help for a junior prospie...

Colleges & Universities A-Z Pomona College
1

<p>Hi, I'm a high school junior and just diving in to the complicated college search process... I saw Pomona when I was out in california last summer and got really good vibes from it. my problem is that i don't know much about it academics wise and whether or not it is a realistic option for me (I've been told how hard it is to get in...) First off, how is pomona for languages??? I know it has a good study abroad program andstuff, but I've not heard much about that. Second off, I guess I'll ask the ol' cliched "chances" question. sorry, i know these are annoying, but I'm really confused now about where to go see for spring break and how I may look to places like pomona.</p>

<p>the basics...
Female
Attend a Sci-Tech magnet school in Fairfax, Va
class of 2007
GPA: 3.97 right now... not sure how it'll look at the end of the year, since my calc grade has something to be desired. My other B+ was in Alg. 2/ Trig frosh year.</p>

<p>Schedule thusfar (all classes are so-called "honors")</p>

<p>English(9th-11th)
Introduction to Engineering/technology
Russian 1,2,3
World Hist. 1, 2
AP Modern European Hist.
AP US Hist.
Alg. 2/Trig, Precalc, AP calc BC
Drama/Photography
Introduction to Computer Science in JAVA
Materials Science/Prototyping
Bio/Chem/Physics (1 each year)</p>

<p>I haven't taken any APs next year.</p>

<p>Next year:
AP Gov./AP English Lit (integrated seminar format)
AP Russian Lang.
Chinese 1
Modern World History/America and the World since 1989
Senior research project (Probably in Prototyping)
Geosystems</p>

<p>Will not taking math hurt me next year??? BC calc is killing me now (I study my a** off and am still getting a B). I would much rather start Chinese frankly.</p>

<p>I haven't taken SAT IIs yet, but SAT Is are looking decent: M 740 CR 750 W 730</p>

<p>Extracurriculars
Russian Club
-Member since 9th grade
-co-president this year (maybe next too, depends...)
Russian Honor Society
-I hold a lot of lesser leadership positions and plan to run for president
Tutoring (10th and 11th grae, 1 hour a week)
Odyssey of the Mind (9th and 10th grade)
Guitar-lessons since 7th grade
Volunteer at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 6 hours every 2 weeks
NHS (inducted this year...)
Member of Young Democrats (not that involved...)</p>

<p>Summer
Wilderness program summer before freshman year (I love nature!!!)
Volunteered for 3 weeks at a drama camp after freshman year
Russian Immersion Camp (concordia Language villages) 4-weeks (for credit) after sophomore year</p>

<p>This summer I'll be working (alas)
trying for a job @ state dept. or history research job @ GMU, but if not, I'll work at borders or something, which is fun too. I don't really care as long as I can make some wages for myself.</p>

<p>In addition, I've gotten some awards in Russian (regional/national competitions), but nothing too special.</p>

<p>Anyways, thanks for reading my post thingie. I don't wanna sound rude or pretentious. I just honestly have NO idea what colleges want/expect. I'm an oldest kid and most of the kids at my school are INSANE students. Its just hard for me to judge myself against most kids when I'm in such a pressure cooker school. I get a lot of flack from some people who are getting all sorts offancy NIH internships and such and I just don't know where I measure up...
so again, thanksfor coming to the rescue of a clueless juniior.</p>

2

<p>you will totally qualify! I was in Concordia Russian Lesnoe Ozero in 04 and took Russ 1-4 too. And I also took AP Euro and US...and Pomona looks at you more as an individual rather than a number. You should def apply!</p>

3

<p>hey thanks! That's so cool that you went to lesnoe ozero too. I wish I could go back this year, but i have to get a job... Russian rocks, eh?</p>

4

<p>I think your chances look very good - TJ is a great school and coming out of there probably looks good. I would be concerned about the lack of AP classes in your senior schedule, though.</p>

5

<p>hey, i take italian at scripps, so i can't really speak for the chinese and russian departments departments, although i've heard from several friends that they're challenging but manageable if you put enough effort into it. languages classes are special bc the level you test into (intro, intermediate, advanced, etc) determines how many days per week your classes meet. it may seem overwhelming at first if you're class meets 5 days a week, but i think with languages there's less out of class work so it all balances out in the end. </p>

<p>i would def. recommend taking sat 2's or ap tests applicable to the language(s) you took in high school bc even if you think you want to start a new language in college, it's nice to have the requirement (650/ 4 or 5) under your belt in case you decide not to take 3 semesters of it in college. unfortunately in your case there isn't an ap or sat 2 test for russian, but you can contact the department and set up a test or something if you feel like you could place into a 4th semester or higher russian class. </p>

<p>good luck!</p>