I have been dreading the time when I would have to post this :(

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>ohhhkay CC here it goes... I have been dreading the time when I would have to post this cuz I'm so afraid that I'm a hopeless case..</p>

<p>I first came here (not that long ago :P) to get help on improving my SAT, which I did eventually..
1st SAT sophomore year:
600CR, 660W (9E), 640M= 1900</p>

<p>2nd SAT (Junior year): nov12
590CR, 700W(10E), 660M= 1950</p>

<p>3rd SAT (Junior Year): Jan13
620CR, 740W(9E), 800M= 2160</p>

<p>Now the thing is, I know 2160 isn't your "decent score" over here.. not by far.. but listen up..</p>

<p>I am still a junior..
My dream is, of course, top uni's, (lately I've been very interested in premed ar MIT) but I have confidence of 0.. cuz My country doesn't have any "top notch"national contests or what's not.. I have done everything I could for EC's.. from president of student council for 2 years now (and founder.. school had none.. i know -_-) , organizing many events in my school, like environmental days, costume show.. bla, bla, bla.. as in, Head of the events's club. Also, fundraising club, debates' cub..
I have also been involved in a fundraising campaign that we a bunch of teenagers carried out on our own to help orphans in Gambia.. this is the second year so far for the campaign which was very successful last year. We raised enough money last year to build a class for the orphans there..<br>
I had a summer job for two years (well it started as volunteering in the 1st year, then they decided to pay me XD) in which I used to teach children an English course..</p>

<p>But THAT'S IT! I am fond of doing something that doesn't involve school, and that makes me feel useful somehow.. But I can barely find anything!</p>

<p>I feel so underachieved you know.. plus..</p>

<p>My school doesn't offer AP's or any rigorous courses. I am the first in my school, with always a really high GPA of 98-99%.. btw, we take all the subjects every year.. (all the sciences, History, economics, English, French as second language(I am taking the delf this May, Arabic, computer (but it's super easy so..)) .. I am planning to self study as many AP subjects as I can next year.. I feel like I'm at a GREAT disadvantage! It's just so unfair cuz i AM trying my best.. and taking every chance I get!</p>

<p>I still haven't taken any subject tests... I was planning on taking 2 subject tests this year.. what do y'all think?! Then maybe next year take the SAT next year to improve more? I dunno.. WHAT CAN I DO? I am still a junior. I'll do whatever it takes.. Just tell me what to do to have a better shot at top uni's like everyone else....
I once read n one of the Ivy league's website that they look at ec's in the context of the person's background and environment or sth..
What do you think?!</p>

<p>sorry for the blabber XD
Would reaaaally appreciate your opinion XD</p>

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<p>If you are interested in pre-med why not try contacting a local doctor or clinic and start volunteering there. My cousin was befriended by our small town’s doctor who allowed him to observe surgery etc while still in high school. The cousin is a neurologist now.</p>

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<p>Yes I was planning to volunteer in Some reaaally famous hospital over here… I didn’t write that though, cuz it still didn’t happen…
Any more advice?
and congrats for your cousin… (um… some really late congrats but wateva… XD)</p>

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<p>bump… :(</p>

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<p>All you can do now is march forward unto the fray.</p>

<p>Do well on your subject tests, perhaps retake the SAT for a higher CR if you can, and maintain your grades and EC involvement. Plan things for the summer, and don’t waste your days.</p>

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<p>Don’t give up on the SAT friend :)</p>

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<p>If you’ve already taken the SAT 3 times, I would say go ahead and take it again in the fall of your senior year. This time though seriously practice day and night and try to break past 700 CR. </p>

<p>Try to get an internship somewhere related to what you want to major in. Make sure to keep a 4.0 GPA. Oh, and make sure you’re a good essay writer (for the college applications) :)</p>

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<p>Thanks everyone… Will do… any more suggestions? You think I may have a shot t this? thanks XD</p>

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<p>Any stories that ended in rainbows and unicorns to make my day? :smiley:
C’mooon… y all the views then? Just say what came on your mind while you read it… srsly…
if it’s not too harsh though… hehehe ;)</p>

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<p>Dear XD,</p>

<p>First, let me note that I signed up for this message board just to reply to you. :-)</p>

<p>Now, let me tell you that you are beating yourself up, perhaps needlessly. Schools such as the Ivies like to consider the application process a hand-picking of their students. In that process, location matters. All of these top schools love to brag about having students from all 50 states and a gazillion foreign countries. I know this from personal experience as my state (Wisconsin) helped me gain admission to an Ivy (and numerous other good schools on the East Coast).</p>

<p>You scored an 800 on the math-- that will open eyes. Could you improve the Reading score (and maybe even the writing score with an essay of 10-12)? Sure. However, when I enrolled in an Ivy back in the dark ages (you know, when product testing of water and dirt was ongoing-- LOL), one of the admissions officers shared how the process worked at the time. SAT score and GPA were combined just to determine the level of scrutiny, but ALL applications received attention. Now, each school is fiercely independent in the admission process and time may have changed that policy, but the mindset is what is important… the numbers are not even close to everything at those small, private schools. For example, if you play a musical instrument, that can help make you attractive to schools. Your essays should illuminate your interests and personality to make them want you. If you convince them that your presence will enhance the experience of going to their school, they will accept your application.</p>

<p>Now, you also need to realize that there are tons of excellent schools in the USA that are not as famous internationally as the Ivies and MIT. If you truly want to become a doctor, your med school location will trump your undergrad school in the eyes of most people. The most important thing is to do the best with what you have when you get to school. Going to the best/most famous school possible is a secondary concern. In fact, some of the best schools in the USA are not even well-known to the general public here… for example, have you ever heard of Harvey Mudd? (It rivals MIT in tech education, but is hardly as famous). If you are not wedded to the idea of a single school as your favorite, tossing some of these excellent schools into your application strategy would be really smart.</p>

<p>Bottom line-- I admire your desire to focus on the things that you can change. However, try not to think too much about those beyond your control. Your job is to let the schools know who you are and what you are about. Their job is to (hopefully) invite you to join their school. ;-)</p>

<p>Good luck to you. </p>

<p>JJW</p>

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<p>thank you so SO MUCH @NYCPack…
Congrats on getting in that Ivy… bet your resume was better than mine though huh (ok ok… I’ll shut up :P)
So, I will just try to improve my SAT cr score, and take as many sat2 and hopefully succeed in self studying AP… And I’ll d my best with this internship think…
Btw, can you share some of the names of “the less known but still as good’” schools?
I already knew Harvy Budd, thank God :P</p>

<p>and thanks so much for signing up for me :smiley:
I am honored this is your first post… LOL… ;)</p>

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<p>Be proud of what you accomplished. Most domestic kids cant get a 2160. Assuming the holistic thing works, you seem to be the type of candidate that it searches for. But, perhaps best of all is that you write with a clear and humble voice that envokes frienship. Anyway, write the same kind of essay and hopefully good thing will happen for you. GL and don’t forget the folks back home when you’re a rich and famous MD.</p>

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<p>LOL… gee… thanks… but really it’s weird you guys are saying this when others put WAAAY better resumes and get told “NO -_-… sorry” by cc-ers
Do i sound THAT PATHETIC?
but either you guys are the best (even if at deception… lol :wink: )
cuz I feel a lil better HAHAHA…:D</p>

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<p>NYCPack’s advice sounds pretty good to me. </p>

<p>If you’ve already taken Calculus in school, then I don’t think you’ll have much trouble preparing for one of the AP Calculus exams on your own. An 800 in math indicates that you have the mathematical maturity necessary to prepare on your own. I assume you’ll want to go for the BC exam. Keep in mind that the AP exam is quite focused. You don’t need to know everything - stick to the topics that you need for the test. </p>

<p>As far as I know all of the free response questions are still available for free download. Make sure you know how to compute limits, derivatives and integrals, and then focus on practicing the free response questions. And I’m here to help when you get stuck.</p>

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<p>“Btw, can you share some of the names of “the less known but still as good’” schools?
I already knew Harvy Budd, thank God :P”</p>

<p>Since you want to eventually go to medical school, here are some links that might assist you:</p>

<p>[Best</a> Pre Med Schools - Choose the best undergraduate college | Medical School HQ: Pre Med, Med Student or Resident - the most up-to-date, unbiased, and factual information to make your path to becoming a physician as easy as possible](<a href=“http://www.medicalschoolhq.net/pre-med-school-selection-where-is-my-best-chance-to-get-into-medical-school/]Best”>How to Choose the Best Premed School for YOU - Medical School HQ)</p>

<p>[Best</a> pre-med schools](<a href=“http://www.premedguide.com/best-premed-schools.html]Best”>Best pre-med schools - Premed Guide)</p>

<p>[Top</a> 20 Pre-Med Schools in America](<a href=“http://www.america.edu/top_20_pre-med_schools_in_america.html]Top”>Top 20 Pre-Med Schools in America - America Education)
(keep in mind that most MCAT students want 10-10-10 on the three subjects (or better)</p>

<p>[Top</a> Premed Colleges](<a href=“http://college.lovetoknow.com/Top_Premed_Colleges]Top”>http://college.lovetoknow.com/Top_Premed_Colleges)</p>

<p>[Top</a> ranking school for pre-med](<a href=“Answers - The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions”>Top ranking school for pre-med? - Answers)</p>

<p>Since the question of what can help a person get to medical school can be a bit arbitrary, I would mostly look for schools with awesome science programs (especially bio) where I thought that I could be happy working hard for four years.</p>

<p>I hope that those initial at least give you a tiny boost as you investigate your application lists!</p>

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<p>Thank you guys so much. Premeds is definetly my first choice now, but I m still exploring other “less known” majors just in case I fall in love with one of them. I wanna make sure that I never regret my decision because I can’t afford to in Meds. I know the amount of commitment and passion it needs you know… </p>

<p>Thank you so much for the Math help too DrSteve. But do think I my plan of completing Alg2 this year, self studying precalc in the summer, to be able to self study Calc next year, is good enough?! I don’t think I’ll be able to do anything this year, or do you disagree?
@NYCPack,
Are those rankings absolutely trustworthy?! </p>

<p>Thanks again!</p>

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<p>Yes. I’m sure you’re capable of learning Precalculus on your own over the summer. You can probably streamline things a bit and just learn the topics that are absolutely necessary for calculus. The most important things to cover are functions and their inverses, and exponential, logarithmic and trigonometric functions.</p>

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<p>^ Ok… THANKS A LOT!</p>

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<p>bump? :slight_smile: :wink: :D</p>

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<p>Im rooting for you! Are you taking the march sat? :)</p>