Seeking level-headed parental help!

Parents Forum
1

<p>I've been reading through this forum and it seems a lot less hysterical than the other forums, so I'd love to get some opinions.</p>

<p>I'm a senior applying to Harvard EA.</p>

<p>I'd like a commentary on my college list (too top heavy? not top heavy enough? why are you applying to Harvard?!!) and analysis of chances. </p>

<p>Here's my tentative list:
SUNY Binghamton
Brandeis (match or safety?)
BU (hoping to get money)
Northeastern (definitely will get some $$$)
Cornell
Columbia
Brown</p>

<p>And thinking of throwing these in:
Yale (... as if I'd get in)
Northwestern</p>

<p>I live in Westchester County, not Chappaqua or Scarsdale. I'm Chinese. I'm neither legacy nor recruited athlete. I'm female.</p>

<p>My school sends a few kids to Ivies each year, but nothing regular basis or outrageous.</p>

<p>Now we have all the icky stuff out of the way:</p>

<p>GPA: 95 unweighted, 97 weighted (all A's except for an 88 in AP Chem, class has deflated grades)
Rank: rank not reported, but off the records, it's #7 out of 235 :( it should go up after senior year? Doesn't really matter, not giong to be Val or Sal
Courseload: Toughest possible, 3 APs junior year, 5 APs senior year
SATs: 780 CR / 730 Math / 730 Writing
SAT IIs: 750 for Lit, Math II, US History, 790 for Chemistry
APs: 5 Lang, 5 US History, 5 Chemistry</p>

<p>AP Scholar, National Merit Commended</p>

<p>ECs:</p>

<p>All of these were totally uninfluenced by my parents... they basically play NO role in my EC/Academic choices save for giving me rides and paying for my karate lessons.</p>

<p>All the following are 3-4 year commitments</p>

<p>Editor in Chief School Newspaper
Founder and President of Gay Straight Alliance (Believe me, TOTALLY not influenced by my parents...)
VP of Human Rights Club
Color Guard Guard Captain, Marching Band
Treasurer French Club
Treasurer/former VP Enviro Club
NHS</p>

<p>Black belt in Goju-Te Karate, Instructor, Just got onto the very competitive travel team (They compete on the semi-pro circuit) got two 2nds at AMAA National Championships, 1st in a local charity competition</p>

<p>Published in local newspaper, attended Young Authors Conference, published in an NY Times reviewed anthology.</p>

<p>Work experience:</p>

<p>Freelance Reporter for local paper. My (very long) article on drug abuse was the lead story (front page and everything), and i've also done two columns. I'm emphasizing my journalism work in my application. My editor wrote me a GLOWING rec for Harvard that really emphasized my independent thinking, drive, determination, and creative ability.</p>

<p>Garment Design Intern in NYC </p>

<p>Cashier (last summer's job)</p>

<p>Ran my own online business selling handmade clothing, art, jewelry, designed website and did own PR. Lasted about a year. </p>

<p>Did freelance webdesign work, self taught in Photoshop, HTML, CSS, etc.</p>

<p>Volunteer work:</p>

<p>Three hours a week as a Chinese Kindergarten TA, volunteering for three years
A lot of hours at a thrift store
some hours at a soup kitchen
Ran and organized three fundraisers (coat drive, Smile Train, AIDs) </p>

<p>Summer:</p>

<p>John Hopkins CTY - three writing courses
Ciba Chemistry Institute (very selective summer program, totally random I know... it was free and I somehow got in.)</p>

<p>Recs:
GLOWING rec from my counseler. I think she said my eyes shined.
GLOWING rec from my editor at the paper. Seriously. It made my daddy love me more.
Good recs from my teachers, I believe. They like me.</p>

2

<p>lingbo,
your list is top-heavy but is not unsafe. I like the addition of NU - might work out very well. You might want to consider applying to Barnard College instead of Columbia University - the odds are a lot better, and it has its own identity and advantages and just as good an education.</p>

3

<p>The thing is, my parents are not likely to pay full fare for a not Ivy League school. I feel that I'm either going to go Ivy, go to a good school with scholarship, or go to SUNY Binghamton. Which is why I'm ehhhhh on applying to Wesleyan.</p>

4

<p>Lingbo - You are likely to get half tuition at Boston University - look at their scholarship web site. You may also get some merit money at Brandeis, more likely if you qualify for financial aid. You'll possibly get a very small merit scholarship at Binghamton. You should know that Cornell was extremely competitive last year for NYS students who applied RD. Are many students from your school applying ED? You certainly are in the ballpark to apply to the rest of your reach schools. Be sure to be on record for visiting Columbia. They won't be kind to a "local" student who did not visit.</p>

5

<p>lingbo, Barnard IS Ivy - it is the women's college of Columbia University.</p>

6

<p>I know! Try explaining this to my parents. :P Plus, I'm not big on women's colleges.</p>

7

<p>Barnard is not an Ivy. It is affiliated with Columbia but is a separate school.</p>

8

<p>True, they don't have a football team in the conference. This is what their website says:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.barnard.edu/about/btoday.html#columbia%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.barnard.edu/about/btoday.html#columbia&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

9

<p>I'll bite.</p>

<p>For my money, your list looks pretty much just right. Your numbers put you in anyone's ballpark, and I'm impressed by your mix of EC's -- jobs, entrepreneurship, independent thinking, community, and some externally validated success at journalism. I think you have a decent shot anywhere -- Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Brown, whatever -- even if you can't count on getting into one of those schools. Binghamton, Northeastern, and BU probably qualify as safeties, both in admissions terms and in financial terms with the chance of merit scholarships at the private schools. </p>

<p>I wouldn't go crazy applying to more schools, but I think someone in your position is justified applying to 9 or 10 schools. You have no reason NOT to apply to Harvard, Yale, and Columbia, but your chances of being accepted at any of them don't add up to one whole legitimate chance. Looking at the rest of the list, you have a nice spectrum of good schools where I can tell what each school is doing there. I would trust your instincts -- they seem pretty good to me.</p>

10

<p>Ohio_mom: You are absolutely right. This is what the web site says:
Added to its status as a highly selective liberal arts college for women, it is affiliated with Columbia, the Ivy League university known for contributions in fields from journalism to medicine."</p>

<p>Keyword: <em>affiliated</em>
Barnard is a fantastic, elite liberal arts college. However, it is not part of the Ivy League which includes eight schools.</p>

11

<p>Funny you should mention being ehhh on Wesleyan. I was going to suggest thinking about Wesleyan before I read your second post. You seem like someone who they would like and who would like it there.</p>

<p>(And yes, Barnard is not "Ivy League". It used to be one of the Seven Sisters when there were Seven Sisters. It's a fine school, but in terms of brand value there's certainly a difference between Barnard and Columbia. But I agree that the OP may want to think about Barnard, too.)</p>

12

<p>JHS, thanks so much for the helpful reply. </p>

<p>I've often heard the sentiment it's silly to apply to a college "for kicks and giggles" and if I applied to Yale, that's exactly what it would be... I'm not expecting to get into Harvard with unhooked, overrepresented in every single way status.</p>

13

<p>I'd agree ... you also might like Vassar. But you won't get merit aid at either school.</p>

14

<p>Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.</p>

<p>If money weren't an issue (I'm unlikely to qualify for much need aid), I'd probably apply more schools like Wesleyan and Vassar. However, I'd feel bad having my parents go into so much debt unless it's a Super Prestige College. Remember - they're also Asian.</p>

15

<p>No, you wouldn't be applying to Yale for kicks and giggles. I'm not going to lie and say that you aren't right that you're overrepresented in three or four dimensions, but from everything I know you are absolutely, positively a legitimate candidate for admission. A bunch of people just like you will get admitted there. You may or may not be one of them, but I don't think you are wasting your time or anyone else's by applying.</p>

16

<p>My guess is you have better odds for Harvard or Columbia than Yale ... but who knows? Best of luck!</p>

17

<p>Wow. Thanks again. And again. You just made me feel a little better about this whole thing. Reading too many CC posts tends to beat oneself down... after the fiftieth Intel winner. </p>

<p>I'll definitely consider applying to Yale.</p>

18

<p>Twinmom: why is that? I'm guessing that's not based on hard admissions stats?</p>

19

<p>No, Lingbo, it's not. It seems to me (after following these boards for three years and having my own two kids apply to schools last year) that it's difficult to get into Yale unless you're ranked #1 or #2 and/or have something on your app that will knock Yale's socks off. Obviously, that is not hard and fast research, just my observations. I'll PM you also.</p>

20

<p>Funny, but my experience as an observer is the opposite of twinmom's: Harvard cares more about #1s and flashy prizes, Yale is more about character. Plus the GSA thing sounds more Yale than Harvard, to be frank (and more Wesleyan than just about anybody).</p>

<p>It just goes to show, it's all a lot of guesswork here. You (and everyone else except my friend's kids who are Harvard double-legacy URM athletes with SATs like yours) are a longish shot at either school, but your odds are probably a lot better than two thirds of the kids who are applying to them.</p>