Competitive enough to visit? How am I doing? INTERESTING sophomore!

Applying to College
1

<p>I am a current sophomore and I am confirming that a visit to these colleges would not be wasting time. Do you agree? </p>

<p>1)Harvard?- I am going to Boston anyways..haha
2)Amherst
3)Williams
4)Dartmouth
5)Columbia
6)Stanford?- I am considering not going to stanford as I believe it may be too much of a reach.<br>
And maybe a few more that would be very competitive. </p>

<p>I don't feel like finding the link to a post with my stats in them so here they go: </p>

<p>-Native American Male from Oklahoma
(I greatly appreciate your opinion, but I find it somewhat hard to believe when people simply say IN-Native American. I had a friend who graduated last year and gtt rejected from Stanford with a 30 ACT and a 3.5 GPA). </p>

<p>-I recieved a 3.5-3.6ish GPA last year- I will likely get a 3.8uw this year, junior, and senior year. Probably 4.4ish weighted. </p>

<p>-Top 20 students after last year. I should be in AT LEAST the top 15 after this year. Non competitive school, if you can't tell. </p>

<p>-I havent taken tests since I am a sophomore- I should be able to achieve National Merit. I have already began studying for the PSAT next year, some SAT and some ACT review. I will get a private tutor for these tests. </p>

<p>-My Passions-
1)Tennis- I am nationally ranked, state qualifier, confrence champion, 3rd in regionals, Varsity Captain past two years: I am almost 100% sure I will be for the next two years as well. This takes up a lot of extra time. </p>

<p>2)Student Council/Leadership- I am VERY involved with school leadership. I am in the class at my school, and spend hours a week working and doing things for the school. Next year there is a very great chance I will be an officer- Probably VP, but maybe treasurer. Senior year I should be president. I will have attended BASIC and ADVANCED leadership camps in the summer and probably attend the Student Council National Convention twice by the time I graduate. I also hope to attend LEAD the summer before senior year-I know some on this board know about the program. </p>

<p>3) Native American Volunteering- I work at some local native wellness centers, especially with younger children. I work at some rez's but usually just at centers with my main goal being to prevent common problems facing current day natives (trust me, there are MANY). </p>

<p>Jobs/Internships
I will probably not have a job in HS, however, I have the possibility of an internship at a stock broker's office/business. I am interested in a career on Wall Street- Should I take the internship? </p>

<p>Basically I am making sure I am not wasting my time as I did not get a clear answer on those exact questions in my last posts. I am mainly worried about my academics(GPA, Scores, Rank?) as I feel I have strong extra-cirriculars. </p>

<p>How do you feel about it?</p>

2

<p>What exactly are you asking us? If we feel you should visit the schools you mentioned? How we think you're doing, academically (more like a "what are my chances?" type thing)? To give you more schools to consider?</p>

3

<p>sorry about my unclearness. I was in a hurry when I made the post. I am definately asking if these colleges are worth as visit- not if I seem like a good fit for these colleges but am I high enough caliber to be considered. Also, how do you think I am doing this far?</p>

4

<p>You should try to use tennis as your hook. Try to contact tennis coaches when you visit those schools. Your stats are not that good for those schools, but if you are really good in tennis then you will have good chance. Last year, Brown tried to recruit 2 female tennis players from my daughter's school. One of them turned Brown down, ended up going to William.</p>

5

<p>oldfort- I am unsure if I will pursue college tennis</p>

6

<p>Are you a registered tribe member?
Was your friend a registered member?</p>

<p>Because you do realize that your friend, having a 3.5uw is incredibly low for Stanford, even if you are URM. And, a 30 ACT is low for stanford, even if you are URM. And if you arent a registered tribe member, you are pretty much treated in admissions as if you were white.</p>

<p>And i think you are mostly wasting your time looking at those schools if you are not registered because your GPA is not competitive for those schools. </p>

<p>Also, it is being a little too optimistic to say that you should be getting a 3.8 uw for the next 3 years. You are only a sophomore.</p>

7

<p>My friend and I are both registered tribal members. I believe I am one of the few on this sight that is actually registered.</p>

8

<p>BOTH parents are enrolled tribal members as well.</p>

9

<p>Honestly, I think visiting at this point would be a waste of time and money unless you happen to be in the area as with Harvard. There's no point setting your heart on a school this early in the process.</p>

10

<p>Everything's so speculative at this point. Wait until you're a second-semester JUNIOR before visiting. </p>

<p>Even if your stats don't change (or improve the way you predict they will), you'll probably change your mind about the type of school you're interested in.</p>

<p>You're just a little too eager. Concentrate more on your grades and activities than on college.</p>

11

<p>Oh I realized that I made it sound as if I will be visiting this year or soon. I have visits planned junior year not this year. I just need to start saving at this point...sorry about being unclear</p>

12

<p>well then, if you get your grades up to ide say around a 3.7uw by the time you apply, you will have a great shot.</p>

<p>My uncle works at amherst (philosophy professor). I just thought ide say it cause u have it on ur list, and well, my uncle works there, so yeah. there ya go. i said it.</p>

13

<p>Thats interesting as my brother is considering philosophy at amherst. I am definately going to try to keep my grades up, and i feel a 3.8 should be no problem for me. I would love to go all the way and get a 4.0 but i dont know if that will happen!</p>

14

<p>Sorry to resurect this post, but I need info as I am planning to ask for some $ for a visit for christmas!</p>

15

<p>Please guys, this is a big topic on my mind!</p>

16

<p>Might as well save up money. It's a good habit no matter what you're saving for...</p>

17

<p>If money is really an issue, you might even want to consider not visiting colleges until you find out where you're in/not in at the end of your senior year. Also, some colleges will pay to fly you out to visit them if they accept you.</p>

<p>If visiting is really important to you, go ahead and save up your money, but don't start making plans until at least second semester junior year!</p>

18

<p>Good advice re waiting to visit until you get in. No point otherwise - especially regarding reach schools, unless you pick one reach where you'll specifically be applying ED rather than EA. </p>

<p>Also, I think DEFINITELY go for the internship if you want to study business. Think of it as being on the path for an ED/EA (not sure which they do) application to UPenn Wharton. </p>

<p>And, dont let people make you think you're planning too early. You're most definitely not - you're right on time. A good thing to read right now is A for Admission by Michele Hernandez. And, immediately look into TASS (google it) for this summer and TASP for next summer - application time is coming up. These are free summer programs that score big points on admissions commitees, however they are VERY difficult to get into, so don't stop there. Check out this link for other free summer programs and look for one with a business bent if possible:
High</a> School Internships</p>

19

<p>No point in visiting Stanford unless you want to for your own reasons. They do not factor in "demonstrated interest" at all. They do not interview, and while they welcome visitors to the campus, they keep no record of your having been there. It is not a factor in admissions in any way at all. So unless you just want to make the trip for its own sake, save your money.</p>

20

<p>I would like to visit campus and I should be able to afford to visit most of, if not all of my original list. I guess I was asking if it would be a waste of money due to me having no chance, for admissions reasons. But 'rentof2, did you mean no chance anyways?</p>