<p>I am a graduating senior who has decided to take a gap year to increase my chances of getting into my top choice schools. While I have a 97 GPA, 2100 SATs, a three sport athlete (captain of the football team senior year), and a lot of community service, I have severely miscalculated my chances of getting into good colleges (I found this website after I had sent in my apps.) and today, was rejected off of the Georgetown waitlist. Moreover, I was rejected from all the schools I applied to. It’s embarrassing – I know. Please don’t kick around my already shattered ego by saying how stupid I was in not picking any reasonable safeties.</p>
<p>Anyways, the point of this thread is twofold. While I want to increase my chances of getting into a top notch school, I also want to mature and improve myself as a person. Several things I have in mind are:</p>
<li>I’m most likely going to retake my SATs</li>
<li>Do something related to international relations or law. (Maybe get an internship somewhere? Community service?)</li>
</ol>
<p>I need your help in deciding how I should approach number two productively and efficiently. Also, in case you were wondering, I go to a boarding school so I really don’t get homesick. (I would relish the opportunity to do something abroad)</p>
<p>Statement from William Fitzsimmons, Marilyn Lewis, and Charles Ducey of Harvard. Mid-way through, they discuss gap year.</p>
<p>You will also likely get referred to posts by Andi -- and will find what her son did in gap year.</p>
<p>Average of 700 on your SAT's qualifies you to apply for most schools. Re-taking test won't be of much benefit to your application. If one score is particulary worse than others, or grades in a particular subject area are worse than others, might use some of gap year to take a college course in that subject(s). Also...if you did not take all of the required, or even recommended courses for the schools you're interested in (I think you refer to this issue in a previous post) consider taking a course in that subject. </p>
<p>My other suggestion to you is not for your gap year, but where you decide to apply next year. Don't apply to the same schools again (at least not all of them) One thing you should note from Andi....second time around her son applied to a wider variety of schools, and a couple of the same schools from the 1st round. I think he was rejected from the same schools that rejected him the first time around...but got into some great schools and is going to MIT.</p>
<p>If you can type and answer phones, try registering with a temporary office agency. A lot of law offices hire temporary help, and its a good way to get your foot in the door. On the side, you'll find out the difference between a well-run and a poorly-run operation. </p>
<p>This an election year, and most candidates would welcome volunteers, especially in your age group. </p>
<p>You could also look into applying for an (unpaid) internship with your state government or your US congressman or senator.</p>
<p>I was advised to look at different schools over the next year. If I supposedly brought my SATs up to around...let's say...2200+, what schools would I be in the ballpark for? I didn't apply to Duke this time around, but with my gap year plus an increased SAT score, would I be eligible? In any case, I think I will need your help in drawing up a list of schools to look at. I'm hoping to apply early decision to one of them.</p>
<p>Oh and I took three SAT 2s (730 USH, 710 Lit, 710 Korean respectively). Should I look into boosting these as well?</p>
<p>Thanks for your advice. As always, the CC Parents are an invaluable resource!</p>
<p>Your standardized test scores are not the reason you received rejections. If all you do is bring up your test scores from 2100 to 2200, you will have the same results next year. To reiterate my earlier post: 700+ scores, and a GPA in the top 10% of your class, qualifies you to apply to just about any school. </p>
<p>Your high school transcript, SAT's and EC's will be pretty much the same as your first round of applications. So...what can you change? </p>
<p>If you have great EC's, perhaps you need to change the way they were presented. Add more explanation to an EC that was unusual, or in which you did something unusual.</p>
<p>You should also consider a detailed review of your essays -- especially if you are interested in a top 50 University or LAC. If you did not look over any of the books and articles on writing a good college essay, you should do so. Have family friends you respect who interview candidates for jobs review your essays. Get teachers and GC's to review your essays. </p>
<p>Do not spend your gap year focusing on getting better SAT scores - it's not what will change your results. Find something to do that interests you so you will be a more interesting candidate.</p>
<p>What andison did was work, take classes, follow his passion and not have idle time, and it worked</p>
<p>Find Andi or Andison and PM them, they have and got some great ideas</p>
<p>And thank you for sharing your story,,, it takes guts to come forward, and to move on and really look to the future, good for you, and you may have helped someone else</p>
<p>good luck, and it will work out for you, so long as you have that plan</p>
<p>Cesare - I have to say I really like your forward-looking attitude. I know how difficult this admissions season must have been for you.</p>
<p>You ask
[quote]
I was advised to look at different schools over the next year. If I supposedly brought my SATs up to around...let's say...2200+, what schools would I be in the ballpark for?
[/quote]
I think we can best help you if you tell us more about what you would like in a school: size, atmosphere, urban/rural, field you want to study (is that law/intl relations related?) and other features important to you. This will help us advise you and probably help you craft better applications. It could be that your unhappy admissions results come not from a lack of the right stats (hence the advice others have given to perhaps not focus on SAT improvement) but rather a lack of "connection" between you and the schools you applied to as evidenced in your application/essays/etc.</p>
<p>I am not an expert on gap years, but there have been several threads on the subject here in the Parent Forum, which you should search. A couple of things I remember:
*you will be doing your new apps in late fall, so any aspect of your gap year which you want to influence your app needs to take place in summer/early fall
*it's a good idea to divide your gap "year" into segments: part can be money-making, part can be community service, part can be related to your passion, part can be travel etc. andi's S combined some of these - eg, (if I remember right) teaching his instrument to disadvantaged kids and maybe getting paid for some of that teaching.
*try not to focus on "what will enhance my application", but instead - as you said - on something which will bring you growth and, further, that you will enjoy, might not have another chance at</p>
<p>I can assure you that the parents here will come through for you with suggestions, but we need a little more to go on. Further, you may want "professional" (read paid) help reviewing your essays, but there are parents here (myself included) who will review and comment on essays.</p>
<p>Finally, if your Guidance Counselor is able to give you feedback or can seek feedback on your behalf from one or more of the schools which didn't work out for you, I think it's worth trying to get an outside opinion of where your apps were weakest - essays, recommendations, lack of tailoring to the individual schools.... It very well may not have been the SATs</p>
<p>I think andison (his screen name thning) also took a couple of classes, to keep his hand in and to show he could do well</p>
<p>So see if there is a class you can take this summer or in the fall, from a local CC, or night school, you will feel better doing the college thing, even just a little, it will show you mean business, and if it necessary, you might get a good rec, and learn something to boot...okay the learning thing should have been listed first, but I don't feel like moving things around</p>
<p>You can make this happen if you follow your passions</p>
<p>If you are seriously interested in making the most of a gap year and like international law, maybe you need to get yourself on a plane and go volunteer. Rainforests in Central America need assistance protecting native flora and fauna. Adults in China may be interested in leraning English. There are thousands of opportunities that would enrich your experiences as a person and give you valuable skills. </p>
<p>There is a book entitled The Uncollege Alternative which lists specific organizations and contacts for those type of experiences. You are very lucky to have the time to do something like this. It may be life-altering. Good luck.</p>
<p>I've never posted a 'stats sheet' on CC, but I will try my best.</p>
<p>Korean American male who goes to military boarding school in NY
SAT: 2100 (CR 800, M 660, W 640)
SAT2: USH 730, Lit 710, Korean 710
GPA: 97
Rank: top 5% (I was number 2 in my class junior year) out of 54
AP: English Lit, APUSH (I bombed this last year - 3)
Courseload: Toughest at my school (all honors and APs)
[School offers only 3 APs - English Lit, APUSH, and French]</p>
<p>Essays: Main essay was about my experiences and responsibilities at a military school. Also wrote about how assuming command of the corps. unceremoniously forced me to become a more social person.
Supplementary essays were about football and community service
Teacher Recommendations: Excellent ("one of the best students in my career, etc.") I especially liked my coach's rec.
GC Recommendation: Good</p>
<p>School Related ECs:
-JROTC: Cadet Major (I was the Battalion Exec. Officer which meant that I was the second highest officer in the cadet corps)
-Battalion Honor Representative (I was on the cadet Honor Committee)
-Varsity Football: 3 years
a) MVP
b) Co-captain
c) All league
d) All State Scholar Athlete
-Varsity track: 3 years
-Varsity wrestling: 1 year
-President of National Honor Society
-Leo Club
-Debate Team</p>
<p>Other ECs
-300 hours community service abroad (Mongolia, Thailand, Korea, and Japan)
-was team leader and I planned and initiated a service project at the 38th parallel in Korea
-many church related leadership roles
-was awarded President's Service Gold Medal</p>
<p>And those, good parents, are my stats in a nutshell.</p>
<p>I have interviewed countless law students, many of them profess to want to be in "international law". Students don't understand what that term means. Yes, there are some specialties that deal with truly "international" topics, such as trade law and certain aspects of tax. But those are narrow specialities. The best way to practice "international law" - meaning dealing with complex legal issues in foreign jurisdictions - is, not surprisingly for this those on this Board, go to the highest rated law school one can possibly get in - and go to the firms (mostly in New York, but there are exceptions in LA, SF, DC, Chicago, and Miami) that have the highest hiring standards and the best reputations. They do the international transactions and cases. Period. And before anyone retorts, "gee, isn't that obvious" - the answer is, yes, it is. The biggest firms have the capital, the been there before experience, and most importantly, the clients that can pay for sophisticated and often complex cross border legal work. Are there exceptions to this paradigm? Sure. But getting a job in "international law" is no different than college admissions - it is a numbers game - and the numbers favor those with the ridiculously stratospheric credentials that lawyers (with a huge herd mentality) love. So practicing international law is less of product of interest in the field than it is of getting high grades at a Tier One law school, often with a prestigious clerkship or law review accompanying the same. (By the way, one could consider the State Department or some areas of the DOJ, but their credentialing requirements are just as high and some big name law firm practice is often needed). And want to work in a foreign office of a major firm? Languages might help, but really, you better be the best of the firm's best. The reasons are simple. Foreign associates have less supervision in the field offices and only the best and brightest get selected. </p>
<p>So with this as background, - I would not go to an undergrad school merely for the "name", but rather one that is going to effectively challenge you, make you a hellacious and quick writer (very important), and help you mature. In fact, if you do these things, you may not want to become a lawyer - although a valuable education, many lawyers are not happy with their work and for the creative it really lacks luster. </p>
<p>Gap year? Work, or volunteer helping others - no better way to understand the realities of the real world. But I wouldn't stray from school either - taking at least one class that will really, really, improve your writing and ability to think on your feet. By the way, your participation in sports helps - law is extremely competitive and find that young people not used to the toughness of competitive athletics have some adjustment to go through with law - a field as competitive and conflict ridden as it gets. Use it to your advantage.</p>