<p>Background: Vietnamese, first generation (I'm not sure, actually, my dad got accepted into a Vietnamese university, spent a month or so there, but then went off to war...), oldest of three kids, low income (my mom is working and my dad is on disability)</p>
<p>Academics:
Public, SF Bay Area
GPA: 4.4, 3.83
Grades: Mostly A’s, but ~7ish Bs. Worst grades, two B-s in Honors Trig/PreCalc. I’m in AP Calculus now if that counts for anything, haha. (Pretty sure it doesn’t though. =/)
Rank: 8/485, which translates to top 2%. Does that help make my B’s better? Haha.
Rigor of Classes: All honors/AP possible except for one year of science
Current class schedule: All AP: Spanish, Literature, Calculus, Government, Chemistry, and then IWE (aka TA, because school doesn’t allow free periods except at 1 and 6 periods)</p>
<p>Scores (yeah, I know they’re not that good, but they’re not changing.):
SAT (taken twice, old scores vs. new): CR: 690/700, M: 620/620, W: 610/710 Total: 1920/2030 (110pt increase, but math is still very low)
ACT (taken twice, got the same score, sending old score): E: 34, M: 30, R: 32, S: 25, Essay: 11 (C: 30)
SAT IIs: Will take Math 2, Lit, and USH in October. Would have taken them in June, but like five tests were shipped to another center. That’s what I get for arriving late. Math 2: expecting low-mid 600s, Lit: expecting 750+, USH: expecting high 600s-low700s according to Barron’s, Kaplan, and CollegeBoard
AP Scores: USH: 4, English Lang: 4</p>
<p>Application:
Essays: Great.
Recs: One good. One unknown (haven’t asked because I’m still unsure of <em>who</em> to ask).
Extracurriculars: You don’t need a laundry list. I have plenty of leadership roles, lots of dedication to about three fields, and lots of advisors who say they'll write extra recs for me if I want. One community service club I’ve spent all four years on, and about 100+ hours a year on volunteering and administrative work for said club. Stuff mostly in community service, service around the world, politics, science/math, and writing that I've spent most of my high school career on.</p>
<p>No sports because I am weak, yo.</p>
<p>Um, I don’t know what else to say. ...</p>
<p>Schools: Now I know a lot of these are reaches.</p>
<p>My worst case scenario is going to my community college then transferring to Cal (we have a really good system) or going to UC Davis, which isn’t really a worst case scenario.</p>
<p>I just want to know if these schools are “If you have really good essays you have a real shot!” or “Why are you wasting your money?”
Amherst
Brown
Bryn Mawr
Dartmouth
Georgetown SFS EA
Lewis & Clark EA
Middlebury
Stanford
Tufts
Wellesley</p>
<p>My intended major is International Relations/Studies/Affairs. Some of these schools have it as a minor. If you really think my shot as these schools are not so hot, I would appreciate some “safer” suggestions.</p>
<p>Thanks a bunch!</p>