Loser from hawaii, help guys

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Ive lived in Hawaii all my life except for the few baby years I spent in Vietnam. I was born there and im still a resident, parents didnt yet get citizenship. I live with a single mother who makes probably 20k< a year and two siblings, one at UH manoa paid full in financial aid. Were basically pretty poor but its managable. Parents never finished grade school.</p>

<p>As you may know, Hawaii has almost the worst education in the nation. Kids here are just too chill and laid back you know? I mean were on a rock lol. Looking at CC has really killed me. I dreamt of attending Stanford or Georgetown and had UH as a safety school. But damn the kids on here are really amazingly smart and well-rounded. I couldnt even rise too their level if i tried, because my school doesnt even offer many of what they can take in the mainland.</p>

<p>So the breakdown is, I can only take 2 APs (eng&psy) next year because that is all that is offered for seniors. My junior offered AP eng too but I chose reg english because i was taking eng and psy at a nearby community college. Im one of the few students who were in this dual credit program. So i have my 12th grade eng and ss credits, but im taking the APs for fun...because learning is cool haha. I also cant take calculus because the class was dropped due to enrollment dropping and less students interested in taking the class. My school are full of underachievers and I cant transfer to private school because its too late and I cant afford it for nothing.</p>

<p>Yet I still feel super inferior because cc people have 8APs and 5s on the exams. I had no idea what AP exams were before I went on here. YEAH thats how secluded I feel. :(</p>

<p>I had 4.0 freshman and 4.0 junior year unweighted. Sophomore year mightve been 3.4 or something... I went through personal issues, dealt with family conflicts, depression, and partied my problems away.
Junior year i put myself back together and here i am, on cc, tryna buckle myself down this summer and figure out what i really want.</p>

<p>I plan to major in international relations, in hope of possibly working with the feds. I am also bilingual so thatll benefit something i guess. Btw i took jap1 in 9th grade but they didnt give me jap2 the following year so that screwed me. I chose to not continute jap after because my memory wouldnt be so fresh. My senior year I will be taking 2 semesters of spanish at the college so hopefully thatll do for lang reqs.</p>

<p>These are what im pulling out of my butt right now so lemme try think.
My stats arent bad compared to students in my school but dead nothing to yall on here ughh..
GPA (uw): 3.8
Rank: Top 5%
SAT: 1700 (**** i know i didnt take it seriously after the first hour, retake def)</p>

<p>EC, no specific order:
- vars soccer 3 years (co-captain, possibly captain next year)
- vars cheer 1 year
- student gov (fresh treas, soph vp, senior vp, school community council rep)
- nhs 1 year (president)
- transformation club 2 years (president, religion associated, awesome)
- best buddies club 2 years
- audio/visual club 1 year
- interact club 1 year (because they cancelled the club)
- Its academic Hawaii (quiz game show)</p>

<p>Awards:
- Honor Roll 4 years
- Completion of L.E.I. Internship Program 3 years
- Advanced Guidance Departmental Award
- MVP Girls’ Varsity Soccer
- OIA East All Star Honorable Mention
- KHS Alumni Association Spirit Award
- Bulldog of the Year</p>

<p>Community service: There is a lot of random ones I do because our community is small and loving so theres lots to contribute
- ASK Service Projects (Various Sign-waving Activities [Rally for America, Pedestrian Safety, Attendance Awareness, Support Japan], Make a Difference Day, KHS Campus Clean-up, Marathon Dinner Service, Ohana Festival, Lantern Floating Festival Hawaii, Pennies for Patients, Hawaii Bank Food Drive (Chair), Teens for Jeans (Chair).
- Palolo District Park Summer Fun (Junior Leader, Teach arts/crafts, sports, dance) 2 summers
- Mutual Assistance Association Center (Assistant Manager, Tutor Children, Organize files) 2 years, put thousands of afterschool hours into it
- I also had a job for 1 entire year from 10th to 11th grade. Reason why i fell off the cliff in 10th grade.</p>

<p>But there you go... Im really sad because my transcript doesnt look as great as yours. No honors or tons of APs. Well rounded, but i didnt do research at a university or nothing amaze balls. All I can say is high school has been the best years for me. I explored different things and found myself through the people i associated with and the things I did. I am also very into the whole social scene because connecting with people is great. I can truly say I am passionate about what I have been doing and what I will continue to do, I hope colleges will be able to bypass the restrictions I have here. I tried to maximize and do with everything offered. Dont get me wrong, Hawaii is freakin awesome haha. Beaches, weather, people. I just wished I was exposed to more opportunites and challenges.</p>

<p>So my question is, what do you think? I basically wrote an autobiography lol. But yeah, do give me an analysis of everything. A long one please!! Much love :cool:</p>

2

<p>I’m not sure what the question is here. This is the chances forum, so are you asking for chances for some goal?</p>

<p>That said, you should know a couple of things. Admissions officers don’t expect you to take AP’s that are not offered at your school. You will not be penalized for not taking classes not available. They will look to see how hard you worked and if you took the most difficult program based on what is offered.</p>

<p>So you went dual enrollment and showed your capability and ambition, good. But it is concerning that you are planning to take ap psych which is a repeat of what you took last year at college, and the English as well, assuming that it is the equivalent too. You get no bonus points for repeating courses and it is very odd indeed, weak. You should be expanding your areas of study to new subjects or advanced topics once you have covered the material in one class. Since calculus isn’t offered at school can you take it at the college, if you feel prepared?</p>

<p>Be sure to read the SAT section, there are some pinned threads with good coaching on how to improve your scores. That can be really critical for you.</p>

<p>You might like to talk about your community and your role in it as an essay topic. Be sure to make your essay much more focused and succinct than your post here!</p>

3

<p>Stanford and Georgetown have nothing to do with each other, except they both offer a lot of bragging rights, and they are both ridiculously expensive. Being able to afford college should be weighing heavier on you right now than going to a top tier university. Why don’t you look at trying to attend such a dream school for graduate school, after you’ve proven yourself more at an affordable undergrad program? Also check into soccer scholarships. For your international studies degree, were you considering adding another language as a minor or dual major? Maybe choose another Asian language to add to what you know, and then look for universities that offer that language. Since you want a government job, the feds are looking for people with very specific language skills – to be precise, these languages: [NSEP</a> | Boren Scholarships | Boren Scholarship - What Languages Can I Study?](<a href=“http://www.borenawards.org/boren_scholarship/languages.html]NSEP”>http://www.borenawards.org/boren_scholarship/languages.html). You will be in high demand and have a better shot at a top university for grad school if you first choose a university for your bachelor’s degree that is very focused, includes study abroad, that does not put you into a lot of debt, and that has peers in your classes that you can compete against for the top grades. Think long-term.</p>

4

<p>You live in Hawaii not Vietnam, and you’re complaining? Instead of complaining about the school system, you should appreciate what you’ve ben given.</p>

5

<p>@sosomenza</p>

<p>I absolutely appreciate my opportunities in America. God has blessed me for sure. These words were the results of some type of pressure and not being able to sleep…</p>

6

<p>@brownparent</p>

<p>Sadly I am not able to take more than one college course per semester. Im on a scholarship and my mom cant afford it. Taking ap eng and psy are my only options to challenge myself as of right now. Its either that or get half-day as a senior</p>

7

<p>@mommyrocks</p>

<p>Yeah I agree…
The most reasonable option for me right now is uh manoa. But stanford is my dream college so its hard to get over it. Maybe I could get a pretty hefty amount of FA, and ill try my best for scholarships. If not, it would be much smarter to attend an affordable school. Thank you for your input.</p>