Help me sort of my college choices, please :)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hello, all :) I'm currently a junior in a public high school in Canada.
I just need some help from you (college gurus) to categorize/classify my college choices as safety/match/reach/impossibility/whatever else.</p>

<p>So here's my stuff:</p>

<p>Gender: female
Background: Korean
Citizenship: Canadian
Want to major in: Sociology & Journalism</p>

<p>GPA:
First semester: 93.3 (English - enriched; Band; Physics)
Second semester (midterm - it's not over yet): 94.5 (Math - functions; Strings; French; Introduction to Anthropology, Psychology, and Sociology)</p>

<p>SAT I (superscore):
Math 790
CR 640
W 690
------ 2120
* taking it again in October for 2200+ - hopefully.</p>

<p>SAT II:
Math IIC 740
Literature - in a week!
Korean with listening - in November</p>

<p>EC:
- Yearbook committee head of photography (grade 11. Reapplied for the same position for next year)
- Head editor of newspaper committee (founding member this year)
- Jazz Band bassist/pianist/percussionist (since grade 9)
- Glee club pianist (founding member this year, continuing next year)</p>

<p>Volunteering:
- Hockey camp junior instructor for two summers
- Student hockey coach for my house league Learn To Play program</p>

<p>Awards:
- Gauss Math Contest distinction award
- Pascal Math Contest distinction award
- Galois Math Contest distinction award
- Cayley Math Contest distinction award
- Music Excellence award in Band
- Silver Citizenship Award (200 hours of club/team work at school)</p>

<p>I think that's pretty much it... and here's my list of colleges, in order of preference:
1. Stanford U (<em>cough</em> impossibility <em>cough</em>)
2. U of Southern California
3. Emory U
4. Boston C
5. Boston U
6. Wesleyan U
7. Haverford C
8. Duke U
9. NYU
10. Reed C</p>

<p>And I would really, REALLY, appreciate college suggestions :)</p>

<p>Thank you in advance!</p>

2

<p>I know it’s not the shortest thing to read, but please :(</p>

3

<p>Do you know what your cumulative GPA (average GPA based on the nearly 3 years you’ve spent in high school) is? That would be more helpful for chancing than just what you’ve gotten 1st and 2nd semesters of junior year.
Your EC’s are good, just not mind-blowing. How many community service hours do you have?
Also, are you saying that you’ll be applying as an international applicant from Canada? Sorry, I don’t know if your “Citizenship: Canadian” means that you’re a dual citizen or just a Canadian citizen.
Stanford and Duke are high reaches. Boston C and Emory are low reaches, as is NYU. I don’t know enough about the rest to chance you for them; sorry.
Hope that helped.</p>

4

<p>grade 10 marks:
first semester: 91.5
second semester: 95</p>

<p>what would be some examples of “mind-blowing” ECs?</p>

<p>i believe i have about 200 (outside of school) and i still need to hunt down some teachers who owe me service hours… probably around 350hrs when i get all the letters.</p>

<p>i’m applying as an international from canada. sorry if it was confusing D:</p>

5

<p>No worries :slight_smile: Great ECs are ECs where your passion is clearly demonstrated through leadership (ex: VP or President of a club), long-term involvement, and/or awards you have received in doing them. Of course, they’re not an absolute necessity for admission to a top college; they just give you an edge that you might otherwise not have.</p>

6

<p>Hai mmmaythe, nice to meet a fellow Canadian and Asian!! =]
I think your EC’s are great because you show passion for them! I love band too hahaha :smiley:
Does your school rank? That may help Unis put your academic achievement into context.</p>

<p>I lol’d when I saw the Waterloo math contest distinctions ^^ I have those too!!
Oh it is so great meeting somebody I can relate too-- keep in touch as the admission dates approach!</p>

<p>I think you have a great chance for many of the listed schools as long you reflect your enthusiasm-- good luck girl :)</p>

7

<ol>
<li>Stanford- would be tough. very tough. they have an 8% admit rate and 42% of those people live in California. high reach.</li>
<li>U of Southern California- easier than Stanford, but more people are from California. reach.</li>
<li>Emory U- probably a high match/low reach.</li>
<li>Boston C- high match</li>
<li>Boston U- high match, maybe.</li>
<li>Wesleyan U- I’m going to assume the Connecticut Wesleyan? It’s a reach.</li>
<li>Haverford C- reach</li>
<li>Duke U- reach</li>
<li>NYU- low reach</li>
<li>Reed C- high match</li>
</ol>

<p>I’m a bit confused about what you’re looking for in a college? Some of your schools are huge, some are very small. Some are in big cities and some in small towns. Some are known for liberal politics and some are in the South. Two are religious and Reed probably has about 2% religious students. Also, unfortunately in the US, being Asian can often be seen as a disadvantage in admissions. And of course being an international student does not help. Think some more about what type of school (size/setting/atmosphere) you want.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

8

<p>Do you need financial aid?</p>

9

<p>@ StarAligned
Nice to meet you, too :slight_smile:
My school APPARENTLY ranks but never tells students ANYTHING. (Great school, eh?)</p>

<p>@ whoazoe
“Sucks to be you” is the phrase that often rings around my ears when it comes to admissions, so I’m quite used to it (though I can’t say I’m totally happy with being who I am).</p>

<p>Well, I don’t really care about religions as long as it’s not like BYU.
And I’m into different schools for different reasons, that’s probably why they’re really just spread out.</p>

<p>Also, I change a lot depending on the environment rather than stress out because of it.
So depending on where I get accepted and decide to go, I’ll find an aspect of my personality to go with it.</p>

<ul>
<li>Stanford… because it’s Stanford; I just fell in love with it when I visited - so I visited again. Maybe I’ll go for a third visit this summer :P</li>
<li>USC, never visited but it’s got a great sociology program and a beautiful campus; also, it’s in LA, a city I wanted to live in (at least temporarily before I die).</li>
<li>Emory, good course offerings, gorgeous campus, lovely weather, safe city - what more to expect?
And on and on and on…
I generally tend to like colleges in major cities (or at least near major cities), and a “campus-like” settings where it feels like a school rather than just buildings. I’m not… that demanding when it comes to how it feels, I guess.</li>
</ul>

<p>@ Redroses
Nope - at least not for the first year.</p>

10

<p>i think you have a good chance with the majority of those schools. Stanford and Duke are unpredictable schools, but you have a good shot considering that you are an international student with very good grades and EC’s. Bring up your writing and reading to the 700 range and i think you’ll be good :)</p>

11

<p>Regardless of FA need, international pool is still a very tough pool. Are internationals in direct competitions with citizens of U.S.? No. Only a handful are admitted each year compared to number of U.S. citizens admitted.</p>

<p>There really isn’t much that stands out in your resume with exception of 1. Being a Korean with low scores doesn’t exactly help either. If the only reason you want to go to Stanford is the school name, I would seriously reconsider applying to Stanford, because your application will just scream to admissions officers that way.</p>

12

<p>@ geekorathletic
does it matter that I’m Korean when I’m “legally” Canadian? :S</p>

<p>and I’m not into Stanford only for the name D:</p>

13

<p>Canadian or not, you’re still stuck in the Asian pool.</p>

14

<p>Might look at Holy Cross-near Boston-very good school that is similar to Boston College. HC is a Jesuit school like Georgetown.</p>

15

<p>What are you majoring in?</p>

<ol>
<li>Stanford U - high reach</li>
<li>U of Southern California - low reach</li>
<li>Emory U - low match</li>
<li>Boston C - match</li>
<li>Boston U - high match</li>
<li>Wesleyan U - reach</li>
<li>Haverford C - reach</li>
<li>Duke U - reach</li>
<li>NYU - match</li>
<li>Reed C - match</li>
</ol>

16

<p>@ par72
thanks for the suggestion :)</p>

<p>@ AoDay
sociology :P</p>

17

<p>We’re applying to a lot of the same schools! (USC, Boston U, Wesleyan, NYU, Reed)
I think you’re in fer surez at NYU, Boston U and prbly Wes. All the others are crapshoots and Reed really has no rhyme or reason. You should think about applying to Vassar, I think you’d like it…</p>

18

<p>^ yay :)</p>

<p>USC = crapshoot? really :(</p>

19

<p>i live in portland oregon and i know that reed is very very liberal and fits the stereotypical portland person who drives a subaru and own one of those metal waterbottles. so keep that in mind while choosing a college</p>

20

<p>^ thank you for the advice :)</p>