<p>Hey guys this is my first post so I would just like to say hi to everyone. I have a somewhat interesting background/story but my gpa has not been as high as I would like so I was wondering what schools I could get into.</p>
<p>Well lets start off with my early childhood, I grew up in what many people would call a ghetto area. I am an African American with actual African heritage; I am a first generation American. My parents are from Kenya and I grew up learning both Swahili and English simultaneously. I actually was more fluent in Swahili up until the age of around 6-7 where I became a lot more comfortable with English. If you talked with me now you wouldn't even think I knew another language. I am also a Muslim and learned to read Arabic at a very young age and can read and recite it well, although I couldn't hold a conversation with a native Arabic speaker. During the 5th grade my parents were able to buy a decent home in the suburbs away from the area we used to live so I could go to a better school. This area was pretty much the polar opposite of what I grew up with. </p>
<p>I finished elementary school and my first year of middle school there. Then new school zoning moved me back into the ghetto area since I lived on the edge of the suburbs. I basically went back to what we tried to leave. Middle school was rough and in order to not become a “target” I started hanging with the wrong kids (Which ended up having a negative influence on my academic performance). These schools have what you would call a “you’re either with us, or against us” atmosphere and anyone who was different or tried in school was pretty much bullied heavily. I had pretty bad grades in my last year of middle school. Then fortunately I was able to go to the main suburban High School. To put in the perspective of how different the two areas were, you could pretty much fit all the white kids in the middle school in one room and you could do the same with the black kids in the suburban high school.</p>
<p>Once I started high school my bad habits followed me into my freshman year and into the first half of my sophomore year. I was actually very bright but failed to apply myself due to my past environments. I was very much a “closet nerd”. I read heavily in my free time and was into computers. I actually built a computer from scratch when I was 13 and started programming when I was 14 (I used C++, Java and Visual Basic). So right after the first semester of sophomore year I decided that in order to have a good future I needed to improve my grades and start to apply myself. My grades shot through the roof during my second semester and I ended up scoring a 105% on my history final, the highest grade my teacher had ever seen a student score on it. At one point the vice principal even came to congratulate me on my drastic improvement. When it was time to pick my classes with my counselor she wasn't sure how smart I really was, she only knew me on paper and couldn't understand my grades. She asked me what I wanted to do for next year. I told her I wanted to prove anyone who doubted me wrong so I enrolled in 3AP classes for junior year. I was contemplating on taking more but wanted to stay on the safe side.
During the summer after my sophomore year I started to take a heavy interest in 2 activities, soccer and finance. At this point I have been playing soccer on a recreational level since about 5th grade, I just played for fun with my friends and never took it seriously. </p>
<p>During the summer I started to watch professional games on TV and became fascinated with it. I started to improve at an alarming rate. I also became heavily interested with investments and finances. I read many books on finance and investments and then started to trade on the stock market daily on the largest virtual stock exchange. I became pretty good at investing and started making profits. My parents then allowed me to use E-Trade to actually trade stocks. I started using it every day and watching the markets during the mornings and early afternoons. Then I would play and watch soccer in the evenings. By the end of the summer I was brimming with excitement for junior year. I will try to wrap this up as quickly as I can, so basically I had to stop trading during the school year since the trading hours are during school so I started playing soccer even more. My grades were decent and I had a B or higher in every class except math. Math became my Achilles heel since my current match class was all based on math I was supposed to have learned in freshman year. It is having a huge blow on my GPA which has now dropped to a 3.2 because of it. I was given the option by my counselor to drop the class and retake next year so it would be removed off my GPA. I decided against it because having to retake it again would look bad on my senior year. Anyways I became a very good soccer player and at one point the Varsity coach saw me play once and said I would be guaranteed a spot on the varsity team next year if I go to tryouts. I enjoy playing with my friends so I said I might, but wasn't sure. This summer I am honored to be attending training with the Real Madrid academy for about a month in Spain. To those that don’t follow soccer it is the equivalent of training with a team as big as the Lakers, Yankees and cowboys combined. It is currently ranked as the second biggest sports team in the world. I am also going to Kenya with a charity organization to help my countrymen. </p>
<p>I want to be able to go to a good school but I feel as if my past grades will hinder my ability to make it. From the PSAT’s and practice tests I have taken it looks as if I will get a 2000+ on my SATs, and I plan on taking a class right after I take it and try again to receive a higher score. And my gpa is around 3.2 with math and 3.6-7ish if I took it off.</p>
<p>Dream Schools:</p>
<p>Upenn
Carnegie Mellon</p>
<p>There are a few others but those are my top 2, they are my “dream schools” because I don’t think I would make it but would love to attend either one.
I also have been thinking of a plan to go to CMU in Qatar. They have a school based there and I love the country. It is extremely beautiful and wealth and due to my Muslim background I would feel very comfortable with the lifestyle. Is it easier for a American to get into a school abroad? I have never really thought about it before. I am contacting the admissions office there in a few days.</p>
<p>EDIT: I also aim for a MBA in the future specializing in finance. Which is why I targeted the schools above. And I do not want to play college soccer although I probably would be able to. I also have 2 AP teachers willing to write me glowing recommendations.</p>
<p>What would you guys think about my chances to get into a decent school or the ones I mentioned above?? Feedback is greatly appreciated!!!
Sorry for long length!!</p>