Please Chance Me (New Extracurriculars)

Chances at Ivies (Particularly Princeton) and Other top schools (especially Georgetown) for an IR major.

Stats:
Unweighted GPA: 3.79
Weighted GPA: 4.27
ACT Score: 30 (This was my first try, taking it again and aiming for at least a 32)
Class Rank: Top 10%-- 72/732, but that is subject to change of course

Extracurriculars:
Varsity Football (Decent, but not recuritable)
Varsity Track (Same as above)
Communications Officer in School Cultural Club,
Tutor at local elementary school
I also tutor struggling high school students
National Security Language Initiative for Youth scholarship recipient. I will go to Morocco on a State Department scholarship to learn Arabic this summer and will return fluent in the language as a result (it is highly selective and very intensive)
Work around 15 hours a week at Old Navy
Member of Model UN
NHS

Current Course Load: Honors Physics, AP Biology, AP Language and Composition, Honors Pre-Calculus, Government, Latin III.

*Senior year I will be taking all AP classes, except for one, art, because it’s a requirement at my school.

Caveats:
Fluent in Arabic (expected)
Black Male
Quadruplet
(I guess I could incorporate these things into my essays)

Misc:
Not Disadvantaged
Upper Middle Class (but will still need lots of aid)

Major:
International Relations, Economics, Arabic, Near Eastern Studies

While you’re definitely a strong applicant, the large majority of everyone who applies to schools such as Georgetown and Princeton are also strong applicants. I think it could go either way but trying for a 32 or higher on the ACT could be beneficial. I know you tutor but I would suggest a little more community service possibly. The Arabic intensive program is a definite plus. Good luck!!

You’ll need at least a 33 for Georgetown and Yale likely at the very least a 34. You’re competitive for both if you can reach those scores, but I would also try to find some matches and safeties as right now your schools are reaches for everyone. If you want to study IR maybe look into American or GW which would be good matches for you and both have good programs and are in DC.

Bump.

@hssenior27 That’s bollocks. There is no cutoff. People at CC need to realise that.

@hssenior27 what do you mean there is no cuttof? Cutoff for what?

Sorry I meant to at @inshm2016

Just want to say, I wouldn’t say you’ll return fluent in Arabic unless you already have a significant level of Arabic proficiency already. You’ll get to be a low/mid-intermediate, or advanced intermediate at best, but by no means fluent. The Foreign Service Institute categorizes Arabic as a class III language, meaning the FSI estimates it takes 2200 class hours to have professional working fluency (categorized as a 3 on the Interagency Language Roundtable Scale (ILR, scales 0-5, 5 being fluent). This will take you to just a bit above halfway to native-like fluency (a 5 on the ILR).

While NSLIY definitely is a major accomplishment, don’t get ahead of yourself by saying you’ll be fluent in Arabic. Rather, say you expect to have an intermediate level of Arabic proficiency (an alumni said that NSLIY was roughly the equivalent of a

@Faultystart You’re right of course, I already have some Arabic knowledge–but by the end of the program I won’t be fluent. But I imagine I’ll be proficient enough to operate on daily basis in Arabic if the people I’m talking to are patient or sympathetic towards those trying to learn the beautiful language. Also, did you finish your post? It looks like you cut off at the end there.

@NikkuWadde I meant to delete that part, oops!

Bump. Anyone else have thoughts?