<p>Well I'm only a junior, haven't taken SATs, but here goes:</p>
<p>Age: 16
State: New Jersey
Demographic: Nothing great - Upper class Jewish suburban boy from Short Hills, New Jersey.</p>
<p>Academic:
G.P.A.- 3.9 (Equivalent of an A in normal classes, A- in honors, B+ in AP), max G.P.A. is 4.5. I'm definitely improving though, I'll break 4 by the time I apply. No idea where I rank in my class (my school doesn't tell us rank), but I go to Millburn High School, ranked 63rd in the nation by U.S.A Today in 2003.
PSAT- 223 (66 CR, 80 M, 77 W). Possible Semifinal.
Currently taking 4 APs: American History, Stat, Government and Politics, Spanish Language
Took the AMC 12 last year (A nationwide math test), and advanced to the second round, one round short of going on to the National Math Olympic team.</p>
<p>EC:
Baseball, varsity 1 or 2 years, depending on this year, plus AAU. My team came in 3rd in the region last May.
I've had a job for 6 months now, should hold it through the rest of High School.
Habitat for Humanity, I get about 10-12 hours of CS per month.
I write for the school newspaper.
Will most likely be a certified Gyrotonic teacher (it's a type of personal trainer) by this summer.
I'm joining Debate, should have one year of varsity.
I've volunteered for my synagogue, maybe 10-15 hours total...not major though.
I play guitar, but not for school.</p>
<p>So...any chance at Bowdoin? If not, what can I do to improve?</p>
<p>Cmon, is it really that not-possible? What about if I told you my friend's dad is tight with the board of trustees, and would most likely be the local alumnus who does my interview?</p>
<p>i think you have a 80% in 20% not in chance in bowdoin early decision, but read further if you will...you will probably look good on paper in the end (sat, sat ii score) is what ranger is trying to say, but your ec's are very weak & the gpa is going to hurt you. Try to get a hook, and stick with some type of club that you really like and get a leadership position, when writing ur essays stick with one topic that you adore, maybe that is integrated with ur potential major..also i don't think joining debate for one year is going to make a difference, on the other hand if you had done debate for all 4 years (even if u werent that great) it would have stood out much more. On a side note, I live in nj and i was actually planning on attending Millburn, but my parent's didn't have enough money for the tuition since i do not live in the town..</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply, it's good to know some people are capable (lol, that's a joke for all you out there :))</p>
<p>I forgot to add that I co-founded the spanish newspaper in our school last year and write for that. Also I said it above but I'll say it again, I do have a connection in that my friend's dad is still heavily involved with people on the Board of Trustees, and he would be my local interviewer/one of my recs. I know my ECs aren't great, but I'm working on em.</p>
<p>I am applying to Bowdoin as well. But as far as GPA is concerned, I think 3.9 is fine. However, I also believe in terms of EC, everyone else may be correct.
Take my thoughts with a grain of salt tho</p>