<p>Hi, I am a junior attending a California high school.
here are my stats.
Ranking: 5/600
GPA: 4.55 weighted
unweighted: 3.98
SAT 1: 700 M/760 W/700 CR: 2160
ACT: 30
SAT 2:
Biology - 770
World History - 800</p>
<p>10th Grade
English Honors 2 A/A
ALGEBRA 2/TRIG ANALYSIS A/A
AP BIOLOGY A/A
PHYSICAL EDUCATION A/A
SPANISH 2 A/A
AP WORLD HISTORY A/A</p>
<p>11TH GRADE (FIRST SEMESTER)
ENGLISH HONORS 3 A
PRECALULUS HONORS B+
AP CHEMISTRY A
AP US HISTORY A
SPANISH 3 A
ART 2 A
AP's took: Biology - 3
World History - 5</p>
<p>EXTRACURRICULARS.
500+ hours of volunteering at hospital
Founder/President of Habitat for Humanity chapter (9,10,11)
City's Youth Committee Boardmember (10,11)
Academic Decathlon (11) Team will go to State for Sure!
Winner of Shakespeare Recitation contest (10)
Work at boba place 20+ hours a week.
Volunteer Organization Youth Ambassador
Internship at Law Office (4 weeks)</p>
<p>My family is dirt poor; my parents make less than $6,000 a year. I make the additional $5000 through my work of 5 hours a day afterschool. I have no idea where I want to go. But I just want a free-ride, full scholarship. I don't think I can afford the fees. So I'm asking for your help. I am going to major in Political Science or PSYCHOLOGY. both would help me in my pursuits of becoming a lawyer. I have a great passion for law. Thank you for your time.</p>
<p>You could get into any school you want, probably. Ivy's might be tricky, but they are for everyone. You still have an excellent shot at even those. 5th out of 600? That's amazing. Also, Ivy's and other top schools have remarkable financial aid for low-income people. Good luck! x)</p>
<p>You may have a chance of getting into an Ivy...and if not, you should definately try for a highly prestigious school. If you want to stay close to home try Stanford or Berkely.</p>
<p>Look at Harvard and Yale for their amazing financial aid programs (and equally amazing education), Georgetown, George Washington, and American (all in DC), and Stanford and the UC of your choice.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Be careful here. Although your GPA and class rank are impressive, you're SAT scores and ACT score, though good, are not really competitive enough for any of the Ivies save Cornell. The fact that you're very low income may overcome that, but the competition at these schools is fierce. The same holds true for schools like Duke and Stanford.</p></li>
<li><p>It costs big bucks to travel from CA to the east coast. You may be able to get a full scholarship at a well known east coast school and not be able to afford the plane fare back and forth.</p></li>
<li><p>Looking into the UCs, especially Berkeley which is an excellent school, is a good idea. They'd certainly be less expensive and wouldn't cost so much to travel to and from. Considering Pomona and Claremont McKenna is a good idea as well. And yes, consider Stanford. It would be a reach for you, but given you're low income status, you might be able to pull it off.</p></li>
<li><p>If you can, take the SATs again, and try to push your score over 2200 and you're M+CR closer to 1500. This will vastly improve your chances at schools like Stanford. By the way, practicing helps, so if you can, at the very least, buy a practice book by Kaplan or Princeton Review and use it. It will help.</p></li>
<li><p>Look for less competitive schools with good honors programs (Penn State, U of Maryland, U of Pittsurgh, and University of Florida are examples. Probably some in CA also.). The education you'd get would be nearly equal to that at the top, competitive schools, and most likely you'd get a full scholarship from any of them.</p></li>
<li><p>As a general plan, apply to a couple of reaches (like Stanford), a couple of matches, and a couple of safeties.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>oooh thanks.
the thing is.
i doubt i will return home.
i really want to escape california, it's just that i'm tired of it.
do my extracurriculars stand out for top colleges? For me, I don't really care about an undergrad degree much. I just want to do well in undergrad so I get accepted to a good law school.
do you guys know any schools with an honors law program where you can get your undergrad and JD law degree in 6 years?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Just a small point here...If you live in the dorms, you will be forced to go home (or at least leave campus) several times a year as most schools close the dorms for Thanksgiving, Xmas/winter break, and spring break.</p></li>
<li><p>Your ECs are fine, but what's really impressive is that you've got great grades, you're 6th in your class, you've got good ECs with leadership, and you're also working 5 hours a day after school to help support your family. That's the kicker for you. That's your hook.</p></li>
<li><p>Regarding an honors law program, you might want to ask that question on the CC Law School thread. Some one there might know something.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I do know that if you apply to many schools such as Yale, you will have an EFC or $0, and you can probably apply with application fee waivers, so that should not be a problem. I do not know what the best schools are for your major, but you should be competative almost everywhere especially if you get your scores up a bit.</p>