Looking For Help. Any Suggestions For Me!?

Parents Forum
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<p>Hey everyone!</p>

<p>I am just wondering about the colleges/universities I should apply for based on my current stats and what I want to pursue later in life. Please help me. I am desperately needing advise b/c I am an International and don't really have a clue as to which schools are best at what i am considering majoring. </p>

<p>Standardized Tests:</p>

<ul>
<li>SAT I: Verbal: 700 Math: 780 Writing: 700 (retaking) </li>
</ul>

<p>Academic Strength: </p>

<ul>
<li>Unweighted GPA: 4.00 out of 4.00</li>
<li>Class Rank: 20 out of 360 students (Top 5-10%) </li>
</ul>

<p>Extracurricular Activities: </p>

<ul>
<li>Volunteer at Retirement Home</li>
<li>Volunteering/Campaign at the Diabete's Foundation</li>
<li>Volunteer at Local Park's Ecological Society</li>
<li>St. John's Ambulance Trainee</li>
<li>Interperative Assistant at local aqarium</li>
<li>Food Bank</li>
<li>Soup Kitchen</li>
<li>Model UN</li>
<li>Newpaper Club</li>
<li>Yearbook Club</li>
<li>Peer tutor</li>
</ul>

<p>Awards and Recognitions: </p>

<ul>
<li>Honorable Mentions -Essay Competition- </li>
<li>Outstanding Volunteer Award </li>
<li>Honor Roll/Headmaster's List (every semester) </li>
<li>Academic Achievement Award (4 years) </li>
<li>Some other stupid ones</li>
</ul>

<p>Other Information: </p>

<p>Location: Canada
Hobbies: Taichi, Piano, Swimming, Badminton </p>

<p>Courseload (Senior):
AP Calc
AP Word History
AP Geography
English Honors
Graphic Design
Psychology
Leadership</p>

<p>I am thinking of going into one of the following: </p>

<ul>
<li>EDUCATION (general)</li>
<li>PSYCHOLOGY (general)</li>
<li>PHARMACOLOGY </li>
</ul>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>Bummmmmmpppppppp</p>

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<p>Please help!</p>

4

<p>Do you want a big school or small? Urban or rural? Are you looking for a lot of diversity or does it not matter? Opportunities to pursue piano? Do you have any preferences based on location?</p>

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<ul>
<li>I want a medium-large school</li>
<li>Urban or rural? Doesn't really matter</li>
<li>Diversity? Doesn't really matter (preferable though)</li>
<li>Good college town</li>
<li>Piano? Absolutely not.</li>
<li>Preference on location? None. I am open to all places as long as it has a good program.</li>
</ul>

<p>Reaches? matches? Safeties?</p>

<p>Thank you for replying! =)</p>

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<p>do you need aid?
I started a thread on the financial aid board for schools that offer aid to international students</p>

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<p>i'm sure you can get into a lot of places as your stats look great. i have many suggestions but i'm too lazy to time them out as it is 1 AM. i will, however, suggest vanderbilt university (nashville, tn) since it came to mind first. vanderbilt is a private university with good academic reputation, and from what i've seen, it's a little bit more diverse than the other private universities in the south. it's pretty selective, but i'm sure you won't have trouble with your stats. i don't know about their education major, but i hear psychology is pretty good. however, i havent experienced it firsthand--get in touch with a student from the school. one of the main reasons vanderbilt came to mind is scholarships. while you're looking it up, read about the INGRAM SCHOLARS PROGRAM. it's a full scholarship for students who have exceptional volunteer experience (and good grades don't hurt in the selection process either); they also offer a stipend (i believe it's $5000) for a summer project of the volunteer/humanitarian sort. students do great things with this money. they do require a certain number of volunteer hours a month (20, i think) in order to keep the scholarship, but if you're into volunteering (which it seems like you are), then that shouldn't be a problem. if this interests you, i suggest getting in touch with one of the current ingram scholars. it might also help to get in touch with the recently selected ingram scholars (class of 2010) for some tips as they recently went through the selection process (their names are published on the vanderbilt website).</p>

<p>wake forest university, among many other things, prides itself for its psychology department. it may not be a match for you, but look into it anyway. you would be competitive for scholarships there as well.</p>

<p>if you're looking for a big city, consider emory. being a large city, atlanta has a lot of opportunities for internships and experience outside of the classroom.</p>

<p>i've also heard good things about the psychology major at duke as well as at the university of texas at austin. austin is pretty far from you, but from what i've seen and heard of the city, it is a great place for college life. and i wish i could have gotten enough scholarship money to go there. </p>

<p>(i'm mentioning southern schools because i'm from the south)</p>

<p>it will do you some good to spend some time flipping through various guidebooks just to get a feel for different schools. a lot of them have "you may also be interested in" lists at the end of a school's profile. i would divide the states into regions--such as south, west coast, east coast, midwest, etc.--and spend a few hours looking into the top schools there....and move on to another region.</p>

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<p>Comem-
The problem is you have too many choices! Because of your stats you can get into most colleges and by saying that you don't care if it's urban or rural and no preference on location.... All you've ruled out are small schools and ones that don't have pharmacolgy. My suggestion is to go to a college search website, and limit your search by plugging in Pharmacology as an intended major - most colleges have pysch and ed - and then limit it further by throwing out states that you know you wouldn't want to live in. </p>

<p>Further, I would visit colleges that appeal on paper and are within a couple of hours drive because once you start visiting you will probably fine-tune what you like or don't like about types of colleges. For instance, my son thought that he would like a technical college and that location didn't matter. After visiting Drexel he realized he really didn't want to live in a city. After visiting RIT, he realized that he also didn't want to pursue a technical major. </p>

<p>If you are in Eastern Canada, UVM might interest you. It has all three of your interests and one of the best college towns around. Good luck!</p>

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<p>Thanks everyone!</p>

<p>Your advises are really great. I will definitely consider some of the schools you mentioned. Enginedriver- I will look into that scholarship you mentioned. </p>

<p>I have tried several college search website and the ones that offer pharmacology isn't really great. The thing is, I want to go to a reputable school b/c otherwise, there's no point of me going to the U.S.</p>

<p>I know that my stats aren't stellar for ivy leagues so I probably don't stand a chance. I probably don't stand a chance for UC's either because I heard that it is really competitive for out of states students. Therefore, I really don't have much choices. </p>

<p>I just want to go to a top school that is quite reputable for the programs that I want to go into.</p>

<p>So far, from people's suggestions, I have these schools in mind:</p>

<p>1) Vanderbilt
2) UVM
3) U of Michigan?
4) Duke
5) Washington U in St. Louis
6) USC
7) Carnegie Mellon</p>

<p>Some ivies that I MIGHT consider (even though I probably don't stand a chance):</p>

<p>1) Cornell
2) Brown</p>

<p>Do you guys think I am on track? Any other suggestions?</p>

<p>Your responses will be greatly appreciated.</p>

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<p>I feel very bumpy</p>

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<p>Your class rank is your biggest problem, and will signal to some schools that the grading standards at your HS are not that rigorous. </p>

<p>A factor to consider is whether your HS has a track record of placement into top schools. Guidance can tell you. If it does, frankly, your GCs will be your best advice. If not, then yes, use these boards. </p>

<p>Keep in mind that the admissions process is pretty random. So, it is much better to focus on where you'd fit in, and much less on your stats. </p>

<p>One of the problems here on CC is the stats obsession. If only admissons were as simple as matching grades, test scores and ECs with colleges. Of course it is not that simple. Fit matters even more than stats. You need to visit and walk around.</p>