US citizen at progressive private school in Seattle, Washington.
White girl from family of four with medically challenged mom.
Changed schools from freshman to sophomore year, but both were small & private. In the change I lost Physics.
Legacy at Sewanee but Sewanee is too small, remote, and conservative
Interested in psychology, neuroscience, criminology and intend to continue creative writing, songwriting, stand-up writing, and other creative pursuits for fun - would love a Barnard basement type situation where I can network with other creatives who will end up in production post-college.
All forms of GPA are 4.0.
School is ridiculously egalitarian, with no award system, rankings, valedictorians, AP classes. “All our classes are honors classes” and arts are not optional.
My class rank is probably top 5 out of 80 kids but there’s not way to tell.
At my school I’m considered/known as one of the best & brightest.
- ACT/SAT Scores: initial scores are 33, 1395, but intend to raise them via test prep.
Coursework
Spanish every year of MS/HS, calculus junior year (will decide between Statistics & Advanced Calculus for senior year), Humanities all four years, Chemistry is my favorite class, will have Advanced Physics senior year to make up for the school change, plus a ton of in depth arts classes.
No Awards at my school. Didn’t seem important when choosing a school in 5th grade. Seriously a bummer. Really would have racked up a bunch by now in a normal program. Not sure how to position myself as a highly-awarded leader in a school committed to anti-hierarchal egalitarian idealism.
Extracurriculars
Co-created a mental health interest group for supporting kids during and post-COVID quarantine.
Varsity Soccer (no plan to play in college)
Varsity Ultimate Frisbee (VERY IMPORTANT TO PLAY IN COLLEGE)
Seven Hills Ultimate Frisbee (“club” ultimate/selective)
Summers: 9: UW Robinson Center for Young Scholars - Geometry, 10: Sewanee Young Writers Conference, six weeks in France (probably shouldn’t mention it?) 11: planning to do Brown summer program in psychology and coach kids’ ultimate frisbee for DiscNW
Essays/LORs/Other
Letters of Reference will say I’m exceptional.
Essays will be excellent. Will receive coaching and consulting.
Cost Constraints / Budget
$70K will be a stretch but parents will do it for a stretch school. Parents will pay $30K for a safety school.
LOVED Brown, so much. Loved the student body, the campus, the idea-rich environment. Everyone seemed ENGAGED but not too status-conscious and loved that the campus was right adjacent to a city and a beach but set apart and safe.
HATED Hampshire. Crazy for COVID, anti-science, too isolated.
Sewanee too remote, too small.
Amherst too small, too typeA demonstrative (making sure everyone knew how hard they were working to be perfect.)
Could love Tufts, especially if I go pre-med and can apply to Tufts Med sophomore year.
Couldn’t stand the uppity, condescending, status-competitive environment of Harvard.
Excited to visit UPenn for criminology/high achievement, a common Venn diagram area which seems a bit rare.
Keep in mind my parents certainly plan for me to go graduate school given everything I would like to do with my life: either to get a PhD in antisocial psychology or an MD in psychiatry, or an MFA in writing. Or I could end up in a writer’s room writing for TV in LA. My mom was first generation college student from a teepee off the grid and cares a lot and my dad is from generations of grad students and Southern aristocracy. Education is their first priority.