Hey everyone! I am currently a Junior at a competitive high school in Mesa, AZ. I want to major in political science and my top schools are Columbia and UC Berkeley. Honestly, I don’t my chances, and some advice on what colleges would actually be a possibility would be helpful before I get my hopes up.
Simple: 3.81
Weighted: 4.13
UC GPA WEIGHTED: 4.08 (Since I am out of state a lot of my honors courses are not counted ): )
UC GPA: 3.96
Rank: JUST shy of top 10%, so the top 15% bracket (I am devastated)
ACT/SAT
-Have not taken yet, but I already getting tutoring for when I take it in May.
AP Classes/(test scores)
-AP US History (enrolled)
-AP Physics 1 (enrolled)
-AP Comparative Governent (enrolled)
I am taking 5 AP courses next year as a senior
Extracurriculars
Sophomore Year:
DECA - 2 Years;
Won 1st place at state first year
Sophomore - Junior Summer:
Intern for Save Our Schools Arizona (Referendum petition)
150 Hours
held leadership position
Field Intern for Maricopa County Democratic Party
50 hours
Accepted into ACLU Program on organizing and empowerment
interned for their campaign on the discipline gap - 40 Hours
Junior Year:
Model UN
Won best delegate at regional (Its for juniors and up, so that was my first and only competition so far)
Speech and Debate:
Congress and Extemp
Young Democrats Club:
Founder and President
Petitoined the District to allow the GSA Club to host an LGBT History Month Campaign
We The People:
Co-Founder and President
Registered a record number of student body to vote through Inspire US
Legislative Intern for the ACLU
currently co-authoring a education reform bill on how school enroll and discipline kids, addressing systemic racism among minorities (especially natives).
Youth Rep. to the Board (Mesa Democratic Party)
currently organizing a city wide canvass
currently organizing a youth advisory council
Jobs:
Harkins Theaters - 15 hours/week
working there for a year now
Pita Jungle (Host) - 5 hours/week
working for a few months now; picked it up after nasty divorce to help pay bills
Hooks
-first generation college student
-second generation American; father is a refugee from Lebanon
-I am GAY :0
I doubt I can get into Columbia or UC Berkeley, so if anyone knows any schools that have fantastic PolySci programs and are near a larger city for internships and organizing opportunities, recommendations are WELCOME!! ((:
The big question: Can you afford UC Berkeley? Most out of state kids are shocked to learn how much it costs (and there is no aid given for the out-of-state upcharge!)
You’ll be able to chance yourself once you have test scores – they’re easier to put into the college search engines.
Hooks are generally standard:
*Athletic Recruit
*URM-underrepresented minority: African-American, Native-American, Mexican-American, Pacific Islander
*Celebrity status or child of celebrity
*Large donor
*International Fame (Olympian, child of a president, etc.)
*Legacy
*First generation (neither parent attended any college, anywhere)
A college-specific need/something that the college needs: Tuba Player, mural artist, Basketball player.
Being gay and having parents from Lebanon are not hooks. Being first generation may not have any impact in admissions since it can depend on the college.
The UC’s are public schools and will not provide any funds for non-residents. Expect to pay $60K per year.
Thanks! I was not aware hooks were an actual standard thing, my apologies. Additionally, I was not aware of how expensive UC Berkeley is.
What good PolySci schools would you assume I would have a decent chance of admission, assuming I have decently good test scores? I am already starting to stress about what schools I should start looking to apply too and find scholarships for.
You have some really great ExtraCurriculars!!! I think that even if UCB doesn’t turn out to be feasible because of cost, you might be able to get some very good scholarships if you apply to private universities. College of William and Mary has a pretty good Polisci program, as do Swarthmore College and Duke
I’m not a college admissions expert, but I’d say that as long as you make very good ACT/SAT scores, you have a good chance at these colleges, so definitely keep focusing on those:)
Good Luck!!!
Every college list should start with exploring your in state options. Maybe start with ASU - access to a state capital is great for political science majors.
Places to get starter lists of political science schools include CollegeXpress, College Transitions Dataverse, Rugg’s Recommendations, or the Great Schools for Popular Majors section of the Princeton Review Best Colleges book.
If you can purchase the current Rugg’s PDF, it’s nicely organized by selectivity.