chances//is it worth it to apply to these schools?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>my top choices are:
Rice // Emory // Cornell // Berkeley // Pomona // Swarthmore // WUSTL
I want to study Linguistics and Cognitive Science</p>

<p>by the time I apply my stats will be:
UW GPA: 3.71 at the end of junior year. If I get all A's 1st semester senior year I will have a 3.75
I wasn't in a very great place psychologically in the beginning of high school, which accounts for my low grades. I also was not taking hard classes (and I dropped an honors course sophomore year after a semester)
Weighted: I'll have around a 4.1
SAT: I am aiming for a 2200+. Of course, I cannot guarantee that but I am working my hardest to reach this goal.
SAT II: I am taking the Literature and US History next week and have been scoring 750+ on each in practice tests
ECs: Student Council, NHS, history tutor, CSF
I am trying to assist a professor in linguistics or psychology research over the summer, although I might not be able to get this as no professor has emailed me back. If I cannot assist in research I will try to get a job over the summer and I will probably be taking courses at a community college
I am also an intern at a television company
Senior year schedule: 4 APs (max amount), calculus, etc.</p>

<p>I know the schools I am applying to are extremely difficult to get into, and I'm aware that I'm not at the top of the applicant pool. I've recently been stressing out as to whether I should even bother applying to these schools. The thing is, though, I cannot see myself being happy at any other schools aside from the ones listed above (along with a few other LACs).</p>

<p>I'm afraid because I haven't been taking the hardest schedule that I could be. Although now I am doing well academically, I'm not taking the max amount of AP's (only 2, max is 3).</p>

<p>I do feel that I can write good essays and get good teacher recommendations, but I feel that I am lacking in other areas on my application. I know that admissions are a bit of a crapshoot, but I would like some reassurance//know about other people in a similar situation who ended up going to the school of their dreams.</p>

2

<p>also a little extra: I am extremely passionate about the subjects I want to major in. I also love learning for the sake of learning (although my transcript would say otherwise, as I’ve only realized my “potential,” per say, recently), and I really how I can be able to express these facts through my essays and interviews</p>

3

<p>What’s your rank?</p>

4

<p>There are no other schools you could’ve happy at? Please! Get a grip!!</p>

<p>There’s nothing solid here to chance you on, but most applicants are rejected from all. Those schools. So you need to figure out some non reach schools you’d be happy at.</p>

<p>What can your family afford to pay?</p>

5

<p>Well, you have cherry picked your reach schools. Now, the real work for you begins. Anyone can pick the names of the highly selective schools and dream about them.</p>

<p>Your most important choices and the most difficult ones to find are the schools that are certain to take you and that you can afford. Once you have those schools picked, you can pick anything else you want, with the understanding that those likely schools which are incorrectly called safeties are likely where you will go. The rest are all lottery tickets. </p>

<p>If your admissions year is anything like the last two have been, getting into those schools on your list will be true lottery tickets. Bear in mind that your future performance is most predictable by your past performance and until you take the SATs and other tests, it’s impossible to even begin to project what you are going to get. Perhaps some SAT2s will help to show that you know the levels up to what competitive schools will expect. Yes, you do need the tough courses to show what you can do since that is what colleges view. Right now the best way to show that is with SAT2s and/or AP exams that will be in the hands of the college adcoms when you apply. Promises of performance in the future don’t count a bit.</p>

6

<p>Look, you have every right to apply to these schools, but with this kind of attitude – as in “I can’t see myself being happy at any other schools” – you are setting yourself up for potentially serious disappointment. Especially since, as you say above, “I’m afraid I haven’t been taking the hardest schedule that I could be.” In other words, you are aiming exceptionally high, without working exceptionally hard. You are dreaming, without seizing every POSSIBLE academic option at your school to make the dream come true.</p>

<p>I cannot blithely tell you your dream will come true, so don’t worry, when you admit to us that you are not taking the hardest classes, or pursuing the most rigorous schedule possible. You seem stuck on names and prestige, especially as you admit you believe you cannot be happier elsewhere. The impression you give is that the issue for you is prestige, and NOT credential fit. You are simply asking someone to say, OK, yeah, your dreams will come true if you just keep doing what you are doing. Well, NO, they will not IF you keep doing just what you are doing.</p>

<p>Everyone has issues they have to overcome. It is absolutely OK that you weren’t in the best place psychologically for awhile and that your grades suffered as a result. Happens to a lot of people. But if you are serious about these schools, you need to step up your academic game significantly by taking the hardest classes and the most rigorous schedule. Schools respect growth, and the overcoming of personal obstacles. But just wanting these schools – without showing the academic drive for success by really taking a rigorous course load – dooms you with these schools right at the starting gate. Your stats are probably NOT good enough for these schools at this point. They simply are not competitive enough right now, especially if you are not taking the kind of rigorous courses typical of the schools’ applicant pools.</p>

<p>You need a better game plan. You need a more realistic game plan. Your list of schools needs a STRONG INFUSION of actual credential matches, and safety schools. If you choose not to do this, because you cannot be happy anywhere else, well then, you may not be going to college next year. You really have to deepen and round out this list. You need to research BEYOND MERE NAMES. YOU need also to re-evaluate whether your list of schools is appropriate. Your classmates at all of these schools will have taken the most rigorous classes in their high schools to get to these colleges. They will all be very academically ambitious. How academically ambitious are you? Ambitious enough to take the hardest classes you can and REALLY challenge yourself, while showing to adcoms that – despite the bump in the road – you are ambitious and ready to work to your full potential? An upward trend in grades and in course difficulty can be VERY helpful in admissions. </p>

<p>Keep trying with the professors for summer research. Be MORE PERSISTENT with them and don’t just give up. How about making some actual face-to-face appointments? If you can work with a professor on research over the summer, well, there is a great potential recommendation for you for college!!! Taking the community college course in your field of interest IS a good thing. </p>

<p>But I urge you, stop getting hung up on just a few name schools!!! You need to seriously research credential-matches and safeties. No, I am NOT saying you should not apply to your dream schools. Of course you should if you want to. You have every right to pursue your dreams!!! But come on, no smart applicant ONLY applies to dream schools. A smart applicant diversifies his or her applications to include: dreams, AND matches, AND safeties. If you do not, no matter how great an applicant you are, you could beheaded for SERIOUS disappointment. Please dream. But, please be smart!</p>

<p>I am sorry if I seem overly tough. But you do need a reality check here. Dreams CAN come true, of course, but you need to work harder for yours and also have a back-up plan, as in: a more diverse set of schools, with matches and safeties.</p>

7

<p>Swingtime, while I do agree with most of what you have said, the schools I listed are not merely because of their prestige. Yes, I realize that these are all top schools, but I have researched them all extensively and feel that they would be a good “fit” for me (Rice is probably my top choice). I do realize that saying I wouldn’t be happy anywhere else is setting me up for disappointment, and I am trying to reevaluate and see what is important to me and find other schools that would be matches and/or safeties. *It was stupid for me to say that I wouldn’t be happy anywhere else, sorry for that.</p>

<p>I was not taking the most rigorous schedule before, and I may not now (although I do believe that my schedule is still difficult as I am also taking honors courses along with my APs) and I will be taking the most rigorous next year, and I am really hoping colleges see this. It won’t make up for a couple years of non-rigorous courses, but I hope it at least counts for something.*</p>

<p>I completely understand where this criticism comes from. I am hoping I will be able to overcome some of my shortcomings soon.</p>

<p>Also, LesleyCordero, my school doesn’t rank</p>

8

<p>Stresswaves, good start that you didn’t get discouraged or offended by the tough talk. Of course, you should go for your dreams. And great that you have researched them. I also think that the fact that your courses will clearly increase in rigor over time will be evident to admissions committees. So, on that front you are absolutely doing the right thing! What is past is past. You can’t change past grades, courses, or behavior. So move on from it, productively! I would urge you to be more persistent in trying to find a research opportunity. But we have all urged you – STRONGLY – to flesh out your intended list of applications to include direct credentials-matches and “safeties” where you will be happy. There are thousands of schools in this country. It is IMPOSSIBLE that you could ONLY be happy at just a few of them. Really!</p>

9

<p>You don’t need to do a lot of research on those schools as there is a lot out there you can find. It’s the lesser known schools that need research. Those are your likely schools, and you should have some for your list. THat is where the real work of college search is. Anyone can come up with your list with ease. The other list is something only YOU can do.</p>