Hello All, and please forgive me if I am posting in the wrong section.
My question is in regards to admissions as well as college selection based on admissions policies and criteria.
No one in my family has ever been to college or knows anyone who can help in this regard, so I hope I can find some answers here. I apologize in advance for what may be a long introduction, but my life has been, well, unconventional and requires some explication. When I was 15, I developed a rare neurological disorder that, in time, would render me virtually bedridden for the next 6 years. I began a curriculum of self-education for the last 3 of those 6 long years, while simultaneously undergoing physical therapy. At the end of 2014, I completed a special program which awarded me a legitimate Highschool diploma and in the Spring of that same year attended college. I am proud to say that I have just finished my first semester with a 4.0 and without using any of my disability privileges.
My goal: I would like to attend Brown University or Amherst College as an undergrad transfer. I also plan on going to graduate school. My major is Liberal Arts as there is no English major offered, but my passion is split between Literature and Foreign Language. Hence why I would like to make my own degree and pursue both passions as deeply as possible.
What I am doing to achieve this:
- I joined the honors society and will be taking an honors class in the Fall.
- I volunteer my time as an ESL tutor at a local non-profit for 3 hours twice a week.
- I am taking Portuguese and Arabic classes at this same non-profit. My CC doesn’t offer much in the way of quality language courses, so I am pursuing these languages just for the sake of scholarship and fluency.
- I have so far taken Port 102 (placed out of 101), Psy 265, College Math, & Art History 105 and achieved a 4.0.
- I meet every Monday with my Art History professor so that we may engage in meaningful intellectual discussion and mentorship. He is a renowned Architectural Historian and published writer who has lectured all over the world. He continues to be a very valuable source of encouragement for me.
My questions are numerous:
I was hoping to only take 3 classes (9 credits) for the next two semesters so that I could continue to pursue Arabic and Portuguese outside of college as well as tutor ESL twice a week for 3 hours.
Can dropping below full-time status hurt my chances of getting accepted at the colleges of my choice?
Will taking only one Honor’s class this semester (the rest are full) impact my transcript?
Is my current schedule adequate: Art History 106 Honors, Spanish 101, English 101.
I met with a transfer adviser who told me to apply for Brown’s RUE program, volunteer, and keep a GPA above 3.5.
Is this enough? I guess I just don’t know what I’m doing…
Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice.
-SingerofThrace