My final chance thread ever!!!

<p>This is my final list of colleges in order of preference:
UNC at Chapel Hill
Penn State University-University Park
Virginia Tech
Boston University
James Madison University
American University</p>

<p>Double major of journalism and business (or political science)</p>

<p>Residence: Virginia (suburb of D.C. in NOVA)
CLASS OF 2014
Public high school that offers IB Program, only 1 AP course offered
SAT: 1990 (CR 620, M 680, W 680) superscore
ACT: 32 composite (33 M/R, 31 E, 29 S, 9 Essay) in one sitting
Weighted GPA: 4.28 (no ranks or uw gpa but it would most likely be 3.96-4.0 range)</p>

<p>Freshman/sophomore year- all As in all honors courses (I will have six maths by the time I finish HS, 4 social studies, four english, 5 foreign language, 4 sciences)
*Sophomore year took AP U.S. Gov/Politics, A for course and 5 on exam</p>

<p>Junior year final grades:
IB Math SL I---A-
IB English HL I---A
IB HOA---A
IB Physics I---A
IB Business SL---A (already sat for exam and probably got 6-7)
IB French I---A
Journalism 3---A</p>

<p>Senior year schedule:
IB Math Studies SL
IB English HL II
IB Topics HL
IB Bio SL
IB French SL II (will probably switch to HL)
IB Business HL
Journalism 4</p>

<p>*Not a full IB Diploma candidate, going for individual course certificates</p>

<p>ECs:
Student newspaper (print/online 9, 10, 11, 12)
freshman year-staff writer promoted to staff writer during second semester
sophomore year-copy editor
junior year-opinion editor
senior year-editor (highest position on staff)
*The publication, both online and print, has been recognized at state and national level</p>

<p>This summer I have an unpaid internship opportunity at a local publication where I can publish stories and get bylines</p>

<p>"Taking Flight Mentor" (11)
only 150 juniors/seniors selected, mentor freshmen once a month during transition to HS</p>

<p>Newseum Student Advisory Team (11, 12)
one of 30, DC area students selected, work with Newseum to give feedback on exhibits to improve experience for kids my age; student ambassadors</p>

<p>Summer camp volunteer for students in grades 1-6 at local school. 1 week for 37 hours
9: junior counselor - assigned one teacher and assisted students in completing teamwork related tasks.
10: promoted to counselor - monitored twenty-five fourth graders throughout the week to ensure safety, learning, and fun.
11-12: Leadership Intern - monitored twenty first/second graders and mentoring a Counselor in Training, tracking her progress as she prepares for Leadership Intern role.</p>

<p>Tutor ever Saturday for two hours during school year at local community center (10, 11, 12)</p>

<p>Awards:
-All “A” Honor Roll (9, 10, 11)
-Awarded first place (placed in top 25) at school science fair (9, 11)
-Awarded second place ribbon in chemistry at regional science fair (9, 11)
-Received academic letters for maintaining a 3.8 or higher GPA (9, 10, 11)
-NHS and French Honor Society (10, 11, 12)
-Quill and Scroll Honor Society (11, 12)
-Received Precalculus Math Award from math department (10)
-Awarded the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program Certificate (10)</p>

<p>Essays: Already started them! I have some unique events and hardships that have really shaped my attitude/perspective about life and my passion for writing/journalism</p>

<p>Recommendations: I have a great relationship with my counselor and all of my teachers, many of whom I've had multiple years in HS</p>

<p>UNC at Chapel Hill - high match/low reach (only because OOS)
Penn State University-University Park - safety
Virginia Tech - safety
Boston University - safety
James Madison University - safety
American University - safety</p>

<p>Why are you not doing the full IB diploma when you’re doing all the courses? Do you just not want to do CAS or EE?</p>

<p>I also think you would have a good shot at some of the top schools. If you’re passionate about journalism why not give Medill at Northwestern a try?</p>

<p>My school makes it extremely difficult for people in newspaper to do full diploma. I wasn’t allowed to take TOK after school this year (like what people doing music can do)–my school is trying to cut the amount of classes afterschool TOK has. It goes either every Monday or every Wednesday from 5-8 p.m. So I ultimately decided against the full diploma and just continued w/ IB courses because I love to learn. I can wholeheartedly focus on all of my classes that I am very interested in without trying to meet the requirements of another program.</p>

<p>I visited NWU a few weeks ago and didn’t get the feeling I had when I visited UNC, PSU. It was a consideration! </p>

<p>Thanks for your help!</p>

<p>You’re welcome! That TOK schedule does sound awful. I just wondered because a lot of kids at my school do certificate instead of diploma for the reasons I mentioned. Best of luck to you!</p>