Chance me at...well I don't know where...

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Ok...so I'll be a junior and I've started looking at many different colleges and I really don't know where I'm interested in going. Just wondering if anyone can give me some suggestions. And I'm not quite sure what I'm interested in either. I guess my passion is learning about a variety of things, which obviously doesn't make me look very focussed.</p>

<p>Gender: F
Location: Ohio
High School: Public
High School Type: rarely sends grads to top schools
Will apply for financial aid: Yes</p>

<p>Academics:</p>

<p>GPA - Unweighted: 4.00 (school doesnt weigh gpa)
Class Rank: 1/402
Most rigorous course load. All honors and AP's offered (just bio offered sophomore year) Junior year I'll be in 2 more AP's, and I'm self studying either 1 or 2.</p>

<p>Scores: Just took ACT for the first time Sat.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Significant Extracurriculars: Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, Youngstown Symphony Youth Orchestra, Stambaugh Youth Concert Band, St. Charles Chamber Orchestra, (will be principle chair in most...there's just a prodigy who'll be a senior next year so I have to wait until she graduates. =P) Solo and Ensenble contest with superior ratings received, West Minister Horn Choir, Key Club/Interact/Other Community Service, STAND, Quiz Bowl (Varsity)
Leadership positions: President of Science Club, President/Founder ECO (Environmentally Concerned Organization), Head Band Librarian (don't get me started on that one...hours and hours all summer), School's Envirothon team, and environmental jepordy team
Volunteer/Service Work: Key Club, Interact Club, playing French horn at churches, cleaning up community often (and other environmental things through ECO, ect), STAND
Honors and Awards: won many essay contests and things through other organizations I belong to, but nothing significant really. Is that really bad?
Oh yeah, summer job probably at Dunkin' Donuts =]</p>

<p>So moral of story...I love everything I do and am very involved in everything I do, but I guess I dont really have a hook or anything. I try very very hard, but with everyone getting perfect scores on everything and having amazing ecs, but I really don't know if my stats are good enough to get into a top college. I was pretty much just searching for a college that would love my enthusiasm so any input would be greatly (X10000000000) appreciated. =]</p>

2

<p>Your stats are good for many colleges and universities.</p>

<p>Here are some suggestions: Earlham, Beloit, Mt. Holyoke, Trinity (CT), Union, Grinnell, Lafayette, Sarah Lawrence, Bard, Bates, Bowdoin, Franklin & Marshall, Goucher, DePauw, Rhodes, Dickinson, Sewanee, Centre, Gettysburg, Davidson, Smith, Hampshire, Pitzer, Whitman, Reed, Wooster, URichmond, Bucknell, UWisconsin-Madison, New College, Emory, Wheaton (MA), Colby, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Trinity (TX), Lehigh, URochester, Macalester, Holy Cross, Occidental, Denison, Illinois Wesleyan, Agnes Scott, Knox, UPuget Sound.</p>

<p>A good number of the above mentioned schools guarantee to meet financial need or meet >90%. Also, many of the schools are SAT optional. Your high school record is far more important than your test scores, but for the schools that require them, an ACT score in the range of greater than 27 will make you competitive, especially given your ECs.</p>

<p>Hope you can use this info.</p>

<p>:)</p>

3

<p>Thanks for your reply =]</p>

<p>Anyway, I guess I have some other info that could be helpful. Test scores should be pretty good. I'm shooting for in the 30's on my ACT (well I think I screwed up the June one because I have anxiety problems, but my PSAT score was promising so at least maybe I can do decent on the SAT) I also have some other extra curriculars that I didn't mention when I was talking about my main ec's: Model UN, Youngstown State Uni. English Festival (hundreds of people, won impromptu essay contest.), Relay for Life volunteer, volunteering at hospital this summer, volunteer for salvation army, volunteer playing horn for local october fest/other community events, also in jazz band, won a lot of blue ribbons at county fair, hmm not sure what other good things about me i am forgetting</p>

4

<p>PSAT score? Are you the only #1 or tied with many?</p>

5

<p>I'm not sure about the PSAT score, just that my counsler said it would be equivalent to a 30 ACT. And I took that with no prep so now that I've studied I hope I can do better. And I'm tied with about ten people because my school is annoying and doesn't weigh anything at all (17 valedictorians last year!!) but in the next year and a half it may narrow us down to about 5 or so. It is very aggravating, though, because I have the hardest course load possible and most of the other people don't. Actually, I think I'll add my courses to this post:
9th grade-integrated math (counted as hs algebra credit)
freshman year-
advance bio
honors english
integrated algebra 2
italian 1
varsity marching band/wind ensemble
symphony orchestra
world history
gym</p>

<p>sophomore year-
ap bio
trig
english (had a schedule conflict for honors, but it was only a 1 semester honors class anyway)
italian 2
varsity marching band/wind ensemble
symphony orchestra
us history honors</p>

<p>junior year-
ap gov
same music
calc
ap english
italian 3
chem
Self study-environmental science and possibly psychology</p>

<p>senior year-
ap lit
italian 4 (and after school italian 5/ap possibly)
still same music
physics
honors econ
ap calc bc
required health</p>

<p>eak, that took awhile. hehe hope you enjoyed reading my oh so exciting schedule. :)</p>

6

<p>Sounds like a liberal arts college will work best for you. Assuming a 30-32 ACT, you should look at schools like Wellesley, Bowdoin, Barnard, Scripps, Colby, Kenyon, Wes to name a few depending on location you want. If ACT goes higher, throw in one of Williams, Amherst, Pomona, Swathmore.</p>

7

<p>Also:</p>

<p>Vassar, Oberlin, Macalester, Carleton, Haverford, Cornell U.</p>

8

<p>Thanks for such possitive responses! I'm pretty new to this whole searching for colleges thing, and you guys suggested some amazing schools. (Swarthmore is my dream school.) I agree that LAC's sound pretty awesome for me. Does anyone have any experience not being so "focussed" but getting into a great college anyway because I am not at all interested in making my passions into what colleges veiw as "passion".</p>

9

<p>Sounds like you have a passion for music. Just cull or prune your EC lists for the application and you will be fine. I had so many activities myself, and I chose to use my essays and recs to highlight something other than my most obvious passions. I did fine in the admissions process.</p>

<p>Also, if Swat is your dream, also apply to Haverford and Bryn Mawr. They have a close relationship with Swarthmore (and UPenn) and are slightly easier to get into (and with the same kind of ethos). As for Bryn Mawr being all-womyn, they are just down the street from Haverford and Bryn Mawr students can live in Haverford residence halls (and visa versa). So, even though BMC is a womyn's college, it does have men on campus, in class, and in the dorms.</p>

<p>Just an idea. Similar colleges, but easier to get into than Swat include Grinnell, Earlham, Carleton, and Reed to name a few.</p>