Chances: Brown, Yale, DC colleges, UVA

<p>Profile:
Junior
African-American
First generation
Northern Virginia
Looking to major in Political Science/Government/Public Policy</p>

<p>Colleges I'm looking at so far:
- Brown University
- Yale
- Georgetown University
- University of Virginia
- Johns Hopkins University
- George Washington University
- American University</p>

<p>GPA:
4.2 Weighted GPA
3.8 Unweighted GPA</p>

<p>Course History:
**My school district gives 1.0 point bumps for AP classes and 0.5 point bumps for Honors classes</p>

<p>8TH GRADE<a href="These%20count%20toward%20high%20school%20credits%20and%20are%20calculated%20in%20GPA">/u</a>
Algebra 1 Honors (A/4.0 UW)
Spanish 1 (A/4.0 UW)</p>

<p>FRESHMAN YEAR
World Civilization 9 Honors (A/4.0 UW)
Pre-AP/Honors English 9 (A-/3.7 UW)
Biology HN (A/4.0 UW)
Geometry (B/3.0 UW)
Spanish 2 (A/4.0 UW)
Intermediate Orchestra (A/4.0 UW)
Physical Education (A/4.0 UW)
Symphony Orchestra (A/4.0 UW)</p>

<p>SOPHOMORE YEAR
AP World History (A/4.0 UW) - Scored a "4" on the exam Only available for soph. year
Pre-AP/Honors English 10 (A-/3.7 UW)
Chemistry HN (B/3.0 UW)
Algebra 2 (A-/3.7 UW)
Spanish 3 (A/4.0 UW)
Concert Orchestra (A/4.0 UW)
Physical Education/Drivers Ed (A/4.0 UW)
Symphony Orchestra (A/4.0 UW)</p>

<p>JUNIOR YEAR<a href="So%20far">/u</a>
AP US History (A-/3.7 UW)
AP English Language (A-/3.0 UW)
AP Spanish Language (A-/3.7 UW)
AP Psychology (A/4.0 UW)
Physics HN (B+/3.3 UW)
Precalculus/Trigonometry (A-/3.7 UW)
Advanced Orchestra (A/4.0 UW)
Symphony Orchestra (A/4.0 UW)</p>

<p>Class rank:
There are around 740 people in my Junior Class
My school does NOT rank students</p>

<p>SAT:
I just took them in January for the first time, I do not think that they are a good reflection of my ability because I took them "blind" without studying or anything. I'm doing them again in June for the 2nd time.</p>

<p>CR: 590
Math: 560
Writing: 690 (10 on the essay)
Total: 1840?</p>

<p>I will be taking subject tests in May (USH/Spanish/Math I) and taking the test again in June.</p>

<p>EC:</p>

<ul>
<li>Speech & Debate Team Captain (Junior Year - )</li>
<li>Class of 2011 President (Freshman Year)</li>
<li>Speech & Debate Director of Training & Recruitment (Sophomore Year)</li>
<li>Internship with Candidate for Delegate in my area (Summer 2009- Fall 2009)</li>
<li>Very active in political campaigning, volunteering, etc. </li>
<li>Member of two school orchestras (Freshman Year - ); in addition to a daily class as part of my schedule, I take a 90 minute after-school class that serves as an Eighth period</li>
<li>4 Honor Societies: National, Spanish, English, History </li>
<li>JV Cross Country (Freshman Year - )</li>
<li>Selected & Participated in National Leadership Conference; all-expenses-paid program</li>
<li>Student Government (Freshman Year -)</li>
<li>Red Cross Volunteer (Freshman Year - )</li>
</ul>

<p>Honors/Awards:</p>

<ul>
<li>Placed 1st at States in Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking (Speech & Debate)</li>
<li>My county's Democratic Committee awarded me "Volunteer of the Year" in 2008</li>
<li>A series of Minority Awards reflecting the best minority grades in the county</li>
<li>National Qualifier in Student Congress (Speech & Debate)</li>
<li>Placed 4th at States in Student Congress (Speech & Debate)</li>
<li>Placed 4th at States in Impromptu Speaking (Speech & Debate)</li>
<li>Won a series of Metropolitan, District, and Regional tournaments (Speech & Debate)</li>
<li>Attained highest marks at Solo & Ensemble Area Orchestra competitions (3 years running)</li>
</ul>

<p>In my opinion:</p>

<p>**Strong points:
- Extra-curricular activities/honors and awards
- Curriculum</p>

<p>**Weak points:
- SAT scores (I didn't study, so I feel that if I did, I have a chance of doing better)
- Grades in some AP classes</p>

<p>I would appreciate your honest opinions. Thank you.</p>

<p>Since you are applying to the top schools in the country, your SAT score will definitely, definitely need a boost. Having a tentative 1800 disqualifies you now; raising it to at least a 2100 is almost a requirement.</p>

<p>Unless you raise your SAT scores, rejected from almost all.</p>

<p>African American first generation…
you have an extremely good chance, however, raising SATs will increase your chances tremendously.</p>

<p>Chance me?</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/906007-chance-me-cornell-ut-austin.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/906007-chance-me-cornell-ut-austin.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I’d definitely focus on raising SAT scores. If you still have low scores in some areas, you can always write a letter to the colleges explaining how the scores don’t reflect you as a student. A girl from my school scored poorly in one area and did terribly on one of her Subject Tests, but she explained why and was still wait-listed at Brown.</p>

<p>Thanks for your help. I took my SATs in January without studying for them at all, so again, they’re not a good reflection of my best ability. I’m going to take them again in June.</p>

<p>Besides my SAT scores, are there any other relatively weak points that I should be working on?</p>

<p>Thanks again.</p>