<p>Hey everyone. This is my first time posting, so I’m sorry if this isn’t really done correctly.</p>
<p>The school I REALLY want to apply to is Brown. I plan to apply Early Decision and to be a Development Studies Major with a focus of Human Rights/Africa. I would really like to know what you guys think my chances are!</p>
<p>About me: I am a Caucasian male who is of Austrian/Polish/Russian/Israeli/Palestinian descent. I am fluent in English (obviously) and Spanish. I am proficient in Italian and Latin and I have a basic knowledge of Hebrew. I am also beginning my studies in Swahili. JAMBO!</p>
<p>Stats:</p>
<p>School: I got to a VERY competitive public high school in New York. It’s listed in the top 250 high schools in America. I’m also the only person in my school who is applying to Brown ED.</p>
<p>Grades: I am currently a Junior and am in the top 5% of my class of 405. My GPA equates to a 98. My SATS are between 2100 to 2200(1400+ without the writing). I’ve taken an SAT II in World History (700) and US History (730). I recently took an SAT II in Biology and Spanish and I expect 750+ for each. I’ve currently taken 2 aps. Ap World and US and I have gotten a 5 on each. I’m taking US Government, Biology, and Spanish this year. I hope to get 5s on each. I’m also in IB HL World Literature where I hope to score a 6 or 7 on the exam. I am taking the ACTS in June, but I doubt I’ll send them in.</p>
<p>Classes: I am an over-achiever. I take at least 9 to 10 classes a year, even though my school only has 8 periods in a day. I am currently taking Spanish and Italian in school. And I am taking Latin as an independent study. I always take an AP when possible and I am one year ahead in math. I do an independent science research class where I am monitoring caffeine intake among high school students. I also take electives that I think will be fun. For example this year I randomly decided to take Theatre Arts…and I’m loving it!</p>
<p>Extra-Curriculars: I do a LARGE amount of extracurriculars
-I’m very active in my school’s student council. I was school secretary last year, I am school vice-president this year, and I plan to be president next year.
-I am a member of my school’s Model United Nations team. I plan to be the head delegate next year. So far in my MUN career I have won 4 awards.
I participate in my town’s Ambulance Corps, meaning I have emt knowledge. I was the Corps’ secretary last year and this year/next year I am the Corps’ president.
I am currently the vice president of my school’s Helping Little Hands Club and next year I plan to be President.
I am an active member of my school’s foreign language and social studies magazines. Next year I hope to be Editor-in-Chief of the social studies magazine.
I am very active in the Charity Water program that my school has. (Raising money to build a well in Kenya).
I am in charge of Public Relations for my school’s Amnesty International Chapter. I will have this position next year as well.
I am part of my school’s assets club. Which is about instilling the 40 developmental assets in my school. I went to Minnesota to be trained.
I am part of my School’s model congress club.
I am a Kick Off Mentor (freshman mentor) for the incoming freshman classes.
I am the leader of my school’s world of difference program. This program promotes tolerance in my school.
I am part of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta (math honor society), Foreign Language Honor Society, Science Honor Society and Social Studies Honor Society. I hope to president of my school’s National Honor Society next year.
Every Wednesday I work with immigrant Spanish children. I teach them English.
I founded a student coalition to raise awareness of the events in Darfur in my county. This is my favorite club because it is run solely by students outside of school and is proving to be very successful.
This year I participated in my school’s musical and next year I hope to get a lead role.
I work closely with the Steps program from NYU to monitor stress levels of high school kids. (You can see me speak in the PBS special on the program!)
Over the summer I work at a sleep-away camp for children with disabilities and special needs.
Next year I also plan to start working for a law firm.</p>
<p>Personal Traits: I have a bubbly personality. I am full of energy and I try to be nice and caring to everyone. Some people think I’m funny, but that’s because I don’t care what people think of me. Thus, I tend to act ridiculous or strange at times. I’m easy going and I know when to be polite. Because of these qualities I think I’ll do well in my interview. I have visited Brown before and have met with certain professors/administrators. My recommendations will be awesome and I believe my essay will be too!</p>
<p>Im sorry, but your looking at a far reach. You need to take more AP classes. Maybe try another language. Maybe someday you’ll have a shot if you work harder.</p>
<p>Laundry list of things you did that made my yawn not even 1/5 of the way into the post.
Where is your passion? Youre doing way too much and it really amounts to nothing. Ambulance Corps? Great. Mentor (freshman mentor) for the incoming freshman classes? Mhm, okay. Leader of my school’s world of difference program. This program promotes tolerance in my school? Um, great. Every Wednesday I work with immigrant Spanish children. I teach them English? Just Wednesdays? School’s musical? Ah, so youre an actor now? Over the summer I work at a sleep-away camp for children with disabilities and special needs? You’re really pushing this overboard. </p>
<p>It seems to me that you want to get leadership positions to…well, look good. This year focus on 3 activities. Not just leadership positions, but work on making a REAL impact on your community. Get people involved, knowledgeable and get your self passionate or make yourself seem passionate on paper. Only when you get really involved and really interested do you start to make yourself truly committed and it will let your passion speak for itself. </p>
<p>And btw, you won’t possibly fit any of this stuff onto a college application. Some people are really into one thing. Like debate and work at it to become a nationally ranked debater. Or give foreign affairs talks at city colleges. Do research with a department at a college or well known institution and participate and win many well known science competitions or publish a paper or travel abroad to present their research. Or love the sport of tennis and go on to be ranked in the state, or nation. Sure they may have their activities focus on one area, but it is this focus on one area that makes them achieve great things. You seems to have nothing going for you but leadership positions that you hope to get. Do something more in your activities (no, i don;t mean leadership positons but maybe organize a school wide or community-wide event and raise money for a specific organization?..) and than you’ll become a competitive candidate.</p>
<p>Honestly…we’re not THAT knowledgeable here. We can tell you a general sense of what they look at and what they’re looking for, but we can’t really make judgment calls on a person by person basis. If you love Brown, apply. The professionals(aka the admissions office) will tell you the authoritative answer.</p>
<p>RE: Whatever Krason is saying, uhhh, really that’s not that necessary. Just do what you like and love and try your best and go with that. If Brown doesn’t want you for that, some other great college will.</p>
<p>To the OP, You sound awesome. You stand as much of a chance as the other freakishly super high achievers. That is: don’t be shocked if you get in, but <em>have a solid set of alternatives</em> if ED doesn’t work out. Any school would be ecstatic to have a nut like you!</p>
<p>And Krason, excuse me for having multiple interests. When I said chance me, I didn’t ask for you to push yourself to find my faults and then judge me. I gave very little interest about what I do. And half of your reccommendations, I’ve already accomplished. Do us all a favor and please to chance other people. You’re advice is not sound.</p>
<p>**my computer posted this wrong. It is supposed to say I gave very little information about what I do. And half of your recommendations, I’ve already accommplished. Do us all a favor and please DO NOT chance other people.</p>
<p>While I think Krason was not tactful and overstepped his bounds, I do think he had a sliver of a valid point:</p>
<p>What helps people become really excellent applicants is creating something of their own that only a few other applicants would even be able to create themselves. I do not claim you haven’t done this, but I think that’s what Krason implied.</p>
<p>Krason had good comments. The people that are here to comment that say things like that are not here to insult you, they are trying to be constructively critical.</p>
<p>First things first: posting your stats on a chance-me thread is asking to get nailed by people saying you’re not good enough. If you want a self-esteem booster, try winning at freecell or something (sorry, it’s my most-turned to computer game).
But, you’ve got a good chance. Beyond that, I’ve got no clue. Why Brown chose me when Stanford flat-out rejected me EA, I’ll never know (while a friend of mine was accepted EA to Stanford but rejected at Brown). I also had a eclectic assortment of thigns I do (debate, one sport, math, church) but wasn’t really very good in any one of them, besides pushing myself into leadership positions. So if you ARE good and passionate about one of your activities, great. Use it. But as Krason sort of pointed out, wiht a laundry list of things, you oculd still be a pretty boring person. I know people at my school who didn’t stand a chance at getting into their most desired schools, who were the leaders of multiple clubs AND did community-wide activites. It really all depends on YOU. In your application you should try to paint a clear picture of why you fit in with whatever school you’re applying to. What about you is it that they can’t get from someone else?
Because yes. Step-team: they can get proffessional-type dancers. Academics: they can get people who’ve already invented things. Helping in Darfur: There’re people who’ve gone and built schools there already.
Honestly, I don’t know what it was that got me into Brown. Their sports are D-1, and waaay better than my talent (I even said so in my interview). Their debate is good, and while I’ll be on the team, I don’t have a truly competitive track record. But, I wrote essays that showed myself, and I tried to show in each essay a different side of myself, a different way that I could fit into Brown’s program, and apparantley I fit into one fo their sciences.
So yeah. Put your all into your applications, but along the lines of what hollyert said: don’t be shocked if you don’t get in, because admissions is a quirky thing.</p>