Chance?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tufts University
1

<p>All right, here it goes.</p>

<p>I'm a female Asian from a competitive school in the suburbs of Chicago.</p>

<p>I took the ACT two times, the highest score being 29 (I have one more chance to retake the ACT before ED deadline).</p>

<p>I am involved in my school's new Human Rights Club (we just raised one grand in our first benefit concert). I used to be part of the school's Habitat For Humanity before it was cancelled. I will be volunteering abroad this summer in Guatemala and have participated in the National Student Leadership Conference.</p>

<p>I have a trophy and two medals from a Karate tournament (I think it was state).</p>

<p>I have a GPA of 4.1 (weighted, don't know uw) and I have a string of As and Bs. I've taken several honors/ap courses.</p>

<p>I plan on taking the AP USH, AP Calc BC, and AP Stats tests during senior year (I'm a junior now). I guess this won't matter until after apps are done. I have taken the AP Psych test but haven't gotten the results yet.</p>

<p>So...be honest. What are my chances at Tufts? Should I retake the ACT? What are they specifically looking for (or are really anal about)? Should I include more volunteering hours/extracurricular activites?</p>

2

<p>Other than the ACT, everything else looks fine, but you don't really have a hook, and without that, you might want to try and get your ACT to a 31+ to have a chance.</p>

3

<p>What would you consider a "hook"? A friend of mine wrote about how he survived a car accident and learned to walk again during his junior year for his essay. Would that be considered a "hook"?
I have some traumatic experiences I was planning on writing for the apps essay, but I don't know if that would be a hook or not. (I've also moved around all over the world...would that be a hook?)</p>

<p>P.S. My uncle's the president of Shanghai University. I know you can't get letters of recommendation from family, but is there a way to take advantage of that connection?</p>

4

<p>Perhaps, I mean, I would use the traveling around the world, making you a "global citizen". I would focus on the ACT's though, and the rest should take care of itself, just be yourself (I know you hear this all the time, most likely), and as for you uncle, mention it perhaps as a reason why you wanted to be part of a university that emphasizes global and active citizenship.</p>

5

<p>At least I know what to do now. Thanks for your advice(s).</p>