Premature, but... Chance me in a very vague, general way?

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Hey guys. I'm only a sophomore (er, junior now! Hee), but I'm aiming for Princeton (with UChicago and Johns Hopkins as somewhat more reasonable goals) and would like your feedback on what kind of track I'm on, suggestions for the future, etc.
As a note, my school has "Pre-AP" instead of honors; these classes are five-pointers.</p>

<p>White female at a large, competitive public school (Newsweek top 100).
Projected rank: It's hard to know; my school is VERY competitive, but I would guess ~15/700ish-- possibly higher?
There are a huge number of different AP courses offered, but I've taken the most rigorous schedule that I can in trying to pursue my interest in language/humanities. Seven classes is standard at my school; debate adds an 8th period.
POSSIBLE majors: Philosophy or British Lit?</p>

<p>Freshman year:
PAP Bio A
Gym A
Latin 1 A
PAP French 2 A
PAP World Geography A
PAP Geometry A
PAP English 1 A
Weighted/Unweighted GPA: 4.0/4.71</p>

<p>Sophomore year:
PAP Latin 2 A
AP World History A (Took AP test: expecting a 4 or 5)
PAP English 2 A
PAP French 3 A
PAP Chem A
Yearbook A
PAP Algebra 2 A
Honors Debate A
Weighted/Unweighted GPA: 4.0/4.87</p>

<p>Junior year: (projected)
PAP Latin 3
AP US History
AP English 3 (Lit? Language? I forget)
AP French 4
AP Bio 2
Honors Yearbook
PAP Precal
Honors Debate</p>

<p>Senior year: (very projected)
AP Latin 4
AP Government/Economics
AP English 4
AP French 5
PAP Physics
Honors Yearbook
AP Calc AB or BC (depending on how precal goes; probably AB)
Honors Debate</p>

<p>SATs: Taking on Saturday. Most recent practice test came out to 2230 (CR/M/W: 760/670/790), but I'm hoping to get that stubborn math score up and come out with ~2300.
SATIIs: Will take bio and French. What would be a good choice for my third? Latin?</p>

<p>PSAT: Sophomore score was 216, will retake in the fall; expecting national merit.</p>

<p>ECs:
Yearbook: Clubs section editor this year, possibly editor-in-chief senior year? (This requires a huge amount of time outside of class and is probably my most demanding activity.)
Debate: Also requires a lot of time outside of class; all of Friday evening and most of Saturday are eaten by tournaments every other week.
Poetry Club: VP.
Random memberships: FNHS, NHS, Latin Club.
I also attend Duke TIP over the summer and will apply to TASP next year, but don't know if these (especially TIP) are worth putting on an app.
ECs are, in my opinion, my definite weak point.</p>

<p>Awards:
1st - 3rd in three or four local debate tournaments
National French Exam: 7th place and 5th place nationally, 9th and 10th grade (respectively)
National Latin Exam: Gold medal (9th), Gold medal with perfect score (10th): How much does this count? ~1500/~120,000 perfect scores/year.
Junior Classical League: 4th place in grammar levels 1 and 2 at state competition, 9th and 10th
Scholastic writing: Gold key and silver key (regional), 10th.
ACS chemistry exam: 7th in city </p>

<p>And that's pretty much all I have. Dad is an alum at Johns Hopkins, if it matters.
I'm /extremely/ interested in British literature of the late 1900s and am hoping to be published in the Oscar Wilde Society's newsletter-- I don't know if it will happen, but if it did, would it look impressive?
My HUGE reaches include HYP (haha) and Brown. I'm also looking at Oxford-- can anyone tell me about the admissions criteria there?</p>

<p>Thanks for wading through this, guys. Any and all comments are appreciated. :)</p>

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<p>Haha, I guess that was a bad topic title...</p>

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<p>I'd say in at Jhop and in at Chicago.
Someone whose like 20th in our class with less impressive scores got into both (with no hook).
I'd say you have a great chance at Brown and as good as anyone else at HYP (which is a shot in the dark anyway).</p>

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<p>Really? That's very reassuring. Thanks. :)</p>

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<p>I'd say you're most likely in at most places, including JHU, UChicago, and Brown. I'd also say you're in at a couple other Ivys. As for Princeton and HYP, it's a crapshoot, but you definitely have a shot.
I'm not familiar with admissions at Oxford, so I can't really chance you there.
Good luck from a fellow sophomore!</p>

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<p>i'd say you have very decent chances right now, especially with johns hopkins and chicago (you're in fine standing for princeton, but, really, at this point i can't be certain). i'm going to oxford next year, so i do know about the admissions process, and it differs a lot from the u.s. one-- you need to submit an app by late september, decide on a subject concentration, go through an interview this fall if you get asked, etc. if you are still thinking about it next year, take as many AP exams as possible (these are what count the most), go on the website, and message me if you have any issues :)</p>

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<p>Another Wilde fan! Hearty congrats on getting into Oxford-- Magdalen, yes? That's so exciting!
Anyway, thanks so much for the kind words and the AP info; I didn't know they counted so heavily. Makes me worry about my whist AP... :P</p>

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<p>Do you mean 19th century? Oscar Wilde hails from the late 1800s, BTW. But great chances nonetheless;)</p>

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<p>Oxford is a little different from the US system. First off, you apply via UCAS (an online system analogous to CAO). You can apply to only a set number of schools (and not to both Oxford and Cambridge). It's very merit-based, so ECs don't count much. Furthermore, you can't change majors - they launch directly into courses toward your degree - so you've got to be sure of your major. Also, I think the fees for int students are sky-high with no FA available. So beware if cost is a factor, particularly with falling USD.</p>

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<p>DagnyT- HAHA. Whoops. I don't know if I was meaning to write 1800s or 19th century. Either way, thanks for pointing it out-- that doesn't look too good, does it?... Imagine doing that on apps! >>;</p>

<p>I've been wondering something about English universities. I know that ECs typically don't really count, but what if they're related to your proposed area of study? If I applied to their English and Classics course, would they consider my Latin/writing awards?
Ah, the falling dollar! That's always a concern... I guess we'll see, eh? Thanks for the info. :)</p>

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<p>time for a visit from the uk admissions fairy- yours truly! i'm applying to newnham college cambridge for classics, deferred entry for fall 2010. (not familiar with uk app jargon? i'm class of 09 but taking a gap year. i apply this fall.) i am in regular contact with students and fellows at oxford, cambridge, edinburgh, and the london school of oriental and african studies. </p>

<p>if you're serious about oxbridge, there are a number of things you should know.</p>

<p>first of all, uk education system 101: english education is focused almost entirely on standardized tests. you are required to take a broad spread of liberal arts subjects until age 16 (=american junior year), when you take about 8 sat ii-like exams. these are called the gcse's. after gcse, you move on to the sixth form, which is two years long. at this point, you take 3 to 4 a-level courses. there are two sets of exams: "as-levels," after your first year of sixth form, and "a-levels," after your second. as- and a-levels are ap exams on steroids. they are very broad and quite deep, and on the level of a 200-level college course in the united states. your results on as-levels determine what universities you can apply to, and your results on a-levels determine if you can enroll in schools which have made you offers.</p>

<p>second, realize that almost all americans studying ba courses in the uk have already graduated college. if you go to an english university, you are going to graduate school. i'm going to make specific comments about the classics requirements because i'm very familiar with them, but you can extrapolate about the english ones from these. some of the information below is available on the web, but most of it came to me from the head tutor in classics at clare college cambridge.
-you will be expected to have 5's on both ap exams in latin after your junior year. the latin sat ii is not considered, but the sat i is (very heavily- more on this in a moment). i don't know how this will work now that the latin literature exam has been eliminated, but you will need to demonstrate proficiency in reading unseen poetry and prose without a dictionary.
-you will need to send graded, marked translations and essays on latin literature with your application. these should be equivalent to 200-level college work.
-you will need to appear for an interview, in person, in the uk. this will be in early december of the year you apply (at least for cambridge). depending on the oxbridge college where you apply, you will need to take a sight translation test immediately before the interview, read selections of latin, greek, or both before the interview, or both. in the interview itself, two faculty members will ask you academic questions about the "preparatory study" (seen passage), if you have one, and about general topics in classics. they will also ask you personal questions about your interest in the course.
-you will be evaluated on your academic achievement in general and in your course. this includes your sat i score, your grades, and your ap test scores in subjects relevant to your course. for international students, there are cutoffs. you will not be considered if your reading or writing scores on the sat i are below 700, nor if your ap scores in subject-related areas are not 5's. your grades and scores in areas not related to your subject are irrelevant. extracurricular activities and awards not related to your subject are irrelevant, but those related to your subject are extremely relevant, as long as they are academic and on a higher level than your coursework. jcl is not academic. the nle is at the same or a lower level than your coursework. entering national history day or one of the many nationwide latin contests is academic and very relevant.
-learning greek, whether on your own or by some other means, is strongly recommended but not required. about half of cambridge classicists have a-level preparation in both latin and greek. i would strongly recommend taking an introductory college class in greek if one is available to you.</p>

<p>third, you should know that studying in the uk is quite expensive for americans. english universities do not give financial aid to foreign students. (the university will, however, employ you for up to 20 hours a week.) on the bright side, they are inexpensive compared to american schools at only about $30k a year, including housing. visa fees and plane tickets add to this slightly, but the overall figure ends up only a few thousand dollars over the out-of-state price at berkeley. then consider that cambridge's classics program is only 3 years (oxford's is 4) and you end up saving over $35k on a berkeley or full-price harvard education in classics. </p>

<p>financially, the thrust of this is that despite the awful dollar, cambridge at least is cheaper than any us school without financial aid. unless your parents make over ~$210k a year, it is also cheaper than hyps and columbia. </p>

<p>in many respects, it is harder to enter oxbridge from an american high school than it is to enter hyp. don't let this discourage you! unlike top american schools, admissions to oxbridge are extremely predictable. standards are high, but they're possible and completely transparent.</p>