Rambling—and chances for UCB, UChicago, London School of Economics (!?) ...

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>Having sat around the last couple of weeks engaging in a variety of non-activities generally not conducive to the realization of my vaguely formed college goals, I recently made the dangerous and courageous leap from ignoring the issue to beginning a serious research and contemplation of it, one consisting primarily of dumping several months worth of direct mail on the floor, and augmented by sporadic recourse to that high instrument of knowledge seeking, Google. In the use of that tool I discovered this website and being generally impressed by the helpfulness and (apparent?) knowledge of the commenters, decided to post a little inquiry of my own. I have no real expectations for a response so anything you say is appreciated.</p>

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<p>White, Male
California resident
senior-to-be 08-09
relatively "good" public school
GPA not excellent, many 'B' but more 'A'
weighted: ~4.2 depending on how you calculate it
unweighted: somewhere around 3.6 or 3.7
I have a 'C' for one semester Sophomore year, is this in itself a big problem?</p>

<p>SAT 1: 800 M, 780 CR, 770 W —> 2350
SAT 2: 760 in Bio, need to do some more of these urgently!
Haven't done ACT, probably not needed I think.</p>

<p>AP completed:
European History - 5
US History - 5
English Language - 5
Chemistry -5
I'm going to be taking four more AP classes next year, the remainder are honors classes, all in all a pretty rigorous courseload I think. I've also done 3 quarters worth of classes in Mandarin at a Community College.</p>

<p>Extra Curriculars</p>

<p>In this area I'm pretty weak, frankly I've never done anything in the realm of volunteer work or activism or the like. I've never had a regular job or done a fascinating internship. My main focus, aside from studying independently outside the curriculum (i.e., reading...not exactly an 'EC') is music. I've played the cello for many years and am the principal for my high school orchestra. While its extremely important to me its very personal — I'm never going to play in Carnegie Hall or anything like that. I'm also in a quite high quality choir that involves a fair amount of time commitment (dozens of concerts per year and up to 25-50 hours of rehearsal per month, seasonally). It is definitely something I'm proud of but I'm not sure how apparent its value would be to admissions types, or even if it should be of much value. I also have done three years of varsity badminton, I'm not sure if that is at all meaningful! </p>

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<p>I'm still evaluating colleges from a rather scattered position as I don't have a lot of knowledge and I am as yet uncertain about what I want to do. I'm leaning towards political science or some sort of poli-sci with philosophy, but am also interested in medicine. The latter appeals to my instinctive, material curiosity, but I wonder if that impulse is a childish vestige that won't translate well into dedicated study and work. In a sense I fear that I may be far more 'interested' in the study of physiology that the practice of medicine... Conversely philosophy, poli-sci, and indeed the humanities in general appeal to my larger sense of what is important, but sometimes I wonder if I have the intellectual depth to make a commitment to such a subject worthwhile. This may just be a lack of self confidence or it may be a prescient reservation. </p>

<p>All that said, here are some universities I'm thinking about. Any thoughts are welcome.</p>

<p>University of California @ Berkeley
University of Chicago
University of Michigan
Georgetown
Columbia
Cornell
London School of Economics</p>

<p>I've only done very preliminary research about all the places (except Cal) so I probably have committed various oversights in assembling the list. Any suggestions for less selective universities that may be options? And if anyone out there has pursued a degree in political science or something related I would love to hear your thoughts on career track, graduate school, etc...</p>

<p>Also regarding LSE. I realize that its very selective, but given my relatively solid SAT and AP scores and their relative disinterest in ECs (I think?), it seems it might be an option. Obviously this would be a radical upheaval for me, but any sort of college track (aside maybe from living at home and going to the local community college) is going to entail a very significant change in lifestyle and I find the prospect of leaving the US curiously intriguing. If anyone has any experience with LSE, particularly from the perspective of an American undergrad, I would appreciate your thoughts. (BTW, does anyone know if British universities consider GPA? I could find no mention of it in an undergraduate admissions context. Weighted?)</p>

<p>All right, sorry for the long rambling post. I realize I'm starting this whole process somewhat belatedly and am probably going about it all wrong. Any comments or reactions would be appreciated. Disillusion me! </p>

<p>Thanks for any and all input.</p>

2

<p>I'm slightly surprised to have no response. Any thoughts at all?</p>

<p>(I probably wrote too much..)</p>

3

<p>One more bump, I suppose. Really what I'm asking is, how far can you go with weakish ECs, decent but not great grades, and excellent test scores (I'm pretty confident my essays will be good too, assuming I ever get to work writing them....)</p>

4

<p>I went to LSE and I currently have a child at U of Chicago. Make sure that you are aware that the English University system is quite different from the U.S. system. So, familiarize yourself with it, the different requirements, different term lengths and the fact that it is only three years long. It may not fit your needs at this time and if you plan to go to graduate school in the States you may want to stick with an American university and go to LSE as a junior year abroad general course student or as a graduate student. I think that your stats are decent for the U of Chicago. They don't care a lot about having a million ECs, but would rather have a dedicated commitment to a few particular ECs, such as your music, which is actually quite important at the U of C at this time. Again, familiarize yourself with the school, see if it is a fit for you, and if so, let them know why in your essays. These will be very important to you in determining whether or not you have a chance there. The school has become quite competitive recently and even people with your stats have been turned down if they don't feel that you are a good fit for the school, i.e. you can bring something to the school and vice versa.</p>

5

<p>Luckily, you are in-state for UCB, so I think you have a good shot at all of the schools on your list except for (don't know about this one) LSE. The tone of your post (combining lucid writing with an intellectual flair) suggests a fit for Chicago.</p>

6

<p>yeah, i guess you wrote too much :)</p>

<p>anyways, do you have done anything that refers to economics in high school? the LSE is currently the most selective university in the world and you need good stats to be even considered for a conditional offer.
The C in your sophomore year should not hurt you, so dont worry about it. But I think you need to get rid of most of your Bs by the time you apply. Get some good recommendations.</p>