not so much of a "chance me" but I NEED ADVICE!!

Pre-College Issues Summer Programs
1

what I have so far(I’m a junior in high school)
GPA: 3.9
ACT: 33
EC: student council, math honor society, national honor society, science national honor society i also take college classes at my community college.

colleges I want to go to so far: brown university, Princeton University, Swarthmore College, U of M, Georgetown University, Williams College

ethnicity: African American female
others; I live in a poor neighboorhood and I’m poor as well ( income is 12k)

I’m not looking for anyone to chance me ( if you want to you can), I know that admissions to the ivy league are like a lottery and I don’t mind. I’m currently worried about my extracurricular activities. I can’t seem to find something that I enjoy. I moved to a new school and seem depressed since then so i guess it reflects but I don’t know what to do.i was thinking of applying to internships but I also want to go to summer camp. which should I choose?

2

While summer camps can be fun, pursuing an internship or finding a meaningful leadership position will be far more useful when applying to top schools. Your extra-circulars right now are something you should continue, but you will need to find a way to pursue something that ties into your intended major. In order to be competitive at top schools, unfortunately, you can’t really “waste” your summers, you have to actively seek an activity that will adhere with your application. My aunt is a reader for Harvard, and says that the primary applicant they are looking for knows exactly what he or she wants to do and has found ways to explore his or her interest. Most of all, find something that you like to do; there is no point in putting in all the work if it doesn’t yield any enjoyment on your part. Good luck!

3

I think you should consider what some of your fit preferences are, because the schools on your list are quite different:

Brown: Laid back socially and somewhat academically, open curriculum, urban (though not a huge city), coastal, happy.

Princeton: More intense than Brown academically, senior thesis requirement, eating clubs dominate the social scene (sort of Princeton’s “Greek” scene), suburban/small city feel; very rich, old, and steeped in tradition.

Swarthmore: A LAC (smaller classes but fewer majors than U’s), as academically intense as it gets… hard and a ton of work. Quaker Consortium. Suburban. Very liberal overall, probably even moreso than Brown.

Georgetown: Famous for IR/gov’t, posh DC neighborhood, proud basketball tradition, gov’t internships galore, warmer than the rest, urban/big city, Catholic though not typically in your face.

Williams: Another LAC, verrrrrrrrrrrrrrry rural and a tad isolated, tutorials available, less socially awkward than Swat, fall colors, lots of school spirit for a LAC.

Michigan: Quintessential midwestern sports, research and academic powerhouse. Easily the largest school on your list. A mix of the Midwest and Northeast culturally. Mid-sized city. Awesome college town.

What kind of academic and social vibes are you looking for, what kind of setting/environment do you prefer, what might you be looking to major in, and have you run the NPC to see if these are affordable?

Also, admission to these is highly competitive, so make sure you also choose a few matches (for you, that’ll be schools with 20-45% admit rates where your stats are competitive) and safeties (>45% admit rate and your stats are in the top quartile). Make sure that each school you apply to offers what you’re looking for and is affordable – run NPC to make reasonably sure of that.

It is possible you could be happy at any of the schools you listed – I just wanted to bring some of their relative differences to light as a reminder of how different they are from one another.

4

Way to go! Looks like money is an issue, so your best bet is to go for a scholarship or go to a private school that offers generous need based financial aid. The ivy schools offer the best aid, but unfortunately, you can’t count on getting admitted. Right now, your stats could get you a scholarship at Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, LSU, and LA Tech. As another safety net, you could get very good need based aid at Baylor, TCU and SMU.

5

Look at Questbridge, both the college admissions matching program (comes with a full ride) and the summer program. https://www.questbridge.org/high-school-students

6

should I send my psat score which is a 950

7

No, not if you have an ACT score of 33.

8

I want to major in business administration and I think I thrive mostly in small colleges. do you think these are a fit for me?

9

A few things to think about: How important is it to you to return home frequently, or would you prefer not to? If that’s not important to you, then maybe look at colleges further away, too. Geographical diversity is often desirable to a college and may be to you as well. Also, getting a summer job is also helpful for business admin, as you’ll learn a lot, and it doesn’t look bad on a resume at all–in fact, some colleges will see that as very desirable. Or maybe seek out business organizations outside of school, if you’re not quite finding your groove at the new school. Try to fit in some time for reading books that relate in some way to your major or career interests. Good luck! It looks like you have the ambition you need to succeed!

10

Apply through Questbridge- see if their summer scholars program is still accepting applications.
Other colleges to consider: Wellesley, Barnard, Middlebury, Colby, Carleton, Macalester, Pomona, Hamilton, Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Penn Wharton (<= that last one because, why not- as long as you have a good math background).
At these colleges you can major in anything then move into a business position.
Your big chalenge is going to be matches and safeties that meet your need, ie, offer full rides for stats. Matches would be ‘competitive full rides’ and safeties would be ‘autolatic full rides’.