Hi! I am a high school sophomore looking to attend the top LAC’s and ivies. I want to pursue a career in politics and have done a solid job building a narrative so far. Here it goes:
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1530
SAT II: Chem: 780; French: 790
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
AP (place score in parenthesis): A 4 (Chem) and 5 (Stats)
IB (place score in parenthesis): Taking IB program junior and senior year
Awards: Minor debate stuff; second place at Lion’s citywide competition; Lobbyist of the Year in Y&G program
Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Varsity Debate (Guaranteed Captain Senior Year, Music Production Club (President + raised 4k), Youth and Government (won awards), School site council, Director at a 50+ employee non-profit organization (sponsors and lobby’s bills in Senate/Assembly). Separately, worked with other students to pass a law in my city (it worked!).
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteered for a local politician in last election
Essays: Going to write about being an Iranian born citizen, who got on most wanted list (forced to flee) for photojournalism by a parent. Tie that into the Trump administration and how I’m working to make it not go haywire (like the Iranian theocracy)…
Other
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none really
Applying to:
Harvard EA
Yale
Princeton
Brown
Penn
U of T (Legacy)
Vanderbilt
UCB
UCLA
USC
Duke
Georgetown
UCSB
13 schools, all of which are competitive…
Any safeties? How would you rate your course rigor? Also, I think it would be wise to wait and see what the essay prompts are going to be before planning your essay out. You’re only a sophomore. You still have lots of time. Refine your college list. Just because you applied to a great many Ivies + Stanford/MIT/Elites doesn’t mean you’re actually going to get lucky and get into one of them. Have some safeties in place too
For a sophomore, your stats appear pretty solid, and you have some decent ECs too. I would definitely need to know a little more info about your class rigor and your class rank. What are you planning on majoring in? I’m assuming political science or the like. Don’t worry about essays yet, since the prompts change every couple of years and you will have far more new experiences to come, which might change what you want to write about. I don’t know too much about political achievements and awards as I do math and science (I don’t know what the equivalent of Intel or USAMO is), but I would also strive for that. I would include at least 1 or 2 safety schools so you aren’t doomed to community college. Keep up the law ECs, for sure. I think you are in a very solid position right now. Just keep pushing yourself.
@IAmTheGreatest I plan to major in political science! Also, you’re right about the essays. I just thought that my background could help since it’s kind of rare and relevant to what I do outside of school. I’ll definitely get some safeties once I tour next year. Thank you for the feedback!
@beepybeetle I know they are competitive! I’m just not that well acquainted with colleges yet to decide on a safety. I appreciate the help, though. In terms of class rigor, I’ll be in the IB program next year, and am currently taking two AP classes (maximum allowed sophomore year). My major concern is in extracurriculars, as I am doing what I love, but I don’t know how far it will get me. I am a firm believer in depth over breadth, but I don’t know how much depth I really have. After all, people truly do see themselves differently than they see others (which is why these threads exist, I think).
@politicz Based on the schools on your list, some good “safeties” or matches to look into would be schools (maybe LACs) with strong programs in what you’d like to major in.
For extracurriculars, a lot of schools like to see leadership in students. If there is an opportunity to take a leadership position in something that you love or care about, I recommend looking into it. In addition to that, community service can be a plus.
Don’t put too much on your plate, you don’t want to push yourself to the point where you get burned out, especially so early in your high school career.
Good luck!
U of T? Texas or Toronto?
With your stats Toronto is a safety for most majors.