Do I have a chance at Carleton College?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi, I'm graduating in 2012 and I'm trying to figure out what I should be applying to in the fall.
I really would love to go to a LAC like Carleton or Middlebury but I'm pretty sure those are huge reaches... I just don't really know so any help is much appreciated!!</p>

<p>SAT I: Reading 750, Math 710, Writing 740
UWGPA: 3.83, our school doesn't calculate weighted gpa or rank until we ask them to senior year but when I graduate I'll have:
Honors Freshman English,
Honors Sophomore English,
Audition Wind Ensemble (3 years),
AP Junior English (Can't remember the real titles for the English classes),
AP Senior English,
French 4,
AP French,
AP Stats,
AP Euro,
and French 3 and Spanish 3 which may or may not be weighted as honors classes.</p>

<p>I took the AP Enviro Sci test and AP English Lit this year and I probably got 4's or 5's.</p>

<p>EC's/Leadership:
I've been volunteering for the last few years at a non-profit in my area where I teach drum lessons and lead workshops for girls 8 to 18 years old. They changed the volunteering age to let me start teaching early and I've been really dedicated to it-- going both weekly during the school year and volunteering 3 weeks (10 to 12 hours a day) there every summer. I haven't added up all my time but it is easily over 550 hours so far. </p>

<p>Audio engineering classes for one year.
Marimba lessons for 1 year.
Drum lessons for 5 years.
Very very active participant in Oregon MUN for all 4 years
Very active in Spanish, French, and Japanese Clubs for 2 years (I run the fundraisers and do a lot of planing for events when the Presidents of said clubs decide they have better things to do half way through the year) But I don't have any titles in those even though I do a lot of work. President, VP, etc is basically a popularity contest with people voting who never go to events...
French and Spanish Honor Societies
On the Board of Young Democrats club for one year.
1st Percussionist in Football and Basketball band: very dedicated for all 4 years
1st (sometimes only) Percussionist in Pit Orchestra for 3 musicals
Played in the Drumline of a different school because my school doesn't have a marching band
Marching band camps at U of O during the summer
Section Leader in Wind Ensemble</p>

<p>Is it bad that I don't have any awards for anything? </p>

<p>Single-parent household
White, Female, competitive public school in a suburb of Portland, OR
Suggestions of where I should be looking at for smallish colleges with good language programs and maybe not an overly crazy party scene? Carleton is my dream but what should be my backups?</p>

2

<p>Your odds seems quite good. It’s not bad that you don’t have any awards, they tend to be very superficial anyways. What ill probably most impress admissions is your devotion to drumline, the fact you did it at another school helps convey that fact. I don’t know a ton about Carleton or am an admissions expert, but you certainly have a chance if you present yourself well on your app, </p>

<p>If you could chance my thread back, it would be greatly appreciated</p>

3

<p>Does anyone think Barnard, Smith, or Bryn Mawr would be matches? Or could Bryn Mawr be considered almost a safety?</p>

4

<p>Grinnell would be a good option for you and they get a lot of cross-applicants with Carleton. </p>

<p>Excellent merit aid, fabulous facilities, no distribution requirements - an they have a marimba band! </p>

<p>Major difference: On the semester system, not quarter system. And a somewhat higher acceptance rate at Grinnell.</p>