<p>Hey everyone! I'm a newbie, but I'd like your opinions on what I can get into.</p>
<p>Status: Utah Private White Male</p>
<p>GPA: 3.66 UW
Rank:School doesn't rank
National Merit Semi-finalist
Classes:
AP Calc AB - 5
AP Calc BC - 5
AP Euro History - 5
AP US History - 5
AP Statistics - 5
AP Computer Science AB - 5
AP Chem - this year
AP Physics - this year</p>
<p>EC:
Tennis - team state champs, personally 5th in state(10-12)
Racquetball 3rd Place Team (11-12)
Ultimate Frisbee Team Co-founder(10-12)
Debate(9-12) Team Captain(11-12)
Founder and president of Investment Club
Math team - went to ARML with state, finished well.
1st Place Team Utah State Math Contest - 8th individually
Junior Vice President</p>
<p>Work experience:
Worked programming games in flash for children who need secondary reading help.</p>
<p>Worked as an IT Manager for real estate company with 400 agents. </p>
<p>ACT: 34</p>
<p>SAT:
730 CR
780 M
800 W</p>
<p>SATII: 800 Math2 780 US History</p>
<p>Colleges?
USC
Duke
Stanford
Pomona
Notre Dame
BC
Utah
Brown</p>
<p>Also, I'd like some more safeties or matches for me to look into. Utah is the lowest safety, but I'd like something better, too. Also merit aid is important to me for the non-top choice colleges. Any help please?</p>
<p>Unless you are at an extremely competetive school, you'll need to explain that GPA outlier - seems surprisingly low compared to your test scores... Also, be sure to contact the tennis coach at each school if you think you'll play in college. Otherwise, you're a strong applicant.</p>
<p>USC - match
Duke - slight reach
Stanford - reach
Pomona - slight reach
Notre Dame - match
BC - match
Utah - safety
Brown - slight reach</p>
<p>Other matches you might like - Vanderbilt, UVA, Rice, Emory, Davidson, Claremont McKenna, Washington and Lee</p>
<p>It is a case of an unbelievably competitive school. If I was public, I would have very nearly a 4.0. Also, I have a fairly staggering amount of Honors/ AP classes, so if you weighted my GPA, that would turn out well for me.</p>
<p>Pomona is an awesome school! I'm actually on a first name basis with the Dean of Admissions there, which makes me feel incredibly cool, because he's not only a big shot in the business, but also an incredibly sharp, fair guy. Your application could not be in better hands.</p>
<p>However, if you really want to go there, your application is going to have to shine in your recommendations and essays, not just your statistics, which look brilliant. Unlike most of the other schools you're looking at, it seems, Pomona's a liberal arts college...they have a very different formula, which in general tends to be less of one. Are you an interesting, engaged, bright person? Qualify that and your chances (at Pomona, at least) will be more evident.</p>
<p>Well, I certainly like to think of myself as bright and engaged. </p>
<p>Here's the truth though: I love to learn interesting things. Thats why I started the investment club with my friends, to learn about something I was interested in an a setting where I could have fun. Thats why Pomona, and college, sounds so cool. There are just so many classes, going through course catalogs, that the title alone peaks my interest. </p>
<p>I go to the library a lot and just go through the non-fiction shelves, looking to find something interesting. I'll take that book home and read it. The course catalog feels like that to me, except with professors and other engaging people learning it along with you. It must be an unbelievably fascinating thing, college.</p>
<p>Might want to look at Holy Cross-great school near Boston. HC is similar to Notre Dame but easier to get into. Holy Cross has very strong national alumni network.</p>