Here I go.. Updated Chance-- Can I get in my dream LAC?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>This is my completely updated chance thread.</p>

<p>-Male- Illinois Resident
-first generation college student
-first generation american</p>

<p>Academics</p>

<p>CLASS RANK: 25/401</p>

<p>GPA Weighed : 3.98</p>

<p>FRESHMAN YEAR S1/S2 grade</p>

<p>Honors English A/B
Algebra 1 A/A
Honors Biology A/A
Health A/A
Spanish A/B
Honors World History A/A</p>

<p>SOPHOMORE YEAR</p>

<p>Newspaper A/B
Zoology A/A
Honors English A/B
Chemistry A/B
Honors Geometry B/D (KILLER)
Spanish B/A</p>

<p>JUNIOR YEAR</p>

<p>Newspaper A/A
Spanish C/C
AP English L&C A/A
AP Us History A/A
AlgebraII B/A
Anatomy/Physiology A/A</p>

<p>SENIOR YEAR SCHEDULE</p>

<p>AP English Literature
Ap Bio
Ap Chem
Honors Econ/ AP Government
AP Statistics
Pre Calc</p>

<p>COURSES TAKEN AT LOCAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Sociology(Summer before sophomore year) -A
Psychology (Summer before junior year)- A
Composition/Creative writing (during junior year) -A
College Algebra (taking right now, I anticipate a B)
Speech (I have yet to take, but am senior year)</p>

<p>-I know my S2 grades of sophomore year were rocky, and there is a reason for this. This was the semester I "came out of the closet" at my school and it did not go over smoothly with students along with my family.. I know I take full responsibility for my grades, but this will be explained to the schools I apply to..</p>

<p>ACT: (next Killer....) 25</p>

<p>I plan to retake and anticipate a 27, maybe higher.. I know this is relatively low compared to other applicants, but i'm hoping they will consider i'm first generation?</p>

<p>ECS</p>

<p>-Newspaper- sophomore, reporter; junior, opinion editor
-Student Council- freshman, secretary;sophomore, member;junior, member
-Key Club- freshman, member
-Cross Country- freshman thru senior, runner
-Job- since sophomore year, in fast food. I work about 20 hrs a week
-Volunteer 1-4 hrs a week at the local hospital's emergency room
-NHS- junior, member; senior, vice president
-GSA- sophomore, member</p>

<p>Hook: As I've stated before I think it is to my advantage to be a first generation college student and American. I also think that it helps that I'm gay (not for admissions reasons specifically, but to help "diversify" the student body)</p>

<p>Essay: I have not written it yet, but I anticipate writing about growing up and learning from parents who are very different from most Americans..</p>

<p>So, be as blunt as possible.. these are the schools I anticipate applying to:</p>

<p>Kenyon College
Macalester
University Of Illinois -Urbana Champaign (in state)
Reed
Bates
Bard
Boston University
Hamilton
Grinnell
University of Miami
Whitman</p>

<p>Be as blunt as possible.. where can I get in?</p>

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<p>If you could get your ACT score up to a 28 or 29, I really think you can get into BU. I'm not so familiar with the competitiveness of the other schools on your list.</p>

3

<p>thanks, anyone else?</p>

4

<p>anymore input, please?</p>

5

<p>Except for the ACT, pretty good actually.</p>

6

<p>Ok, I'll try to be both blunt and helpful. You're kind of similar to me in having a little trouble in school soph year because of coming out of the closet.</p>

<p>Strengths: </p>

<p>-First generation college/American
-Community college courses. Hopefully these will show you can do college level work even if you've gotten a few bad grades in high school.
-Well rounded and involved ECs</p>

<p>Weaknesses:</p>

<p>-Class rank. Although it is high, to me this just proves that your school is not very strong, or that at least its student body isn't.
-Overall unweighted GPA--around 3.6. It's low for a lot of the more selective schools on your list.
-Obviously colleges look at the entire transcript, not just the GPA. Although the D is worrying, to me colleges will look more unfavorably at the C in two semesters in a row in Spanish. They will probably think, did he even care about his grade? Did he try to work harder in the second semester, or get extra help?
-ACT. It is very low for many of the schools on your list.</p>

<p>Suggestions:</p>

<ol>
<li>Try the SAT. Some people actually do better on it. Have you used prep books?</li>
<li>You REALLY need to rock your first semester senior grades. You're taking a heavy courseload, and you need to get straight A's. Work really hard!</li>
<li>Weasel your way into a bigger leadership role in the newspaper and/or student council.</li>
<li>If being gay is going to be part of your hook, you need to do something related to it. Take a leadership role in your GSA or something. </li>
</ol>

<p>Good luck and if you need more advice PM me!</p>

7

<p>thanks for the detailed response.. I know I've received a few low marks, like spanish. I was very close to a B for S2, but the final exam was the deciding factor..</p>

<p>I'm not sure how much more the SAT will help, I've just always been lousy at those kinda tests. I even took a prep class and bought two self-help books..</p>

<p>Do you think if I apply to my two "dream schools" (Kenyon and Macalester) during EDI and EDII that I will be at a disadvantage? I mean as weird as this sounds, even though a few grades are low, I'm thinking some of these schools would count me as a safe bet regarding accepting their admission offer and preserving their yield..</p>

<p>At any rate, I know I will not be an easy "ACCEPT" and that my profile will be scrutinized during committee meetings-- If I even make it that far.. I just hope they can realize my potential in the right atmosphere.</p>

<p>Thanks for the input, anyone else?</p>

<p>Do you think it would be worth my time interviewing at some of these schools?</p>

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<p>Oh, and I would say the reason my class rank is high is because my college classes get factored into my transcript, otherwise I would probably be around 40/401.</p>

9

<p>please, i would really like more input...</p>

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<p>I can only speak for Whitman, as I am not familiar with the other schools!</p>

<p>Whitman is REALLY interested in OOS and first-generation/minority students. I got in with an ACT of 26 (but my science score (19! agh!) dragged everything down, so it would've been higher without it), and a 3.98 GPA. Whitman is also very focused on school involvement and personal character. I highly recommend an interview! They have a Visit</a> Scholarship Program that you may be interested in.</p>

<p>I had a phone interview with Whitman in December of my senior year, and I think it helped me a lot. Taking the initiative to visit the campus and/or getting a phone interview will definitely show that you are interested.</p>

<p>Make sure you get great S1 senior grades, and be very active in your school/community this summer and through about November, it might give you more to write about in your essays.</p>

<p>Oh, also! Be aware that Whitman and Reed both require you to send a graded analytical paper from your English class, so keep that in mind at the beginning of senior year. Write quality work, and if you get a high grade on a paper, maybe ask your teacher to comment more on it (because they want the graded paper to have teacher comments included).</p>

<p>Good luck applying to Whitman and your other dream LACs!</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it!</p>

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<p>c'mon folks, i know you have more feedback than that! :)</p>

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<p>Well I can tell you what I think about UMiami because I go there! yay =) So, your ACT (as it stands now) is definitely low for Miami, but I know that you already knew that. Hopefully you'll be able to raise it to around a 27 as you have said, but even then it will still be on the low end. I'm not sure how your school really weighs honors/AP classes, but your GPA is also somewhat low (most people here definitely have a weighted average around 4.25+ and an unweighted average around 3.75+ -- this being said, you still have your senior year to improve your GPA and the colleges will see that in your mid-semester report). As far as you being gay in "diversifying" the student body... that's not going to help you here. I mean, it's Miami, lol. BUT, being a first-generation college student and also a first-generation American MAY help you out (I'm honestly not sure how much this will be factored in, if at all). All in all, I definitely think that you should keep UMiami on your list because it's an awesome school and a TON of fun. Honestly, where can anyone go to school that would be more fun than Miami? Exactly. Good luck!</p>