<p>Or colleges like it such as Swarthmore, Haverford etc...</p>
<p>I know it is an extremely long post, but please bear with me on this. I am just really worried about whether my chances of getting in are good or not due to the fact that I made a couple of mistakes early on in my life.</p>
<p>My grades in my freshman and sophomore years were really good- mostly A's and A*'s. I didn't participate in many activities these years (except a stint in F1 for schools which I unfortunately didn't get to complete but gained great amounts of experience in leadership, physics, business and management- I was our team manager) but I was praised (and still am) by my teachers for my writing and analysis skills in Language and Literature which I want them to mention in my recommendation letters.</p>
<p>However as soon as I entered my junior year I entered the IB program at my school. The IB program considers it a requirement to complete 150 hours of community service, creativity or action- related activities so I took this as my chance to make up for my first 2 years of high school in which I didn't really do much in terms of extra-curricular. My grades unfortunately went down and I didn't get the final grades I expected. As well as this I unfortunately was unmotivated to do my work for some reason and found my self depressed a lot of the time. This is one of the factors that made my grades go down.</p>
<p>All my teachers mentioned in my final report last year that I could've done better and that my potential was greater.</p>
<p>In terms of activities, I took part in many which I am hoping colleges such as Georgetown etc will find interesting. I wouldve participated in others had it not been my families lack of funds to send me on, say, MUN trips or pay for a school ski trip. I did, however, try to take advantage of the opportunities handed to me and I am willing to mention at least a couple of my activities in my college essays to help me to stand out Here's of the major ones:</p>
<p>-Took part in the school play for 3-4 months (gain of confidence and speaking skills)
-Basketball team for 1 term
-Journalism competition (selected as one of the 4 other students from my school to participate in it, took place 3 months. Created article on "Local talent" with our team and in the process interviewed a pretty famous local race car driver. We didn't win though unfortunately but we did get to learn the process of journalism and design, and I did get to write a great article as well...lol)
-Teaching assistance at school across a time period of 5 or 6 months for kindergarten and first grade students which helped me to gain vital teaching and communication skills and allowed insight into the way children work and learn
-Gave an original poem and speech on my country at our embassy in front of ambassadors of many different countries on International Night (maybe I can send it to my college to help boost my application?)
-Charity club visit to a local disabled childrens center to give out gifts to the kids there</p>
<p>I am now in my final year and getting ready to apply to colleges. I am generally liked and considered a good student by my teachers and will be asking 2 of my favorite to write recommendation letters for me soon. My grades have been improving and I am more motivated to study, so I am hoping that my teachers will take this as a good sign and give me good predicted grades to include in my early applications (yes Im applying early)..I am a good student really, I just happened to make some unfortunate mistakes!!</p>
<p>Oh, about my SAT exams. I have been studying REALLY hard for them throughout the summer and now even, like practicing questions from the Math, Writing and Critical Reading sections as well as the SAT essay and memorizing the vocabulary. So I do feel I am well prepared and know what to expect.</p>
<p>I will be taking the SATs on the 6th of October and then send the scores off to my universities because the early application decision in the 1st of November. I got a 2100 on my first practice test lol.</p>
<p>With regards to the college essay yes I have a few of stellar ideas and potential essay topics written down which I think are pretty original and will help me stand out from the crowd, and at the same time reflect my views and opinions on some major issues..show the universities my character and my morals, who I am as a person Which I think is the purpose of the college essay in the end. I wont bother to mention what they here though , haha.</p>
<p>So, what do you think are my chances of getting into my dream schools? I know I fit some credentials in terms of SAT scores, but what about my grades? Is the fact that I improved going to be considered and are my extra curricular activities good enough?</p>
<p>OR should I aim for less selective universities? Oh yes forgot to mention that Georgetown is my fathers alma matter and I heard they take alumni relations into consideration when they review applications from students.</p>