I'm starting Junior year and am scared, stressed and clueless...

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello!
So I am going into my junior year and I am in the International Baccalaureate Program. My family is from Russia and neither of my parents went to college in the US. So, even though my dad teaches at a university none of us are very familiar with the US college search and application process. The biggest issue in this case is that I have no idea what "realistic" is for me and what level schools I should be looking at. My parents are not much help because they really don't know how this system works since they never had to go through it themselves. Because IB is so competitive most people around me already know where they want to apply, what they are fit for and have started visiting. I on the other hand am truly confused about where I stand. This has been putting me under a lot of stress.
So I was hoping to get some feed back about what colleges I should be considering and visiting based on the following information:</p>

<p>First off, I'm in the aforementioned IB program.</p>

<p>My GPA is 3.86 right now (so from Freshman and Sophomore year) and weighted it's a 4.71.</p>

<p>I speak Russian, German and English of course fluently. (I took a year of Spanish and am focusing on French getting ready to take the AP next year)</p>

<p>I was born in Russia (but I have permanent residency in the US so I'm not applying as an international).
I lived in Switzerland for 5.5 years (thus, the German).
I also lived in Germany a little, so basically, I'm very multicultural. </p>

<p>I've been in the US for 5 years so my vocabulary is very small. </p>

<p>SATII's: Biology:720 Math(II): 780</p>

<p>AP's: US Government 4 US History 5</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: I'm on the cross country team, I take part in our school's drama productions--but backstage, help out at a math club for younger kids, some other little school clubs but nothing serious</p>

<p>I have an internship at NIH -- volunteering during the year, and payed in the summer. There, I write programs in SAS and help statistically analyze cancer related data.</p>

<p>Other jobs: I tutor foreign languages to little kids.</p>

<p>I am into math and science and I am really not much good at writing.</p>

<p>I am interested majoring in (maybe (bio)medical) engineering or something like computational biology. </p>

<p>Now the problematic part - SAT:</p>

<p>My PSAT score this year was 189 which predicts bad things even though I try to study. I do alright on the math, but the critical reading and vocabulary destroy me. I doubt my SAT score will be impressive.</p>

<p>I think I have hit all the big things from the past 2 years. Now I would really appreciate some opinions on where this puts me when it comes to colleges. What level should I shoot for? Any suggestions for particular colleges? And also, what is the best SAT taking strategy if I know I'll have to retake at least once? </p>

<p>Thanks in advance for everyone who replies!</p>

2

<p>Where do you go to high school?</p>

<p>I'd take a look at the University of Michigan and University of Virginia. If you're from the west coast, look at Cal, UCLA and UCSD...a lot of those California schools are really strong in the sciences.</p>

<p>You gotta try more to raise your SAT though. The critical reading and writing issues are understandable though for somebody as multicultural as you but in also in another sense you're very strong with languages so you should be able to pick up English really well. Just read more and go to [url=<a href="http://www.dictionary.com%5DDictionary.com%5B/url"&gt;http://www.dictionary.com]Dictionary.com[/url&lt;/a&gt;] and memorize the word of the day every day. Ultimately, if you can read The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne and not get a headache than you will be just fine. SAT strategy (i.e. knowing when to guess and knowing when to leave the answer blank) it can make a difference of over 50 points trust me on that.</p>

3

<p>As for the SAT, because you're not from the United States, colleges will probably not be too hard on you. The SAT is notorious for being hard for foreigners. </p>

<p>Your gpa is good (especially for IB) and your ec's look good as well. You would competitive at most colleges.</p>

4

<p>Yeah that's a good point about the SAT's. There is a lot of buzz around it being biased and unfair so some schools are pulling away from it. If I were you, if necessary, I'd exploit that controversy in my application.</p>

5

<p>Also, remember for the critical reading/vocab parts of the SAT, think back to your Spanish/French/German/Russian roots. Although some of those languages don't play a HUGE role in most English words, they definitely are present in them, so even when you think you don't know what the answer is, try and think of similar words from the other languages. This can help you a LOT when you're trying to figure out what the words mean. However, if you really really don't know the answer, be sure to leave it blank :]</p>

6

<p>Maybe you could take a Latin class to help out on the SAT. It's very good for the critical reading section.</p>

7

<p>Schools that have the majors you want are:
Michigan Technological U
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
U California San Diego
Virginia Commonwealth
Rutger U New Brunswick</p>

8

<p>I strongly recommend you look into the ACT. I got a lower score than your PSAT in my sophomore year (181), then Junior year I NAILED the ACT. </p>

<p>The English section is much less vocab oriented and focuses on grammar and punctuation. It seems that may be a better fit for you; most Americans suck at grammar, and you can exploit this to your advantage.
I recommend you buy a Princeton Review ACT book (without DVD). It helps immensely. Especially pay attention to the strategy section of Science; it's a bit tricky.</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

<p>I almost forgot: the strength of the ACT is that you can take the test as many times as you wish; your score WILL improve between testings. My composite score rose by 4 points on my second testing section. Don't select any score reporting when registering; you'll do this your senior year after you've got all the different scores from different administrations.</p>

9

<p>What colleges are you considering so far? Are you looking at any particular regions?
To help you narrow your search, consider these questions:</p>

<ul>
<li>How big/small do you want your college to be?</li>
<li>How much can your parents afford i.e. is financial aid necessary?</li>
<li>Which colleges are strong in your major </li>
<li>What kind of activities/atmosphere are you looking for? Like a big Greek life, or a college that's very strong in sports or theatre etc..</li>
</ul>

<p>I recommend using the college search feature on the Collegeboard website. It asks you lots of these kinds of questions, and helps narrow down your search..</p>

10

<p>Oh yeah and - don't stress too much :) You're a rising junior, so you have almost a year before you really need to focus on apps and college. I suggest just concentrating on your ECs, grades and test scores for now, and then doing some intense research & maybe visit some colleges when the summer before your senior year rolls around.</p>

11

<p>First, if you were a rising senior with those grades, test scores, interests, and EC's, MANY great colleges would be interested in admitting you. :)</p>

<p>Second, don't fall into the trap of making high school more about getting into college than about living your HIGH SCHOOL life. Do keep your grades up (most important). Do start trying to visit some schools this year and thinking about what you want and need from your college experience. Do keep exploring the EC's that truly interest interest you, because that is the secret to having EC's that colleges like. </p>

<p>BUT don't get your self so worked up about getting into college that junior year passes you by in one big "college worry" storm. You will never be a junior in high school again. Prepare for the future, sure, but don't let the present pass you by because you are so stressed about college that you can't enjoy your life now.</p>

<p>Third, just to reassure you, but most people find that their 11th grade PSAT scores are better than their 10th grade PSAT scores, even if they don't prep at all. Another year of school, reading, math, thinking, and just maturity accomplish that. Similarly, many people find that by the time they're done with testing in senior year, their SAT scores are higher than their 11th grade PSAT scores. So, do prep if you can, but don't make it the center of your life.</p>

<p>Overall, you are in very GOOD shape going into junior year. Keep up the good work, and everything will fall into place.</p>

12

<p>Enjoy your junior year and don't stress too much about colleges. You've got a great record so far.</p>

<p>As it gets closer to your senior year, I encourage you to look at Smith. Smith College’s Picker Engineering Program is superb. Smith is known for academic excellence and small classes. Students are provided with terrific advising and mentoring and available, committed professors. </p>

<p>Also, Smith no longer requires SAT or ACT scores.</p>

<p>Smith is also part of the 5-college consortium (with Amherst, Hampshire, Mt. Holyoke and Univ Mass). You can take classes at any.</p>

<p>You can find more information on their engineering program at: Smith</a> College: Picker Engineering Program and at: Smith</a> College: Picker Engineering Program</p>

13

<p>Just take the ACT and apply to top colleges that accept it.</p>

14

<p>I don't know what the fuss is about. You're in better shape than you think.</p>

15

<p>Whedongirl09 is right: This is the year to focus on the kind of school you want to apply to, rather than specific schools: Schools have personalities. Figure out what works for you and look for schools that match your 'style' at different levels of academic competitiveness. If you can narrow it down to say, 'medium sized (5,000-10,000 students), urban, great engineering/science programs, east of the Mississippi, with a small frat presence,' and good financial aid, then CC folks can probably come up with half a dozen schools at least that would work for you, given a certain GPA and set of test scores. But you have to do the heavy lifting first by deciding what matters.</p>

<p>The good news is that education is a huge business in the US-that means you are a consumer, and consumers get lots of choices. There will be not just one, but many places where you can get a great education and where you will be happy. So don't get stressed yet.</p>

16

<p>Alright, so I see I need to provide more information in order to get more recommendations, so here I go:
I live in Maryland and want to stay north of here with the exception of CA. The distance from MD itself doesn't matter.
It'd be nice if it were something medium sized.
I want it to have some nature around, even though it'd be nice if it were not completely the middle of nowhere.
It should have a strong science/engineering program.
I do not need any particular sports since I'm not planning to run in college or any other outside activities.
It'd be also great if there was a study-abroad program.
I am in the need of financial aid and scholarships, which I guess will exclude a lot of locations.
I hope this information will make it possible for someone to give me more ideas on what to look at. What level of colleges should I consider at all?
Thank you also for your SAT help comments.
Thanks again for taking your time to respond.</p>

17

<p>I assume you'll apply to UMD? Except for the size, it meets many of your criteria, including a very strong engineering program. Most schools have great study abroad options because its a huge industry oversees hosting American students: You can attend many of the same programs no matter what school you are coming from.</p>

<p>As for specific schools, I suggest you apply and see what they offer you. If you need merit money, it often means applying to schools that are seeking to improve either their diversity or their academic competitiveness (Goucher, for example, in Baltimore). </p>

<p>Schools that you should look into based on your criteria: Johns Hopkins comes to mind. Columbia-the school of engineering is actively looking for talented women so there may be money.</p>

18

<p>
[quote]
My PSAT score this year was 189 which predicts bad things even though I try to study.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>If it helps I had only 2 points higher when I took it in 10th grade and ended up scoring 30 points higher the next year on it. Don't distress; High school will see you through vast improvements in your English abilities (not so much math), especially since IB starts junior year correct? (I didn't go to IB)</p>

19

<p>
[quote]
Just take the ACT and apply to top colleges that accept it.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>All colleges accept the ACT.</p>

20

<p>For a rising junior you look to be in fine shape to be admitted to many good universities, especially the publics. Stop stressing, you'll be fine!</p>