<p>My mom went here for Dental School. Doubt that helps, though...</p>
<p>GPA: I want to say 3.9 out of 4?
Rank: Somewhere between 2 and 8 out of 300
Public School</p>
<p>SAT I: 780 M 750 CR 710 W
SAT II: 740 Chem 800 Math II (Maybe taking Lit and Physics and retaking Chem)
AP: Chemistry 5
English Lit (Senior Year)
Physics B (Senior Year)
Calc AB (Senior Year)
...My school doesn't have many APs</p>
<p>ECs:
-Destination Imagination (Friend and I introduced the program to the school, team recieved highest award, The Da Vinci Award)
-Varsity Math Team (Scored #2 Highest Scoring Junior in Tri-State League)
-National Honors Society
-Winnacore (Basically an Honors Society for Community Service)
-52 current hours of comm. service now, about 80-100 by December)
-Tutored two students in Chemistry
-One year of JV Tennis (Sad, I know, but the following years, schedules conflicted and my coach wouldn't budge)
-One year of Astronomy Club (School ended due to funding)
-National Latin Exam: An award every year so far</p>
<p>Things of Note:
-Work as a Camp Counselor during the summer, sometimes do things for that department for the year. The Director said that she would write me a recommendation
-My dad went to BC for undergrad, Maryland for Grad, Harvard for Post-Doc
-My mom went to BC for undergrad, Columbia for Dental, and Johns Hopkins for her residency</p>
<p>I like your resume. I'd say you've got strong chances. Don't retake the Chem SAT, a 740 is very good.
Although you've done a bunch of things, I can't see a common thread (definitely not a bad thing), but be sure that you can focus on something in your essay.</p>
<p>Really now? </p>
<p>I have no idea what I want to do for my essay. Is it better to focus on an activity of mine, or can I go crazy?</p>
<p>Since many people do the death of a loved one as a topic, I thought of doing a take-off: the death of my Volvo. I was hoping that it would be funny and, seeing as it was used to transport things for many of my ECs, a great connection to what I've done outside of the classroom.</p>
<p>"One year of Astronomy Club (School ended due to funding)"</p>
<p>you mean club i hope</p>
<p>"I thought of doing a take-off: the death of my Volvo. I was hoping that it would be funny and, seeing as it was used to transport things for many of my ECs, a great connection to what I've done outside of the classroom."</p>
<p>this could be really funny if you do it right, otherwise it could be awkward.</p>
<p>"Work as a Camp Counselor during the summer, sometimes do things for that department for the year. The Director said that she would write me a recommendation"</p>
<p>this sounds luke warm when an extra recommendation needs to be molten</p>
<p>ECs wise apart from the first two the others are scattered and uninvolved, that's where you need to work on involvement.</p>
<p>Would there be a way to ameliorate this in my essays?</p>
<p>"Would there be a way to ameliorate this in my essays?"</p>
<p>don't use words like ameliorate, speak in intelligent simple language, that if you were to read out loud would make people laugh. you can't be emphatic or morose. irony, understatements and subtle sarcasm helps. send it over when your done with it in how ever many months. being self-deprecating often helps, and neutralizes insensitivity that could be implied by your humor.</p>
<p>harsh, but good info.</p>
<p>Also, you want your essay to say something about you. Do you think you'd be able to make an essay about the death of your volvo say something about you?</p>
<p>I don't know...</p>
<p>I used it a lot to transports stuff for my ECs and job, i was hoping that could be a tie-in? Or is that wicked lame</p>
<p>ehhhh, idk, i mean i've heard it's good to write about one of your ec's that you were really passionate about, which is what i did, but obviously there's no formula for a "correct" essay, so it is possible that it could work. i personally just would've felt really nervous putting my college hopes on something that hit or miss, but different strokes for different folks.</p>
<p>"Also, you want your essay to say something about you. Do you think you'd be able to make an essay about the death of your volvo say something about you?"</p>
<p>i thought the death of the volvo was creative and could actually say volumes about you from the style of writing, diction, allusions. Most people end up writing boring essays about how they struggled and were eventually triumphant in one of their ECs. An essay is supposed to reveal personality not re-enforce over and over again how you're the striving/triumphant president of x,y,z clubs. You have to sell yourself without seeming desperate to do so. They look for cool/interesting people (among other things), people others would want to be friends with.</p>
<p>"i personally just would've felt really nervous putting my college hopes on something that hit or miss"</p>
<p>metsfan is right that you could miss on this topic, but due diligence, and having the right people reading it to make sure it's funny and clever will make a good essay. A good essay is a clear advantage, a standard essay is not, and with a 9% acceptance rate I think most people need that advantage.</p>
<p>thank you. any other relevant tips?</p>