<p>I am a senior working hard on my college applications and was hoping to get some input on my chances at getting into college. Recently I have been really into Smith college, as well as Vassar, Brown, Amherst. I will also apply to UNC Chapel Hill as it is one of the best NC schools and I will have instate tuition. Though, I would prefer a small liberal school in the north. If you have any other college suggestions that would be nice. Also if anyone has any tips on applying, what to include in my extra curriculars and not that would also be helpful. </p>
<p>But anyways here are my credentials:
I attend a public school in North Carolina. My school does not offer many AP classes, and it is hard to take many of those that it does offer due to our scheduling. I have taken AP US History, AP Psychology, AP Environmental Science and am taking AP Biology and AP Calculus. I have scored two 4's and a 5 (on psychology). For my 2013 class, I have taken the most AP's out of everyone, so this shows you how hard it is to take many more at my school.<br>
Currently I am ranked #1 out of my class size of 275.<br>
I have a weighted GPA of 4.8 and unweighted of 4.0.
Other than AP's I have taken all honors classes, as well as Spanish 1-4. </p>
<p>My extracuriculars include:<br>
Varsity Soccer- all 4 years of high school. Made All district team and All WNC team 2 years in a row. Team Captain this year.<br>
Cross Country- freshman and sophmore year. Most dedicated the first year and Most Valuable Player 2nd year. Then I quit to focus more on soccer and academics. (Should I put this on applications or not?)
Global Awareness Club- member four years, secretary this year.
Health Food Club- member 3 years (since creation) treasurer this year. We created a school garden.
Teens with a Purpose- (community service oriented club) created my junior year member for 2 years, secretary this year.<br>
MANNA food drive team member- 4 years. Raised record amounts of canned food for this program (I will put actual amount on application.)<br>
Spanish Tutor Junior and Senior years.
And the extra curricular I am most proud of, most dedicated to: This year I created a Gay/Straight Alliance at my school. I am the creator and president of this club. </p>
<p>Testing: I took the SAT last year but didn't get as high scores as I had hoped. I got a 1950 total (640 W, 640 R, 690 M). I am taking them again in October hoping to raise the scores. I took the ACT and got a 30 composite score. All of the sub grades were also 30 except for math which was 29. </p>
<p>I am writing my essay on the Duke TIP Summer Studies Program I attended in the summers of 2009, 2010, and 2011. This was a home away from home for me, and it really shaped me into who I am today. Later on I might private message anyone who would be willing to read over my essay and offer suggestions. </p>
<p>Overall I guess I am looking for any tips and my chances at these schools.<br>
CHANCE ME PLEASE!!</p>
<p>Pros: ECs are really good. Will you D3 in the NCAA if you get into one of those SLACs? Lots of volunteering and passions (Gay-Straight) Your unweighted GPA is also really good. 4.0, cannot get better than that. Rank is also good. Also taking most rigorous classes in school I presume?</p>
<p>Cons: Those standardized scores are the fatal flaws. Which is okay, because you can fix them. But really for places like Amherst and Brown, you need scores around 2200+ at least. </p>
<p>Assuming that you are a girl:
-Smith seems like a really good chance. I’ll never really put any thought into it, considering I would need a sex change to get in XD. (Curious, are you thinking about Mount Holyoke as well?)
-UNC Chapel Hill should be easier for you to get into since you are an instate student, but improve SATs to seal the deal.
-Vassar seems like a reach, but nothing too hard to overcome with good SAT scores. Same with Brown.
-Amherst is the hardest to get into. SATs SATs. </p>
<p>In terms of the Duke TIP program essay, make sure you write an essay on an experience in the program and try to stray away from mentioning Duke’s name too much. The last thing UNC wants is to hear Duke, Duke, Duke. Personally, I stay away from those type of essays because they come off as forced and heavy-handed, but since you seem so engaged into it and confident, I would go ahead. Mention something about strong communities and tight-knitness because SLACs just eat that stuff up. </p>
<p>Questions for me to help you:
Are you a URM?
Are you disadvantaged?
Does your school suck in terms of academics?</p>
<p>Hopefully you get into Amherst… its a school I am applying to as well!</p>
<p>Thanks for the quick response. No I do not plan to participate in NCAA and I am taking most rigorous classes at my school. I am taking the SAT on October 6 and am studying really hard to up my scores!! I do know that is my weakness. Testing is just not my thing. I haven’t looked that much into Mount Holyoke, but that was because I wasn’t as aware of it. Someone suggested I would fit well with Smith so I looked into it. I do plan on looking at Mount Holyoke too though.</p>
<p>I am aware of the sensitive points relating to my essay topic. I am writing on how it developed my self confidence and character through the relationships I formed there. It really was a strong community which really helped me come out of my shell. This is what I am writing about. I am using a few anecdotes involving this tight-knit bonds as well. I am trying to avoid mentioning Duke as much as possible. </p>
<p>I am not URM or disadvantaged and my school is pretty good in academics minus the problems with AP’s. These problems are because our AP classes take up two class periods because they are year long classes. The most you can take is 4 a year with no other classes. This is almost impossible because of the other requirements to graduate. Three is even uncommon. Also budget cuts recently have gotten rid of AP classes that used to be offered. But our academics are definitely better than some of the other Western North Carolina schools. </p>
<p>Do you think I should mention the cross country in my extra curriculars? Also should I leave out any of the others? I am going more in depth on the GSA in the additional response of the writing section. </p>
<p>Thanks again for all of the help!</p>