Overwhelmed and Confused

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I have been reading these forums for a long time and I have finally decided to ask for some help. I am completely overwhelmed by the college application process. It is not the work load but rather the questions it is forcing me to ask about myself. Here is what I know:</p>

<p>Location: I would prefer the Pacific Northwest or California. I am willing to try other places.</p>

<p>Size: I am looking for medium or large. I am a sociable person who likes to get involved. I am not worried in the least bit about get lost in the crowd. I would like to avoid the high school atmosphere. (Basically eliminates all small schools)</p>

<p>Price: Price is a moderate concern but if I were to get into an expensive school, I could afford it through loans and stuff. It would not be easy but it would be doable.</p>

<p>Social: I don’t want a total party school and I don’t want a workaholic school. I do want a hard workload but I also want to have some time to get involved in the school and the community.</p>

<p>Interests: I like working with people. I could see myself in business or psychology. I am not set on either. I have not decided my major. At the same time, I am interested in technology. I am talented on computers (web development, and all the skills it encompasses). I am talented at theatre production. (I am extremely knowledgeable about sound technology and applications. I have been doing it for 9 years. I am good at set design, carpentry, electrical manipulation, and some lighting design concepts. I consider myself very resourceful.) I am an Eagle Scout. I feel this explains a lot about my personality and ethics. I like working outdoors with extreme sports and adventures. I enjoy Sky Diving and Scuba Diving (extremes in altitude). I am trained in first aid and survival. I also do a lot with pioneering in scouts and in theatre (Counterweight fly system). I am hesitant to major in anything theatre related because of the unstable job market. I could do movies or television.(I realize the marketplace is not much better). I am also very involved in my school. I enjoy leadership and providing entertainment for my peers. The latter is key.</p>

<p>School Religious Affiliation: I would prefer not to go to an overpowering religious school of any denomination. I am Jewish but I don’t see myself at a Jewish school.</p>

<p>Personal: my peers respect me. I walk a weird line of being friends with the most ‘popular’ people as well as the ‘nerdy’ people. It is common for me to stay out late with my ‘techie’ friends and then wake up early and spend the day with a cheerleader. I apologize for the use of such labels but I can’t describe my friends any other way. I have high morals which I struggle to explain to my friends. I am bright but not brilliant. I am by no means dumb. I find I am outgoing and creative. I don’t really fit into any mold.</p>

<p>Other: When not doing my usual activities I enjoy being with my friends. We try to find something new to do every time we are together. Two examples of this include a Slurpee drinking marathon on free Slurpee day at 7-11 (142 oz each) and a nerdy 9 hour wait in front of the movie theatre (in full costume) to watch the final Star wars on opening day.</p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>White Male</p>

<p>I currently have two occupations.</p>

<p>I work at a Performing Arts Center as a stage technician. I have hundreds of hours of experience in technical theatre. I have been promoted two times. In addition, I work seasonally at Nordstroms as a Men’s Shoes Salesman. Promoted from stock boy through hard work and commitment.</p>

<p>I started a dot com business that has hundreds of members.</p>

<p>I also started a non-profit drive in movie theatre to provide free entertainment in my area for my peers.</p>

<p>I have hundreds of hours of community service. (Mostly for school)</p>

<p>I raised 10,000 for my school last year through class events I organized.</p>

<p>I have been making similar progress this year but most of the money has gone to Katrina and Rita victims. And rightfully so.</p>

<p>Leadership roles I have held and awards I have received:</p>

<p>ASB Officer six consecutive times.
• 7th grade representative
• 8th grade representative
• ASB president (9th grade - Junior High School)
• Sophomore Triad (Class president)
• Junior Triad (Class president)
• Senior Troika (School president)</p>

<p>(For better or for worse I have had 10 consecutive semesters of the Leadership class.)</p>

<p>Eagle Scout - highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America. The rank is the culmination of a lifetime in scouting resulting in learning and demonstration of the Scout Oath and the Scout Law in my everyday life.</p>

<p>All Around Knight - voted by students of Junior High 9th grade as person who most represents the best aspects of the school</p>

<p>Outstanding Community Service and Personal Achievement - The Lions Club</p>

<p>Excellence in Technical Theatre – Junior High Drama Department</p>

<p>Schooling:</p>

<p>I go to a competitive high school.</p>

<p>Top 25% in class rank</p>

<p>GPA 3.66 unweighted</p>

<p>SAT: between 1850 and 1950 (just took the SAT but I studied for it excessively. I took enough practice tests to be able to judge my score fairly.)</p>

<p>Classes:</p>

<p>(My school district doesn’t give A+ or A-)</p>

<p>Junior High and sophomore year: (competitive classes with B+ and mostly A)</p>

<p>Junior Year</p>

<p>AP US History (A, B+)
Honors English (A, B+)
Advanced Algebra (A, A)
Chemistry (B+, C+ stupidest mistake I have ever made)
Spanish 2 (B, C second stupidest mistake I have ever made)
Leadership (A, A)</p>

<p>(Note: the C+ and C are the lowest grades on my transcript. Everything else is B+ and A. I was overwhelmed with family stuff and too many activities outside of school. Those grades drive me crazy. Second semester of junior year was the worst time to screw up.)</p>

<p>Senior Year (Grades expected)</p>

<p>AP Government (B+ to A)
University of Washington Composition (B+ to A) (College and High School Credit)
Business Entrepreneurship (A)
Pre-calc (B+ to A)
Physics (B to B+)
Leadership (A)
Independent Study- Technical Theatre (A) (Extra class taken outside of school)</p>

<p>Recommendation letters should be very strong.</p>

<p>Essays are creative and strong.</p>

<p>Odd Fact:
I don’t have the nose sensors that detect the smell of bad milk. Quite unfortunate.</p>

<p>Conclusion:</p>

<pre><code>I don’t see myself having problem getting into most schools. I don’t want to go to Ivy League or similar schools. I expect to apply to UW and USC for sure. Everything else is in the air. If anyone could recommend any schools that might be right for me it would very much appreciated. Feel free to ask me more questions. Thanks.
</code></pre>

2

<p>You might want to consider Tufts out in the northeast, though it is near-ivy in status (as is USC to some extent). We have an excellent theatre program that probably could use your talents as well as strong psychology for liberal arts. It still might be a reach though with your class rank. Do you have any SAT IIs? You'll need 2 of 'em.</p>

3

<p>Question: will you go on a date with my daughter? JK</p>

<p>You sound like a great kid. I really liked the details you posted about yourself. You invited us to know you, not just your stats and accomplishments, and you picked specific, interesting, personal things. Based on your post, I suspect your essays will be strong.</p>

<p>Technical theatre can be an "entree" into many interesting schools. Several kids posted about this last year. I wish I knew more... but perhaps you should search old threads for "technical theatre." These will often be schools that have big performance depts and need kids to do all the tech for their productions. (Schools like UCLA, Carnegie Mellon, Emerson, NYU? maybe pm soozievt.)</p>

<p>I would suggest Whitman as a school in your area that you might like. It has an outdoorsy component and nice, down to earth kids. </p>

<p>The size is not necessarily what makes a place feel "high school"-- for example, I would classify some of the kids I know at USC (that's some, not all) as very "high school" in attitude. So I suspect you might like some Liberal Arts Colleges that attract an interesting, diverse population of kids. In your area that could also be Reed or Lewis & Clark. </p>

<p>If finances are a question maybe also apply to some state schools and schools that would give you merit based aid. Again search old threads for these ideas.</p>

4

<p>You are unusual on this board with strong ECs and more modest scores and grades. I for one will be very curious to see how schools treat this. I would try CMC and other Claremont schools, Santa Clara and Pepperdine.</p>

5

<p>I'd say look closely at Whitman and Occidental...</p>

6

<p>I appreciate your quick replies. The last couple days have put me at ease a little bit. I realized I need to capitalize on my assets. I am not as brilliant as some of the people on this website but I do have a lot of important things going for me. I will keep you informed with my progress.</p>

<p>Snuffles – I am taking the SAT IIs in Nov. Math 1 and US History</p>

<p>SBmom – Thanks for you honest reply. If you think I am something special, meet my older brother he goes to Brown. Good advice telling me to find old threads. I will be researching that shortly.</p>

<p>Suze – I think you highlighted my best asset, I am unique. Good call.</p>

7

<p>You may want to check out the University of Puget Sound and you mentioned the University of Washington, which may be ideal.</p>

8

<p>How about Lewis and Clark College in Portland? It's not that small, and has a graduate school. I think that you are a great candidate for any school. How about UCLA? Since you are interested in the entertainment industry, maybe you should at least consider some New York City schools.</p>

9

<p>Here is a link to one of the tech theatre threads. There are quite a few. I think PMing one of these knowledgeable theatre parents would help you find out which schools value your EC & work experience in theatre:</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=33960&highlight=technical+theatre%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=33960&highlight=technical+theatre&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I also have another idea for you. Check into some of the SAT optional schools, or other schools that emphasize the whole person aspect of admission. You might even be the type to like Deep Springs, a very unique place. (SAT optional schools are listed at <a href="http://www.fairtest.org%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.fairtest.org&lt;/a> and include schools like Bowdoin that might be a great match for you.) </p>

<p>Your job will be to break out of the statistical chains & show your personality and dimension in your essays & interviews.</p>

10

<p>I really encourage you to check out Santa Clara University. Though it's Catholic, it's got no overwhelming sense of it. I looked for a college which would fit my personality and we seem to have a similar one. Santa Clara really likes leadership and morals, and if you're interested in business or tech (as indicated by your dot com EC) it's hard to beat the location. Anyway, we seem similar and that is my number one school, so I thought I'd recommend it. Where else are you applying? I, too, am applying to USC, though I prefer Northern California (thus, SCU and Stanford as my reach).</p>

<p>Also, thank you for posting such an interesting, refreshing, down-to-earth profile! After hundreds of relentless stats reaffirmation requests (Yes, yes, a 2390 will be acceptable to Stanford...) it was nice to find a personality. Good luck with all your college searches!</p>

11

<p>The last two months have been very hectic. I can really appreciate the idea behind the common app. If I have to transcribe my transcript into another web form, I will cry. Nevertheless, looking back on the experience I feel that I have learned a lot about myself. I am more confident than before because I know I have accomplished a lot and more importantly helped a lot of people along the way.</p>

<p>Thesettlingsounds – I am glad that people are still reading my post two months after writing it. Thank you for your honest reply, I read these forums also and I am empathetic to your cause. It is interesting you mentioned USC and SCU because I am applying to both of them. In regards to your last sentence, I hope that’s how the admissions people think. I sincerely wish you the best of luck in your college pursuits.</p>

<p>THE LIST (Dramatic Tone)</p>

<p>Brown University (ED) - (Reach, I am hoping they accidentally file my name in the admit pile. I love Brown’s undergraduate program)
Tufts University - (Reach, I first heard about this university from snuffles. I looked into the school and I was really interested in its entrepreneur spirit. The school is a great fit)</p>

<p>USC - (Reach, Overall it might be my best fit school. I really like what I see.)
University of San Diego - (Good school as well as good feel.)</p>

<p>University of Washington - (Home state, It has been on my list since I was born)
Santa Clara University - (Good school, I have some buddies who go there and after talking to them I like the feel. It sounds like this school gives you what you give it.)</p>

<p>I am not looking for anyone to comment on my chances with this list. I have heavily researched it and I know the odds. I simply posted it because I felt some people were interested.</p>

<p>To anyone still compiling his or her list, I highly recommend checking out <a href="http://www.studentsreview.com/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.studentsreview.com/&lt;/a>. I found that every university website made them sound like Disneyland. Studentreview instead has honest feedback. Be especially mindful of any negative feedback that you read about the school. It is important to weigh both sides before understanding the university.</p>

<p>So far, my interviews have gone well. I have my USC interview in a couple hours.</p>

<p>I am done with all but one of my applications. I am finally reaching the light at the end of the tunnel and it’s marvelous. Soon I will be able to sit back, manage one more semester of high school and wait for the college’s replies to arrive. Thank you to everyone who has helped me on this forum.</p>

12

<p>FunkyD, Thanks for the update.</p>

<p>If you like Brown (I am an alum) you would probably like not only Tufts but also Wesleyan & Vassar-- two schools that are quite close to the Brown vibe and have lots of cross-applicants. Both take common app.</p>

13

<p>I'm glad to hear your college process is coming to an end and that you were able to gather a comprehensive list. It takes time but every time I send in an application, it's incredible. I wish you the best of luck in return!</p>

14

<p>So where did you decide to go, Funky D?</p>

15

<p>I would suggest taking a road trip and visit as many PNW schools as you can. We've been to just about everyone and it is spliting hairs between them as far as who's good and who's not so good. We found just about everyone had some appealing quality. </p>

<p>Look at finanical aid and merit offers, how far away from home you want to be and the community where the college is located.</p>

<p>Mine chose Linfield and Willamette. Mostly for the size (both colleges are smaller than their HS) and community and finanical aid offered. The one at Linfield has had a ball doing just about everything a college kid can do. The other graduates tonight and if everything falls just right, should leave Willamette after four years with no debt. </p>

<p>But again, take the time to go to campus. It's so important.</p>

16

<p>I'll be attending the University of Washington next fall. I am really excited about it. Thanks to everyone for your help and good luck next year.</p>

17

<p>Congratulations! You chose a great school. You will indeed love it.</p>