Need Some Direction, Suggest Colleges/Majors w stats

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I have no idea what I want to do/where I want to go. I dabble in a lot of things:
Digital Art
web Design
Photography
Music (LOTS of music, involved in all ensembles at my school and I gig with my own band weekly)
I have an interest in computers in general (programming, hardware) but I'm not proficient.
Physics fascinates me. sadly, I'm not very good at it.
So does philosophy, but I have no idea what I could do with it.</p>

<p>I have an interest in many things but I don't have one thing that I can do exceptionally well. A jack of all trades, if you will.</p>

<p>I have a couple dreams but I don't really see how i would make them happen.
I've always wanted to:
Start a record label.
Design music software (like Protools)
Have a successful career as a performer in the music industry. (This is unrealistic. But it's the one thing I would love the most.)
Work in the field of robotics. (Not some cubicle job, I want to be on the cutting edge of design)
Cybernetics (sci fi kind of stuff. Brain implants, things like Kevin Warwick's Project Cyborg)
Study abnormal psychology.
Study the mysteries of the universe.
Design video games.</p>

<p>I mean, there's so many things that I want to do, and not enough time. It absolutely horrifies me to think of working the same job day in-day out for the rest of my life. Some majors I've been looking into are Computer Engineering (but once again, I DO NOT want to be grinding away in a cubicle.), Music (I would love to have music as a career. However, there is a high chance of failure and I certainly don't want to struggle the rest of my life either. I'm experiencing the struggles of low income right now and I don't want to transfer that over into my adult life.) Philosophy (What the heck would I even do with a degree in Philosophy???), Psychology (Fun, but if I get bored with it, what careers would be available to me?)</p>

<p>I want to have an idea of what I want to do before I enter college. I don't have the money to dabble around at school for over 4 years because I couldn't decide on a major. Plus, knowing my major would greatly help in the college search process. I just have no focus or direction right now.</p>

<p>Well, here are my stats: (I'm currently a junior in high school)
Student:</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Black
Gender: F
Location: Grandview, MO
College Class Year: 2015 (I graduate in 2011)
High School: Public
High School Type: rarely sends grads to top schools (My school doesn't expect anyone to even attend college, let alone a top college. At my school, of the people that somehow manage to go to college, only 8% graduate. The rest all drop out. It's horrendous.)
Will apply for financial aid: Yes (My family's yearly income is about 15,000 right now I think)</p>

<p>Academics:</p>

<p>GPA - Unweighted: 3.90
GPA - Weighted: (Haven't got my semester grades yet, but there are only two weighted classes at my school and I'm taking both.)
Class Rank: 1
Class Size: 273
AP: None. My school tried to offer them this year, but it was canceled because I was the only one who signed up. I'm studying on my own to take some AP tests this spring though.
I'm also going to try and take classes at the community college this summer too.
Scores: ACT:31 (That was my first time, I'm retaking it in the spring.)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Significant Extracurriculars: Jazz Band
Marching Band
Yearbook Writer
Leadership positions: Marching Band - Section Leader
Athletic Status - list sport and your level: Girls Golf - Varsity
Volunteer/Service Work: Tutor adults in math
College Summer programs: Missouri scholars Academy (top 330 students in the entire state)</p>

<p>Hooks: Well, I'm not so sure about this one. I'm not exactly a first generation college student (My father has a masters in Aeronautics) but he hasn't exactly been around for the last half of my life. I'm being raised by my mother, who on the other hand attended college but did not finish.) I'm pretty low income, but that's not really enough for a hook. Also my school is severely underfunded and I have pretty much prepped myself for college. I don't know if these are good hooks or not.</p>

<p>Would I be eligible to be considered for admission to some of the top colleges?
Also, any other colleges someone could suggest for me would be pretty helpful
(Whew. Sorry about the wall of text!)</p>

2

<p>I always forget how ACT scores compare to SAT, so I will leave it to others to say exactly what your chances are, but it seems like the number 1 student with a 31 ACT could at least think about top schools. Brown --with the opportunity to take art courses at RISD --would be interesting. Some of your interests sound like Carnegie Mellon. Don’t worry so much now about what it turns into as a major or career. Also look at liberal arts colleges—their purpose is to allow you to explore a lot of things and give you enough attention from professors to put it all together. LAC’s like Oberlin and Wesleyan might have more music/art emphasis. Check out Amherst, Middlebury etc. for top notch liberal arts.</p>

3

<p>Congratulations on being so involved in developing your future. You would be a great addition to just about any campus. With your diverse interests a liberal arts college would give you access to many different course offerings (though they might be light on the technical comp sci types). As far as Philosophy, they become critical thinkers who transition well into business and law. </p>

<p>I would make sure you look at schools that meet need without loans: [Student</a> financial aid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“Student financial aid - Wikipedia”>Student financial aid - Wikipedia). How did you do on the PSAT? Any chance you are a NMSF?</p>

4

<p>Congrats. My understanding is that a 31 ACT is about a 1380 SAT (CR+M only). Your recor will give you lots of options. You have very diverse interests, which is great. I would encouarge you to seriously think about LAC where you explore your different fields of study and also be an environment where you will feel supported and not lost in a crowd (especially in light of your high school background). There are tons of great schools with curriculums for you. The following 7 should be on your list. </p>

<p>Amherst <a href=“https://www.amherst.edu/admission/student_blogs/video[/url]”>https://www.amherst.edu/admission/student_blogs/video&lt;/a&gt;
Carleton [Carleton</a> College Admissions Video](<a href=“http://studentobserver.com/2009/11/23/carleton-college-admissions-video/]Carleton”>http://studentobserver.com/2009/11/23/carleton-college-admissions-video/)
Haverford [Haverford</a> College Office of Admission: Admission Videos](<a href=“http://www.haverford.edu/admission/videos/]Haverford”>http://www.haverford.edu/admission/videos/)
Oberlin
Smith
Wellesley [YouTube</a> - Wellesley College Admission Video, Part 1](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVkIWJRqNfs]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVkIWJRqNfs)
Wesleyan <a href=“http://www.wesleyan.edu/virtualtour/[/url]”>http://www.wesleyan.edu/virtualtour/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Visit their websites, view their videos, read about them in the Fiske Gude (the best college guidebook, IMHO).</p>

<p>Also, you should definitely be looking into the Questbridge program. See [QuestBridge</a> Home Page](<a href=“http://www.questbridge.org/]QuestBridge”>http://www.questbridge.org/)</p>

5

<p>A few sites that might help you is collegeboard.com, princetonreview.com, essayforum.com, students review.com - these are four sites used to register for SAT (collegeboard), get some practice tests and get help with essays (essayforum) and find universities to attend (students and princetonreview).</p>

6

<p>What state are you in? A lot of state schools are very underrated. Are you interested in a big, frat party, football campus or a non-traditional artsy-type school? If you live in New York, there are a lot of both. Sorry if I don’t know a whole lot about other states.</p>

7

<p>Wow, compelling story. With your stats, rank and hook (ethnicity), you seem like a strong candidate for any college.
Brown and Amherst (as well as any other colleges w/ no requirements) would give you the opportunity to study whatever you want. Yale is also a great choice, considered the “artsy” Ivy League (by some), you would have the opportunity to dabble in design and photography.
Agreed with most of the schools mentioned above, as well. Strong liberal arts schools seem like a solid choice.
But really, you have a solid shot at anywhere you apply.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>