Chance a rising senior for liberal arts!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey guys!</p>

<p>Background:
- low-income, first-generation Asian student attending an upper-middle class public Californian high school.
- parents' annual income 37,000< . Would I receive enough financial aid/grants to get myself through 4 years of schooling?</p>

<p>Courseload:
Honors English and Honors Math(2 semesters only because I got a C+ and had to drop it) through 9th-10th grade. In 11th grade, I took AP Lang and AP Physics B.
I'm taking five APs/honors senior year: studio art, English, French lang, Calc AB, and Gov.</p>

<p>Grades:
Unweighted: 3.71
Weighted: 3.95 (not counting second semester junior year)
Upward trend in Junior year (finally got straight A's even in APs)</p>

<p>SAT I:
First sitting (10/07): CR 640, M 730, W 730
Second sitting w/out study :[ (5/08): CR 670, M 710, W 740
Highest in one sitting composite: 2120</p>

<p>SAT II:
US History: 710 (retook it in June and am awaiting score)
Biology: 500 (freshman year...........blank)
Math IIc: awaiting..</p>

<p>Rank:
Top 20% GPA at my school: >4.045
Top 40% GPA at my school: 3.737-4.044
I'm probably like 30%.</p>

<p>EC:
-Editor-in-Chief of school's literary art magazine (11-12)
-Amnesty President, Secretary, Historian (9-12)
-Service Club Events Coordinator, Publicity (10-12)
-Student Government Social Chair (10)
-Visual arts in general (all my life)
-National Arts Honor Society (10-12)</p>

<p>Awards:
I haven't won any awards >.< Yes, I know this is bad.</p>

<p>Other:
- I'm going to Carnegie Mellon's Summer Programs for Diversity this summer. It's a free program, so I guess that makes it selective?
- I am a very unique person (according to everyone), so I will try to highlight that quality of me to stand out in the admission offices.
- I'm very liberal and open-minded, so I want to go to a school that is like that as well.</p>

<p>Studies of Interest:
History, International Relations, Political Science, Economics, Fine Arts</p>

<p>Colleges I'm Looking At:
Wesleyan University
Tufts University
Bowdoin College
Whitman College
Oberlin College
Hamilton College
Haverford College
Skidmore College
Colgate University
UCLA (parents' wishes)
UCI (again)</p>

<p>What are my chances at these school? If they are low, can you recommend me some schools that I should look into?</p>

2

<p>If i were applying to, say, Harvard or Yale, i bet i'd get a lot more responses to this thread.</p>

<p>bump
bump bump.</p>

3

<p>If you are instate and money is an issue try UCLA oyur parents are right</p>

4

<p>For the top ten LACS, being in the top 10% of your class is really preferred. As for your scores, don't worry about different sittings. The schools take your highest scores from all sittings.(It works out better for them, too) But your math is a bit low for the top ten, too.(which includes Bowdoin and Haverford) Tufts would be a reach, ditto for Wesleyan and Colgate. Matches might be Skidmore and Whitman. Also consider Colby in Maine as a match/slight reach, and maybe Hobart/William Smith. But for safeties perhaps you might stay in the Ca. system, since they are good and cheap. Save the private LACs for your reaches and matches.</p>

5

<p>you're the unlucky californian who really wants an lac. to make your parents quiet down, try some of the public ones (not a whole lot cheaper than private for oos): st. mary's college of maryland and new college of florida as high matches, and maybe william & mary as a fairly high reach.</p>

<p>but remember that californians are lucky. you guys can go to your fantastic in-state schools for half the cost of an equally good private school. save your money for grad school & go to one of the smaller uc's.</p>

6

<p>the reason why i want to attend a LAC out-of-state and not a UC is because i want to be able to change and grow in an entirely new environment. i want to meet new and interesting people. i want to get out of California.</p>

<p>the UC schools are undoubtedly great, but i feel like if i go there, i'll only be subjecting myself to another 4 years of seeing a plethora of Asians everyday. my school is already 70% Asian, and i feel like it's hindering me from growing into a more well-rounded person. </p>

<p>is there anything i can do in the beginning of senior year to really boost my chances at the LACs? my top schools on that list right now are Tufts, Wesleyan, and Whitman. </p>

<p>tufts is a reach, but if i were to be accepted, i would receive a grant since my family makes less than 40K each year. (Tufts</a> E-News: Tufts University Eliminates Loans for Lower Income Students%5DTufts">http://enews.tufts.edu/stories/116/2007/12/19/TuftsUniversityEliminatesLoansforLowerIncomeStudents)).
that would make that affordable, right?</p>

<p>thank you for the replies!</p>

7

<p>Maybe you could retake the sats. (I made the mistake of saying your math was low--I meant your english) Also, work hard on your essay. For Tufts, they love people with international political interests--is there an intl situation or problem that moves you anywhere in the world that you might invest time and energy in? Of course if this is not anywhere in the realm of your interest...</p>

8

<p>Have you visited Tufts? They care about demonstrated interest quite a bit.</p>

9

<p>I haven't, and it's not because I don't care to; I've looked up plane tickets, and it's awfully expensive to fly from Los Angeles to Boston. My parents won't let me anyway, since they are so adamant on me staying in-state.</p>

<p>Also, I cannot apply ED, although I really want to, because I would not be able to compare financial aid packages. </p>

<p>Tufts is definitely my number one choice. I love its philosophy of globalism and student citizenship. Also, I love how the curriculum requires 6 semesters of language/cultural courses. That's especially important to me since I am very interested in continuing French and maybe trying another language. I really believe I can contribute to the community of Tufts through my enthusiasm for life, my interests in politics/history/etc, and my drive to make even small but substantial changes in this world. And I feel like I can benefit the most from Tufts than from any other school because its student body is comprised of self-motivated doers who, I'm assuming, learn for the sake of learn and enjoy partaking in extracurriculars.They are people who are also into learning about other cultures and expanding their intellectual horizons. </p>

<p>Also, I love Tufts because of the fact that it is near Boston.</p>

<p>I really see myself there. I may or may not continue art in college, but if I do, I could always do the dual-enrollment program between Tufts and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. </p>

<p>I understand that Tufts really likes students who are interested in it college, and I really hope I make it known to the adcoms.</p>

<p>Thanks for your inputs!</p>