ED chances

Colleges and Universities A-Z Barnard College
1

<p>Cuban American from northern CA</p>

<p>9th
H English A/A
PE A/A
Physical Science A/A
Spanish I A/A
Web design A/A
Geometry A/A
Concert band A/A</p>

<p>10th
Algebra II C+/B
H English A/A-
H Bio A/B+
H world history A/A
PE A/A
Symphonic band A/A
Spanish II A/A</p>

<p>11th
Math Analysis B/B+
Hon English A/A
AP US history A/A
AP psych A/A
Spanish III A/A
Chemistry B/A-
Symphonic band A/A</p>

<p>GPA: 3.833 uw, 3.95 w</p>

<p>SAT: 730v/500m/600w took again in June, expecting math to be much higher, and I will be taking the ACT as well next year.
SAT II: 600 spanish, 720 US history</p>

<p>employment:
clerical work at a tutoring center, 1 year
weekly babysitting for 3 years</p>

<p>extracurriculars:
1st chair french horn player in high school band
also play in Sonoma State University Winds, 1st chair in Sonoma County honor band, Northern California Honor band. I’m very involved with music, I’ve also received several top ratings from state music festivals.<br>
Founding member of an award-winning brass ensemble.</p>

<p>13 years of girl scouts- in the process of earning my gold award, which is going to be based on creating mental health awareness in my community. I’ve also helped organize a women’s clothes drive for a local shelter, food drives, helped run local GS events, ect. I’m also helping to organize a county-wide event that will teach younger girls traditional girl scout songs and campfire rituals.<br>
Assistant Brownie leader- 1 year</p>

<p>Peer mentoring- 3 years</p>

<p>Christian club- 4 years. This is a very active club with meetings 3 times a week, and I will most likely be president next year. I’m also very involved in my church with trips to Mexico, teaching Sunday school, ect. My faith is a huge part of my life, and I hope to bring that out in my application.</p>

<p>I have many smaller ec’s, but I would rather focus on the important ones. </p>

<p>Awards:
PSAT recognition
Spanish achievement
2nd place in Redwood Psychological Association essay contest for an essay on the attribution theory.
Music scholarship from a local organization
recognition form a local veteran organization for an editorial on saying the pledge in schools.</p>

<p>Other things: I spent last summer in Spain as an exchange student, and I’ve gone on many mission trips with my church to Mexico.</p>

<p>I have an on-campus interview next week, I really hope that I can convey how thrilled I would be to go to Barnard!
Any responses would be greatly appreciated!</p>

2

<p>Erica, I can't tell you "chances" but I do think that you have a good shot at Barnard with your background. Do take the ACT and/or retake the SAT to get that math score up - you also want to try to get the SAT writing scores up if possible. </p>

<p>One good thing about Barnard is that they accept supplemental materials with your application -that means you can send in extra stuff beyond the application. So, for example, you could send Barnard a copy of your award-winning essay or a CD of some of your music. </p>

<p>Good luck with your interview! My daughter visited Barnard last September and she had a terrific interview there - she came back very excited about Barnard, in part because the interview went so well. We are also from California (as you can tell from my name) and my d. will be starting as a freshman in 2 months. </p>

<p>While you are visiting you might want to ask about the programs Barnard has with Manhattan School of Music & Julliard.</p>

3

<p>Thanks so much for the response! I'm really looking forward to my interview now, I've heard that they usually go very well at Barnard. I'm also anxious to hear about those pesky SAT scores, I'm sitting on pins and needles! Good luck to your daughter next year, I would love to hear what it's like for someone from CA, as I've heard it can be quite a culture shock. Thanks again.</p>

4

<p>I think it is not a culture shock if you have been to NY before. My daughter had been to the city on a choir tour and during the accepted students weekend. In retrospect NY may have been her reason for applying.</p>

5

<p>Actually, I think there really is an east coast/west coast cultural difference. For some kids it may be great- for others, not so great. But it's not a bad thing for 4 years of college - it's a learning experience and a chance to experience a different way of life. Californians are very laid back and open (especially in Sonoma County, where Erica lives); New Yorkers are very intense and driven. </p>

<p>My son is back on the west coast, preferring the land where pedestrians have the right of way and everybody isn't angry all the time. But it still was good to go to college there. I mean, Erica could probably do what a lot of her classmates will, and get a degree from Sonoma State U (if nothing else, it's a good safety) -- but there's no growth in that. </p>

<p>So Erica: you'll do fine. It is a different culture, just as Spain was, just as Mexico is. But I don't know anyone who really has a problem with school because of it -- it just is a factor as to where you end up going once you complete your degree. If you love NY, you will probably look for internships and jobs in the city -- if you find it toooo intense, you'll probably be back home in California during the summers and back on the west coast after graduation. Or who knows, maybe somewhere else entirely different. </p>

<p>In any case, don't let fear of the "culture shock" part stop you. There are plenty of other kids from California at Barnard, so within the college itself I think you will find all types of people.</p>

6

<p>Erica, I was just reviewing your math classes and your SAT. You may be falling behind because you're actually a year ahead. You're in, if I'm not mistaken, precalculus. The test has arithmetic, Algebra I and Geometry which are topics that you did some time ago, and unlike writing skills they have not all been used in the past two years. The score on the Math section is not so much about how much math you know but about mistake avoidance. My daughters dealt with this by taking those practice tests that you can buy in the book store and making a list of the mistakes they made. They studied their lists for an hour the night before they took the exam. Taking the practice tests also helps you lower the stress of taking the exam, except the practice tests grade you a little lower, so don't look at the scores on the practice tests look at the individual mistakes you make.</p>

7

<p>mardad,
I think you're right about the math thing, a lot of what I saw on the test was stuff that I know I could do at one point, but forgot. I checked out just about every last SAT book my library had and studied them all, so I think my new scores, which I believe will be available Monday, should be higher. Do you know how the math on the ACT compares to that on the SAT?</p>

8

<p>My D did about the same on both. As I recall the ACT is a little more advanced as it is more an achievement test.
I sent you a PM.</p>

9

<p>So I had my interview and tour at Barnard on Monday. I felt that the interview went well, but maybe I'm imagining it as I think everyone feels like they did well. I was a little dissappointed with the tour because we didn't see much because of the rain. I also got my new SAT scores back, and I got a 770 in writing and 630 in math, which helps things a lot. I decided that I probably won't be applying ED because I'm seriously considering Smith, so I don't think I'm ready to commit. New York has the advantages of diversity and the connection to Columbia among other things, but I'm not sure if it's worth the hassles that come with living in the city. So I'll see what happens...</p>

10

<p>erica2002 congrats on the big improvement on your SAT scores. i'm just wondering if you did anything special (or particularly helpful) to improve your math score. my D got a 550 on math and wants very much to improve her score on the october test. thanks.</p>

11

<p>For the math section, I used several books that I found to be helpful: The Kaplan math workbook is good because it's divided into sections and then into easy, medium, and hard, and then each problem has an explanation at the end. I like it because it really helped me to pinpoint weak areas. They also have a list of the top 100 math concepts that I found helpful because a lot of it has to do with the little things that you forget when you've moved on to higher levels of math. The Princeton Review book was good because it had some really good test taking strategies (especially the one that says that you shouldn't answer all the questions if you want a score less than 700) I also got the Princeton Review book for the math subject tests which actually had some good strategies for SAT I problems that they didn't have in the SAT book. I also got the "blue book" and did the practice tests. Hope this helps.</p>