Not necessarily a chance thread? A what can I do thread?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Well, this may be a bit premature. But after a few serious conversations with my dad about college, I decided to start my research. Even though my freshmen year is coming to a close.</p>

<p>Basically, I want to know, if possible, what exactly I can do to help my chances of getting into Brown University.</p>

<p>Brown seems to be a perfect fit for me. I'm a very independent student, so their system matches a lot of my wants/needs. I'm very liberal, I fit in with the general indie/hippie population as well as intellectuals. I don't want Greek life to be too dominant, I love the creative/artsy type vibe the school gives off.</p>

<p>I'm a white female. I live in Washington State. My dad never attended college. I don't know if that matters. My school doesn't ever send any students to an out of state college. This year, a girl got a full ride to Stanford. That has literally never happened. Most people go to community college, Western, or University of Washington.</p>

<p>I know, without SAT/ACT scores, it is going to be hard to judge. I just want to know if I am on the right track, and what I can do to improve my chances.</p>

<p>This year I took:
Geometry: A-.
Spanish II: A.
Drama: A.
Health/P.E: A.
Honors English: A.
Honors Biology: A-.</p>

<p>I'm going to be a member of National Honor Society.
I volunteer around ten hours a year through United Way, although I plan to become more involved over the next few years.
Next year, I will be in an audition only class for drama, which has several hours after school. Plus Drama Club itself. I also plan on joining the Arts/Writing Club at my school.
Over the next few years, I will also be putting in a lot of hours at a music venue that supports local art/music for around ten hours a month.</p>

<p>My GPA is around 3.9.</p>

<p>It feels like there is more can be doing. I want to get more involved with volunteering through United Way; a lot of their projects involved helping the environment, something that really interests me. Looking back at this, I have a pretty clear arts focus.</p>

<p>My schedule for the upcoming years is as planned:
Sophomore -
Honors English II.
Honors World History.
Honors Algebra II/Trig.
AP Physics.
Spanish 3.
Audition only drama elective.</p>

<p>Junior -
AP English III.
APUSH.
Honors Pre-Calc.
Honors Chem.
Audition Drama Class.
AP Gov&Politics/Spanish 4/Newspaper.</p>

<p>Senior -
AP English IV.
AP Euro.
AP Calc AB.
AP Biology.
Audition Drama Class.
Newspaper? Unsure, really.</p>

<p>Obviously some parts of my schedule, I am unsure of. Like my sixth class for junior and senior year.</p>

<p>Grades shouldn't be a problem. Next year is kind of my "test" year, because for a sophomore, that is pretty much as rigorous as a schedule gets. </p>

<p>By the time I graduate, I will have five years of math. It might be relevant. I don't know.</p>

<p>If I end up pursuing Newspaper, that could potentially become a large EC. </p>

<p>I just don't know if there is anything else I could be doing. My grades are up and have been up, but it feels like with such a competitive school, I need an edge.</p>

<p>Sorry if this isn't the right thing for this forum! And thanks for your time. Especially anyone who manages to read this.</p>

2

<p>I just wrapped up the college admission/selection process and my first piece of advice would be this: try not to be so set on ONE school. Even if you do end up with the stats to be admitted, there are many more qualified students than there are spots at Brown. It’s highly possible that you’ll get into, say, Columbia and Williams but not Brown. Or UChicago and Yale but not Brown. Combinations like that happen all the time. </p>

<p>I would pick a bunch of colleges with characteristics that are similar to what you like about Brown, and select a range of reaches, matches, and safeties. From the top of my head, some schools that have the vibe you’re looking for might be: Reed, Wesleyan, Vassar, Oberlin, Grinnell, Kenyon. Amherst and Grinnell both have open curricula like Brown (I think Amherst is less hippie/artsy though).</p>

<p>With that said, try looking through the Brown forums for threads about admitted students’ stats; that might give you some perspective on what you’ll need in the future. </p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

3

<p>That’s good advice! Thank you. When junior rear rolls around, I want to have more than just Brown on my list. I’ve looked briefly into Haverford, Swarthmore and NYU.</p>

<p>I was just wondering if there are any things I can begin doing to boost my application. So I will definitely peek around the Brown forum to see if that helps.</p>

<p>Thanks again!</p>

4

<p>Your schedule sounds good. Make sure to look for leadership positions and try to pick a “passion” that really interests you and do all sorts of EC’s on it. Start/join a club, do volunteer work, research if you can. </p>

<p>Also, and this is my biggest advice. WORK HARD ON THAT GPA haha. I’m sure that you already know this and a 3.9 is by no means bad, its good, you want to get that as close to a 4.0 as possible. Especially because your school sounds kind of weak, you need to be as close to a 4.0 as possible. Don’t settle for A-'s in classes if you cant help it. Really work hard for A’s. I dont mean to freak out if you get a B or and A-, some classes are really hard, but don’t fall into the trap that many kids do of “oh I have an A- so I’m not going to study for that test or do that assignment”. Always try your hardest. If you dont get an A its OKAY, but don’t get a B because you “didn’t care about that class or you hate that subject so you didnt try”.</p>

<p>Im sure you already knew most of this, just making sure =]. good luck</p>

5

<p>Great advice, thank you! I plan on joining Key Club (because I enjoy volunteer work) and GREAN (basically environmental club with a clever name) and I should be able to secure presidency in one of these clubs, or ARGO, by senior year. Definitely Argo and Grean Club. I’m also considering running for student government. Drama club is thus so far my biggest passion – and I will be putting in a lot of hours while producing plays. </p>

<p>I’m going to work on my GPA, too. Thanks! If I end up getting a 4.0 this semester, which is my goal, and do this through sophomore year, I should be pretty close to a 4.0 by the time junior year starts. As in, 3.97. Not perfect but pretty close. My personal goal though is a 3.95 since it is pretty much impossible for a 4.0 for all four years now.</p>

<p>Seriously, thank you so much for your time!</p>

6

<p>Your welcome, and a 3.95 sounds like a great personal goal. I wish you luck!</p>