<p>Chance me please? I want to apply to Northwestern (Medill), Williams, Swarthmore, Bowdoin, Duke (Trinity CAS), Yale, Cornell (A/S), UChicago, UPenn, and NYU (CAS)</p>
<p>SAT I: 2260 (800W, 740CR, 720M) done in 1 sitting
SATII: 800 Math II; 780 US History
Unweighted GPA: 95.4/100, school doesn't rank
AP: Music Theory (5), World History (4), AB Calc (5), English Lang & Comp (5), US History (5)
Senior Year Course Load: Multivariate Calc/Differential Equations, AP English Lit, AP Micro, AP Macro, Gov, AP Spanish Language, Symphonic Orchestra, Advanced Journalism, Science Electives
Major awards: None yet (Doing Scholastic competition & other writing ones this fall, find out about National Merit later)
Extracurriculars:
-School paper (Staff, News Editor, Managing Board Editor)
-Youth orchestra (Majors Program)
-Theater community (Band and Chorus)
-National Honors Society (tutor, volunteer)
-Big Sib (Homeroom Leader)
-Community Service club (volunteer)
Job/Work Experience: Will start blogging for the New York Times next month
Volunteer: Volunteered for 2 political campaigns, tutor for NHS, benefit concerts to raise $ for Japan
Summer Activities: Music camp, political campaigns, precollege programs
Ethnicity: Asian and Caucasian</p>
<p>Please be as brutally honest as possible (and tell me what I can do to improve?)
Thanks a bunch!</p>
<p>Which ones are your favorites? Like top two or three?</p>
<p>Yale is a dream one.
Favorites: Northwestern, Williams, and UChicago.</p>
<p>Consider ED to NW or Williams or EA to Yale or UChicago then. Obviously visit the schools but if you need aid money I’d apply RD and compare packages. RD I’d say you have a decent shot at most of them (you’ll probably get into a few, but because they are all so competitive I only feel confident about NYU)</p>
<p>I have visited Yale and Williams and plan to take a Chicago trip in the fall to see NW and UChicago.
Financial aid is kind of a concern for me…it’s difficult when you’re middle class and your estimated financial need is 0, but paying 50k+ for 4 years would clearly leave your parents with little to nothing for themselves.
I agree with the second part of what you said. Especially in my school last year, there were a lot of kids who were very qualified but got screwed over by admissions. You could have all of the numbers and write great essays but something might rub them the wrong way. And yes, NYU accepts a lot of students from my school each year.
Thanks for the advice!</p>
<p>No problem. If I were you I’d apply to one or two more good safeties where you think you can get good merit money (USC?)</p>
<p>I was looking into USC before (the Annenberg school for journalism and communications is very good, and so is their arts & sciences school), but my parents are not too keen on me going to school all the way across the country…don’t know how I could convince them.
Do you know of other schools that give out good merit aid? When you start getting to selective ones, they stop doing it because almost EVERYONE applying is super talented and smart.</p>
<p>Ya I think the top ones give out 20-50 merit schollys a year, so thats pretty tough. Which state/region do you live in so I can suggest some good schools around with merit money? I’m guessing Northeast or Midwest</p>
<p>I live in the Northeast (New York City). My parents said Chicago is my westernmost boundary.
Northeast/East Coast schools with merit money would be good :)</p>
<p>Boston University is well respected in journalism and give out a good bit of merit money</p>
<p>[Scholarships</a> & Merit Awards | Boston University Admissions](<a href=“http://www.bu.edu/admissions/apply/costs-aid-scholarships/scholarships/]Scholarships”>Scholarships & Financial Aid | Admissions)</p>
<p>Thanks a bunch! I’ll do some more research and maybe add it to my list.
The Common App goes up in 2 days…eeek!</p>
<p>No problem. Syracuse too maybe?</p>
<p>Maybe…it DOES have Newhouse, which I’ve heard is very respectable.</p>