<p>New to this forum, just wanted to post since I see people doing it and maybe some of you can help me and give me advice, especially those accepted to this schools. </p>
<p>First to go to college in family
Hispanic
Guatemalan, Undocumented (I don't know if this plays any part in the admission decision)</p>
<p>Class of 2019, I'm a junior now, Will apply to:
Georgetown
Yale
Harvard
Princeton
MIT
Stanford
Brown
Cornell
George Washington University
University of Maryland-College Park
I Received emails from this schools asking me to consider them next year, I don't know if this is a good sign:
Hampden-Sydney College
Washington College</p>
<p>I go to high school in Washington DC, in which at least 60% of the student body is affiliated with a gang. </p>
<p>I started in the ESL program since I didn't learn much English during middle school (actually didn't learn much, it was a crazy school), but I'm taking AP English lit next year, I don't know if that is good on applications. </p>
<p>My teachers think I have good chances of being awarded a full scholarship to GWU, since they award about 9 to DC students every year.</p>
<p>Freshman GPA: 3.6 (I was being stupid, missed many classes first semester and got a C in Earth Science)
Sophomore GPA: 4.0
Junior GPA so far: 4.0
Senior GPA: Hoping for a 4.0</p>
<p>I took the AP Spanish language and AP World History tests sophomore year, despite the fact that my HS doesn't offer those classes.
Spanish: 5
World History: 3</p>
<p>I'm taking AP biology class this year (they are block semesters so this class only lasts one semester, I don't know if that will look good on applications)</p>
<p>I'm also taking the AP Spanish lit test along with biology in may.</p>
<p>I've taken and will take (this are all the high level classes my school offers):</p>
<p>Honors Chemistry
Honors Physics
Honors Algebra 2
Honors English 11
AP Bio
AP NSL (senior)
AP US history (senior)
AP Calculus (senior)
AP English lit (senior)</p>
<p>I took the SAT fall 2013 (Should I retake?):</p>
<p>M: 700
R:650
W: 650</p>
<p>Ill take the SAT subject tests, Spanish, world history, and maybe physics, what scores should I get? I got a 3 on AP world history so I don't know how good i'll do on the SAT. How much do they impact decisions?</p>
<p>Extra Curricular:
Soccer (started freshman, captain since sophomore. We suck, the players are good but they don't go to practice and when we play against good teams we usually lose, even got scored once from half field, I might not play next year).
Baseball (started sophomore year)
Model UN (10th grade/11 grade)
Robotics
Peer tutoring
Rough Riders for Global peace (club dedicated to global issues, we mainly focus on the Congo and the wars and crimes over minerals, we have written to companies to not use conflict materials and have raised money for non profits helping people in the Congo).
co-founded the African-American and Hispanic Alliance (there are usually problems between black and Hispanic students at my school, many people have gotten seriously wounded, supposedly years before I came here it was so bad that black and Hispanics were kept separated).
Co-founded the chest club at my school.
I also stay sometimes after school to help students who just came from their native countries adjust to living here. </p>
<p>I've also volunteered at the children's hospital during each summer since 9th grade summer, usually about more than 50 hours every summer.</p>
<p>I've also worked after school and during the summer with my uncle as his assistant, he is an electrician. I don't know if that is considered extra curricular.</p>
<p>Any advice? How good am I so far? </p>
<p>I've received awards and honors, but mostly in school, i was the one in like 3 in my school to get advance on all the DC CAS subjects. </p>
<p>I've heard of students at Harvard who had carried out "groundbreaking research" while still in high school, of people who over came obstacles ("from homeless to Harvard"). Are all people there like that? in that case i fear I don't stand a chance. I have always lived in poverty, in Guatemala I use to live in a truck trailer, and use to go to a school that was made of rotten wooden planks with dirt floors and hay ceilings, should I talk of that in my essays? or will it make me look like another person trying to give a sobbing story? How about if an anti-immigrant reads them? </p>
<p>I've also wanted to get more involved in the sciences, but my school doesn't really do science fairs and I have no idea where I would start. I do take care of my grandmother, who suffers from kidney disease, I go with her to doctor appointments, manage her medicine, etc. this has made me consider the medicine field. </p>
<p>I don't know, any advice? </p>
<p>I've only visited Georgetown, loved it. liked the Gothic feeling of their buildings, I've heard Princeton is like that too, I saw the movie "A beautiful mind" and I loved it. </p>
<p>I would talk to my counselors, but they are not approachable. I talk to my teachers, but they didn't really go to any of this schools, and from their stories it seems they did pretty good in high school as well. </p>