<p>I go to a very small school (only 43 in my graduating class) and I was wondering if they will take it easy on the ranking thing for me (i'm #6, second decile.) Its clear on my couselor reccommendation that I've taken the hardest courseload of any senior EVER at my school, and furthermore, our grades are unweighted. 4 out of the 5 people above me took all simple classes to obtain a high rank, and get easy money for a state school. Will they recognize that I've been fighting the inequities in the system?</p>
<p>bump.....i need to know this</p>
<p>Well, the adcoms do try their best to familiarize themselves with many high schools in different regions. They do this in order to discover these sort of things. You're best advocates in this situation are: 1) YOURSELF, 2) your guidance counselor, 3) your teachers (the recommendation writers), and 4) the alumnus/a in your area. You should do what you can to get your circumstances across. Your guidance counselor should emphasize it in his/her letter [or call the school(s) directly], your teachers can do the same. Finally, if you will have an allumni interview, it's one of the best times to clear that up. Also, you may want to consider scheduling an on-campus interview (if possible) and letting the adcoms know directly from you. I hope I've been able to help you somehow. Good luck!! By the way where are you applying?</p>
<p>hey thanx alot...my list is kind of mixed right now</p>
<p>im from VT, first gen college, so i guess those things give me a little edge.</p>
<p>Brown (ED)
Dartmouth
Georgetown
Duke
Stanford
Pomona
Northwestern
Williams
(those are reach...ish)</p>
<p>McGill
Vanderbilt
BU
Michigan
(I'm pretty confident I can get into these, but as is the theme of this post, it depends on how they interpret my class rank.)</p>
<p>Chances Anyone???
34 on ACT</p>
<p>2120 Composite SAT (This will go up for sure)
780 M (I think this went to 800)
680 V (This probably passed 700)
660 W (This definitly went up alot)</p>
<p>No SATII's because me school doesn't teach to the tests, and discourages them. (I think I'll have to for some schools if im not into Brown ED)
I got a 5 on the only AP offered to me (enviro)</p>
<p>Extracurriculars- Not outstanding, but not too bad...captain of two varsity sports (hockey/tennis), head of leadership, SADD president, etc. Work 20 hours a week. Decent community service (maybe like 200 hours)</p>
<p>I don't know if this is a hook for Brown, but I did the 7 week credit program there, which I paid for out of my own pocket (I think i mentioned that on the APP)</p>
<p>I already kind of gave the spiel about class rank, which is my main weakness?</p>
<p>Well it does seem like you make good use of the resources available to you. But I don't see anywhere that you go beyond what is expected of you. For example, my school doesn't offer AP Psychology. I took a regular 1 semester Psychology class. Before that, I had relatively litte interest in the subject. After the class, my passion for Psychology sparked. I went out and bought the review books. I designed my own curriculum and studied independently for the second half of my school year. I took the test, and I got a 5! This wasn't offered by my school, and I still took the initiative to take it. I did something similar with AP French Literature (another AP course that my school doesn't offer). </p>
<p>I have a passion for foreign languages. In my school, the norm is to take one of the three available languages for three years, take a state test in the language, and then choose to drop the study or to continue it. I developed an interest in Italian and French, and with my study of Spanish, I became the only student in my school's history to take all three langauges. I even won the Foreign Language Department Award in my sophomore year - a feat that had never been accomplished by an underclassman. In my high school, department awards are reserved for graduating seniors. In May, I shall have taken the AP Exam in Italian and French. I already took the Spanish AP exam and got a 5. This sort of committment and continuity is viewed in a very favorable light in the admissions process. This is something I don't see in your credentials. </p>
<p>It's definitely noteworthy that you got a 5. They'll understand that it was the only AP available, but they'd look more favorably upon a student who went beyond what was expected or available and succeeded. </p>
<p>Another example of this would be with SAT IIs. So what if your school doesn't teach to the tests? I don't know anyone that attends a school that does. When I took my SAT IIs, the classes I took were in no way geared to the SAT IIs. Not even once did my teachers say, "And remember this because it's a common SAT II question," or "Don't bother studying this topic because the College Board doesn't place much emphasis on it on the SAT II." But I still took 5 SAT IIs. Harvard considers the best three. Mine are: Spanish: 800; French 740; U.S. History; 720. So you see, just because your school doesn't "teach to the tests" doesn't mean you can't show the initiative to take them. </p>
<p>As far as your most glaring weakness... well that's it. You don't seem to really go beyond what's expected or available. No matter how great your credentials may be, a student who shows initiative will definitely stand better chances (provided that their credentials are of similar quality to your own). Good luck!</p>
<p>oh yeah...forgot about that</p>
<p>my school only offers
AP environmental (junior year)
AP physics (this year)
AP latin (this year)</p>
<p>...that is it!!!</p>
<p>But through the magic of distance learning and independent studies, I'm taking
Ap states, AP micro/macro, and AP english also. I think alot of what my counselor said was that even though i exhausted the curriculum in 3 years, I went beyond my limits to satisfy my "intellectual curiosity"</p>
<p>also ive taken 4 years of french, 4 years of latin, and one year of greek (also independent) done french immersion stuff, teach a french class at junior high.</p>
<p>...sorry i forgot this stuff was important...luckily i remembered this on my app</p>
<ul>
<li>i'm scatterbrained like no other</li>
</ul>
<p>Hey that's really impressive. Yeah, you really ought to have mentioned that stuff in the first place. Good thing you mentioned it on your common app. You could work on your Critical Reading and Writing SAT scores. I'm assuming you took them early this month and are awaiting the results. If you manage to score in the 700s, it will look better on your application. Remember, while you have some nice credentials, if your SAT scores bring DOWN the school's meand SAT average, they'll (the reach...ish schools especially) be a little reluctant to accept you. You should have taken SAT IIs on your own. You seem to like to study subjects on your own (like I do). Why didn't you study for the SAT IIs? Again, I don't know anyone that goes to a school that specifically has classes geared towards the SAT IIs. Think about that. Good luck to you!</p>
<p>Will being the first generation in the family to attend college really boost one's chances?</p>
<p>I don't want to damper your spirit but AP Psych is extremely easy as far as APs go. At my school (public, over 2000) 95% of the people who take it get 5s. It's really just vocab memorization. However, your passion is good.</p>
<p>Thanks. Nah, I totally understand! I found it to be the easiest AP exam I ever took. But could you say the same for my independent feat with AP French Literature?</p>
<p>Cling, in response to your question: </p>
<p>Will being the first generation in the family to attend college really boost one's chances?</p>
<p>Yes, in a small way, being 1st gen. does boost one's chances - BUT it depends GREATLY on the circumstances. It depends on your background, your parents' backgrounds, your financial situation, and many other factors. It usually is impressive that you're the first to attend. It makes you respectable - sort of like you stand out in the college process b/c most other applicants come from families that are wealthy enough to have gone through several generations of college.</p>
<p>Hope my reply has cleared that up a little. Are you a 1st gen. college applicant? Good luck to you!</p>
<p>-Jon :)</p>