Hi. I really need help with college suggestions and some advice on the additional information section of the common app.
About me: Male, will be a high school senior from Washington. I go to a high school with tough grading. This was confirmed by a counselor at the UW.
What I want: I think I want to stay on the west coast, but would consider a great school for me on east coast. I want to be pretty close to water. Being able to ski is a bonus, but won’t play a huge part of my decision. I definitely need a school with a strong intramural sports program. I LOVE basketball. I’m not a high school player, but have played on leagues all through school. I enjoy watching sports and want to support my college team in football or bball. Big classes might be hard because I have an auditory issue. I don’t use a FM or PLD device and really don’t want to. It would be nice to have sun. I want to go to a school with friendly, smart kids and I want to be able to do well there. I also don’t want to be stressed out trying to keep up.
Other stuff- i’m not religious, but ok with Catholic schools. I’m not really into partying and drinking. I will not get financial aid and my parents said they will pay for college as long as I do well. I have an older brother at Pomona and it just doesn’t have the right feel for me- too small.
I have a 33 single sitting ACT (35 E; 33Math; 33 Reading; 31 Science). No accommodations.
The bad- I have a 3.72 uw gpa. I have taken the hardest classes offered that I have been allowed to take. I came into the school and got tracked into the lower math/science track because my middle school wasn’t great. I bumped up to honors level my sophomore year. Honors are not weighted and AP isn’t available until my senior on my lower math/science track. No other APs are offered until senior year. I will be taking 2-3 depending on my schedule. I’m likely in the top 30% of my school but we don’t rank. I will be taking physics and Calc next year. (Question: even though the school doesn’t weight honors, should I calculate that and offer it in my additional info. section?)
I also have LDs. I have an auditory issue and a writing disability. It affects my academics as I really have to read to learn and am often learning at night before doing homework. Foreign language has been hard, but I managed to stick with 3 years and usually get a b+ or A-. 4th year may not be offered next year due to lack of students registering so my schedule isn’t clear. I am worried about foreign language requirements in college. My grades on papers definitely have an impact on my grades. My teachers say that my papers are average, but my tests and knowledge are much higher. (Do I include info. about this in my additional info. section?)
I don’t know what I want to study. I’m strong in math and science. I could see myself studying business.
My ideas:
Safety- Gonzaga, WSU (but don’t really want to go to either).
Likely- USD
Match- UW (but probably too big) Santa Clara;
Reach- Boston College; Boston U; Villanova
lottery- USC (loved USC)
any other ideas?
Thanks so much. I know this was long!
These might be too small but Whitman & Puget Sound could be options. If you can spin your problems to sound good and also explain your grades it would be beneficial, but you don’t want it to come off as whiny… Good luck!
IMO a safety school should be a college that 1) appears affordable and 2) you would be happy to attend. With admissions all over being so competitive, finding great safety schools is an underrated but critical part of the college process. I recommend you keep looking for safety/low match schools and hopefully find a couple you can get excited about.
If the hs doesn’t offer FL next year, don’t worry about it.
In any case, recalculate the gpa without foreign language. What’s it then look like? If the rest is strong, colleges may be willing to overlook FL, because of the auditory issue. (Otoh, would the device help with the issues? If so, why not use it? Colleges may expect you to do what you can, if the device helps.)
You report gpa exactly as the high school does. The GC will also be reporting it and there should be no discrepancy. You can put in a line or two about the LD. But really the best source for info on that is the GC, who we hope can report how you did your best, despite challenges.
If your papers are average and you’re on a less rigorous track, do try to pick a college where you can work at the right pace, be empowered. But right now, you have a lot of wants and I wonder how much you understand what those colleges offer and want to see in you.
You’ve written this independently, but how much help do you need, whether from academic support or parents? I ask because, going all the way cross country isn’t always the better idea. You may want to let us know more.
@lookingforward thanks for your response. I am pretty independent. If you are asking about accommodations or help with writing, I do use the writing support in my school which is available to any student. I’m not given additional time or reduced work load if that is what you are asking. My parents don’t help with or edit any of my work.
I did come into the school on a lower math track, but took a summer geometry course so I could catch up and track into calculus for senior year. While I was placed into the lower science track, I will have taken bio, chem and physics by graduation. The only thing different for me is that I didn’t have the option to take a AP science class my junior year so some kids will have that added weight to their gpa.
I entered the school on the standard humanities track. We don’t have honors in humanities until junior year and I took honors US History. My school doesn’t offer AP classes in humanities until senior year. Many students choose to not advance to the honors track in humanities/science/math because they are protecting their gpa since honors are not weighted and are considerably more work. I chose every honors class I could soph and junior year. I think my guidance counselor will talk about that.
I guess I haven’t been very clear. I’m a strong student, but my writing in comparison to my other academic ability is very average and I seem to only get Bs or B+ on my writing assignments, though I do very well on test essays. I am becoming a better writer, but a college with a heavy writing requirement may not be the best for me. I do need to improve so I don’t want to hide from it either.
@happy1 thanks. I do think USD is technically a ‘safety’ based on Naviance for my school for the past 3 years. WSU is an automatic acceptance so that’s why I put it in a separate category. Gonzaga i’m 100% sure I would get into due to family reasons so I put that as a safety too. I do like USD a lot and right now that my true likely/safety. Do you think that should be a match instead?
@aphroditeayelet thanks for the suggestions. My mom wants me to go to Whitman. I will probably go visit it but I think that it and UPS will feel to small and I would miss out on the sports part which is something i’ve really looked forward to enjoying at college. I plan to focus on my classes, but I also really want to enjoy my time outside of class too.
Have you considered Wake Forest? It’s a small but sports-oriented school, not unlike BC in that way, but not as tough an admit as BC and perhaps a bit “kinder and gentler” once there as well, although probably more “elite” than any other college on your list besides BC. I have heard good firsthand reports about their disability services. https://lac.wfu.edu/disability-services/ From the way you describe your strengths and interests, their Mathematical Business major sounds like a possibly great fit https://business.wfu.edu/undergraduate-programs/mathematical-business/ especially with the case-study based seminar that pulls it the business and math aspects together.
Other possibilities:
U of Denver (their club & intramural sports have an active FB page) Maybe this competitive program? https://www.du.edu/leadership/ (not near an ocean but near skiing!)
U of Miami - a bit larger but as a private U still has relatively small classes, great spectator sports and definitely near water! And it looks like their intramural program has year-round basketball.
Don’t be afraid of the USC application! A great school with great academics that fit your profile as well as top tier sports and student life. Good luck!