Chance Me + Good Match Schools

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I am a first generation college student, a child of undocumented Mexican Immigrants, and am very low income. I am currently a Junior in California.

Background:

  • Latina female
  • Native Spanish Speaker
  • Eldest sister of 3
  • Go to a heavily impacted school that is primarily made up Latinx and Filipino students, yet 80% go to community college and only 29% meet A-G Requirements
  • My coastal city is known for it’s agriculture and heavy population of field workers

Academics:

  • 3.8 GPA UW, 4.47 Weighted
  • Rank 20 of 745
  • have taken AP Biology (2), AP Human Geography (4), AP European History (4)
  • Currently taking AP Psychology, AP US History, and Ap English Language and Composition, I will be retaking the Biology exam and taking the Chemistry exam
  • Have taken a total of 8 classesa at my local city college and passed them: American Sign Language 1, American Sign Language Intermediate, Elementary Chemistry, Elementary Chemistry Lab, Intro to Theatre, American Government, Principles of Macroeconomics, and Cultural Anthropology (College class haven’t been integrated into my GPA yet)
  • Haven’t taken the SAT
  • PSAT: 1080 Math: 520 Reading and Writing: 560

Extra Curricular:

  • Future Leaders of America Master Achievers (9th- Present): Year-round Latinx Leadership program that works to combat community issues, have led multiple protests against our school district which has evolved the education for students to come, currently leading one for Non-Citizens Voting in School Board
  • Future Leaders of America Youth Leadership Camp (9th-Present): Summer week-long program that focuses on empowering youth from the community and exposing them to higher education
  • Brown Issues Youth Statewide Conference (10th-Present): Yearly Conference with year-round activities that cultivates the next generation of Brown Leaders through civic engagement, social emotional health support, and narrative change
  • Night to Remember (10th- Present): Yearly dance that allows people with special needs from Ventura County to enjoy a night dedicated to them
  • Yale Young Global Scholars- Politics, Law, and Economics (Summer before 11th grade): Summer academic program held at Yale University that works to create a community of exceptional global scholars.
  • SoCal Philosophy Academy- Political Philosophy (10th- Present): Summer week long program that promotes the practice of philosophy through pre-college philosophy instruction and public philosophy
  • Catholic Confirmation- (11th-12th): Weekly Bible study classes
  • Student Government (9th-Present): School’s student council that works to promote a fun student environment and wellbeing
  • Power California Phone Bank Intern (10th): Non-profit organization that harnesses the energy of young people of color and their families to create an equitable, inclusive and just state for everyone. Phone banked to push for specific propositions on the 2018 Midterm election ballot
  • Varsity Girls Golf (10th-Present): School’s Golf team
  • Junior Varsity Cross Country (11th-Present): School’s Cross Country team
  • Junior Varsity Track and Field (10th-Present): School’s Track and Field team
  • Student Advisor to the Superintendent Council

Leadership Roles:

  • Future Leaders of America Master Achievers: President (present) & Treasurer (10th grade)
  • Future Leaders of America Youth Leadership Camp: Peer Facilitator (3x for 2 summers)
    Peer-facilitator: a co-mentor to 10 students
  • Brown Issues Youth Statewide Conference: Workshop leader (presented a workshop titled ‘Imposter or Oppressed? An Analyzation of Latinx Sentiment in American Society”
  • Night to Remember: Host to a Special Needs student
  • Student Government: Junior Class President, Sophomore Class Officer, Student Store Commissioner

My Passion and Edge:
I intend to major in Political Science and go into the Pre-Law track. My goal is to become a congresswoman to bring better political representation for brown low-income folk.

My Dream/Reach Schools:

  • Yale University
  • Stanford University
  • USC
  • Notre Dame
  • Georgetown University
  • UC Berkely

Please, Please help me out as to what I should do in the next coming months as to strengthen my college application!

2

Your extracurriculars are very strong and focused. After reading your list of activities, I was not surprised to see that you want to major in political science , so great job pursuing a clear passion! When writing your college apps, I would center your app on what drives this passion. It’s clear you have a passion for serving the community from your activity list. The thing they can’t see from the list is the “why” behind all these activities, so that needs to come through in your essays. Why is this your passion? What moments or experiences made you realize you had this passion? What do you want to do with this passion in the future? What have you learned from all these experiences? How will you use this passion to contribute to your future college community? By answering these types of questions in your essays, you’ll create a compelling and highly personal case for yourself that will resonate with admissions officers. The more personal and cohesive your story is, the more unique and persuasive it will be. Good luck!

3

I first would start to identify at least 2 safety schools (almost guaranteed acceptance and affordable).

Have you calculated your FASFA EFC? Have you run the Net price calculators for all schools of interest?

You are going to need to work on preparing for the SAT and/or ACT since your Reach schools at the moment have not suspended or offered a choice of being test optional.

The California UC’s have suspended requiring test scores for Fall 2021 applicants to your advantage, but they will now put more emphasis on your GPA, HS course rigor, personal insight essays and EC’s.

I agree with the above post, you need to really spend time on your essays and perfecting you test taking skills.

Best of luck.

4

Thank you so so much! I know of what story I will speak of, thank you!