Help a troubled soul?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>It's another chances thread. You're here already- why dont you take a quick gander...</p>

<p>I switched school districts, and states, between my 8th and 9th grade year. It was a tough move, but the new district I went into was a ridiculously easy and uncompetitive one -- thus, I had a 4.0 GPA with no problems. Then, we moved again and back to my old state, but to a ridiculously competitive to the point of insanity school -- and my unweighted GPA dropped. and dropped. and dropped. But, I still cling on to hope in the spirit of the times. Yes, my school is recognized as an extremely tough public high school by colleges (and boasts itself to be #1 in the state...though that's surely debatable). Tell me what you think!</p>

<p>Oh, also, I live in Ohio.</p>

<p>Freshman Year:
Honors English - A
Honors Biology - A
Honors Environmental Science - A
Honors Geometry- A
Spanish 1 - A
Phys Ed - A
Art 1 - A
Honors Wold History - A</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
Honors English - A
Honors Chemistry - A
AP Biology - B
Algebra 2 - A
Spanish 2 - B
AP US History- A
Public Speaking - A
Debate - A</p>

<p>Outside of School -
Discover Hopkins - JHU: Preventative Medicine and Health in the 21st Century - Pass</p>

<p>Junior Year :
Psychology- A
AP Economics - A
AP English Language - A
AP Chemistry- A or B, but most likely B
Honors Physics - B
Spanish 3 - A...or B....but probably an A
Precalculus - A</p>

<p>Senior Year Schedule:
AP Calc BC
AP Euro
AP Statistics
AP English Literature
AP Government
Spanish 4</p>

<p>One of my recommendations will be from my AP Euro teacher who is also in charge of Mock Trial and Model UN, both of which I am an officer in. My other one will most likely be from my AP literature teacher who was also my honors english 10 teacher, my AP economics teacher, or my AP Calc BC teacher who was also my algebra 2 teacher. My ap literature, calc, and euro teachers have all known me since I first moved here and have seen all the changes I've gone through, but my AP Econ teacher has seen me kick ass at his class. I don't know...</p>

<p>PSAT scores:
172 Freshman
207 Sophomore
216 - Junior (78 on CR, highest in school)</p>

<p>AP Scores -
Biology: 5
US History - 4
I expect to get mostly 5's on the four I'm taking next week.</p>

<p>SAT 2 Scores -
Biology M - 750
US History - 740
English Lit- ?
Chemistry - ?
Math II- ?</p>

<p>(taking those last 3 in a month)</p>

<p>SATs - I'm guessing superscored it will be somewhere between 2200-2300</p>

<p>EC's :
Speech & Debate 2007-Present
Vice President 2009- Present
Original Oratory Competitor 2007- Present
State level competitor 2008, 2009
North Coast District – National Qualifier Tournament Finalist 2009
Original Oratory/ Original Interpretation Captain 2008-2009
National Forensic League – Distinction Degree</p>

<p>Model United Nations 2007-Present
President 2009- Present
Vice President 2008- 2009
Regular Delegate at CCWAMUN conference 2007-Present
- Represented Panama, Australia & Namibia
Spearheaded _____ High School’s 1st Out-Of-State conference 2009
- Cornell University
Awarded Superior Delegation
-Highest honors; Both Spring & Fall Conferences 2008
Chairwoman – CCWAMUN Spring Conference 2009
(youngest chairperson at conference, only person allowed to chair as a junior from my high school ever)</p>

<p>Mock Trial 2007-Present
Competed as a Lawyer 2007-Present
Awarded Best Attorney- District Level 2008, 2009
Awarded Best Attorney - Regional Level 2009
Elected Team Captain 2008-2009
Elected Club Officer- Historian 2009- Present</p>

<p>NHS 2009-Present
- Active Member, Inducted last week (will get in a LOT of volunteer work for this in the summer and next fall)</p>

<p>Drama Club 2007-Present
-participated in two school productions so far, and hoping to participate in a third this fall</p>

<p>Freshman Photography Club 2006-2007
- Elected Vice President 2007
- 1st place School Wide Contest Winner 2007</p>

<p>Volunteer Work
Cleveland Clinic Foundation 2008
- Researched at the Biomedical Engineering Dept.
of the Lerner Institute of Research; approximately 300 hours 2008
- Presented Data to Northeaster Ohio Science
& Engineering Fair 2009
- Awarded 3rd place in Human Medical Engineering category 2009
- Awarded Special Awards and $200 prizes from: 2009
Cleveland Clinic - Dept of Biomedical Engineering
Cleveland Clinic - Dept of Pathobiology
Stafford Commons – Senior Care Community 2007- Present
Union County Library 2007-2008</p>

<p>Plan to do a LOT of stuff this summer. Most likely at a law firm.</p>

<p>Work Experience
Babysitting 2007- Present
-Khatani Family; 2 children under the age of 10- Weekly 2009-Present
Piano Teaching 2009-present</p>

<p>Hopefully a summer job this year??</p>

<p>Languages
Fluent in: English, Oriya, Hindi
Experienced in: Spanish</p>

<p>Interests
Acoustic Guitar 2006-Present
- Two Years of Lessons
Classical Piano 2002-Present
-Four Years of Lessons
Prose/Poetry-
- Published “An Ellipsis,” a short poem, in prestigious and nationally recognized
school literary magazine, Images 2009</p>

<p>I plan to go into law school eventually, with a major in economics.</p>

<p>Top Choices- I'm early applying to one of these:
Brown/Columbia</p>

<p>Also really like-
Duke, Upenn, Dartmouth, Berkeley, UMich, UCLA</p>

<p>Considering-
Cornell, Johns Hopkins, NYU</p>

<p>Because I have to:
OSU</p>

<p>Thank you so much for your time! </p>

<p>Also, I expect the counselor recommendation to be really good because she is extremely serious about getting me into Columbia. Of course, both of us wishing our hardest isn't going to do the trick, but I'm sure that she will do a tremendous job with whatever she has control over.</p>

<p>And I'm in the top 5%, I think.</p>

2

<p>Wow, you have quite a resume there. I don’t think I’d be worrying about getting into any schools. Your GPA may be dropping, but all of your current grades are A’s and B’s. I would have no worries. You also have amazing test scores and extracurricular activities. Your AP classes will make up for “points” you have lost, but if I were you I would be ridiculously happy with what I was achieving.
Let’s remember how many people in this world who don’t have motivation, passion, and some smarts to get good grades and go to Ivy League schools. Just remember to consider yourself extremely fortunate!</p>

3

<p>Thank you so much!
I’ve been offered a job at Arabica coffee shop next fall from the owner, but I don’t think I will be able to handle it with classes and clubs and college applications taking up time. Will it significantly help me if I do take the job?</p>

4

<p>I’m not sure…work experience is valuable on college applications but it’s not worth your sanity. I believe that senior year isn’t about murdering yourself so I would just do what you think you can handle. I know some kids that have easy classes, college things, and part time jobs and they’re really stressed out. Just have a fun senior year!</p>

5

<p>You have a great profile for applying to schools but most of your considered schools are reaches, solely because of the competition and low percentage admitted. If you eventually want to go to Law School you should save your $ from your undergrad for that. I would drop UCLA and NYU because they probably won’t offer much to an OOS applicant, even one with your profile. Have you considered any LACs? There are some really good ones in Ohio and states close by that offer some good scholarships. As a NMF (and with your PSAT you will probably qualify) you can get a full tuition scholarship to Denison U.</p>

6

<p>Your “package” is quite impressive, and you will likely have some excellent school choices! However, as mentioned above, most of the schools you mentioned are reaches for everyone with a low % of applicants offered admission. It seems that you do not have many schools “in the middle” and listed OSU “because you have to.” It does not sound like you would be happy to go there, but maybe I am wrong. </p>

<p>I have only been on this board for a few months but one thing I have learned is how important it is to have a couple of “safer” schools that you would really love to attend. Make sure there are a few places you know you can afford and know you could be happy at - too many kids seem to get to April and find they have not gotten into their “dream” schools (or cannot afford them). Do everything you can to get into your top choices, and it seems you have a good shot at getting into a couple, BUT remember that it is easy to find the reach. The lower matches and “safeties” are tougher and could be even more important.</p>

7

<p>If you are interested in your top choices, this would not be a problem. I would have to agree that if you plan to attend law school then you should save your $ during your undergraduate by attending a college/university that would offer you the most in scholarships if not a fullride. Then again, instate Universities are known to sometimes offer less money than out-of-state Universities/Colleges. You can always do your graduate studies at one of your top choices and try to get more money by remaining instate. It’s best to safe going into debt during your graduate studies then to also have your undergraduate and graduate debt combined debt. Defintely apply to all colleges of your choices and decide on the better financial aid package. Don’t know your EFC, but the top-colleges would offer a hefty award.</p>

8

<p>The thing is, I’ve lived in Ohio for almost as long as I’ve lived in America - besides that one freshman year in North Carolina. I really love the idea of an average sized school in a big national city, and OSU’s feel just doesn’t gel well with me. I know that if they give me a lot of aid or even a full ride, and I don’t get into my top choices, I will probably end up in their honors program, but I find UMich a lot more enticing. (Mostly because it is the only school on my list that is in the top 10 for both Law & Business…and I’m still deciding between the two though I’m definitely leaning towards Law. Perhaps a minor in international business would be good though) </p>

<p>Your advice is truly appreciated. Thank you so much.</p>

9

<p>Hi, That is exactly my point. U of M sounds like a good fit. OSU doesn’t seem to excite you (although you are smart to keep it in the mix) which is fine. I’d suggest finding a few other schools that meet your interests, but are a bit less competitive to get into than most of your list so that you will have some “fallbacks” you can be happy with. Also, you will have a better chance for merit aid/scholarships at the slightly less competitive schools. I don’t know much about the details of which schools are strong in econ, business, etc… but if you like Michigan, you may want to look at U of Wisconsin. Or Penn State (although not in a city), U of Pittsburgh (honors), Indiana University (good business and you’d likely be able to be in honors there), American, U of South Carolina (known for international business and good shot at merit money), etc… I am sure others with more experience may have more and better suggestions for match/safety schools or those that may provide a good chance for aid.</p>

10

<p>Yeah, I’ll probably add IU ( I have legacy there so they’ll probably give me a lot of aid) and even UIllinois- Urbana Champaigne in there. I’ll also check on the common app to see which schools don’t require additional essays and forms and send in my app for kicks. Oh, and Georgetown… how could I even forget Georgetown on my list (though that’s definitely not a safety haha)</p>

11

<p>IU sounds like a great addition for you. My niece will be attending there in the fall - she is a NMF and is receiving some nice merit aid and was admitted to Hutton Honors as well as being an Ernie Pyle’s scholar (for journalism). Folks seem to really like Bloomington. </p>

<p>Again, I am optmistic on your chances for some of the schools on the “top of your list,” but just don’t forget to have some in the middle/lower end where you would be happy to attend and able to afford. I don’t know anything about your need for aid and whether you will be eligible for financial aid (have you run the numbers through FAFSA so you’ll have some idea on your family EFC?) or need merit money or whatever.</p>

12

<p>Oh, and Illinois sounds like a good idea, too. Georgetown is awesome. If you like that setting, American University might be worth a look in the match/safety range for you. Lots of political and international stuff.</p>

13

<p>Haha, I considered journalism for a while before settling on law/business. Thanks for your help. </p>

<p>I need to run everything through FAFSA, but I don’t expect the results to look too good in terms of aid. Our family income is quite high, but we also support both my mother and my father’s parents and we have lots of money going to our house in India and stuff, and stuff like that isn’t considered at all.</p>

14

<p>OK, then if you are gonna have trouble getting need-based aid and will still need additional money (ie. if your parents can’t or won’t be able to afford full pay at Columbia or Duke or one of your other top, private Ivy or Ivy-type schools) then it is extra important to find good matches that may offer you merit aid. Since ALL the folks admitted to the tippy top schools are so exceptional, it seems ridiculously hard to get merit aid. Perhaps there are some exceptions (others chime in if you know of some of the top schools on her list that are generous with merit aid). I’d also caution you to be careful about taking on a lot in loans/debt for undergrad given your plans for law or other grad school which will also be expensive. </p>

<p>If your family can afford to send you to Columbia (or wherever) if you get in, great. But if you could only go with aid, please make sure you have other options in case that does not come through. Go for and expect the best, but be happy with “Plan B.” No matter what, your future looks extremely bright!! :slight_smile: Congrats on your many accomplishments thus far, and best of luck!</p>