please don't be mad but...

<p>it's a chances thread. SORRY! i know swarthmore is a long shot but i really like it. and i'm excited to take classes w/ phil weinstein but my stats especially gpa and rank just aren't very good. </p>

<p>GPA:~4.0 weighted (my public HS is top 2 or 3 in cali) my unweighted is 3.68. um...my ranking is 100 something/300 something. i know. i know. but most of my b's are in math/science area. </p>

<p>APUS: 5
AP Bio: 4 (I thought this was okay until I looked at the AP forums!)
AP Calc AB, AP Lit, and AP Spanish Senior year.</p>

<p>SAT I: (only taken once in March, waiting for retake in Dec.): w: 740 cr: 800 m: 670
SAT II:
Lit: 770
US Hist: 770
Math IC: 580 (ouch, long story) shoud I take the IC so as not to leave this blemish on my record? my math is shaky at best.
Writing: 790</p>

<p>Extracurrics:
School newspaper (Section Editor)
National magazine:Served as political correspondent by attending New Hampshire primaries and writing articles on politics)
Soundings School Literary Magazine
ASB (Head Commissioner of Newsletter)
Mosaic Newspaper
Cupertino Historical Society
Stanford Sociology/Psychology intern
Children’s Discovery Museum
Sedgwick Autistic Program (Received Outstanding Service Award)
Yang-Ching Chinese Percussion
Studio 10 Dance
Fong Art Studio
Grail Family services (Illustrated children’s novel to promote literacy)
Villa Montalvo (Received “Exceptional Service Award” )
Key Club
Chinese School
Honors/Awards:
1st prize, Third New Century International Youth Fine Art Contest Committee
Your Magazine—won essay contest; invited to write for the magazine and website, covering the primary elections in New Hampshire
Ladies Home Journal; Wrote article that was published on primary election visit
1st place winner, World Journal International Art Contest (11); Published in newspaper
Poetic Power-in Celebrations of Young Poets book
TeenInk Poetry Journal
Mosaic Journalism workshop-Most Accurate Reporting, accepted into the workshop (only 20 from Bay Area). Work appeared in Nuevo Mundo and San Jose Mercury News</p>

<p>i really want to go to swat, but other top choices are wellesley and bryn mawr. yep. all reaches.</p>

<p>anybody? you? how about you?</p>

<p>Toffee:</p>

<p>Wow. You fall outside the parameters of my prognostication skills.</p>

<p>On the one hand, I look at your class rank and have to say that it's an extreme longshot. On the other hand, being published in Ladies Home Journal as a high school student "ain't exactly chopped liver" as they say back East.</p>

<p>I have the sense that you may be among those applicants who don't lend themselves to a "What are my chances?" thread.</p>

<p>All I can say is give it your best shot and love thy safeties!</p>

<p>Toffee... not to discourage you, but I have a situation similar to yours, applied ED I, and was rejected. Swat seems to place a very high importance on GPA and class rank... send in an app, but make sure you have lots of other schools you love. Good luck : )</p>

<p>thanks you all. yeah i know my rank is unngh. i have SO many reaches.</p>

<p>oh also, my school doesn't rank, but i just know my rank because my counselor is seriously unethical. but i'm guessing they can see about where i am.</p>

<p>i can't believe that you are 100/300.. and you have such incredible standardized scored...</p>

<p>JEEBUS. what kinda of school do you go to!?</p>

<p>an evil school</p>

<p>hahahahahahahahahaha. </p>

<p><em>stomach cramp</em></p>

<p>well.. my rank is 14/385.. and my SAT scores are flaming piles of manure... </p>

<p>what can ya do? heh.</p>

<p>Swarthmore love free-minded thinkers. If you can prove to them you are an individual...then you are in. But if you are applying this late, Idk how much u can actually prove</p>

<p>i applied already =/</p>

<p>how can you prove it?</p>

<p>I went to a rather crazy public high school in Fairfield county, CT. I think I ended up just on the edge of the top 20% of my class, and had high SAT/AP scores and strong extracurriculars...and they admitted me ED last year. I think the essays can be the make-or-break factor in such situations.</p>

<p>my essay was very basic though. i do hope i got across how much i like swat. not that it helps, but can anyone assess my essay? i already submitted it, but yeah. i'll pm it to you.</p>