My parents don't know anything about the college scene. I need advice!!!

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>HELP!!!</p>

<p>It's so overwhelming that I think I'll cry! It seems like everyone has parents who know about colleges or have friends who can give them (and their children) advice. Tonight, when I told my mother that Harvard/Y/P was an Ivy League school, she asked me what "Ivy League" was...</p>

<p>Yes, we're Chinese. No, that doesn't mean she knows. I totally respect my mother because it's been so hard for her to raise me on her own without knowing that much of the English language. (My parents came here without much finanacial support from their families, and my father passed away from cancer when I was 13.) But gosh, I don't know how to make all these college decisions all by myself!</p>

<p>So I've basically studied due to self-motivation through my academic life... yes, it fits the Asian stereotype perfectly. This past year (junior year) I've had to work constantly after school to pay for stuff such as car insurance, cell phone, just pocket money really. None of it gets saved up because I can't. I'm not a shopaholic. But yeah. When all of my friends took Testmasters or Driver's Ed, I was out working.</p>

<p>That's my background. I need advice. Okay, my school is extremely competitive (well, the top quarter of it is competitive). We have over 850 kids just in class of 2006 alone.</p>

<p>Currently, I'm ranked #2 out of this 850 odd students.</p>

<p>However, I've managed to dig myself a little grave and got a B for the semester in AP Spanish Language. (The teacher was out most of the time, yet somehow we got grades for all the nothing-ness that was assigned.) I blame part of this on my working until 8pm on school nights. Yet I managed to pull up all of my other grades in AP classes, just not this one - that I blame on the teacher.</p>

<p>Other stats</p>

<p>SATI old: 1550; 760V, 790M
SAT new: just took it this June
PSAT: 223; 80CR, 76M (missed ONE! darn scale),... the rest is writing which I screwed up.
SATII (GAWD I WISH I HAD STUDIED FOR THEM!)
Math2c: 760... yeah...
USH: 720...
Chinese w/list: 780
Chemistry:... 680... this is where the studying would have helped.</p>

<p>GPA 4.76 or 4.77W, unweighted... whatever it is with straight As through all of high school, and that one B in Spanish junior year.</p>

<p>ECs
FBLA - won first at state a few times, district, attended many leadership conferences, including nationals
Academic Octathlon/Decathlon - regional winner for Honors category overall in Octathlon. didn't make deca team this year. I suck.
Academic Challenge - aka Quiz Bowl
UIL Math competitions
Key Club, NHS, Spanish HS, HOSA, MuAlphaTheta, all that stuff
I'm not an officer of any of that. Most school club officers do absolutely nothing anyway.
Summers volunteering at library, two hospitals at once, UT Medical School, currently internship program at Baylor College of Medicine.
Piano since age 7.</p>

<p>Schools that I am considering</p>

<p>Brown - joint med school program
Columbia - just because. prob something medical too
Stanford - well... it's Stanford
Berkeley
Rice - Rice/Baylor program
Middlebury - totally random, but I like it
UChicago
Princeton
UT Austin - Honors program</p>

<p>Okay I think that's all. I've sure typed a lot about myself. But hopefully, someone will read this and get a sense of who I am and which colleges should suit me. I know my standardized test scores are less than stellar, but I'll have a serious arsenal of AP tests/classes.</p>

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<p>try for uva. since i think ur out of state, it would be tough. but they have this university achievemetnt scholarship or something like that . they give full rides to 50 students who have show difficulty, minorities, single family household, and stuff like that</p>

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<p>Oo I've never heard of that scholarship. But right now, I just want to narrow down my current list because I don't want to apply to ALL of these places. And I don't know on what basis with which to narrow it. I wish I could visit them, but I've got that Baylor deal everyday, and traveling costs more money...</p>

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<p>uva is appreciated by everyone.. the campus i mean. try to visit it sometime. its like number 22 or something also in the us rankings</p>

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<p>First thing I think you should classify the choices into safety, reach and likelies.</p>

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<p>I dont see how any of those schools would be out of reach. You have outstanding stats.</p>

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<p>well maybe Princeton and berk if you are out of state may be a challenge. Raise your SAT II scores.</p>

8

<p>Besides Princeton and Stanford, I think you have a good chance.</p>

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<p>ur sat 2s are fine...</p>

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<p>To find out about the night life scene at any college visit</p>

<p><a href="http://www.thecollegenitelife.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.thecollegenitelife.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>I'm definitely taking Chem and Math2C over again. Problem is, I don't know my scores from the June SATI yet and don't know if I need to retake that as well.</p>

<p>Right now, I want to apply Stanford SCEA, Rice interim, UT regular...
The rest... I'm having some trouble on. I think I'll take away Princeton, Berkeley, and Middlebury xP.</p>