Junior needing some suggestions :-)

Parents Forum
1

<p>Hi Parents,</p>

<p>I'm a junior in high school and I need some suggestions for what colleges to apply to ^^; I slacked off a bit in High School (or you could say I was too upset to do any work), so... well I dug myself into a hole.</p>

<p>I'm not sure what college I can get into :/ Sigh. Any suggestions would be great :] Also, if there's anything I can work on this year, let me know!</p>

<p>Please read all the way through to the very end. I put the worst stuff first :]</p>

<p>Ok so...</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Asian (ouch.)
Gender: Female</p>

<p>Class Rank: Top 30% but after this semester, top 20% probably... and hopefully after the next one i'll reach top 10-15% >.>;</p>

<p>UW GPA: 3.5/3.6
W GPA: 3.7
UC GPA: 3.8/3.9 W</p>

<p>*honors classes not weighted in our school </p>

<p>SAT: 2220 (690 R/750 M/790 W) <- crit reading score was only because of sentence completions so... might retake</p>

<p>Freshman Year: Honors English, Honors Geometry, Spanish 1, Honors Global Studies, Biology
Sophomore Year: Honors English, Honors Alg 2, Spanish 2, AP World, Physics, Chemistry
Junior Year: Spanish 3, Honors Precalc, AP Bio, AP Chem, English, History (lack of APs because of budget cuts...school scheduling errors that didn't get fixed)
Senior Year: AP Gov, AP Calc BC, AP Physics/Deca, AP Comp Sci, AP Stats, Brit Lit</p>

<p>ECs:</p>

<p>-CEO and Founder of several businesses/websites making thousands a year
-Ebay Business
-WallStreetSurvivor ... made thousands of imaginary money through stocks on that :D.
-Leader of my group for Science For Youth (talk to kids and show labs to kids... about 50+ people attend every seminar)
-Chief Technology Officer for Science For Youth
-Varisty Track 4 years
-Stock Market Portfolio <- made thousands... literally tens of thousands... problem is I used my dad's money so</p>

<ol>
<li>i look spoiled</li>
<li>it doesn't look believable</li>
</ol>

<p>should i include that in my app?</p>

<hr>

<p>So anyways, what do you guys believe is realistic? :D. I do have one C on my transcript... honors english 10.... but it went up to a B+ second semester </p>

<p>For junior year, my lowest grades (Bs) will be in my easy class... Spanish 3.... >.>; </p>

<p>But anyways...I just need help figuring this out :/ What colleges seem realistic? What colleges should I apply to? What would be reaches? What would be safeties?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>p.s. I know I'm guaranteed into a uc school for being top 9% in the state but... yea o-o</p>

2

<p>Do you wish to stay in California? </p>

<p>You will not qualify for financial aid? Will you be full pay? </p>

<p>Small, Medium, Large?
National University, LAC, Regional University?
Urban, Rural, Suburban ? </p>

<p>East, Midwest, South, West Coast? </p>

<p>All woman’s school OK?</p>

3

<p>I can pay full
No preference really. Honestly, I’ll go based on prestige simply because… I don’t want to disappoint my parents. Not to mention they won’t help out and pay if I dont P:</p>

<p>I’d prefer the school not to be all woman’s ^^;</p>

4

<p>First of all, you sound like a great kid with impressive credentials, and any college will be fortunate to have you as a student! Lots of colleges would love to admit you.
Do you want to major in some sort of science?
Here is a list to check out:
Pomona, UCs, Johns Hopkins, University of Rochester, Tufts, Carnegie Mellon, Vanderbilt, Chicago, Rice, Havorford, Carleton. If you like one of them, you could apply ED. You could apply to another ED.
Safeties: Is there a rolling admission school that you like that you could apply to early on? This could function as a safety.
Otherwise, how about UC Santa Cruz or Davis? Occidental or Pitzer?
Have you tried the college match function on cc?
Don’t mention the investment portfolio, though!
Good luck!</p>

5

<p>East Coast possibilities: </p>

<p>Connecticut College (CT)
Vassar College (NY)
Skidmore College (NY)
Wheaton College (MA)
Hamilton College (NY)
Colgate University (NY)
Middlebury College (NY)
Bates College (ME)
Bowdoin College (ME)
Colby College (ME)
Wesleyan University (CT)
Hobart & William Smith (NY)
Sarah Lawrence (NY)
Bard College (NY)</p>

6

<p>levirm - I’m thinking science or business :slight_smile: Those are all great schools you listed though, and I’m not sure my stats qualify. I’ll be applying ED to schools in that tier. Do you think I have a shot at SD/LA/Berk?</p>

<p>Thanks for the suggestions! </p>

<p>SLUMOM- Are those schools reaches, matches, or safeties? ^^; I’ve actually never heard of them, being on the west coast haha :)</p>

7

<p>Hi-- It is quite possible you could get into UCSD, or la, or Cal. It is never easy to answer these “chance me” type questions, but certainly possible. If you want to study business at the undergrad level, though, not all of these schools have a business major. (May not be a problem; you may end up in one of the sciences or happy to study economics, or another major, with a plan to do graduate business.)</p>

<p>Claremont-Mckenna, USC, Santa Clara University seem to have good options for business majors, if you want to stay in state. USC and SCU have strong alumni networks; don’t know about Claremont. Some merit aid may be possible at these three. All are very well regarded, though in different ways than Cal or STanford or Pomona College.</p>

<p>I understand you are wanting to go someplace prestigious and that your parents expect this. Remember, though, to pick some safeties, and safeties that you would really be happy to attend.</p>

<p>Beyond that, though, what do you want? It does also makes sense to look at what type of environment one wants to be in, large or small, rural or urban, etc., as well as the “feel” of the student body, more conventional vs. more conservative, lots of sports or not so many. YOu get the idea. Within the layers of very prestigious and quite prestigious colleges and universities, environments and “personality” of the schools can vary quite quite a bit. In what type of environment do you think you would thrive? It makes sense to look at some of your local colleges, even if you don’t think want to attend them, as a way of gathering info about yourself. So, if you are in the LA area, and have not already done so, go look at the schools, public and private. You will begin to get a sense of what resonates with you. </p>

<p>Best of luck, and let us know what you decide.</p>

8

<p>Check USNWR’s rankings, you will find all of them or walk into a Barnes & Noble bookstore & look in “Princeton Review’s Best 373”, you will find all of them in there! </p>

<p>Also check out Fiske Guide 2011, in Barnes & Noble.</p>

9

<p>If you can pay full, would you consider some of the ‘public ivies’ - Univ of Virginia, Michigan or Univ of North Carolina? Being a full pay OOS (that stands for out-of-state) might give you an extra ‘hook’</p>

10

<p>Read “How to be a High School Superstar” Really a wonderful book that shows how to take a resume very much like yours and use it to good effect. Definitely pick a top choice and do ED. Good luck, and yes, let us know!</p>

11

<p>Are you interested in an undergraduate business major? If you are, your experience as an entrepreneur would be a huge asset. You are far more interesting than the average candidate. I think you would be a viable candidate for practically any undergraduate business program except maybe Wharton.</p>

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<p>Clarification: Of course, I did not mean to say that you could apply to two schools ED! You could apply to an ED school and an EA school, though (unless it is single-choice-EA and there are hardly any of those).
I think that ED gives a huge admissions advantage, and that you could definitely try for the tier that I mentioned.
Does your school have grade-deflation? If so, the colleges will know this from the profile.
And, you can probably get that critical reading score up with some focused study. I agree with the posters who think that you are a really interesting candidate.
Good luck and keep us posted.</p>

13

<p>Mamamita- Thanks for the suggestions, I’ve actually been looking into USC. Unfortunatey my parents won’t contribute to any private ranked lower than top 15 >.>; . As for what I want, I really do think anything is fine. I fit in well everywhere I go. I’d love to go to school in NYC and LA, but I’d be fine with going to school in Ithaca too :)</p>

<p>Slumon+Gwen- I’ll be sure to check those out ^^; thanks!</p>

<p>Katliamom- Sadly, no :confused: full tuition is reserved only for top 15 schools and the UCs</p>

<p>Marian- I’m probably applying to undergrad business school :slight_smile: still have to convince my parents I won’t fail out of business school but :slight_smile: I hope you’re right… Wharton and Cornell aem would be amazing. Id be fine with nyu too though :)</p>

<p>Levirm- I know haha but don’t most schools have it so if you apply ED they won’t let you apply EA? I’m still trying to figure out where to apply ED… I was going to do Cornell aem but I heard their aem program is just plain difficult to get into :[</p>

<p>My school does extreme inflation in regular/lower classes (we go a step down from regular classes too…there’s also math 1-4 classes)</p>

<p>And then there’s grade deflation in our honors programs. It happens to only be in our grade though…haha because teachers were experimenting and such…</p>

<p>And that caused my rank to be so low haha. But even so I did pretty badly so no excuses ^^;</p>

<p>Anyhow, yea I think my crit reading score can go up. The fact it was all vocal that wa missed really upset me…found out I bubbled in 2 wrong answers too (number 1 in 2 sections…). My parents won’t let me retake though because they’re convinced if I do, my score will drop to a 1800-2100</p>

<p>Thanks guys for all your input :slight_smile: It’s calming me down just a bit. I feel like I’m an interesting applicant but my rank and gpa will get me rejected in an instant.</p>

14

<p>I have a son in a similar situation. Here are some suggestions–</p>

<p>Apply to schools that interest you–you have no chance if you don’t apply. I agree with many previous posters that you are an interesting and intriguing candidate so don’t worry so much about your GPA of the past–you can’t change it, so move forward and keep working to improve it and show an upward trend.</p>

<p>If you want to “prove” to your parents that you should re-take the SAT, try taking some practice tests–our library has them online for free. And/or try taking some in a book and focus on the areas that were hardest for you. You can show them that you are consistently doing well and can increase your score. And remember that schools super score the SAT, so you really have nothing to lose by retaking it.</p>

<p>Most top 15 schools have admissions interviews. These may play to your advantage. I also agree with applying ED to a top 15 school that you really like. Have you used Naviance at your school to see the GPA range for acceptances from your high school to these top 15 schools? You may be surprised by what you find.</p>

<p>Also, remember that most admissions officers look at your application holistically. You have a great upward trend, you are taking many challenging classes, you have excellent SAT scores (which could be better if you can improve in the one section–and remember most schools super score the SAT so they will take your best score from each area over more than one sitting), and some interesting ECs. </p>

<p>The only other thing you need is a great application essay. Make sure you customize your essays to the schools to which you apply. See if you can do some visits so you are choosing a school on the right fit for you–not just prestige.</p>

<p>Last, you can try to contact the regional admissions officer for your area. You may be able to ask him/her to strike up a conversation when they are in town and begin to build a bond that way. </p>

<p>Can you talk your parents into paying for top 20? The scores get so close, that there may be some great schools that accept you. For example, NYU–Stern is one of the top 5 undergraduate business programs in the country, but NYU overall is rated at 33 on USNRW college rankings. UVA is #6 for business yet #25 overall. Vanderbilt and Rice are #17 overall and both are prestigous and quality schools. </p>

<p>The best business schools for the specialty of finance are: Penn, NYU-Stern, MIT, U of Michigan, and Cal Berkeley. The top 10 undergrad business schools according to USNWR are:
Penn, MIT, Cal, U of MI, NYU, UVA (tied with NYU). Carnegie Mellon and UNC-Chapel Hill are tied at 7.</p>

<p>I have a daughter at Cornell. I think you may be surprised and may be able to get in there.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

15

<p>Some other thoughts:
Are you very “lopsided” with your grades in math and science much better than your grades in English or history? I see a heavy math emphasis in your curriculum.
If so, you might take a long shot at MIT. You have an admissions advantage as a girl because MIT is committed to equal numbers of males and females. Your application would be bolstered if you could do very, very well on the math SAT subject test.
Does anyone know: is CalTech the same way?
Or, if you visit and love it, you could apply to JHU early decision. Your stats seem to be in the “sweet spot” (as another cc poster described it) for this, and your extracurriculars really stand out. They have “holistic admissions”.
And, you say that your parents will pay for top 15 or UCs only. Would they accept a top-ranked school in Canada, like McGill that ends up in international lists of top-ranked schools all the time? The application is very easy - no essay - takes about 15 minutes - and I think that admissions are very SAT-driven (correct me if I am wrong, someone). Montreal is a fantastic city. It is cold, though!
Good luck!</p>

16

<p>I find this really sad:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Because if your rank is now in the top 30th percentile, the chances of being accepted into one of those schools is slim. And I know you think you can raise your rank, but that’s not a given.</p>

<p>When your parents say top 15, do they mean only national universities? Because it would be a shame if you couldn’t look at the top liberal arts colleges (see post 5, some of them are listed there).</p>

<p>There are many wonderful colleges and universities in this country that aren’t in the top 15.</p>

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<p>TKSMom- Our school doesn’t use naviance :confused: How do I contact the regionals admission officers? I talked them into paying for top undergrad business schools so nyu is a yes :slight_smile: I’ll have to contribute too, but oh well it’s fine with me.</p>

<p>Thanks for you’re input, I really hope you’re right…Cornell would be…simply amazing. Haha.</p>

<p>Levirm- Science wise, extremely lip sided. Top of the class easily. Math wise, my test average is an A but I tend to not do so well on random homework checks…this year my math grades are back up to A level though! I’m looking into McGill, I think I’ll apply :slight_smile: It looks like a great school. As for JHU, isn’t it more med-oriented?</p>

<p>Fireandrain- If i can’t get into a top 15 (which I agree is very unlikely), I’ll be going to a UC. My gpa jumped a lot this year so Im fairly confident my rank will shoot up. Of course it’s safer to think it won’t though, so let’s just assume that for now :D</p>

<p>And yes they mean only national universities :confused: I think it’s a shame too but…Eh… I’ll follow they’re rules.</p>

<p>My rank doesn’t really show my standing in the school however. Any kid in the honors system is top 10%… Those in math 2, foods, art, etc are in the top 10% numbers wise. I shouldn’t be using that as an excuse though, my fault for getting the grades t_t I can personally say there’s a huge difference in level (now that I’m experiencing the hardest regular English class…) and that it’s a bit unfair our honors classes aren’t weighted any differently.</p>

<p>Ok anyways I’ll stop talking to myself now :D. Thanks for all the advice, it’s really helping and I found some new colleges to add on my list :slight_smile: But as interesting of an applicant as I am… Is it really enough to even consider a schoo like Cornell, MIT, Upenn? O_O I used to think UCSD was a reach school.</p>

<p>Thanks again everyone :)</p>

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<p>I’m a Cornell graduate and a Cornell parent. </p>

<p>I think you should definitely take a shot at Cornell’s AEM program (now called the Dyson School).</p>

<p>For professional majors like this one, Cornell emphasizes fit in its admissions decisions. They want to know why you are a good match for the major you’ve chosen. It’s obvious from the outside activities that you’ve described that you are an excellent match for AEM, and perhaps especially for the entrepreneurship specialization within the AEM program. [Charles</a> H. Dyson School: AEM Major](<a href=“Applied Economics and Management Degree Program | Cornell Dyson”>Applied Economics and Management Degree Program | Cornell Dyson) </p>

<p>Don’t be intimidated by the fact that some Cornell students have higher grades and scores than you do. Most of the people with the stellar numbers are in Engineering or Arts and Sciences. You’re not competing with them. You’re competing with the other people who want to be in AEM, and you have an advantage over most of them because you have meaningful business experience.</p>

<p>Go for it.</p>

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<p>loopyz, I think that JHU is about 30% pre-med, 30% engineering, 30% other. You could major in science and/or economics (easy to double major there, I’ve heard) and save your business studies for grad school if you so choose.
I was just suggesting it because it is a top 15 school that I think you have a decent chance to get into if you applied ED. But, of course, you would have to like it.</p>

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<p>NYU could be an option - not sure if it will pass your parens’ veto though…
CMU might be bellow 15, but it is great for sciences.
WUSTL is in top 15, a top notch for sciences, and has a business school. You can double major easily there. If you apply ED, I think you have chance.</p>