I'm in my Junior year, can you chance me as I am now and tell me where I can develop my application?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hispanic, attending Broward Virtual School, graduating a year early.

Major: Economics or Economics + Public Policy (If the school offers it), plan to go into politics.

SAT: Don’t know yet, waiting for results, the final time I take it I should probably get around 1460-1540ish.

Sat II: Haven’t decided, if I take them it would likely be Math II and US History.

GPA: 4.00UW, 4.9W (when I apply.)

AP scores: Don’t know yet, predict all 4 and 5s. Language, Literature(Not definite), US History, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics(Not definite), Statistics(Not definite), Environmental Science(Not definite), and Government(Not definite).

Class rank: Currently 1/64.

Science Route: Biology → Marine Science → Physics → Chemistry → Enviromental Science (Not definite)
Math Route: Algebra 1 → Geometry → Algebra II → PreCalc → Statistics (Not definite)

EC:
Member of Weston Democratic Club (2019-2020).
Volunteer for Tulsi Gabbard’s presidential campaign. (2019-2020).
Youtube Channel about political analysis (2014-2020).
Online Blog about progressive politics. (Some freelancers and small business) (2019-2020).
Writer about education for a non-profit (2018-2020).
Taking care of mom.

Volunteer Service: Expect to have around 100 hours.

Essay: I plan to write about how my dad left me and my mom became very ill in the same year, how it caused me to withdraw socially, leave for an online school, and focus solely on academics until I came out of my depressive state early 2019.

Recommendations:
I plan on getting one from
The leader of my democratic club (would likely be very good)
Counselor (probably decent)
Government teacher (don’t know yet)

College List:
Princeton (Early Application)
Columbia
Harvard
New York University
Cornell
John Hopkins
University of Florida
Florida State University
University of Central Florida.

Low-income family, single parent, $7,000 a year + $13,000 parent’s small business. Mom has a Bachelor in Business Administration, Masters in Marketing, and a Masters in International Business from one of the top universities in Venezuela. Dad went to what would be similar to a community college here, Bachelor in Economics (In Venezuela), did not complete a phD in Spain.

I know the information is not very complete but I would really appreciate any advice to where I can hone my application and what my chances are as I currently stand, thank you so much.

2

Stats are looking Good! Just make your essay involves around you. How the particular situation impacted you, what you learned from, and how you will apply it in the future. The most significant part of your stats is your rank. Just make sure you dont catch severe senioritis! Godd luck to you!

3

Also look up QuestBridge on Google. I think you’d be a good candidate. If you have more question lmk.

4

@TheGussA The first 6 schools on your list will all want recommendations from 2 teachers + your school guidance councilor. “The leader of my democratic club” could be used as a supplemental recommendation, but you’ll need to find a second teacher to write a recommendation. Be aware that NYU is notoriously stingy with Fin Aid, you might be better served by dropping NYU from your list and replacing it with one of the Liberal Arts Colleges known for better aid policies. I would rethink your essay topic entirely. That sort of thing is better left to your guidance counselor (father left, mother ill, still worked through it and ranked number 1, etc.). Use your essay to let them know something about yourself, your motivations, interests and drive - let them know why politics are so important to you.

5

Your stats look good, but as you pointed out it’s hard to chance anyone without junior year grades, SAT, etc. As for the schools you listed, Princeton, Columbia, Harvard, Cornell, and Johns Hopkins are high reaches for pretty much everyone. Who does and doesn’t get in is impossible to predict (imo) Also I would run all the NPCs if you need financial aid. Keep going and good luck!

6

@TheJoon someone suggested it this morning and I’m currently looking into it. Thank you :smiley:

7

@tdy123 I have an amazing English teacher I could ask for a letter of recommendation although I do fear the double humanity recommendations so I could also ask my Physics teacher who was also my Pre-Calc teacher for the first semester. I’m aware NYU is quite stingy, I’m just very impressed with their individualized study programs, I’ll rethink it though. What liberal colleges do you recommend, I can’t go to a college on the west coast in case god forbid something happens and I need to rush home. My guidance counselor doesn’t know any of that and I worry that just throwing that info at her and asking her to write a recommendation could have some bad results. I will consider writing about the importance of politics to me, and how I’ve been influenced by my own situation to fight for those that are stuck in these situations and not as fortunate as me.

8

(re: guidance counselor) Not sure if you’re school does this, but most guidance counselors have you fill out a survey type document before they write your recommendations. They ask about what you are most proud of in high school, what obstacles you have overcome, etc. This is to ensure they can write an informed letter as usually guidance counselors don’t know a lot about every student (especially in the case of larger graduating classes). That may be something you want to ask about next year or in the beginning of senior year.

9

@Siena19 I wasn’t aware I’ll make sure I ask. Thank you.

10

@TheGussA Take a look at Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin, Colby, Davidson and Swarthmore. All are east coast, and all promise to meet full need with no loans for low income students.

11

What do you mean by a “depressive state?” If you were actually clinically depressed and only recovered a few months ago, I would not put that in your essay (although you could mention negative feelings, since they would obviously be warranted in the situation). Unfortunately, most colleges don’t want to “take a chance” on kids that might experience difficulties with mental health on campus. Honestly, I would write your essay about something else if possible – you could explain your extenuating circumstances and switch to an online school elsewhere, but your essay is your one chance to show them who you are as a person.

You have some hooks and good academics, but going to an online school might make colleges skeptical. Your ECs will help show your passion for politics, but they don’t stand out per se (which is fine, it just might not be enough for the Ivies). How much time did you spend taking care of your mom, and how long? Colleges will consider that an EC, just like a job is, because it’s something you have to do and it shows responsibility and compassion.

What do you mean by graduating early? Have you already skipped a year, or will you graduate after junior year? Why do you want to graduate early instead of staying and taking more advanced classes (like Calculus or AP sciences)? Why is AP Gov not definite? If your school offers it, you should 100% take it, since it’s very relevant to your major.

Considering that you aren’t sure about junior year grades or your SAT scores, combined with other factors, I would put more attention into looking for safety schools (academically and financially). Most of the schools you listed are reaches for literally anyone, so you can’t count on them. Have you taken the PSAT? Could you be a National Merit finalist? Do you like the Florida public schools? What scholarships could you get there?

12

@SuperSenior19 I was never clinically depressed, and if I am or was I was never diagnosed. I was thinking of maybe writing about why I got into politics and why the field inspires me. I know online school may look bad but it is ranked decent in terms of Florida High Schools (#41 in Florida). I’ve been taking care of my mom since around April 2015 and I spent a significant amount of time doing so every day without exception (maybe 4+ hours of complete devotion a day).

I will graduate after junior year and it is related to my mother’s financial & health situation. I put AP Government as not definite not because I don’t want to take it but because I will be taking it next year. The classes that say not definite means I haven’t taken them yet, sorry if I didn’t make that clear. I am also considering maybe taking state & local government along with public speaking or acting for my performing art credits at a local community college. My school does not offer more AP science except a very watered down and poorly viewed AP Biology. And I could always take AP Calculus my last year instead of statistics I just felt statistics was more relevant to politics.

In Florida, I could get bright futures scholarship which would be a full ride for any school here. I was thinking UF, FSU, and UCF for safeties. But I could always add the University of South Florida and Florida International University.

13

Speaking of Safeties, you may want to add USF as a financial safety. In most cases, UCF and USF will offer the largest merit based scholarships.

Here’s the link to USF’s, to give you some idea of what they would pay, based on GPA and Test scores. Note that USF scholarships do stack/u.

https://www.usf.edu/admissions/freshmen/admissions-scholarships/index.aspx

If you take the PSAT (junior year) and get classified as a National Hispanic Scholars Finalist, both UCF and USF will award significant merit scholarships (see the above link). You may want to take that into account with your plans to enroll early. It may be worth a lot of $ to delay graduation to your senior year (to earn the NHSF or even better the NMF =Benacquisto scholarship).

Good Luck!

14

@Gator88NE Thanks! I look into it and I think I’ll be adding USF as a financial safety!

15

Based on your interests and responses, I would definitely recommend writing the essay about politics and moving the part about your family & going to an online school in the additional information section. 100% put taking care of your mother as an EC and list hours/week; you are a good son/daughter for doing so and colleges recognize that it is a personal sacrifice akin to a part-time job.

I take it back about the online school, especially if you attended a brick-and-mortar school previously. Isn’t state gov included with AP gov? Double check that you’re meeting all of your HS graduation requirements. I’m also not sure why your mom’s financials and health are causing you to graduate early; I would expect it to be the opposite. Like others have said, you may really benefit from an extra year, especially if NMF/NHF might come into play.

Top colleges will want to see AP Calc if possible, although I agree that AP Stat will likely be more helpful to you. I can see how an online HS wouldn’t be able to offer lab science – maybe ask your counselor to put it in her rec letter if that is the case.

Two miscellaneous things: if you haven’t already, get fee waivers for standardized tests and college apps; also, college fin aid and the FAFSA will want info from both your parents, which may take some effort in your situation.