Chances for RD Applicant?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Carleton College
1

<p>Caucasian Male from Southern California</p>

<p>Test Scores:
34 ACT Composite. SATII(Biology:750, US History:730)
AP's:Literature(5), US History(4), US Government(4), Comparative Government(3), Biology(4), German(3)
IB's: Pending. Taking six this year.</p>

<p>Public High School
G.P.A 3.5 Unweighted. 4.5 Weighted
Rank 35/745 in class
Full I.B. Diploma Candidate</p>

<p>Junior Year Courses:
Pre Calculus, AP US Gov, AP Comp Gov, AP Bio, AP US History, AP Literature, German 4 AP</p>

<p>Senior Year Courses:
IB Bio, IB Math SL, IB German SL, IB English, IB History of Americas, Ceramics (Fill an art requirement), Economics (School Requirement), Health (School Requirement), Honors International Relations.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
1)500 Hours at Local Little League. I became a member of the board of directors last year, coordinating field maintenance, and the respective workers, for the entire league.
35 Hours a week filming football games and practices. I worked forty weeks a year here. I worked monday through friday (game day), staying at school till 7. On Fridays, I stayed at school till 2 A.M. I woke up on Saturday to continue working for the team. I did this for two years. Before that, I played for two years.
2)Four Years of MUN. Multiple awards won at different conferences. Elected to Upper Secretariat as Director General of Technology.
3)Created the Airsoft Club at my school. Elected to Vice President.
4)Four years in German Club. Elected to Vice President.
5)Created the Society for Appreciation of Literature. Elected to Vice President.
6)Member of Young Democrats Club for three years.
7)Poetry published in school literary magazine. Member of English Club, three years.
8)Played Rugby for three years. Team Captain
9)Presbyterian Youth Group for three years. Youth leader.
10)Green Belt in Jiu Jitsu</p>

<p>Work History:
1)4 Years working as Shipping and Handling Process Manager for Engineering firm.
2)2 Years working as freelance technology consultant.</p>

<p>Awards:
AP Scholar with Honors
Excellence in German Language
Three Best Delegate Awards
Three Research Awards
Honor Roll all four years.</p>

<p>Essays:Personal Statement is about baseball and how, behind the trivial veneer, it produces lessons of courage and perseverance. One story about my fear of the ball, and how I got over it. The other is about how I wasn't a good enough baseball player to continue playing. Thus, I tried a new way to participate through field maintenance. It proved to be a successful venture. People who read the essay felt it was witty and representative of myself.</p>

<p>How do my chances look?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>Anyone? Update: My senior first term grades were my best yet. I finished with a 5.02 weighted. It brought my unweighted cumulative G.P.A. to a 3.7 (if you exclude freshman year). I’ve been told Carleton does not consider freshman grades. Do they consider Senior Year midyear grades? Additionally, my rank shot up to about 25/735=3.4%</p>

3

<p>Your stats look good to me, but it will also depend on your recommendations and essays. Good luck!</p>

4

<p>You have 735 people in your class at your school? Holy smokes!</p>

5

<p>Looks great to me. How have applicants from your school with similar GPAs fared with Carleton in the past? Good luck!</p>

<p>(I’ve also met people with high school classes of over 1200–it’s not that unusual.)</p>

6

<p>Actually, I asked several guidance counselors and teachers today, and no one had heard of any student attending Carleton. In fact, I think I am the only student from my school that is applying. How would this affect my chances? I’ll keep looking into that though. As for my essays, would mflevity or firefly mind reading them? I can’t do anything to them now, but it would be nice to get some feedback from Carleton alumni. Also, I am interested in the majors of Political Science (emphasis on International Relations) and Linguistics. How are these programs? I also seem to have an aptitude for languages (fluent in German, Dutch, and Afrikaans along with learning Hebrew). How are the language programs at Carleton? Do students often become fluent in the laguage fo their choosing?</p>

7

<p>Are there any Carleton students involved in the language program that could provide some feedback? Thank you for your time.</p>

8

<p>Sorry - I meant to respond to this before, but forgot.</p>

<p>My D graduated majoring in Political Science/International Relations with a concentration in French. Political Science/IR is one of the top three majors and is definitely a very strong department (with a good variety of courses and professors). She started taking French at Carleton, and I would say she is reasonably fluent. Both departments offer excellent study abroad programs and one of the strengths of the trimester system is that you have time to do two programs. D did European Political Economy in Maastricht and Francophone Culture in Mali- both were outstanding experiences.</p>

9

<p>What language are you hoping to study?</p>

<p>My son is a first year, and has taken two classes in the French Department. He says the professors are outstanding, and as firefly mentioned, the department offers two study abroad programs directed by Carleton profs: one in Mali, and one in Paris. Both are said to be fantastic.</p>

<p>The only fault I can find with the department (this is me talking, not my son) is that the upper level course offerings (that is, once you get beyond the language/grammar sequence) look a little thin when it comes to French literature; greater weight seems to be given to courses emphasizing French and francophone current and cultural events, and films. Not many course offerings in the classics of French literature.</p>

10

<p>I was looking into possibly studying Arabic. Is that program any good? I may also be interested in continuing my German, but French has always been a language I’ve wanted to take as well. Could anyone rate the language programs? I’d definitely want at least a little exposure to Arabic, and I would want to work toward fluency in French or Arabic. Which program seems to be the best? My main career goal, at this point, is to work internationally in the Middle East (specifically the Israel, Palestine and Jordan region).</p>

11

<p>I don’t know much about Arabic at Carleton, except that the department is relatively young and small, with two or three professors, and that the college is putting resources into building it. Maybe someone else can tell us more.</p>

<p>The French department is definitely strong. Here’s the site: [Carleton</a> College: French and Francophone Studies: Welcome to French and Francophone Studies](<a href=“http://apps.carleton.edu/curricular/fren/]Carleton”>http://apps.carleton.edu/curricular/fren/)</p>

<p>You would definitely be able to work toward fluency in French. The language sequence includes four trimesters of instruction, followed by what seem to be “bridge” courses in composition and conversation, as well as upper level courses. There’s also the programs in Paris and Mali. The department sponsers weekly French films on campus and a French language lunch table twice a week, so there’s plenty of opportunity to practice. My son said there was recently a screening of a French film on campus, and the film maker visited his French class. Hope that helps.</p>

12

<p>Alright. Awesome. This is completely out of the blue, but how are the dorms at Carleton? Is your son happy with them? Are they spacious or pretty cramped? Also, how is the food? Thanks for all the replies.</p>

13

<p>Hi tungtied, sorry this is a bit late - I haven’t checked the forum in a while - but I am taking Arabic right now here and I love it!! I answered some questions for someone on this thread a while back:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/carleton-college/1079698-arabic-vs-chinese-psychology-carleton.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/carleton-college/1079698-arabic-vs-chinese-psychology-carleton.html&lt;/a&gt;
if you wanted to take a look at that, and I’d be happy to give you more info if you had more questions.</p>

14

<p>Hi tungtied - again, I just saw this post so this might be a little late. I’m not in Arabic, but I’ve taken a few PoliSci courses here and I really like the department. In terms of your question about the dorms, I think that they’re pretty nice. My dorm room is definitely spacious; I live in Burton Hall and the rooms are pretty nice.</p>

<p>For a better perspective on the rooms (and the campus in general), you might want to look here: [url=&lt;a href=“http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/tour/]Carleton”&gt;http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/tour/]Carleton</a> College: Virtual Tour<a href=“virtual%20campus%20tour”>/url</a> - it lets you look at some dorm rooms, as well as the campus itself.</p>

<p>As for your stats, you’re definitely a qualified applicant. Obviously I can’t guarantee anything, but I think you look good.</p>

<p>Edit: Also - the food here isn’t bad. It gets a little repetitive at times, but generally I feel like the quality is fine. I work in the dining hall and also have a food allergy, and I pretty much have no qualms with Bon Appetit’s food policies.</p>