Questions from a Junior!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi! So this is going to be a multi-question post, so bear with me! </p>

<p>I'm currently a junior amidst the stress and anxiety of 11th grade and had a few questions about college.</p>

<p>Just to give you an idea of the type of student and human I am, here are just a few, non-specific statistics:
ACT: 32 (practice test taken a year ago, so not an accurate representation on two counts-- retaking in June!)
Academic GPA-- 5 core classes (9-11): UW 4.0, W 4.3 (The weighted doesn't include advanced/honors classes, just AP)
I would say that my extra curricular activities and volunteering are fairly good considering the opportunities and circumstances in my life, though others may have a different opinion.
I'm planning on majoring in biology with a minor in Italian.</p>

<p>My first question is: what kind of schools should I apply to as backup? I live in California, so I am wondering at which UC's I have high chances of being admitted. In addition, I was wondering if you could offer up some other back up schools. One that I am thinking about is the University of Washington-- do you agree that this school is an appropriate "backup" school?</p>

<p>My second question is: This is more of a worry, actually. My school doesn't give out any academic awards other than honor roll, and it is my understanding that the Common App requests a list of academic awards. What can I do about this?</p>

<p>My last question is: My dream school from my research thus far is Rice University. Any advice to achieve this goal?
Again, thank you very much for your help. If you need any supplemental information from me to effectively answer my questions, please reply on this "thread".</p>

2

<p>Does your school have Naviance? That can help you see how kids from your school have done at the UCs with your combination of grades and test scores. I wouldn’t worry about the academic awards. Colleges will take into account what your school offers.</p>

3

<p>Don’t forget to factor in cost. You may want to look at the financial aid threads that list schools with generous merit scholarships.</p>

<p>Good luck finding schools that offer Italian~</p>

4

<p>Rice offers a few Italian courses, but apparently no Italian major or minor.</p>

<p>The University of Chicago is another relatively small, urban, selective, private university that does offer majors and minors in Romance Languages and Literatures (including Italian).</p>

<p>UC Berkeley offers a major and minor in Italian Studies.
UCLA seems to have a very strong Italian department with both major and minor programs.</p>

<p>(These are just 3 of the first schools that came to mind. It shouldn’t be too hard to find other colleges that support Italian majors/minors.)</p>

5

<p>Thanks for your help :)</p>