<p>Hello, everyone. I've been looking mainly at Columbia, Yale, and Bowdoin (I already have a Bowdoin sweatshirt =P), in no particular order of preference, and can't really envision myself going anywhere else (I've tried). Will I be able to get in? (I'm applying to Yale Restrictive Early Action... I wish Columbia had that option though.)</p>
<p>-> 3.95 GPA, 4.69 Weighted GPA
-> SAT I: 720 Math, 720 Writing, 670 Reading
-> SAT II: 750 Bio-E, 780 Chemistry, 750 Math II
-> AP Scores - Chemistry: 5, Calc AB: 5, Environmental Sci: 5, English Lang: 5, World: 5, US Government: 4 =( ... also taking AP Literature, AP Calc BC, and AP Bio this year.
-> Courses:<br>
(I forget what I took exactly during freshman and sophmore... I know I took Honors Chem and Honors Bio simultaneously in sophmore year and didn't take any non-honors classes my entire high school career except for ceramics)
Junior: AP Chemistry Double Period (A,A), AP English Language (A,A), AP Calculus AB (A,A), AP Environmental Science (A,A), Honors Anatomy and Physiology (A,A), AP World (A,A)</p>
<p>Senior: AP Literature, AP Biology Double Period, AP Calculus BC, Internship</p>
<p>Internship in question is a research internship at the National Institutes of Health... I'm doing my own research project in a developmental immunology lab (part of the FDA, Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, getting the head of the lab, who's also the Director of the Office of Biotechnology Products in the FDA) involving apoptotis (programmed cell death) in CD4+ T-Lymphocytes (I know this might sound jargonish).</p>
<p>The problem is, I want to major in Geology/Oceanography, and I'm not sure if I should put that on my application (internship is all cellular biology) or if I should put that I want to major in bio. Anyway after my internship I get to present a paper at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute... this is considered the premier science education programs in the world and I'm one of 23 students selected for it this year (it's only in Montgomery County).</p>
<p>-> Extracurriculars:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>President of the Damascus High School chapter of the National Honors Society, grade 12</p></li>
<li><p>Student Academy of Science, grades 10-12</p></li>
<li><p>Mathematics League, A-Team Member, grades 9-10</p></li>
<li><p>Environmental Club, grade 10 (couldn't continue because the teacher hated me for some reason and I was advised not to)</p></li>
<li><p>Went to a 2-night environmental education program at the Chesapeake Bay called the Karen Noonan Environmental Education program(which is what I wrote one of my essays on... how that program influenced my desire to major in Geology/Oceanography)</p></li>
<li><p>Was a Montgomery County Teen Court juror (decided unique punishments in a teen court system for teenage offenders of minor drug laws, minor violence, etc) during 11th grade</p></li>
<li><p>Helped my class SGA with art during events (posters, etc) during 9th and 10th grade.</p></li>
<li><p>Drew some political cartoons for the school newspaper during 11th grade.</p></li>
<li><p>Rensselaer Medalist</p></li>
<li><p>I'm building a 12' boat (from blueprints) on my own, that's got to count for something... still under construction but I've been working on it (including research) from July 2008-present</p></li>
</ul>
<p>-> Jobs</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Began the internship at the NIH I previously mentioned during the summer, was given a $1600 grant, which I used to buy the materials for my boat.</p></li>
<li><p>Worked at a diner as a busboy from August 2006 to March 2008 without interruption.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>-> Other Information</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Attended the F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Conference (a creative writing conference) in the 2006-2007 school year</p></li>
<li><p>Member of the Immunology Interest Group at the NIH</p></li>
<li><p>Attended the Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series (and met a professor from the Yale Medical School) in 2008</p></li>
<li><p>Attended a seminar on Toxicology at George Washington University during the 2007-2008 school year</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Hey... even by writing that out I remembered a few things...</p>
<p>OH--- I forgot... my plans are to get a graduate degree in Oceanography and do research... if anyone knows of any other schools that will make it easier for me to get into Brown University for graduate school or have strong undergraduate Earth Science or Oceanography programs, please let me know =)</p>
<p>I'm also applying to Colby College for safety, and University of Maryland: College Park for financial safety (my parents are going through a violent divorce/separation, I'm living with my mother who hasn't ever worked, father won't even talk to me... I think financial aid will cover everything for Bowdoin, Columbia or Yale but my counselor told me that UMD would give me a full scholarship, so just in case...)</p>