Finally getting serious about college search

Colleges and Universities A-Z Boston College
1

<p>I’m a high school Junior and tonight I just had some motivation to start researching colleges.
I’m from Massachusetts (about 45 minutes away from Boston) and I’m pretty sure that I really want to go to school in Boston (but nowhere else in New England… I want the urban setting and I absolutely love Boston). </p>

<p>So this is gonna turn into another chances thread, but I would really appreciate knowing if I’m on the right track. </p>

<p>White, female, Albanian Orthodox (annual household income probably over 100K)
Rank: Top 3% (out of ~250)
Weighted GPA: 4.6-ish</p>

<p>I haven’t taken the SAT yet, but I did get a 201 on the PSAT (my math score dragged it down a bit).</p>

<p>Activities:
Peer Tutoring (since Sophomore year)
Youth Commission Club
Diversity Club (since Freshman, currently in Leadership Ring)
Leo Club
Badminton Club (created it with a friend last year, we’ll see if it becomes official in the spring)
Hopefully I’ll make National Honors Society this year.</p>

<p>Awards:
3rd Place within my grade on National Spanish Exam (Freshman Year)
English Department Award (Sophomore)
Spanish Department Award (Sophomore)
Inducted into Hispanic Honors Society (Sophomore)</p>

<p>I’ve started doing quite a bit of community service this year through Leo and Youth Commission Club.</p>

<p>I’m sure my recommendations will be great.</p>

<p>I got a 660 on the Bio SAT Subject Test, but I plan on taking USH and Spanish, so I should have better scores.</p>

<p>What other info is important?</p>

<p>I’m taking two APs (USH and English Lang) this year and will probably be taking five next year (Lit, Psych, Spanish Lang, Environmental Science, and Calc AB). What’s their AP policy? Will I get credit if I pass the exams?</p>

<p>I’ve also been in band (percussion, currently taking afterschool lessons) since 5th grade and will continue it through the end of high school.</p>

<p>I’m interested in majoring in something like Linguistics or something Romance Languages-related or even something along the lines of sociology. And I want a school where teachers really care about students.</p>

<p>I was looking for a good liberal arts college in Boston and ended up looking into Brandeis (I know it’s in Waltham) and BC. How do the two compare? I really don’t know all that much about colleges. From what I’ve gathered:
Jewish vs. Catholic
3000 students vs. 9000 students
Costs virtually equivalent</p>

<p>I’m starting to feel partial to BC just 'cause those are my initials… but I need a better reason to convince my parents to help pay 45K.</p>

<p>My parents seem to think that liberal arts colleges are looked down on though. But I think this is the route I’d really like to go.</p>

<p>Any suggestions on how to make sure I’m headed on the right road?</p>

2

<p>first, brandeis and BC are NOT liberal arts colleges. They are National Universities. Liberal Arts Colleges are usually around 2000 students or less. Liberal Arts are like Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin.</p>

<p>Liberal arts colleges around Boston are Holy Cross and Clark.</p>

<p>also, its hard to see without ur test scores. Ur SAT 2 bio test score is a bit low. (You always want above 700's on ur subject tests.)</p>

<p>ur gpa seems good, but with no stardardized scores, we cant really compare u.</p>

3

<p>I'm sorry... I know that they're not technically liberal arts colleges. I kinda just meant a school that offers all the subjects...? I don't know if that makes sense.
I figured it'd be hard without test scores yet. What should I aim for on the SAT (I)? I'm pretty confident that I'll get in the 700s when I take USH and Spanish.</p>

4

<p>the mean SAT score for EA this year was 2110, which i think is doable if you got a 201 on your PSAT.</p>

<p>I'd say your weakness may be your EC's, but it wont help you to join a bunch of random clubs now. Band looks good, but youre going to need a LOT more community service to make yourself stand out. You already have a bunch, so it wont seem like youre just throwing it on for the sake of college.</p>

5

<p>try not to sweat about your SAT II scores too much....mine were definately nothing special at all and i got accepted EA. </p>

<p>i mean, it obviously is a good thing to do good on them, but if everything else in your application is what BC is looking for then i dont think you should feel like you wont get in because of them.</p>

6

<p>I figured my ECs might be a problem... it's just that I have one every day of the school week, then I have to go home to do HW.<br>
Any suggestions to subtly improve them?</p>

7

<p>well most of those clubs dont seem special. Leo Club? I think BC would want something like Key Club, or Speech and Debate. Clubs need to be like classes. Not a bunch of easy ones, but maybe a show of passion. Like if ur passion was international, u could do speech and debate and Model UN.</p>

<p>Most schools do offer "all the subjects" it is the vocational schools that dont.</p>

<p>what u like is medium-sized universities. both brandeis and BC is good, but BC will be pretty hard to get into to. pray for a 2150 for ur sat's, because the average may be higher.</p>

8

<p>My school doesn't have a Key Club (...and I've never even heard of it).<br>
I'm really not into debating or anything. And I'd rather not just join something for the sake of joining it (and like I said, I don't have any free time to do so).
I didn't know Leo Club was looked down on :/
But Diversity Club is run just like a class... and the teacher that does it went to Harvard for her master's (I believe it was her master's). Would it be good if one of my recommendations was written by her? (I also had her Freshman year for Honors World History and got an A or A+.)</p>

<p>I guess I really do have to do amazingly on the SAT (which my guidance counselor told me to take in June). I think I'm gonna buy a prep book tomorrah and really get serious about this.</p>

<p>I am really really freaking out about this whole process.</p>

9

<p>I've never heard of a Leo Club, but Key Club is a nationally recognized club designed for students who are interested in community service. You might want to mention this in your app when applying. A recommendation written by a harvard grad will only have an effect at Harvard, just like having a legacy at school X will only affect the decision at school X and not school Y. In order to get accepted at BC, you must have extremely strong SAT scores as well as community service, since BC preaches the virtues of community service.</p>

10

<p>Leo Club is all about community service! :)
But I'm definitely interested in doing even more, so hopefully I'll become even more involved in my community.</p>

11

<p>How about Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern, Simmons College? They're all very urban Boston.</p>