Hello CC!
I just want to apologize if I seem ignorant in any way regarding this college process; I’ve felt very behind for the entire thing, and my lack of aspiration has caused a lot of procrastination.
I need some help figuring out which schools would be appropriate for me to pursue, and what I should be researching (and how) to gain a better insight into the college itself. For example, do I search on the college website or other places. Should I be looking into clubs or facilities or both? Etc. Currently, I don’t have much time to visit the colleges in person, with only a one week break between now and when the applications are due.
Just giving some tips for my dilemma above is perfectly fine, but if anyone would be willing to look over what I currently have down below, that would be great!
I’m an Asian female going into senior year, so applying this fall. No religious affiliation if that’s important (shouldn’t think so). I live in California and am a US Permanent Resident (not citizen). I’m Kiwi (New Zealand) and have lived and studied in three countries total. I’m not quite sure what I want to pursue in the future (which is my biggest problem), though from my family, some ideas include Liberal Arts schools with a focus in Economics (I enjoyed this class in HS) and perhaps a certificate or minor in Architecture. Another route would be Hotel Management + Architecture.
GPA:
Current cumulative GPA weighted is 4.135. I haven’t calculated my cumulative unweighted, but my unweighted for the last semester (11th second semester) was 3.96. I have a slight upward trend in GPA.
Classes:
Freshman- 2 Honors
Sophomore- 2 AP, 2 Honors
Junior- 2 AP, 3 Honors
Will be taking in Senior year- 4 AP, 1 Honor
Tests:
ACT- 35 (I only took it once)
SAT- didn’t take
SAT II Subject- U.S History 710, Math II cancelled first try, will retake in August
AP- MacroEcon (5), MicroEcon (5), Chinese (5), BC Calculus (5), US History (4)
Extracurriculars/Service/Summer/Clubs:
Honestly, apart from the aspiration thing, I’m very worried about this section. As you might be able to tell, there isn’t a specific area of interest in what I’ve done. I did these simply because I have an interest in them, but not a passion, I guess you would say. I’m not looking to pursue any athletics/music on a competitive level in college.
All year counts include if I’m going to take it Senior year.
- Yearbook 4 years, Co-Editor Senior Year
- School Orchestra 4 years
- Peninsula Youth Orchestra 4 years
- Music Honor Society, founding member, Treasurer/Historian (2 years), Vice President (1 year)
- Tennis 4 years
- Track & Field 1 year
- Technovation, 2 years
- Volunteering at schools helping children/food banks, etc.
- Volunteered for Peninsula Bridge Program one summer teaching math
- Cornell Summer School: Hotel Management
- Parsons Paris API: incomplete summer design workshop (had to leave early for personal reasons)
I may have left off a few, this is only from the top of my head.
I just realized how long this is, and I apologize.
I have a very long college list compiled through my family/counselor, but I would like to see which ones I would actually like personally. I don’t like urban areas (like right in the middle of the city like NYU). I like nature next to/within campus and a college town nearby (I like the feel of CMC, one of the few colleges I’ve visited). I prefer smaller schools but my parents want me to go to a bigger school, so I’m open to both. Budget is not an issue.
Reaches: Northwestern, Stanford, UPenn, UCs, RICE, Cornell
Matches: Carnegie Mellon, WashU St. Louis, Tufts, University of Virginia, Cal Poly SLO
Safeties: UT Austin, Syracuse University, Tulane, Connecticut College, University of Rochester, UN Las Vegas
THANK YOU VERY MUCH IN ADVANCE!