Chances at Vassar??

Colleges and Universities A-Z Vassar College
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<p>Hey! I'm developing my final list of colleges to which I'm applying this fall. What do you think my chances are at Vassar? Any other college recommendations? Thanks! </p>

<p>Senior at a top 10 public high school in California
GPA: 3.45 UW/ 3.65 W (upward trend with the most challenging curriculum- maybe a little too low, though)
SATI: 1410 (700M/710V)
SATII Writing: 800
SATII Literature: 690
SATII US History: 650 (bad day)
By the end of senior year, I will have taken 8 APs and 1 honors class (AP Music Theory, AP Psych, AP Euro, AP US History, Hon. English, AP English, AP Gov/Econ, AP Stats, AP Calc AB)
I'm probably going to major in Classics and either English, History, or Poli Sci
I got 4's on the AP US and AP Psych tests </p>

<p>-Member of Junior Statesmen of America- 4 yrs
-Mock Trial- 2 years
-Vice President of Philosophy Club
-Member of Amnesty International- 4 yrs
-Member of History Club
-Member of the school district's Diversity Committee, which works to combat such issues as homophobia in the school environment
-I'm starting a book club with a friend of mine, so I'll be a co-president of that
-I work closely with the local Democratic club and do outreach work with my school through the organization
-Member/Volunteer at Feminist Majority Foundation
-Leading Volunteer/Organizer for John Kerry for President/ Kerry Campaign Writers Bureau/ Students for Kerry (about 15 hours a week)
-Participated in National Youth Leadership Forum for Law in Washington DC this spring
-Nominated to be my high school's representative for the US Senate Youth Program
-Won the underclassman award at my school 2 years in a row, once for English, once for Precalculus (each teacher picks one student from years frosh-junior to give an award to for academic excellence)
- Won the California Governor's Scholars Award for high STAR test scores
- National Merit Commended Scholar
- I'm in the Gifted and Talented Education Program (GATE) at my school
-Took classes at UC Berkeley every summer I've been in high school (got straight A's in them)
-Taking classes at local community college as well
-I'm taking an evening dance class
-During budget cuts, I led a letter-writing campaign among the students to protect the teachers and programs that had been put in jeopardy
-Wrote a novel (unpublished) and 2 plays, one of which was performed at UC Berkeley
-I don't know if this will factor in at all in assessing my grades, but my mom has been unemployed for a year, on top of which there was a death in the family, the combination of which made for a stressful junior year to say the least. :-( However, my grades have definitely rebounded significantly.
-I'm a very strong writer and am getting wonderful recommendations </p>

<p>200+ hours of community service</p>

<p>If someone could let me know what you think my chances are, that would be great!! Also, does anyone know what Vassar's financial aid is like? Thanks!!</p>

2

<p>I am a freshman at Vassar, and your stats worry me. I had 800,000 community service hours and I barely got in.
-Bottom Line: Do you actually think you're in trouble? So you've shown a tiny bit of weakness of standardized tests - your service and leadership records more than make up for that! Stop worrying.</p>

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<p>Pwrlt:
800,000 community service hours? LOL.</p>

<p>Anyway, now that you're a freshman at Vassar, how do you like it? I've heard both positive and negative comments about the students, so I was wondering what you think about them and the school itself.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

4

<p>First of all, I am pretty shy and the orientation program (for the entire first week) I found so supportive of each individual - I needed this and it definitely helped me and others.
The school is... great. Even the workers at ACDC are friendly with everyone. My professors have gone out of their way for me (I am a chemistry major) and I already am doing research on anti-tumor compounds with my chem prof. All of my profs are very accessible and always helpful.
Socially, there are so many options. The campus isn't dominated by crazy parties like some sources tell you, but that option is always easy to pursue. The school is obviously liberal and students kid about this a lot, but we all really adore the atmosphere and I could not imagine being anywhere else.
I hope this is helpful, and feel free to ask more questions.
(especially 'cause i'm from MA, i can't resist): Kerry-Edwards 2004!! tonight!!!!!!!</p>

5

<p>I take back that last comment.</p>

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<p>Hey leftyleftist, your 200+ hours of community service is per year or all you've done up to now?</p>

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<p>The 200+ hours is this year, which is when most of my work has been concentrated. I've also done a fair amount of miscellaneous work here and there- more issues-oriented campaigning (choice, environment, etc.) and with the local Democratic Club. Combining everything together, it would probably top 300 hours, but I certainly haven't added it all up. It would be higher if I hadn't run into all of the personal difficulties of unemployment and deaths in the family. Do you think this work might help me to stand out in spite of my low GPA?</p>

<p>Isn't this election devastating?</p>

<p>Oh, quick question- in your opinion, is Vassar really politically active in addition to being politically progressive? I know it's left-wing, but I'm really action-oriented and was wondering if people are into acting upon their convictions or if they're more into talking politics among themselves.</p>