<p>I have already applied to Johns Hopkins for International Studies, but I was hoping you guys could chance me for RD at SFS.</p>
<p>As of now, I am a senior in a Canadian public secondary school.</p>
<p>Here are some of my stats thus far:</p>
<p>GPA: 4.0 (93% high school average so far)</p>
<p>Academic Rigor: I have taken 4 of 6 AP courses offered at my school - Math (Adv. Functions & I am taking Calculus & Vectors next semester), English (Literature & Composition), Economics </p>
<p>SAT scores:</p>
<p>Critical Reading - 690
Math - 680
Writing - 760</p>
<p>SAT II scores:</p>
<p>Biology - 640
Literature - 650+
Math II - 750+</p>
<p>Extracurriculars: </p>
<p> Opinion staff writer on political and world issues for high school newspaper
Mentor (student school ambassador) peer advising; peer leader; freshman orientation program
Founder/president of student organization human rights/international affairs awareness for youth (Amnesty International)
Class president on student government
Co-President of schools Model United Nations team (conference awards)
Executive on city government youth council
Member of Model Parliament school team (selected to participate in provincial conference)
City government volunteer city councilor reelection campaign for political office
Worked as a lifeguard and taught swimming lessons to children (summer jobs)
Executive Member of DECA & debate club (regional awards/provincial qualifier) </p>
<p>Letters of Recommendation:</p>
<p>From Guidance Counselor - very good (not generic)</p>
<p>From History Teacher - excellent (he highlighted my passion for human rights and my interest in politics and international affairs)</p>
<p>From AP Economics Teacher - very good (supervisor for DECA club)</p>
<p>Your SATs are quite low and SFS is very competitive. I would say your chances are not great… I assume you have match and safety schools on your list as well?</p>
<p>@intparent, I see that you’ve based my chance solely on my SAT scores. I personally thought that one’s scores are a small factor in the admissions process, considering the fact that an SAT test requires 4 hours (I took it only once), which is quite insignificant when you compare it to the entirety of your high school career (GPA, EC’s) and who you are as a person (essays, LORs). </p>
<p>I would also like to mention that I’m from Canada, and standardized testing is not the norm here (we have 2 standardized tests, and they aren’t used for admission to universities). So I think it’s fair to say that I am a disadvantage when compared to American students whose education system is almost entirely based on such testing.</p>
<p>Provided that the rest of my application demonstrates my interest in international affairs and politics, could you please assess me again? Maybe I’ll have a better chance at the College, in which I would major in government or political economy? </p>
<p>And yes, I do have other schools on my list.</p>
<p>The US education system is really not pointed toward preparation for the SAT or ACT. There are some lower level tests that are a big focus in public education, but the SAT & ACT are not on that list. You may not like it, but a college like Georgetown SFS can afford to be picky about test scores, grades, recommendations, and ECs. Plus, test scores are the only item that is comparable across all students, with everyone taking the same test. You may not like it, but it is very important in the admissions process and difficult to make up for the fact that neither your CR or Math score is above 700; writing score is a recent addition to the SAT and not considered as much as the other to at most colleges. Sorry to bring disappointing news, and go ahead and apply. But you need some more realistic schools on your list as well.</p>
<p>Yes, your odds would be better in the college. Your CR is around the 50% mark, you math is a bit under it for the college. The range is a lot higher for SFS than the college.</p>
<p>Sorry to put you on the spot, intparent, but according to you, SFS looks for scores above 700. Don’t you think it is quite arbitrary to just designate a score as a cutoff? It just doesn’t make sense to me that if my scores are less than 700, my chance is significantly slimmer, despite the fact that I got a 690 and 680 (meaning that I could have gotten over 700 in both sections if I had left ONE question blank rather than getting it wrong). Can the school possibly be that picky? I just don’t think it’s plausible to say that I am no longer a competitive applicant and need more “realistic” schools because of 10-20 point discrepancy in my scores, provided that everything else in my application is stellar. If you are in fact right, there is something fundamentally wrong at the crux of the admissions process.</p>
<p>It’s not because you didn’t get above a 700 on either section, it’s because your scores are just low, including your subject tests. 700 isn’t a cutoff - but most people do get ABOVE that.</p>
<p>Just apply. Admissions are a crap shoot. It’s better to apply and know exactly what they think of you, than to not apply and question yourself later on.</p>
<p>That being said, when you ask people to chance on CC, you should be open-minded about what people are saying. There will be both good and bad comments. No need to be so defensive/emotional. People here (well maybe about 99.8% of us) are not admissions counselors. We can only assume.</p>
<p>My final word: Apply to schools that you like. Don’t get hooked on any one school and have safeties. All the best !!</p>