB (Want to take BC test, can I do that?)
AP Spanish lit (still considering, won't take it if it's a summary of previous years)
PR History</p>

<p>Since Chem and Calculus are double blocks I can only take one elective. There are a few courses that interest me, namely Musical Appreciation and AP Economics (Micro + Macro), but I'm considering having a free block just to dedicate it to college applications. Would this be wise? Are college apps really that time consuming?</p>

<p>Standardized Tests
PSAT - 10th, scored at 88th percentile compared to Juniors. Still waiting for this year's scores.
SAT - Taking it in March
SAT II's - Physics (620, fail), Chemistry (630, another fail), World History (750, yay?), Spanish (800, lols I finished in 15 min., don't really expect any college to take this seriously). In May I'm taking Math Level 1 (Though I'm in Honors Pre-cal, should I go for level II?) and English Lit. In June I'm taking Bio Molecular and US History.*
**
EC's:
Model UN club - since 8th grade, third year going to NAIMUN and will prob be VP next year
Youth in Action (community service club) - since 9th, VP in 10th, Pres this year and prob the next
Film Club - since 9th, VP this year and prob Pres next year
Environmental Awareness*
Project H2O - water crisis awareness club, prob will be spokesperson next year
Oratoria (Forensics in Spanish) - 10th
NHS - 11th, might run for board next year</p>

<p>High School Summers
2009 - CAA at Easton, Pennsylvania. Took Legal History of the US.
2010 - The Oxford Tradition, International Business as major with Literature and Psychology as minor. Also went to the Galapagos on an ecological project w/ a school group.
2011 - Will prob either take a course on Human Rights in CTY, Princeton or go to their Civic Leadership program in Baltimore. Might travel with a school group through South America or partake in a National Geographic trip through India.*</p>

<p>In reality this is more of a "Am I on the right track?" post, given that I'm missing a lot of important info. Any advice on what to do to be a more competitive candidate and what similar schools to apply to would be very welcome. *</p>

<p>*</p>

<hr>

<p>*</p>

2

<p>It seems like you are on the right track but it’s a little hard to tell without the PSAT or an SAT score. Your SAT World history score is really good. If you can get two more SAT scores at 700 or above you could consider sending three SAT II’s to Midd instead of your SAT if it isn’t as good. Re: math levels I think there’s a section on CC about SAT tests, so maybe you can read some of the pros and cons there. Re: saving a free period for college applications vs. AP Economics or music appreciation, the applications are time-consuming but it’s a shame to miss out on a course for application prep. Especially if it’s a subject you think you might like a lot. It’s hard to tell from your summers and EC’s what you are passionate about. Give some thought to what you like most and think what else you could do in that area of interest.</p>

3

<p>Well I just found out that I got a 208 on my PSAT, which I’m hoping to turn into a 2150+ SAT score in March. I’ve decided to take AP Econ, the teacher always engages the class in lively debates and it would def. help me with my ideal future major, International Politics/Economics. </p>

<p>I understand your point about not really showing a clear cut passion for international affairs. Up until a few days ago I was 95% sure I’d apply to the CTY summer program about global politics and human rights; but, then I checked out the Civic Leadership Institute and saw that that program would definitely be a new and engaging experience for me, giving that it incorporated community service and the development of leadership skills. I’m having a hard time choosing between the two.</p>

<p>Anyhow, thank you very much for taking the time to answer Hitch 123, your advice is very appreciated :). Just out of curiosity, are you a student at Middlebury? If so what courses do you take?</p>

4

<p>I think you must be a URM, in which case you have an excellent chance if you get those standardized test scores up a bit.
Time in HS is better spent doing things like taking classes(preferably challenging ones), playing a sport, performing, or doing socially relevant volunteer work. “Wanted a study hall to work on my college essays” doesn’t fly.
At Midd, you can just submit 3 SATs, so try to get over 700 on one more, and you have an excellent chance.</p>

5

<p>“Time in HS is better spent doing things like taking classes(preferably challenging ones), playing a sport, performing, or doing socially relevant volunteer work. “Wanted a study hall to work on my college essays” doesn’t fly.”</p>

<p>Yeah, thanks for the reality check…(seriously)…</p>

<p>What does URM mean? I’m aiming for more than a 700 on at least two more SAT ii’s, don’t really think it’s fair to submit Spanish given that it’s my first language (it’s the “safety” score just in case I don’t do well on the others).</p>

6

<p>“Underrepresented minority” Like a real hispanic-…Are you first generation to attend college? Financially disadvantaged? Those things make you more likely to be accepted, given your other assets.</p>

7

<p>No, mom went to Georgia Tech and dad to best uni. in the island. I’m also lucky enough to be from a financially stable family. I HAVE gotten letters from colleges showing interest in me because of my ethnicity, but I don’t want to over-use that angle like some students that I know. I know of people from my school that can more than afford the best colleges in the US and still insist on applying for scholarships, which kind of saddens me when I think of all the Hispanics in the US with real financial struggles.</p>

8

<p>Sorry ----parent not student. The economics department is supposed to be excellent, though, and the first year seminar program which assigns your seminar professor as your first year advisor is really wonderful. Good luck!</p>