HS Junior Chance Me – PoliSci/IntRel Major hopfeul

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

hey! I am a highschool junior at a mid-sized public school. I am interested in politics and international relations and would love some input on parts of my application that need improvement. Some of the schools I plan on applying to:

Harvard, Yale, Duke, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, UVA, and Cornell. (I also have tons of safeties but no point in listing)

Here is my course list and grades for first 2 years and 1 semester of hs:

Freshman:
AP Human: 95
Journalism: 100
Debate 1: 100
Football: 100
H Algebra 2: 97
H Bio: 98
H English 1: 99
H Spanish 2: 100

Sophomore:
AP Art History: 99
AP World: 97
Debate 2: 100
H Chem: 99
H English 2: 100
H PreCalc: 99
H Physics: 98
H Spanish 3: 100

Junior(only sem 1):
H Comsci: 100
AP Psych: 98
AP Calc BC: 99
AP Bio: 100
AP Lang: 99
APUSH: 97
AP Spanish 4: 96
Debate 3: 100

My rank is 5/400+

SAT is 1540

AP Scores are three 5s so far.

I listed my ECs and awards below but one note, my fourth activity is listed as NSLI/Kissinger. These are both pretty prestigious summer programs that I have applied for(semifinalist for NSLI). These are not guaranteed and if i get into neither I will be at Boys State most likely. If that also falls through I will throw in Class VP or NHS VP. Sorry for the rant, but didn’t want to give myself false confidence.

  1. Captain, Debate Team: Research and debate monthly topics on political and social issues; top point earner in school, x3 State qualifier, x2 NSDA National Qualifier

  2. Sole Author, Independent Research Project & Paper: Attended (t20 uni) class; completed Harvard, Stanford, and Berkley courses; joined Stanford and MIT seminars; published paper on nuclear politics(I will also be getting a LOR from my (t20 uni) prof/mentor who is Harvard alum – not for yale cuz they don’t accept extras)

  3. Published Author, “A book title I don’t want to disclose”: self-published a full-length(>100 pages) non-fiction novel; 4.7 stars on Amazon; 100+ copies sold

  4. NSLI/Kissinger/Boys State/Class VP/ NHS VP(read my note @ top of this list if this doesn’t make sense)

  5. Sole Coordinator, Service Project: Wrote emails and conducted social media campaign to raise $4,500+ for local school for homeless children; led team of 40; featured on local news/media

  6. Writing Intern, (int non profit) (5% hiring rate): Published 12 pieces on global poverty reduction efforts; met with politicians to push poverty reduction policies; raised $500 and mobilized 20+ people

  7. Journalist, (national student-run publication): Published 25+ articles on domestic and international political and social issues; 4 featured stories; 10k+ monthly reads

  8. National Director of Curriculum, (something I won’t disclose but essentially we hold civic engagement workshops across the country and I primarily direct our efforts to write curriculum for states/districts that have a civic learning requirement): updated existing curriculum from elem/MS level to HS; create 3 workshops/lesson plans a month; lead team of 12

  9. Instructor, (also can’t put name of org):
    Studen-run 501©(3) that has raised $132,000; led debate classes to raise money; offered scholarships to low income children; recognized by congress

  10. Captain, Varsity Lacrosse Team: Chosen for All-State Team; x4 Varsity starter; x3 Captain; Defensive MVP; led “Try It” days for youth players; paid job as a private coach

Ok almost there, here are awards:

  1. Community Hero Award - city-wide award for my service project

  2. Top 8 at TOC(int debate tourney)

  3. Ranked as high as my event’s top debater in the my class

4/5) idrk for 4/5 yet. I applied to some programs and essay contests but if all of those fail I will put PSAT Semifinalist(this is a guess but I have a 1510 so assuming semi) and just some school student of the year awards or smth

Please dunk on me in the replies. If you have any good polisci/int relations schools i didn’t mention plz plz reccomend(my list is not v thorough tbh). Thanks!

2

Hello,

You have great ECs which will definitely help with the application. You are taking rigorous courses and maintaining your grade which is great!
You stand a good chance at your desired colleges. I would recommend having a few teaches in mind who will really be able to say about you as a student.
The college admissions process is complex, your essays, LORs, grades, ECs, and of courses other factors do matter depending on what they are looking for in a student and what type of student they need.

Don’t lose hope, keep up your good grades. You are on a path to greatness!

4

What a pleasure to see a candidate whose list of colleges is compatible with his/her accomplishments - so often it is not the case here on CC.
My D recently applied ED, successfully, to a college as selective as those on your list, and I have a few observations/ suggestions to share, I hope they are general enough to be of some value:

  1. While you will start with a long list, and it is technically possible to shoot at 20+ different top schools, we quickly discovered that preparing a stellar application to any of these schools is extremely involving (not just time-consuming), with supplements, short-answer prompts, etc. etc. Hence, it is never too early to start writing drafts of your college essays (while prompts may change every year, your core “selling points” will not, the rest is packaging) but also perhaps focus on much fewer schools, especially among the very top ones. Maybe you are different but my D found it very difficult to dream of more than one school at the time - and it did show a bit of these other applications.
  2. If your family is neither wealthy enough to pay full price nor poor enough to get a great financial package, the finances almost everywhere at the top will be shocking. Make your parents face it early. “Tuition-free for any family earning less than $150k/year with typical assets” (Stanford) sounds fabulous but it should come with a huge warning label - “typical assets” are not what any level-headed person would see as such.
  3. Definitely do not waste your ED/REA/SCEA on a college with iffy finances. Make sure you/your parents understand exactly what various items on the NPC really mean. For example, some people are shocked that the 529 college fund is in the same category as non-retirement stock market investments. Or that your modest house in an expensive city makes you a wealthy person. To realize that Yale wants you but you cannot afford it may devour your soul, or lead parents to some loving yet unwise financial decisions.
6

I hope you realize I didn’t make any assumptions about your finances.
I received some great advice on CC at the time when it really mattered, and I’m trying to pay forward, also (hopefully) for the benefit of a wide audience.
Good luck - full pay without a worry is the ultimate boost, especially for someone with your credentials.

7

Of course not! I hope I my response did not sound hostile, it certainly was not my intention. I genuinely appreciate the advice!