I Need Advice!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Howdy folks, I was just perusing the forum for the first time in a while and I decided to actually make my own advice post. I'd appreciate any advice or info on where I should go, what I could focus/major in, and what my chances are of acceptance. Also... random fun facts about countries and/or ancient civilizations ARE allowed.</p>

<p>About me: Caucasian male, 17, senior in high school from Topeka, KS. I attend a HS with 1700 or so total students. I'm 30th in my class, which is around the 93rd percentile or something.</p>

<p>I don't necessarily do a lot of ECs... well, I guess I do... kind of. Let's list them, shall we? </p>

<p>I work at Best Buy selling computers usually just over 20 hrs/wk. I've been doing that since may, and before that I was a cashier since october of oh-six. I should hit my employment anniversary as I'm sending apps in. I've also done some freelance web design for family/friend's busineses (should I include this in my apps?).</p>

<p>I've done model UN every year since eighth grade (eligibility) and loved every second of it. The last two years I've been apart of the overall best delegation, which is pretty good for a statewide comp. I'm going to apply to be Secretary General this year, and maybe I'll get to experience what it's like to run the show.</p>

<p>I've been apart of the school's Knowledge Master team every year possible as well, and we're pretty decent (4th-ish statewide). This is fun, but doesn't take much effort or time.</p>

<p>Academic Decathlon- I've done this for three years now. Basically, you read a bunch of lit about a certain era or region for several months and then take at least ten tests in one day to show how much you've learned. Decently fun, but it's way more work than one would presume.</p>

<p>Science Olympiad- participated for past two years. haven't done particularly well, but it's fun stuff.</p>

<p>Forensics/Debate: I've participated Freshman, Junior, and hopefully later this year as well. I started off in policy debate and now prefer Student Congress and other Forensics events. I really really enjoy this.</p>

<p>Ultimate Frisbee Club- Helped revitalize this dying club and recruit more members. It's probably the best workout anyone will ever get, especially if you're as competitive as I am and don't allow yourself to slack off, lol.</p>

<p>Math Club: I've been in it al four years of HS, and been Vice President the last two. it's a lot of fun, especially going to as many regional tourneys as we do. Again, i've never done spectacularly well, I usually will get some second or third place medals or buttons, but I definitely enjoy the experience.</p>

<p>My favorite: Robotics Club- This is a club I founded this year, really just to get funding. over the past few years, I've been working with a few other students and a local MIT alum to build a robot from an RC car that runs off of Java programming and can basically go from point A to B by talking to a handheld GPS unit. It's cool stuff, even though it's not quite functional yet. We also participate in a regional RC robot competition that's more about competiting and enjoying the engineering process. They give you a list of materials and a game and you have one month with your team to build a Remote Control bot that can score as many points as possible (last year you god points for hanging and retrieving laundry, lol). I've put a lot of work into this, and it's definitely the most enjoyable.</p>

<p>So there are those... :)</p>

<p>My unweighted GPA through 3 years is 3.8, weighted is 4.3. I'm a pretty good students, Mostly As with a few Bs (only one in a non-honors class). However, last year's AP Preparatory English class kind of sucked for me. As in, I got an N (our school doesn't believe in Ds, it just has ABCN). It was basically because I didn't get this essay turned in on time, and it was the teacher's last year there so I had no way to contact him after the year was done. I guess since I weighted until this year to ask the administration for his contact info it unwaveringly reverts to a fail. /cry). So yes, I have that scar, but it's all good. Everything else is relatively solid, and I've never really been much of a tool for grades. I'd much rather learn some cool things than cram all the time and get straight As.</p>

<p>As for test scores, I had a pretty bad day the day I took the SAT. I got a 2120, with horrible on math, but I'll bring that score up past 2200 easily next month. I took the ACT too, and did much better with a 35. I'm taking it a second time as well and I'm going to study/read some books this time so there's a chance I can push up to a 36.</p>

<p>The only thing I feel as though I'm lacking are awards and commendations. I'm not a part of any international academic or athletic teams, though I do play as much frisbee and intramural basketball as possible. I've been on the highest honor roll each year, and I'm a NM Semifinalist (Finalist probably, unless that fail kills my chances). Anyone have any ideas for me here? Is it bad to only have, like, two things or are there any 'filer' things that people will put in?</p>

<p>If I need to interview for schools, I think I can shine. I'm very very confident in who I am and how I look at the world. I try to live with a doctrine of conveniencing others, and I'd much rather do something nice for someone else that slightly benefit myself (yes, really). I really think I can have a good time in an interview setting with an intelligent, well-educated interviewer and can show them some intelligence and wit, but also some humility and modesty (even if you can't sense that modesty now, lol).</p>

<p>I've always thought with an engineering mind. My grandpa worked for NASA in the 60s. I LOVE math and calculus bc keeps my mind spinning. Programming and computers have always appealed to me, and I'm sure my future career will involve them. With that said, however, I have this other passion for politics and progressivism. I have a burning desire to do something big and bold with my life and a super secret, almost impossible goal of becoming president one day (and subsequently limiting the executive's powers, lol). My family insists that no one can get there without selling his or her soul, but I'd like to try. Because of this, I don't know exactly how I'll study in college. I'm thinking maybe a math major with a minor in political science (and if it's available, like at MIT, a dual degree in Comp. Sci). The natural junciton between civil interest and engineering is::: Civil Engineering, but I don't really think I'd enjoy that very much. Anyone have ideas for majors?</p>

<p>(Thanks for reading this long epic, btw) Here are the colleges I'm going to apply to, plus or minus a few. I'm basically thinking I have at least a decent app going for me, it just has a few blemishes. My app strategy is to apply to quite a few reach school that I think would be just stellar to go to and be around other BRILLIANT people and see which is silly enough to accept me. I think you'll see that I can't really find a school with a good combination of super strong science/math and great core/liberal arts classes. If anyone has any suggestions for that, PLEASE TELL ME. Anywho... Here's my list (with LOVELY commentary),:
+Reaches:
Olin College of Engineering (Free!)
CalTech (Silicon Valley ftw)
Dartmouth (Great core education, plus Al Gore went there!)
MIT (HEaven on earth. Far and away my number one dream school)
Princeton (From what I've read and heard, really great education as well as the name factor for career placement or grad school)
Yale (Looks all around great)
Columbia (Good balance of engineering/core, plus it's in NYC and I'd like to be in or near a city)
Stanford (Silicon Valley plus the name factor = awesome)
Harvard (meh, someone advised me to apply)
=Midrangers
Pomona College (Small, Silicon-y, Good education overall)
UChicago (Awesome overall education, closeish to home)
WashU (Close to home kinda, beautiful campus, great learning environment)
Cornell (Good engineering with solid core and lovely campus. Ivy name recognition. It seems to be more laid back than some Ivies)
Northwestern University (Awesome all around)
-Safetyish
Grinnell College (Up and coming LAC where my sister goes and dominates. She's student body president and basically tells me that the school's endowment is so large they running out of things to fund, lol. Watch this school and it's alums in the next few years. I should get easy admittance and a great education close to home, plus my sister's successes should net me some connections and maybe financial assistance)
University of Kansas- (too close, huge, and party-centric, but I've always been a big local fan. They've got some nice honors programs and I'm kind of guaranteed free 4-year admission if I want it.)
UMich-Ann Arbor
UCal- Berkley (May be more of a stretch than to call it a fallback school)</p>

<p>Okay, what should I add to the list, what should I get rid of of. What should i study and what careers would I enjoy. Where do I havea solid chance of getting in and am I over- or underestimating myself. What more can I do to make myself standout and ensure that I let the admissions reps see my personality? </p>

<p>Honestly, the question(s) aren't THAT hard.</p>

<p>If you only reply to part of this, I'll still love you forever and ever.</p>

<p>:) Thanks! I'm going to go pass out now. Leave lots of reples for me.</p>

2

<p>BUMP :) Sorry, lol</p>

3

<p>I think I count 18 schools! It will cost a fortune to apply, not to mention the agony of all the work. Can you narrow the list? Have you visited the schools? You are applying to quite a spread of social and academic cultures. Which 3 reaches are most attractive to you?</p>

4

<p>Berkeley out of state is as hard to get into as an Ivy. It's therefore a reach. I suggest that you eliminate it, and Harvard as well since you're not interested in it.</p>

5

<p>You should look into Rice -- great engineering program, great balance of students in all different majors, wonderful residential college system, supportive, laid-back, collaborative, fun atmosphere. With your stats and coming from Kansas, you might end up with some decent merit aid.</p>

6

<p>"Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell."</p>

<p>-William Strunk, Elements of Style. 1918</p>

<p>Still true today.</p>

7

<p>Well, I enjoyed your post because my son had a very similar list of clubs, activities and contests. (He shares your interest in politics and policy also, but not your particular bent.) I think you will do great wherever you end up, but I think you should go into this with a good deal of realism; in other words, plan on the distinct possibility that one of the "midrangers", as you put it, is where you will be.</p>

<p>Bad news first: the bad grade in English may very well kill your chances at NM Finalist, from what have I heard from others. They need to trim that list of SF from 16K to 15K and a bad grade is an easy target.</p>

<p>I liked the previous poster's suggestion of Rice. Northwestern, WashU, keep those. Maybe add Vanderbilt if you think you are interested in computer science and want to major in something less techy as well; that is where my son ended up, partly because of a huge merit scholarship but also because they told him to 'go for it' when he said he would be adding a couple of majors in arts and sciences to the engineering course. (In his case, that is because they accepted a lot of his AP and university courses, so he can breeze past some intro stuff. May not be possible in every case, and you would have to investigate that possibility.)</p>

<p>The excess number of reaches on your list presents a practical problem. (And by the way, Northwestern and Washington Univ. are probably reaches, not just for you but for anyone.) Many of those schools are looking for real enthusiasm on the part of the applicant for their particular school. It will be very time consuming to convince every one of them that you only have eyes for them, given that they are very different.</p>

<p>Interview: there is a parents forum thread touching on this right now, and there is little agreement about the role of interviews in giving students an edge, or conversely, killing their chances. I don't doubt you will interview well if you get the right interviewer. Just based on my son's experience with some of the schools on your list, there was no relationship between the interview and the result: of the four, one went badly (he was admitted); one went well (he was rejected); one was short and neutral (he was accepted with a merit scholarship), and UMich does not interview (they are very objective-record based).</p>

<p>What about SAT II Subject exams? More than a few of the schools on your list require a couple of them. You didn't mention how you did, or if you have taken any. If you apply only to schools that do not require SAT II, you can avoid reporting SAT I altogether and just report the nice 35 ACT.</p>

8

<p>I think Pomona is also a reach (for you and basically anyone). Have you considered Havey Mudd (which is more likley to forgive the grade in english in favor of math/sci ability), or CMC (which excels in political science things and is a bit easier ot get into than Pomona) instead? You can still take classes at Pomona from either of those schools.</p>

<p>I also think that that English grade may hurt you more than you think--you're an otherwise strong canidate (that ACT score is esp. helpful), but a lot of the colleges you're looking at (including your "matches") get a ton of strong canidates, and a really low grade in a core subject in junior year is going to stick out. To counteract that, you REALLY need to be able to show interest and shine in your essays, making it really important that your list is managble, which it is not right now.</p>

<p>Some thoughts on how to cut things:</p>

<p>--Cut Harvard if you don't really want it. Also UCB is not a safty. Do you want to go there particuarlly?
--Sure, Olin is free. But are you sure you will really be happy at such a TINY school that has such an exclusive focus on tec stuff? It's the best place on earth for those who like it, but it takes a certain types of person to like it. </p>

<p>In general, think about what you want out of college outside of acdemics. You say yo want to be in or near a city, so cut Dartmouth and Cornell. Think about what kind of social scene, housing system, weather, etc. etc. you'd prefer, and start to cut based on those type of criteria.</p>

9

<p>Your list looks fine, and I think you have a good shot at some of these schools with your credentials. If you do not get into Cal Tech or Stanford, it will be their big loss (IMHO)! By the way, Pomona is not "Silicon-y"! It is near LA, not SF/SJ ("Silicon Valley"), and from what I've heard, its strenghths are languages, IR and neurobiology (my D researched it extensively; she wants to major in foreign languages/linguistics). I second the poster who suggested Harvey Mudd - best LAC for engineering, and a better fit for you. Have you though about replacing UCB with University of Washington on your "safeties" list, since it looks like you do not mind big schools? U of Wa is in a great city, and its computer sciences/engineering programs are pretty strong (plus Microsoft, Adobe and Google offices nearby).
Good luck!
BB.</p>

10

<p>If you're interested in engineering, I would apply to the following schools, in no particular order:</p>

<p>MIT
Stanford
Olin
Cornell
Harvey Mudd (in place of Pomona)
Northwestern
WUSTL
Rice
U Kansas
UMich - Ann Arbor</p>

11

<p>I think you should keep Olin on your list. The passion for robotics balanced with an interest in politics and debate makes you an attractive candidate. It is a small school, but that does mean you might have an easier time getting involved with student government and other leadership positions. Oh, and ultimate frisbee is very big at Olin. Every semester you must take at least 1 of your four classes (on average) in the areas of arts, humanities, business, or social sciences and you have to do a non-technical capstone as well as technical capstone project your senior year. You can also cross register at Babson (a business school), Wellesley, and Brandeis (both liberal arts schools). So it might allow you more flexibility in pursuing the technical and non-technical than some other engineering schools. Additionally, if you make it through the first cut of applicants, the interview at the Candidate's Weekend is extremely important (since you said you think you interview well.)</p>

<p>Olin is a small school, but that means small classes and tons of attention from and conversations and research opportunities with professors.</p>

<p>The other engineering schools listed are good as well, I just know the most about Olin.</p>

12

<p>Have you thought about Carleton? Small, great in sciences (particularly physical sciences), and a couple of killer ultimate teams, routinely national competitors.</p>

<p>Sounds like you could knock off about half of your reaches, which you said are basically there for the names. Name brands don't really get you that far, especially as an undergrad, it's better to find a school that matches your personality. Also, most of your safeties (except Kansas) aren't really that safety...Grinnell is known for somewhat quirky admissions, and Mich and especially Berkeley are harsh on out-of-staters. </p>

<p>So yeah, maybe add some safety-->mid-range schools, and knock off some of the gratuitous Ivies (believe me, you don't want to do that many apps anyway).</p>