Clueless- chances at LAC's

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I know that getting in to good schools may be harder than my counselor says. I know most of you are absolutely sick of doing this for people, but what are my chances at the following schools?</p>

<p>Whitman
Pomona
Macalester
Stanford
Brown
Grinnell
Colgate</p>

<p>Here is my resume:</p>

<p>Academic information:</p>

<p>International Baccalaureate diploma candidate, good public school
4.0 GPA (unweighted) in honors courses and IB/AP classes
1470 SAT score
class rank 1st of 446</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities:</p>

<p>-marching band (9-12)
-Model UN (11-12)
- Eco Club (11-12)
-Mock Presidential Nominating Convention (11)
-National Honor Society member (11-12)
- football and basketball pep band (9-12)
-French club (10-12)
-JV soccer (9), track (9), and cross country (10), Lacrosse (11-12)
-pit orchestra for 2003 spring musical, The Apple Tree (10)
- co-founder of Strategy, Tactics and Boardgame Club (12)</p>

<p>Leadership Experience:</p>

<p>-LINK crew leadership (1 year)
-elected marching band drum major (2 years)
- NHS board member (12)
- President of BHS Eco Club (12)</p>

<p>Volunteer Experience:</p>

<ul>
<li>2 year term on Beaverton's Mayor's Youth Advisory Board (10-11)
-member of three church mission teams, San Francisco 2002, Honduras 2003 and
Washington DC 2004 (9-11)
-organized student rallies in support of Measure 34-67, (levy in favor of school funding) (10)
-musical tutor at Highland Park Middle School, (9-10)
-participation in Friends of the Children fundraising events (9-12)
-operation shoebox annual projects at church (elementary school - 12)</li>
</ul>

<p>Awards:
-Honor roll student since 6th grade
-Received the System, Spirit, Success award at Scott Reese Superior Leadership Camp,
Summer 2003 (11)
-National Merit Semifinalist (12)</p>

<p>Work Experience:
-Office assistant in records department of Beaverton City Hall, Summer 2003 and 2004</p>

2

<p>please guys? I need to narrow down my list. Application fees suck!</p>

3

<p>bump to top</p>

4

<p>Your guidance counsellor should have an idea of what your chances are. Do many kids from your school go to these colleges? I wouldn't narrow down too many schools, 7 sounds about right.</p>

5

<p>megan,
are you limited to a set number of applications by your school? just about everyone take their chances when applying to stanford...and, in most instances, also brown and pomona. decide on 2 of the 3 to bring your number down to 6 (if you have to). best of luck!</p>

6

<p>I'm just a parent but from reading admitted student stats at the schools listed , you have a chance everywhere (but I agree with the previous poster). Is there anyway you can polish up your EC's to stress more leadership or commitment? That would really help. I agree with the pros on this board that say a few ec's done passionately and over a long period of time are more important than larger numbers of more casual involvements. BTW, congratulations on an outstanding high school career and good luck.</p>

7

<p>I think you shouldnt narrow it down at all. If anything, get rid of whitman as colgate/ grinell/ macalester are safeties for you. If I were you I would very seriously check out vassar, middlebury, amherst, and dartmouth and replace whitman with one or more of these. You have a great hs record, you should hedge your bets though. As for number of schools, seven-eight schools is a fine number. I mean $65 more could change your life. App fees suck, but going to a school because you didnt apply to enough places sucks alot more. My valedictorian applied to HYP and then to Bowdoin and a couple lacs. He got rejected from HYP and went to Bowdoin. I think every time he visited me at Dartmouth he was kind of jealous, and I know he would have gotten in. He thought it was also a better experience for him but didnt take the time to really check many places out when he was in high school. Seriously, $65 over four years is 4 cents a day. Isnt that worth it? Plus, if you need fin aid the more places you apply the better you will be to negotiate/ get the best deal. Having options is great.</p>

<p>If I were you:
Stanford - High reach</p>

<p>Brown- reach
Pomona- reach
ADD Dartmouth or Amherst- reach</p>

<p>ADD Vassar or Middlebury- match</p>

<p>Macalester- match/ safety
Grinnell- same
Colgate- same</p>

8

<p>Gotta agree with Slipper about adding Middlebury and Dartmouth to your list. If you're going to play an ED/EA card, it should probably be at one of those schools. Colgate and Grinnell won't be as much of a safety as Slipper seems to think, but your pep band stuff will help, but don't know how much. Agree with Curmudgeon about how lack of strong leadership (editor, captain, president, etc.) won't help at any of the schools you're looking at. However, Macalester does look good, IMHO. Brown, Stanford and Pomona will be long-shots, very long-shots. Your geographic distribution will help with all the Eastern and Midwestern schools.</p>

9

<p>Here's my 2 cents:</p>

<p>Whitman...Safety
Grinnell...Safety
Macalester...Match/Safety
Colgate...Match
Pomona...Reach
Brown...Reach
Stanford...High Reach</p>

<p>Hope this helps. :)</p>

10

<p>Whitman - match
Grinnell - match
Macalester - match
Colgate - match
Pomona - Reach
Brown - Reach
Stanford - reach.</p>

<p>I'd say adding one solid safety would be good but then I tend to be cautious.</p>

11

<p>Since when is a valedictorian with a 1470 a match at Whitman!!! Seriously you don't need Whitman. Look into Vassar/ Dart/ Midd/ Amherst.</p>

12

<p>I'm the eco club president, drum major of the marching band (for 2 years now), and on a youth advisory board. Isn't that enough leadership?</p>

13

<p>and I'm also on the NHS board and I helped organize political rallies for our school funding levy. Am I weak in this area? I thought it'd be okay!</p>

14

<p>bump.......</p>

15

<p>I didn't take notice of the Drum Major. I would lead with that. I apologize but it does raise a point that it was somewhat lost down the list. Drum major is an outrageous time commitment. I would pick it and one or 2 more and hit them real hard even if it meant round-filing other weaker extras. You have had a truly exceptional 4 years. Now, go blow your own horn.</p>

16

<p>thank you everyone for your tips. I'm not really too worried, but I was curious to know where I stand. I know these things are a pain to fill out. Thanks again!</p>