<p>Hi, I'm an asian male that is a senior at a large, very competitive public hs in CA and would like some guidance on finding schools that match my stats and what I look for in a school:a strong poli sci or IR program, decent school spirit (doesn't have to be Alabama strong but shouldn't be NYU weak), and a work hard play hard environment where I can be academically challenged but still have fun on weekends. So far I have USC, Tufts, and Colgate. I was hoping someone could help me find 1 or 2 more schools that fit what I'm looking for. My profile is below:</p>
<p>Academics-
Class of 2015 with about 450 other students.
GPA: 3.8 uw, 4.2 w (school doesn't rank but mine is relatively low, probably barely 10%,if even. Top 15% for sure though)
ACT: 33, taking once more in oct
Took hardest classes possible, 11 AP and two honor classes by graduation. 1 honor freshman, 1 honor 2 ap sophomore, 5 ap junior, 4 ap senior year (would have taken 5 but need pe to graduate). I've scored 4&5 on all APs.</p>
<p>EC-
Debate (captain)
Junior Statesmen of America (Pres.)
Interact Club (Director of Activities)
Junior Class Council (Secretary)
Model United Nations
Mock Trial
School Newspaper
NHS
Science Olympiad
Writing Tutor for underclassmen
Freshman orientation leader
Taekwondo </p>
<p>Summer activities/Internships/Non-profit work-
Internship with state assemblymember
Worked on couple campaigns
Writer for student ran science magazine
School chapter president of Catalyst 4 Success, a program where we go around elementary schools doing science experiments to get kids interested in STEM
Organized and ran a tutoring camp for refugee children with friends.
Vice president of Operations for World children's education fund. We sold old AP books and gave the money to elementary schools in China.
Local library volunteer
~700 hours total throughout hs</p>
<p>Awards-
Regional tournament medals in debate and science olympiad
AP Scholar with distinction
3rd degree blackbelt in taekwondo
President volunteer service award, Gold and Silver
OMW for a congressional award bronze medal</p>
<p>TLDR: Involved student with great but not stellar stats looking for a school strong in poli sci/ir and having a good time. Already have usc colgate and tufts down. </p>
<p>You are a stellar student. I’m not sure who told you otherwise. You are wasting your time taking the ACT again. You won’t be rejected because you have a 33 instead of 35.</p>
<p>I like your ECs for Claremont, actually, even though you’re not in the top of the applicant pool. For matches I’d suggest Dickinson, with @intparent, and GW, with American and UDenver bringing up the rear.</p>
<p>Definitely look at American and GWU in Washington,DC. Poli Sci/IR majors have great networking and internship possibilites at those schools because of location in the nation’s capital.</p>
<p>UGA is also quite good. With your stats, I think you have a strong chance of getting at least the OOS tuition waived; the 75% mark for admitted scholarship students is a 4.17 wGPA and 33 ACT. </p>
That depends on how much the OP could improve. While a 33 won’t knock him out for admission, a 35 may considerably improve his chances for a merit scholarship – many schools use hard and fast numerical cut-offs. That’s going from a 1460 to a 1560 (M+CR) on the SAT, a not inconsiderable jump. </p>
<p>Sure why not. He’s not retaking a 33 to get a 31, I assume that he’s going to get a 35. The ECs are extensive and the 11 APs are pretty good too. </p>
<p>okay, CRD, i see your reasoning now. My first reaction is to think of those schools as not matches for anyone ant more except the 35-36s/4.0s because they love the highest stats kids, but the 3rd degree bb, 700 total hours, STEM program, and the debate medals are enough to make him a match. Thanks for that.</p>
<p>@ClassicRockerDad Duke is the 9th most selective school in America. It isn’t a match for most students this side of an ISEF gold medal. It certainly isn’t a match for the OP.</p>
<p>Since the OP isn’t even in the top 10% of his high school class, Duke is nothing short of an incredibly high reach as far as he/she is concerned.</p>
<p>Try Holy Cross-great combination of academics and athletics with very strong school spirit. HC alumni network is very strong with several alumni clubs in California. HC(don’t have to be religious) also meets 100% demonstrated financial aid. The new HC website is very informative.</p>