Changes for Georgetown SFS, my DREAM SCHOOL

<p>I know, EVERYONE's applying to these schools. Humor me and chance please.</p>

<p>Gender: Female
Race: Middle-eastern
Location: Southern California
School: small private school
Rank: top 10%
SAT: 700 CR 660 M 700 W (retaken because was sick day I took it the first time so hopefully it's gone up)</p>

<p>SAT II: World History- 730, taking Lit, Spanish, Math IIC in Nov
ACT: 33 (retaking)
GPA: 3.7 UW 4.36 W
AP: AP Lang- 5, AP WH- 5, APUSH-5</p>

<p>NMSF, AP Scholar, High Gold Honors, Excellence in English, World History, Spanish, Biology, Scholarship Recipient</p>

<p>EC:
--interned at prestigious non-profit- co-authored pamphlet, formed partnership with Amnesty International in NYC to develop humanitarian curriculum for high schools, developed an online fundraising tool for building hospitals in 5 Latin American countries that raised around 5,000 during the summer and to date has raised around 10,000, helped launch media campaign and much more
- Founded my own non-profit that has reached 13 different countries and over 1,000 youth
interviewed on tv, radio, front page feature on newspaper, magazines, and internet websites/blogs,etc.
--received over 5,000 in grants and sponserships with many prestigous organizations and corporations
--shot a documentary of life of prostitutes in Ghana and their children; worked with children and women in skill-development workshops focusing on self-improvement and confidence
-created web portal to link students in the Western world to those in third-world countries
-created and leading a number of programs within non-profit- centers around advocacy and direct philanthropy and involving a large number of students from around the world in assisting/leading the various projects
-raised over 26,000 dollars for the non-profit to support villages and schools around the world--built libraries and funded the development of many programs, micro-lending for many communities- basically outreach on a grassroots level to areas like Tanzania, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Kurdistan, Ghana, Somalia, Honduras,etc.
--Political activism: letter campaigns, marches/protests outside the lobbied with house of rep representatives, senators, aides on behalf of cruelties and violence in Burma, Congo and Darfur and on poverty and education
---led a number of campaigns at school as part of social justice committee( head chair of the committee) that raised to date over 4,000 dollars--advocacy campaigns--things like numerous food, book drives, drives for wheelchairs/eyeglasses, connected local high schools in major fundraising night, a benefit concert featuring local artists and bands, numerous simulations on issues like women and children, genocide, hunger, slavery, education,etc.
--developed a monthly gathering for the muslim community and others who wanted to join- essentially, a monthly forum to discuss important themes in the muslim world, important issues, to foster dialogue and communication, and also a fun get together with potlucks, and other organized activities
--fluent/learning 5 languages- Arabic, Spanish, Korean, Hindi, Latin
--President of Amnesty International, Head of Urgent Action Committee
--involved at an executive level in Students Against Destructive Decisions and Interact
--over 400 hours in service at homeless shelters, clean-up days,etc.
--paid tutor for socio-economically disadvantaged inner city kids
--NHS, CSF, Spanish Honor Society </p>

<ul>
<li>Now, to explain my really low GPA. Essentially, I've had straight A's my entire life; I'm a hard working student but I also, like most of you guys, love to learn. I have taken, in context of my school, the most rigorous course level- definitely not as rigorous as many of you guys and I could have taken more AP's but it does satisfy that decile. My second semester of my junior year, I was sexually assaulted. I let myself go, spiralled into depression, and my grades plummeted to B's and C's. My saving grace was going to Ghana- working with the children and their mothers, who were prositutes, put my whole life, and what had happened to me, in a new perspective. Really, just being in another country, in really another world let me reflect on the past year. I may not be the smartest person, or able to stand up to challenges the way that I would like to, but I am a passionate person. And while I was stuck in my mire of self-ambivalence, I had lost sight of my passions- all the things I had worked so hard for, had pleaded for, had fought for! My non-profit, my activism, everything. I must have had one thread holding everything together because the assault was really the catalyst for my breakdown. I can not describe in words, in person what happened, how I was just stuck and it was the worst feeling the world. And going to Ghana was therapeutical- it sparked me back to fight for these people. The women who I worked with had no choice- they had to continue that line of occupation for the rest of their lives. But I could do whatever I wanted. So I came back, am in counseling, and the fighter is back! I've already started working on sexual exploitation campaigns, have straight A's and now, my primary focus is myself but, also, like all of you guys, the dreaded college applications. So, one of my other concerns is I know I have a low GPA( all due to one semester) so while it will improve with my senior year grades, should I write a letter/ or explain in an essay to college admissions officers my circumstance or what happened to me?</li>
</ul>

<p>TEACHER RECS: one from my spanish teacher, another from my history teacher
--I'm concerned as well about these recs. Basically, from my above explanation, I was a mess second semester. So, my reccomendations will not be strong because the teachers really have no idea what happened; they may believe that I was uninterested in school.</p>

<p>SCHOOLS( this list does not include my safeties because two of my safeties are guaranteed ins- students with 1.0s get in- so I'm essentially guaranteed admissions. This is not to sound cocky- our teachers even tell us to discount those schools as far as admissions notices.</p>

<p>1.Georgetown SFS- my dream school, I love too much about this school it would take me hours to describe how much I am in love with this school
2. UPENN
3.Columbia
4.Duke
5. Yale
6.USC
7. Cornell
8.Dartmouth
9 UCLA
10. UC San Diego
11. UC Santa Barbara
12. UC Davis
13 UC Berkeley
14UC Irvine</p>

<p>PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!</p>

<p>Anybody? Please, I would like to know what an admissions officer may think of my application. Is my situation and my EC's compelling enough to account for my poor gpa and currently, low standardized testing scores?</p>

<p>I think not so I would like advice on what to do to improve my application. </p>

<p>Also, how exactly do you calculate GPA- UW and W? I used the one from my school but I don't believe it reflects what private schools and certainly not what the UC's would do. Does each private school vary in their gpa calculation? How would I go about and calculate for Georgetown, UPENN, USC,etc.?</p>

<p>I don't usually respond to chances threads, but I have to say that you have a lot going for you. Your 33 on the ACT places you at the 99 percentile - you don't have to take it again. Given your ACT score, I am not even sure if I would advise you to take the SAT I again. I would focus in on your SAT IIs because many of the schools that you are applying to require them.</p>

<p>Given your ACT score (and anticipating that you are going to do well on your SAT IIs), I would say that Georgetown and USC are matches. UPENN, Yale, Duke, Columbia, and Dartmouth are reaches. Cornell and USC are high matches/low reaches. UCLA and Berkeley are in-state for you, so I would say that they are also high matches/low reaches. The other UCs are all matches and/or safeties. </p>

<p>Again, you have impressive stats and ECs, and even the reaches mentioned above are good possible for you. You need to have solid essays and it sounds like you have a topic that you will be able to write about and show passion for.</p>

<p>Please? More feedback?</p>

<p>This post clearly demonstrates why the collegeconfidential servers and database ought to be hit by a strategic missile.</p>

<p>I'm sorry- I don't quite understand your post. ??</p>

<p>Since when did a 3.7 UW GPA become "really low"?</p>

<p>Well, it's not crazy low but it is low compared to all the students who are applying to Georgetown and other selective colleges. When you look at stats of who gets in with what academic profiles, most tend to have, from what I've seen, 3.9+ and the 'low' ones are the 3.8+ so in comparison, my 3.7 seems quite low and not academically competitive and when it comes down to it, academics is the number one thing for all schools so :( for me.</p>

<p>It really depends a 3.7 can be low at one school and consider quite impressive at a top private/public school (say)...</p>

<p>It's relative depending on what your school's history with Georgetown is and if there is a history the relative GPA to past and current applicants.</p>

<p>SATs can use a little boost (I hope your current scores went up)</p>

<p>But your EC are quite impressive (and your situation). Hopefully that all shone through in the essay - SFS is tough to say.</p>

<p>Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're in. The EC's and what not? They will eat that up. </p>

<p>And your academics are still solid despite what you may think.</p>

<p>Here's how I would rank your schools (assuming 50% SAT range for these schools):</p>

<ol>
<li>Georgetown SFS - reach</li>
<li>Penn (ex Wharton) - slight reach
3.Columbia - reach
4.Duke - reach</li>
<li>Yale - reach
6.USC - match</li>
<li>Cornell (depends on the school) - ?
8.Dartmouth - Reach</li>
<li>All UCs - Match</li>
</ol>

<p>I know I put a lot of reaches, but the fact is those schools are the BEST in the country, and with acceptance rates all hovering around 15%, it's a tough call.</p>

<p>I would advice to retake the SATs and ACT if you have the opportunity - the opportunity cost is so little, and you have a shot at considerably boosting your score and therefore making you more competitive. And schools take superscores anyways, so it can't hurt...</p>

<p>"Quite impressive" MASSIVELY understates your extracurriculars. Your post is like asking "I got a 42 on the USAMO, am I going to get into CMU?"</p>