chance me/give suggestions

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey guys! I'll be a junior next year and I am starting to worry about the college selection/application process. I would love to hear you all's input on my chances at the schools I am interested in and any suggestions you might have. </p>

<p>Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.86
I just completed the Pre-IB program at my school and will be entering the IB program at my school in the fall, which is currently ranked one of the top 1% in the world.
PSAT: 77 Verbal 71 Math 65 Writing
State: FL</p>

<p>Middle School (all As)
Honors Algebra 1
Honors Geometry
Honors Earth Space Science
Honors Economics</p>

<p>Freshmen Year (All As)
Pre-IB Biology 1
Pre-IB World History
Pre-IB English 1
Pre-IB Spanish 1
Pre-IB Algebra 2
Speech
Chorus
Orchestra</p>

<p>Sophomore Year (All As)
Pre-IB Chemistry
Pre-IB Physics
AP European History
Pre-IB English 2
Pre-IB Spanish 2
IB Pre-Calc
Chorus
Orchestra</p>

<p>Projected Junior Year
IB SL Biology
IB English 3
IB History of the Americas
IB Spanish 3
IB SL Calculus
IB Psychology
Chorus</p>

<p>Projected Senior Year
IB Theory of Knowledge
IB HL English
IB HL History
IB SL Spanish 4
AP Calculus BC
IB HL Psychology
Chorus</p>

<p>I also plan to take the follow AP tests through IB class preparation and self study: Language, Literature, Biology, also Calculus AB.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Chorus
-student director
-officer
-private voice lessons
-member/music arranger in acapella group
-accepted to several county and state honor choirs</p>

<p>Orchestra
-private viola lessons
-accepted to county honor orchestras</p>

<p>Tri-M Music Honor Society: treasurer</p>

<p>Model UN
-several delegate and delegation awards
-serving on home government for my club next year</p>

<p>Church Music Ministries
-church orchestra
-choir accompanist
-youth choir: community service and mission tours
-girls ensemble</p>

<p>Dance
-pointe, jazz and lyrical</p>

<p>Teenage Republicans
-Founder/President</p>

<p>Volunteer Work:
Choir Tour- helped at homeless shelters, cancer clinics, youth centers and rescue missions
Mission Trip- provided day camp to underprivileged rural children, served as a junior counselor the 2nd year
Swim Lessons-taught free swim lessons through the ymca to underprivileged children 12 hours a week for an entire summer</p>

<p>I am hoping to major in something like public policy, political science, or international relations and go on to law school. </p>

<p>Some colleges I am looking at are:
Georgetown
Columbia
Vanderbilt
Furman
Wake Forest
Rice
Davidson
FSU
Elon
Georgia Tech
Sewanee
UVA
UPenn
U Richmond
TCU
Southwestern U</p>

<p>Yes, I know that is a ton of schools! I would love to hear some advice about what I can do to improve my applications or any advice about these schools or other school suggestions.</p>

2

<p>Wow. Those are some amazing stats. And with PSAT scores like that, there’s a chance you could become a National Merit Semi-Finalist. I think you could get into all of the schools you listed, except for UPenn, Columbia, and maybe Georgetown. You might want to think about EDing (would you need FA though?) at one of those schools (maybe Penn?), which will increase your chances by a lot. I think you could get into Georgetown, but Columbia might be a reach. But, let me remind you that the admissions cycle can be extremely tricky when it comes to the Ivies and other similar schools.</p>

3

<p>thanks! and yeah, ivy acceptance is nearly impossible and Columbia and UPenn will be taken off my list with the first B I get. I know Georgetown is a definite reach just by nature but I am in love with DC and know it would be a great place for what I want to do. I’m planning on working on getting my SAT score much higher than my PSAT one and try to keep my GPA up as much as possible. I know I would be happy at most any of the other schools I listed, but I of course being an overachiever would love to get into one of those reaches. Let me know if you have any other suggestions/advice!</p>

4

<p>Yeah, I know exactly how you feel. Maybe you should add American University to your list, although it’s not as good as Georgetown, it has the same feel - and it could work as a safety.</p>

<p>Wait…do you really think Columbia is THAT selective? Columbia is actually one of my top choices :frowning: Although I haven’t gotten a B this year, I did get a D on my freshman year.</p>

<p>And as for your SAT, don’t focus on it TOO much, since you’re pretty much set with a high score. Instead focus on your ECs and get some more leadership positions maybe (not that your stats aren’t amazing already :)).</p>

<p>Oh, and will you need FA?</p>

5

<p>yeah, I looked at american, but heard things about it not being real safe and as a girl, that really worried me. Also, its pretty liberal and as a person who wants to study something political, that could be rough. Ehh, well I don’t have much experience specifically with Columbia but I know tons of people with 3.7-4.0s in the IB program at my school with great test scores and ECs who don’t get into ivys and similar schools. As far as FA, not having it won’t keep me from going to a dream school, but it certainly would help a ton. My family didn’t qualify for any aid with my brother but I was kind of hoping to scrape up some merit money somewhere (those reaches probably wouldn’t give any anyways). With dreams of law school, every dollar saved counts. A D in freshmen year could show an upward curve? With strong standardized scores and ECs, you never know.</p>

6

<p>Your ECs look great. I think that you have a good chance at all of them, provided that you get good recommendations and write a good essay. Good luck.</p>

<p>Chance me: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/957028-chance-please.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/957028-chance-please.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

7

<p>Ohh…I never thought of security. What about George Washington - it also has a similar feel and you could easily get in. :)</p>

<p>Well…I hope so :slight_smile: I mean, I went from having a D to an A (but they bumped down to an easier class). Thanks though :)</p>

8

<p>Yeah, safety/security isn’t something you put much thought into until your brother goes to georgia tech and nearly get mugged and has friends who have had 2 cars stolen in one year. I’ve considered GWU but the safety/liberal issues still play into that and I would probably just pick one of my other (as you can tell extremely plentiful) choices before it.
I’m really hoping my ECs don’t end up hurting me in the end because they require so much time and my academics are about to get so much more demanding. Also, I’m not sure whether the amount of time I spend on some of them (particularly chorus) will show up in my applications. Our chorus is extremely demanding time-wise and I spend entire 7am-11pm days at school during certain times of the year. I’m afraid it will just be another “oh she’s in choir, how sweet” without full understanding of how much time it takes.</p>