Not really sure where this thread should be, or why I'm doing it, but I need help.

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Some of you have seen my earlier posts and helped me in devising a college list. For about the past year now, I have been visiting CC off and on. During this time, I have learned a lot about the college admissions process. I'm not really quite sure WHY I'm making this thread for help, but I know that I sure need some college guidance. I'd appreciate POSITIVE feedback and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. I'm really putting myself out on a line here and I would like it if people didn't jump on me with negative comments. So if you don't know what the two all-caps words above mean, I'm asking you to PLEASE DON'T POST HERE. But for those that honestly want to help, MY EARS ARE WIDE OPEN. I'M LISTENING. IF YOU HAVE COLLEGE ADVICE, I NEED TO HEAR IT. My college advisor left me in the dust in March (she went on sabbatical for 6 months), and I won't see her until September, so I've basically been on my own with this college stuff.</p>

<p>I guess I would start off by saying that I'm not the typical CC over-achiever, but I am a good student who works hard to realize his goals. My grades aren't stellar, but that isn't to say that I don't study a lot. Oftentimes, my parents have to tell me to STOP studying. At the current moment, I'm working on my studying habits. My standardized tests aren't that great, either.</p>

<p>This is me:</p>

<p>-African-American male
-Will be a senior in the fall
-(And I'm actually NOT a first-generation college student like I thought (neither of my parents graduated from college, nor anyone else in my family, but my mom ATTENDED Chestnut Hill College in PA for about a year))
-Attend Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, PA (Quaker school doesn't rank students, calculate GPA, offers NO AP's, and doesn't give awards of any kind)</p>

<p>ACADEMIC TRANSCRIPT so far: (All grades are year-end)</p>

<p>+++++ENGLISH+++++</p>

<p>English 9: B-
English 10: B-
English 11: B+
English 12: (predicting B+ or A-, this is my strongest class and I'm going up)</p>

<p>+++++LANGUAGE+++++</p>

<p>French 9: C+
French 10: B-
French 11: C+
French 12: (dropping French next year so that I can take a year-long writing seminar instead. I'm genuinely interested in improving my writing, but this would also be a good way to get a higher GPA, seeing that English is easier for me)</p>

<p>+++++MATH+++++</p>

<p>Algebra I: C
Geometry: B-
Algebra II: C
Statistics: (honestly I think I'll get a C, but I'm shooting for a B. Obviously math has proved a roadblock for me in the past.)</p>

<p>+++++SCIENCE+++++</p>

<p>Physics: C (math based, no wonder. That combined with freshmen year.
Chemistry: C- (Didn't pay attention in freshmen year physics, and didn't realize that everything I was supposed to be learning in 9th grade would come back to haunt me in 10th. Although I tried hard in Chem, my goofing around in 9th kicked my butt come 10th.)
Biology: B-
Adv Biology: Next year I'm going to apply myself even more so that I can improve from a B- to a strong B+</p>

<p>+++++HISTORY+++++</p>

<p>Comparitive Cultures (aka. History 9): B
Ancient Euron History: B-
European History: B-
American History: I want to get that to a B+ or higher.</p>

<p>NEXT: Test Scores</p>

<p>SAT: Verbal 590, Math 520
SATII's: French: 470, Math IC: 540, Literature 580
AP Language: Still awaiting but expecting a 3</p>

<p>+++++Main EC's+++++</p>

<p>I'm kinda musically oriented, heh heh :)</p>

<p>GFS Upper School Chorus: 10,11,12 (only open to sophomores and above)
GFS Choir: 10,11,12 (only open to sophomores and above, but highly selective. Requires audition)
GFS A Cappella: 11,12 (EXTREMELY selective, requires audition)
Flute: 4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 (9 years total. Started out with classical, moved into jazz, now study on my own because of time conflicts with my singing priorities. Basically there's not enough hours in the day to study everything music.)
GFS orchestra: 9,10
GFS Upper School Jazz Band: 9
GFS Earthquake (school newspaper): 10,11,12 10,11 (staff writer) 12 (Head of News)
-And there's a lot more. </p>

<p>Well, I'm getting tired of typing at this computer. I'll put another post up later. For now, here's my list of schools (no real first choice, I read in a book that you should have 8 first choices):</p>

<p>Penn State U. (safety. Figure being in-state will help me, as well as minority status)
University of Pennsylvania (Ditto to above, except I know it's a huge reach)
Temple U.
Hampton U
Howard U (wanted some of the best HBCU's on my list)
Morehouse
Haverford College
Davidson College
Swarthmore College (REALLY BIG REACH like UPenn, Davidson and Haverford, I know)
St. Lawrence
University of Maryland- College Park
American University</p>

2

<p>bump please.</p>

3

<p>This is my completely unprofessional opinion. Just a peer thing. </p>

<p>First, I have to say it. Test scores. Take the ACT if you can (with writing---English appears to be your strength). Take the new SAT---that will only play into your favor, because you'll have the critical reading, the writing, and math. It will be 2/3 in your favor. If you can get your scores up into the 1100s (M + CR), you'd be playing from a better angle. Just get the Official SAT Guide from College Board (it is well worth your $20 or so bucks). It's blue. </p>

<p>I really like that you have a developed interest in music, not some random laundry list. I'm just curious, are you any good? Is this something you're looking at for a possible major or minor? Because if you are, I'd seriously reconsider the schools on your list. What do you want to do? </p>

<p>I'm not quite sure about dropping French. If you could improve your grades in French you'd show an upward trend. I'd just hate to see a developed interest all of the sudden stop in 12th grade. I don't know if there's any way you could do both the writing seminar and the French. I do understand your reasons for dropping, so that's just a thought. </p>

<p>Are you taking the hardest courseload in your school? </p>

<p>You have minority status, and your parents don't have much education. If you can strengthen your stats a little (I'm not talking 1400s here), you can really have colleges fighting for you. I know a black female who graduated from my high school two years ago, had strong stats (but was upper-middle class). She wasn't valedictorian or anything---just a strong student. She racked up over $450,000 in scholarships (like another black female who graduated a year before) and is now attending Washington University in St. Louis on a full scholarship. She also recieved a full scholarship from Emory, too. I think her SATs were somewhere in the 1300s, though. The girl before her had slightly lower SATs but still fulfilled a need in college admissions.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

4

<p>I would get something that's more of a safety than PSU man. You look alright, but honestly your grades suck. I would look at something like IUP as more of a safety. You don't want to end up getting rejected from everywhere (which I doubt would happen anyways, but look at some more safeties to be sure).</p>

5

<p>I think Hampton is a good choice for you & it is within your stats.
Its an HBC a very talented ( and beautiful) young lady from my daughters high school is attending next year
Frankly Swarthmore and Upenn seem way different than what is a reasonable choice. I really don't think you should be spending energy on them.</p>

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<p>Temple should be a safety</p>

7

<p>Listen, EuropeGirl, I really want to thank you for A) taking the time to read my long post and B) responding with a thoughtful post of your own.</p>

<p>As for some of your questions and comments...</p>

<p>"Take the new SAT---that will only play into your favor, because you'll have the critical reading, the writing, and math. It will be 2/3 in your favor. If you can get your scores up into the 1100s (M + CR), you'd be playing from a better angle. Just get the Official SAT Guide from College Board (it is well worth your $20 or so bucks). It's blue."</p>

<p>I already did. These are my highest scores after retaking it. Here's what I got on that: 580 Verbal, 550 Math, and 640 Writing. Now here's a question I have:</p>

<p>If I took the SAT before they changed it and got 590 and 540, then took it after they changed it and got 580, 550, and 640 would they combine all of the highest scores, so that my composite would be 590, 550, and 640? Or should I just take the SAT AGAIN, for a THRID time?</p>

<p>"I'm just curious, are you any good [at music]?"
Not to sound pretentious or anything (that's the last way I want to sound, but I want to tell it like it really is), but my music EC's are probably the best thing I have going for me. I pretty much DISCOVERED I could sing in freshman year ie. I had no idea before, but when I was made to sing in 9th grade chorus along with the rest of my class in the 9th grade musical, Damn Yankees, my teachers cast me as the lead, Joe Hardy. From there I've had pretty much every lead in singing-related EC's I've ever wanted. I am in love with college a cappella, as my sustained interest in my school's A Cappella group demonstrates. Having a good music program as a college option is defintely part of my criteria. Which reminds me! I forgot OBERLIN. That's been on my list for quite a while now, too. </p>

<p>Anyway, majoring in music is MOST DEFINETLY an option. I also have background in Music theory as well (I took beginning music theory in sophomore year and my endyear grade was a B+. I couldn't take advanced last year because of scheduling conflicts <strong><em>THEY SCREWED ME OVER ROYALLY!! I WAS SO </em></strong>ED WHEN I DIDN'T GET IN THAT CLASS THIS YEAR** But I'm ok with that now.</p>

<p>"Is this something you're looking at for a possible major or minor? Because if you are, I'd seriously reconsider the schools on your list. What do you want to do?"</p>

<p>As I said before, it's a big possibility for me. I have several recordings of me singing various solos in Chorus and Choir concerts. I have a DVD of my 9th grade musical (being the lead, I have several solos there). And I would say they are really good. But one of my biggest personal conflicts is deciding if I really want to pursue music or journalism/English in college. Or both? Would a double major at one of these schools be possible? What should I do? Any school suggestions for me?</p>

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<p>i agree with ieatglue about PSU main; from their website:
University Park Avg HS GPA: 3.48-3.89<br>
University Park Avg SAT Combined: 1170-1340 (this is the old SAT)
University Park Avg ACT Composite: 26-30</p>

<p>minority/in-state status will help, as well as applying early and a willingness to do summer session... but their biggest emphasis is on GPA/test scores.</p>

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<p>you are black with an 1100, I think PSU is a good match for you.</p>

<p>Get your first sem. grades up for PSU</p>

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<p>alright. great, now I know what PSU's looking like. Anything else to say about the other schools on my list? And also, I would like some suggestions for additional safeties. Thank you to all who are busy investing their time in this thread. I promise that I will get into college for all of you wonderful people.</p>

11

<p>is being in-state important to you, or is it more of a strength for your application to schools like PSU and UPenn?</p>

<p>also, have you browsed through the "art majors" forum? there's usually a few threads about music schools in there that might be of interest to ya.</p>

12

<p>how's this list looking so far? Does it sound about right?</p>

<p>American University (match/reach)
Davidson College (reach)
Hampton University (match)
Haverford College (reach)
Howard University (reach)
Morehouse College (safety/match)
Oberlin College (reach)
Penn State University-University Park (match/safety)
St. Lawrence University (no clue)
Swarthmore College (reach)
Temple University (safety)
University of Maryland-College Park (match)</p>

13

<p>"is being in-state important to you, or is it more of a strength for your application to schools like PSU and UPenn?"</p>

<p>I want to have a few local schools to choose from come spring '06, but I say "Bingo" to the second clause of the above sentence.</p>

14

<p>Some small schools with good English departments and excellent environments for music that are actively recruiting URMs: Skidmore, Lawrence and St. Olaf. Ithaca College might be worth a look, too.</p>

15

<p>You're pertty close to a match for St Lawrence IMO.</p>

16

<p>Skidmore is most likely a reach.</p>

17

<p>is there anything that could be a possible negative about SLU besides low diversity and the bad weather?</p>

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<p>SLU is a school I am looking into for my son. I don't know that much about it, but it seems very friendly, it has a beautiful campus, it is very sporty (D1 for ice hockey and D3 for everything else, with several nationally-ranked teams.) Don't know of other negatives besides what you have mentioned, other than remote location.</p>

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<p>I think you should definitely consider double majoring or major/minoring in English/journalism and music. I don't know much about the schools you're looking at, but students at other universities seem to support the double major, despite it's apparent work load.</p>

<p>P.S. You're lucky you're guidance counselor is coming back in September. Mine's leaving in September, currently taking it easy on account of her pregnancy. She's the only good GC at my school, and I was lucky enough to have her, but now she's leaving us at the worst possible time!</p>

20

<p>RBase07
It's a breath of fresh air to have someone post who is not an ultra-high-end achiever with 750+ boards and >4.0 GPA wondering if he/she has a shot at an Ivy.
You are an average student with below average grades (I calculate a GPA of 2.5) and average board scores who will be a match at an average school, and there are plenty of good solid "average" schools out there. Your minority status will give you an edge for many schools, especially coming from what sounds like a lower-middle class or lower class background. I appreciate the time you have spend describing yourself and asking for an honest opinion. So here is my two cents:
It's a fair bit of work to fill out an application, get all the supporting documentation and so on so I would strongly advise you to compose a realistic list of colleges that include mostly true "matches", 1 or 2 at the most "reaches" and 1 or 2 safeties. You second list is better, but it still includes far too many reaches. Honestly, I don't know how to factor in your minority status, but based on your grades and SATs I don't think that you are being realistic with your assessment of chances at the schools you list. For example, Temple is by no means a safety for you. If you look at their website you will see that your SATs are average for them (match) but they generally require kids to have a B average (GPA 3.0) and be in the top 40% of the class. So at best Temple is a match and probably a little reach. The average GPA listed for Morehouse is 3.2, so i don't think you can list that as a safety, but it might be a match given your whole picture. I just cannot see Penn State UP being a safety for you; you will be competing will minority in-state kids with better grades and similar SATs; I'm honestly not sure that it is a match for you. U MD College Park is not a match; they are too competive. I would look at their other campuses. Take a look at the book: "Colleges that change lives". There are colleges in there that are not so selective but are unique places. Don't be too phazed by the tuition. If someone accepts you probably will be getting enough aid to make it happen. But that is also something to research. Colleges to consider: Rutgers-Camden, possibly Rutgers-Newark, Penn State other than UP. Look in some of the guide books and find colleges with criteria that fit your GPA and SATs and/or that are least selective and have very high admission rates. The US News Guide is very good for this; it's got stats on all the schools listed by state.</p>

<p>Also, please keep in mind that matches do not mean you are going to get in. It just means that you match the average criteria for the kids that they admit. So that's why it's important to apply to as many matches as feasible. Still you may not get into any, hence why kids apply to safeties where their criteria exceed or are in the high end of accepted kids criteria. Your grades/GPA will make it hard to find a very comfortable safety other than a community college or non-Univeristy Park Penn State. Having said all this discouraging stuff, here is my recommendation to imrove your chances. You still have a semester to work your ass off and get some solid B's or even an A or so to show Adcoms that your prior grades are an underestimation of your potential. Your SATs are really significantly better than your grades and that may work in your favor as again showing that your prior grades did not show your potential. Your EC's are good but you are missing any community service. I see a lot of participation activities, but also no leadership positions. Can you do something to take a leadersip role? Work in the community. I think that is more attractive to adcoms than just partipating even if you do have talent. And the latter raises one last question. Have you thought about applying to music schools? If you really have talent, your grades will mean much less, especially at a school that requires an audition. What about taking the ACTs? Some kids seem to do better in them than the SATs. Most if not all schools do count your best score in each exam, by the way.</p>

<p>Finally, hang in there and do the homework, research necessary to find the right school for you. It IS a lot of hard work but you sound like a very motivated individual. You are going to go to college, get a good education and an opportunity to be successful at what you want to do. Don't get hung up on the prestige of a place (many of the colleges you are listing are quite prestigious, but consequently more selective than will work for you). Do take what people tell you (including me) with a grain of salt. I find that kids on this site tend to overestimate people's chances at admission. Parents tend to be more realistic but even then you HAVE to do your own research. The data I gave you in this note took a few seconds of net-surfing. Try to have fun with it. Again you WILL find a college right for you.</p>