<p>At the risk of completely destroying the sacred ritual that is chance me threads (!), I'd like to try to go about this a different way and paint a picture of myself the way I hope to be able to this summer when I start applying to colleges. So no long lists of every class I've ever taken or club I've been to a meeting for...but hopefully an accurate summary of me!</p>
<p>Service: from the inspiration of my disabled little sister, sophomore year I started volunteering at a school for children and young adults with cognitive and physical disabilities. Over the years, this school has become a second home to me, the place my car automatically drives when I have a free afternoon, the place I feel most like myself. To put a number on something completely immeasurable, I have volunteered over 800 hours here, between the 7-week summer program and hours I put in over the school year. The kids I have worked with over the years have grown so close to my heart that is difficult to imagine myself leaving them to go away to college next year. This is the main reason I would like to stay within the New England region next year, although I will still consider other schools.</p>
<p>Girl Scouts: I have been a Girl Scout since I was a little Brownie, and the girls in my troop will always be the girls I know I can count on through thick and thin. As a troop we have done countless service projects, earned vests full of badges, and gone on many a field trip, but the thing I will take away from this experience most of all is the lesson of empowerment we have all received from our fearless troop leader. I hope to have my Gold Award by the end of my senior year (the highest honor in Girl Scouting; the rough equivalent to an Eagle Scout), and I owe it all to the tight-knit community of support that Girl Scouting has provided for me.</p>
<p>Drama: during a typical school week, rehearsal is where I spend the majority of my after school time. Whether as Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream or stage manager for the spring musical, my current involvement shows a building level of dedication since middle school: getting the chance to play many diverse characters and "moving up the ranks" of crew positions, from operating spotlights and painting sets to assistant-directing and stage-managing. I have obviously gotten to know my director quite well over the years! She will be writing one of my letters of recommendation.</p>
<p>Commitment: coming from an extremely small private school where many choose athletics over clubs, once in high school I soon realized that several of the clubs I had loved in middle school were doomed to disappear unless they were taken into dedicated hands. I take my editor-in-chief position on the yearbook staff and my captain position on the speech team very seriously, not because these activities are necessarily ones I will pursue in the future, but because I know that I enable other girls to have certain experiences - going to a speech tournament or having a yearbook to sign in June - experiences I was lucky to have in middle school because of other high school leaders. At times I resent the fact that it is myself and two others who put together 90% of the yearbook, or that there is not more school spirit for the speech team, but in the end I am glad I have kept up these two commitments.</p>
<p>Still, I realize no "chance me" thread can possibly be answered without some mention of academics, so here are my stats, CC-style:</p>
<p>White female
Prospective chemistry major, followed by med school
Small private school with only 5 APs (I have taken full advantage of all of the toughest classes available)
School does not rank but I am confident I am in the top 2 or 3</p>
<p>SAT: 2280 (720 CR, 790 Math, 770 Writing)
SAT IIs: Math IIc - 750, Literature - 660, Chemistry - prepping over summer and taking in October, Spanish - taking in October
APs: European History - 5, English Lit & Comp - 4 (taking Calc AB, Bio, and Lang & Comp next year)</p>
<p>Awards: will be NMSF and hopefully NMF (232), gold medals (top 95 percentile) National Spanish exam each year</p>
<p>Finally, "my" schools (in no particular order):</p>
<p>Wesleyan University
Tufts University
Brown University (PLME would be amazing, though hopes are definitely not up!)
UChicago
Northwestern University (may apply to their 8-year med program as well)
Williams College</p>
<p>I think this list is reach-heavy and would love to add a few safeties but am having trouble finding ones with similar characteristics:
-Around 3,000-10,000 UG
-Preferably liberal arts feel but with a strong science presence (like Wesleyan)
-Liberal campus
-Preferably close to New England
-Must be coed and cannot have a religious affiliation</p>
<p>Thank you for reading this spectacularly long post, and I can't wait to have some feedback on my prospects for next year!</p>