Okay, so I caved...

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Location: CA, USA
School type: v. competitive public in the Bay Area.</p>

<p>SAT I: CR: 800, M: 760, W: 800 - 2360
SAT II: Math IIC: 720 (retaking), taking Bio & US History in June
Courses: Hardest courseload; self studied 1 AP last year & am going to do 1 more senior year. </p>

<p>Rank/GPA: School doesn't rank, but at least top 10%; UW ~3.89. 4.0 (UW) so far junior year, so rising trend for sure.
Courses for next year:
-> Wind Ensemble
-> AP Economics
-> AP Physics C
-> AP AB Calculus
-> AP German (or TA; I'm technically "done" with German)
-> AP English Lit
-> Robotics Team
-> Jazz Ensemble</p>

<p>APs:
Soph - US Government, 4 (self-study); German, 5 (non-native speaker; it was my sophomore year, and 2nd year of German)
Junior - Biology (5 expected: 85-95% of students who take AP bio at my HS get 5s), US History (5 expected)
Senior - Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism, Physics C: Mechanics, AB Calculus, English Language, Comparative Government (self-study)</p>

<p>Essays: Should be good; writing is one of my strengths and the English department is great with reading over essays, etc.</p>

<p>Recs:
Teachers - at least one will be fabulous, and I think I've got another couple great ones I could use
Counselor - very good
Supplemental - good; i'll be getting them from my work</p>

<p>ECs:
- Students for Barack Obama: California High School Deputy Director (summer after 11, 12)
- German Club (President 11 & hopefully 12)
- JSA (Secretary 11, first year of chapter. should be some kind of officer 12 as well)
- Big Band Jazz Ensemble (Lead trumpet, 11, should be 12)...we went to the Monterey Jazz festival this year, and are applying again for next year as well as for Essentially Ellington
- Ensemble Club (VP 9-11, should be 12 as well)
- Saxophone quartet (manager/tenor sax; since 8th grade)
- El Camino Youth Symphony (Wind orchestra: tenor sax 10-12; I'm auditioning for Senior Symphony on trumpet this year)
- MUN (05-07)
- Track & Field (JV 9-10, V 11-12)
- 3rd place local story contest (9).
- Work at the local Junior Museum & Zoo teaching science classes/summer camps to kids, including one currently to build a giant trebuchet (14' throwing arm. it's AWESOME). For summer: Counselor (summer before 11), Assistant Director (summer before 12): this position is usually reserved for college students. I'm going to get a rec from my boss here, which should be great.
- Community service: >100 hours (probably approaching 200) from working at CMEA band festivals & CITing for my camps (8-10).
- Robotics team (12), which generally goes to FIRST Nationals.</p>

<p>Other accomplishments:
- NCTE Nominee (11 and hopefully winner! I sent in my packet this afternoon :-D)
- AATG National German Exam (Level III 10, 96th %ile, Level IV, 99th %ile 11)
- Internship at Stanford in the Political Science department (end of this school year & again in the fall)
- Eva Cohen award for German (10)
- Dep't awards in Science (10), Social Studies (10), & Foreign Language (German 9), and we don't know for (11) yet.
- Trumpet (7 years); CMEA festival band (11), auditioning for State & County (12)
- Saxophone (4 years); All-NorCal Honor band (11), auditioning for State (12)
- Senior Editor of the Partisan Review (school political journal 12), Associate Editor (11)
- a couple others I can't think of off the top of my head
- unique experienceish: I work at my local Junior Museum, and I'm teaching a class to build a large trebuchet (14' throwing arm) with about 7 kids. </p>

<p>My top 2 schools are Yale (EA) and Oxford (the one in England). I'm also considering Princeton, Wellesley, Scripps (if you know Scripps, do you think I've got any shot at the JES scholarship?, Pomona, Colby, London School of Economics (maybe a couple more UK schools in there too) Tufts, and perhaps (though not very likely) UMich. Chances? Oh, there's a 99% chance that I won't be applying for financial aid, if that changes things at all.</p>

<p>I also obviously need some safeties; any ideas?
I'm leaning towards the LAC end of the spectrum, and unless it's for Claremonts, I don't want to stay in California. I'd prefer co-ed, but I visited Wellesley and fell in love with it, and Scripps is one of the 5Cs, so it doesn't matter that much. I really want to go to the East Coast, and I need a school with a strong study abroad program, especially one that lets you go outside of the school-sponosored Study Abroads, because I really want to study in the Netherlands. I'd like to double major (if at all possible) in International Relations & Molecular Biology. </p>

<p>Thanks for any advice you can give me!</p>

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<p>Definite shot at the JES scholarship, but make sure to show interest and apply by the scholarship date (11/1, I believe). </p>

<p>You should have a fighting chance pretty much anywhere if you play your cards right. One tip is to find a better way to organize your accomplishments. There are definite themes and trends, but the list you provide here feels scattered and overwhelming. Better organized, it could really show off your achievements and paint you as "well-rounded" rather than "all over the board."</p>

<p>I would also think that Stanford would be worth your time if you have any interest in another CA-exception/reach. But the diversity of your interests will serve you well at Claremont and I'm told is a major plus at Stanford, as well. Aaanyway...congrats on your accomplishments :)</p>

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<p>Thanks, Student615! I've been reading your Scripps posts, and they're getting me really interested in the school.</p>

<p>I'll definitely keep the "well-rounded" thing in mind; that sounds good.</p>

<p>I'd consider Stanford, except I live in Palo Alto and there's no way I'm spending another 4 years here. :-) Not to insult PA; It's a great town, but I need to get away for a while, at least.</p>

4

<p>Totally fair...I'm from NorCal and felt similarly about staying north. I find the Claremonts perfect, distance-wise. I'm close enough that I can fly home to see my little sister in the school musical, but far enough that I'm definitely still getting the "away on my own" experience. Good luck, again :)</p>

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<p>Wow, I would say very good chance at the JES, but I got tired reading all your ECs. You are very accomplished in many areas, but I was overwhelmed reading the list. I'm not sure what you are passionate about. Is it music, German, robotics, politics?</p>

<p>I think you stand a chance of Scripps thinking they are a safety for you, so if you are really interested you will need to make that clear.
I think you may risk getting rejected or waitlisted at some of your safety schools because of the "Tufts Syndrome":
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yield_protection%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yield_protection&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Scripps also has a full tuition scholarship called the New Generation that I think they only offer to 1 or max 2 applicants per year.
"The New Generation Scholarship provides for four years of full tuition, room, board, three roundtrip airfares home each academic year and funding for one summer research stipend to be used during the student’s time at Scripps."</p>

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<p>Sorry if it's a little off-topic, but on Students for Barack Obama -I created a chapter recently for my high school. It'd be wrong to mention names on here, but I might have gotten an email from you. Not too important here though, but you'll have to let me know if it's ever possible to get more involved anywhere.</p>

<p>If anything, retake the math IIc SATII. You already are, but even so. It wouldn't be a problem, except maybe when being considered as an applicant for molecular biology.</p>

<p>As Student615 says -you've got everything there, just try to structure it. You're pretty strong in terms of involvement in politics. You've got the position in SFBO, an internship in the polisci department at Stanford (I didn't know those existed, honestly), MUN, JSA, and you're fine with foreign languages. Same for science.</p>

<p>I'd love to go to Yale, too. And I really don't have much to say on chances, you're stronger than most.</p>

<p>As for schools -I'd tell you to look at JHU, but their undergraduate IR program isn't so cool. Or actually, the graduate IR program is the best in the nation at the moment (and the departments got it's own campus in the middle of Washington D.C.), but I haven't heard a lot about undergraduate. I believe the IR UG department gets put on a separate campus, although I just tried to verify that, and couldn't find anything addressing it.</p>

<p>But if you ever consider grad school, JHU's pretty amazing there. I'm not sure how easy it would be to take courses in biology with IR, given that the graduate program has a separate campus in D.C., but they're huge in biology and research.</p>

<p>Tufts is extremely solid in IR, and the location's nice.</p>

<p>Plus, you're not looking at Georgetown? Or would you prefer smaller, since you don't mind liberal arts colleges?</p>

<p>Also, you want to go to England?</p>

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<p>I went to visit Georgetown and just didn't click with the vibe. </p>

<p>I want to go to England because I feel like studying international relations from a non-US point of view would be extremely beneficial for expanding my worldview, because I love the PPE program that Oxford offers (/LSE is an amazing school for IR), and because 1/2 my family resides in the UK (the other half is in NL; I'm a first-generation American): it's home. I'm planning on living in Europe for at least some time in my life. :-)</p>

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<p>If that's the case, then definitely apply to those.</p>

<p>Honestly, even then, I'd take Yale over those, as well as Tufts. I'd visit Tufts though, if you haven't already. I move a lot, I was close to Pomona -it's amazing. It won't offer you too much in the way of IR though, although political science would be perfectly functional as a major (and you'd still be able to take the courses you want to).</p>

<p>The prestige carries over anywhere.</p>

<p>This isn't really a plug, since I don't go there, but again, I'd recommend looking into JHU. Besides being in D.C., they've got programs with Sciences Po (huge in Europe, although you'd have to learn French) and in Bologna.</p>

<p>Actually, Princeton stands out -you'll have to make it into the Woodrow Wilson school though, as a junior, for it to really be worthwhile. So you'd have to go through another admissions process. Even so, they've got the greatest IR professor (well, arguable, but not by very much) in the world, Robert Keohane.</p>

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<p>I visited Princeton & Tufts on my February East Coast college trip. I really enjoyed Princeton (especially the Eating Club system, which one of my best friends hated...oh well, personal preference, I guess!), especially the Woodrow Wilson school. My few hesitations re: Pton were that 1) it's yet another top-end school on my already top-heavy list, 2) double-majoring seemed to be rather looked down upon, and 3) Woody Woo is a huge draw for me, but there's an application process involved, as you say, so one of the major upsides is conditional upon being in the top half or so (at least, that's what the adcom said about the % of students admitted into Woody Woo junior year) of Princeton students applying for a particular major, which makes it much less likely to actually happen, thereby decreasing it's overwhelming attractiveness in my decisions as to where to apply. I'm still interested in Pton, but I prefer Yale, though with Princeton having eliminated its ED program, I guess that doesn't much matter anyway. </p>

<p>So, a couple new questions, if you guys don't mind (you've been great!):
-> What's a good way to convince a less selective school you're interested in them and not be harmed by Tufts syndrome? Is going down for a visit enough of an indication, or does this require writing extra letters, etc? Would turning in my Scripps app by November/applying for the JES be enough for this?
-> I feel like my list is still very top-heavy. Any suggestions for safety schools I should be looking into?</p>

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<p>Well, I don't know whether or not Scripps has a tendency toward "Tufts Syndrome," but I would think that applying for the JES scholarship would alleviate any trouble. The deadline is so early that your interest and on-top-of-it-ness would be obvious. Part of the point of merit scholarships is to entice students who are very well-qualified and likely have admissions offers from multiple competitive schools, so it would be pretty counter-productive to turn those students down :p</p>

<p>Scripps in particular has an essay that asks why exactly you're interested in the school. It's an excellent opportunity to show interest...just be sure that you've given the question some thought so you can get away from run-of-the-mill answers.</p>

<p>That said, the original advice was still very good. It absolutely never hurts to express interest.</p>

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<p>Here is the question from the Scripps Supplement:
“How did you first learn about Scripps College, and why have you chosen to apply?”. </p>

<p>Have you done an overnight at Scripps? That might show more interest than a visit with campus tour. It could show them that you are really trying to figure out if you will fit in at Scripps. If you don't have time for an overnight before Nov 1st, they will be having their Preview Day on November 9, 2007 and many girls spend the night before. </p>

<p>You may already know this but if you are a JES finalist you will be invited for a weekend in February 2008.</p>

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<p>Oh, and just FYI, I think this year there were over 500 applicants out of 1900+ total applicants who turned in their applications by Nov 1st deadline at Scripps to be considered for merit scholarships.
But I think you will be in the top tier of those applicants next Fall.</p>

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<p>Thanks, everyone
kcpdmp: I'm planning on visiting/overnighting in the fall, as 2 good friends of mine will be there (one is currently in Ireland for her junior year abroad, and the other will be a freshman this coming fall). :-)</p>

<p>The Scripps info is great; it's really nice to see such a supportive group of people here on CC!</p>

<p>Aside from that, does anyone have suggestions of safeties/match schools I should look into?</p>

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<p>@heerothewizard </p>

<p>Princeton does not allow you to double major. You may only be conferred a degree in one department, but you can also complete certificate programs in various academic areas as well, with certificates being much more involved than a typical college minor, but less so than a major.</p>

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<p>You can of course use UCs as safeties. You're very likely to get into colleges on the level of Colby.</p>

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<p>wow</p>

<p>awesome academics. excellent proficiency in a brass and woodwind instrument. athletics politics. etc....</p>

<p>Although its not guaranteed for anyone, I think you're guaranteed in at least 1 of the elite schools you apply to. You are definitely special.</p>

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<p>If you want to study international relations, you must, must apply to Tufts. Georgetown (which you didn't like), Tufts, and Johns Hopkins have the foremost programs in the country for undergraduates. In fact, their respective IR grad schools are all stronger than Woodrow Wilson at Princeton. If you know what you want to study you should really go to the schools with the best programs in that field.</p>

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<p>lolabelle: I'm definitely applying to Tufts! :-). Is JHU's undergrad good? I've heard great things about the grad school, but I thought that it was a fairly seperate entity located in DC. Is the undergrad up to par?</p>

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<p>SAIS, JHU's IR/IS grad school is, indeed, somewhat of a separate entity, as it's in D.C. and JHU is in Baltimore. However, the undergraduate program is still very strong. I personally think Gtown ad Tufts' programs are a little above JHU, but that doesn't discount it by any means whatsoever.</p>

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<p>lolabelle: I hate to bug you again, but you seem like you know what you're talking about with regards to undergrad IR! :-). I'll definitely look into JHU, but my impression is again that that's not exactly a match/safety school for anyone. Know of anywhere with decent IR (& bio hopefully?) that'd be a good safety?</p>