Please Help Me Improve My Resume And Form My College List

Applying to College
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Hi all! I’m looking for my chances of getting into some schools, and some recommendations as well! Also, if you all could give me constructive criticism on how to boost my resume, too, that would be wonderful:) Thank you in advance!

Note: I think the pandemic has definitely hurt my resume, because of decreased motivation, missed opportunities, lack of HS experience by Junior year being my first full year of HS, etc. I’m not sure if schools will keep this in mind, but COVID has definitely taken its toll on my apps!

demographics: second-gen American, Middle Eastern/North African and Latino, woman, Virginia, non-competitive public high school, no legacy boost for college apps

school info:

-junior; school doesn’t rank students

-PSAT score is equal to an SAT score of 1500 (taking SAT in June)

-3.98 unweighted/4.37 weighted GPA from freshman+sophomore year (majority As with a possible A- for Junior year)

-full IB diploma candidate

-will be taking two community college courses this summer in macro and microeconomics

-AP Gov: 4 (my school offers no AP courses, just this test)

extracurriculars:

-President of FBLA club, Model UN member

-Youth Director for local non-profit that works with Park Authority, my main role is engaging students in volunteering: most impactful project was establishing a quarterly volunteering competition that involves high school teams (the biggest involved 100+ students from 6 schools)

-VA State Social Media Coordinator for climate lobby group: my biggest role is managing the state Instagram account

-Staff Writer and Social Media Staff for a student-run journalism site

awards:

-FBLA: 1st in regionals and states for Impromptu Speaking, 1st in regionals and states for Public Speaking (nationals in June)

-Model UN: 2 1st place gavels, 6 2nd place Outstanding awards

-Youth Director: I’ve recently been nominated for a significant county award for my volunteer work

intended path:

-economics and international relations major

-I’d like to pursue international business law, something in economics, or U.S. politics

-am open to any school in the U.S. (including military colleges for breaking into U.S. governance), and would prefer a scholarship but don’t want finances to limit my school options

-chance me: am interested in Boston University, William and Mary, Georgetown, and any Ivy League (because why not shoot my shot)

-match me: safeties, matches, and reaches please! anything with good programs for my intended majors, in the city, private or public

Thank you!!

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Does this mean that your parents are able and willing to pay $80,000 per year ($320,000 for four years)?

If not, talk to your parents about what they actually are able and willing to pay, and use the net price calculator on the financial aid web site of any college you are interested in.

The military service academies are for those whose post-graduation goal is being an officer in the US military, which is different from from US governance. Some US military veterans or retirees go into political or policy jobs in the US government afterward, but many do not.

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Two possibilities off the top of my head that you’d be highly likely to be admitted to and that are in-state publics for you are George Mason and Virginia Commonwealth. George Mason has some definite strength in international relations and is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from D.C. With VCU being in the state capital, that is a big asset for someone with political ambitions. Hopefully your in-state schools will be affordable for you. And UVA and William & Mary are both amazing schools. You’re so incredibly lucky that you’ve got awesome in-state public options. Once you come back with a budget, you will probably get more ideas.

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With a PSAT of 1500, there is no way that your SSI is lower than 224. Since no cutoff has ever been higher than 224, it is almost guaranteed that you are a NMSF. With a confirming SAT of 1500, and great academics, you are also almost certainly going to be a NMF, and you are a serious contender for being a National Merit Scholar.

That means that there are a number of great colleges which will be very affordable. For example, Fordham has full tuition scholarships for NMFs (around 70% of NMF who are accepted win that scholarship.

BTW, Boston University has scholarships for NMFs, making it a lot more affordable (if you get the scholarship).

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They said their psat had an sat concordance of 1500, which gives them a psat of 1430, based on a published concordance table.

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Careless reading on my part, I guess.

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  1. +1 for @ucbalumnus ?: can & will your family pay for your college with no debt? If yes, happy days! if not,

  2. your #1 priority in choosing a college is graduating debt free. Debt will severely handicap you in the paths you want to pursue. If you go the law school route, you will end up with debt on top of debt, and even if you go BigLaw you will be a long time paying it off. If you go IR / politics the path goes unpaid/barely stipended internships* that turn into low paid jobs then you need an (expensive) Masters, then you get an ok-ish paid job. Carrying debt from UG limits your ability to do those poorly paid jobs to get to the well paid jobs.

  3. IR/politics & Econ are bread & butter majors at most colleges- which means that those majors will be plenty strong enough at any of the colleges you are even remotely considering. Study abroad and DC semesters can be found up and down the selectivity range. There are lists of ‘best colleges for’, but it is differences of degree, not kind, and in no case are any of them so much better that they are worth graduating with debt.

  4. At this stage your summer plans are already set, but why the CC classes? is it to meet graduation requirements? Are you just keen to ‘prove’ yourself as an econ applicant or show your academic stripes? if so, fair warning: AOs are not going to be impressed. Tbh, that looks like a pretty chill summer- not what I would be thinking somebody who is gunning for “Ivies” would be looking for at this stage. That is truly not a slam (though it probably reads like it- sorry). And it may be that there’s a whole other piece to the ‘why’ that you haven’t included here (summer job?) But for an ambitious student, with the gift of summer time, I would have expected to see either a job or a deeper dive into something the student loves (whether vocationally oriented, such as an internship, or something more personal, such as art/music/sport/hobby/).

*that is why GWU is so good for IR/politics- they are walking distance to so many internship opps, and they work with class schedules to facilitate in-term internships better than anybody else. But- it is not especially generous with aid, and is not worth choosing over a lower/no debt option.

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You seem really solid for W&M. I’d just keep doing your research and visit any campuses you’re interested in this summer. You’ll know when you find a good fit. Remember, great students can do well anywhere they go. And sometimes it’s best to be a big fish in a small pond!

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