Seemingly impossible situation...suggestions please!

Applying to College
1

<p>Hey all, I really wanna go to either Brown University, Amherst College, or Middlebury College and I think I could get in to one of these, but, of course, I'm not sure. Then there's my real problem: could I get into one of these, and get scholarship money? I have two brothers stepping into college the same day as I do, and my family just doesn't have enough money to pay the full ride for each of us. Now, I love each of these schools for their well-known liberal arts programs (I'm not quite sure on what I want to major in yet, but I'm thinking a double major in International Relations and Spanish) and I REALLY love Brown and Amherst for their free curriculum. Here's my transcript so far:</p>

<p>Freshman Year
Catholic Christianity- A
Concert Band- A
Honors Literature and Composition- A
Honors Algebra II- B
Honors Biology I- B+
Honors Spanish II- C+ (ouch, I know)
Health (1st semester)- A
Phys Ed I (2nd semester)- A</p>

<p>Sophmore Year
Sacred Scripture- A
Intro to Theater- A-
Honors Rhetoric- A
Honors Geometry w/ Trigonometry- B
Honors Biology II- A
Honors Spanish III- B+
Honors Western Civilization- A-
Speech Communications (1st semester)- B+
Phys Ed II (2nd semester)- A</p>

<p>Junior Year </p>

<p>First Semester, USA
Christian Ethics- A
Honors Madrigal Choir- A
Honors Government- A
AP English III- A
Honors Pre-Calculus- B+
Honors Chemistry- A
Honors Spanish IV- A-
AP U.S. History- B+
Second Semester, Chile (still subject to change)
Religion- A
Music- A
History- B+
Language- A
Mathematics- A
Chemistry- A
Biology- A
Filosophy- A</p>

<p>EC's (so far)</p>

<p>Chess Club (9,10,11)
Theatre Program (9)
Teens in Action (10,11)
NHS (10,11)
Spanish Club (11)
Black Cultural Alliance (10,11) -co-president
Krav Maga martial art (10)
Martial Arts Club (11)
Piano (9,10,11) -intermediate/advanced level, 7+ hours per week
Plan on creating an InterCultural Exchange Club next year
Chosen student ambassador by school (9,10,11)</p>

<p>Awards
Presidential Scholarship to school (9,10,11)
President's List (most of 9,10,11)
Science Fair- 2nd place in Bio (9)
Science Fair- 1st place in Environmental Science (10)
Bro. Andre Award in Biology (10)
Bro. Andre Award in Spanish (9)
State Distinguished Scholar (11)
Hopefully National Merit recognition 4 PSAT!</p>

<p>Job/Internship
Worked at local bookstore (summer ‘05- 40 hrs/week; weekends fall ‘05)
Mother's helper to family friend ('00-'06)
Selected by school to apply for ADL Leadership Mission, selected my ADL to attend '05 Leadership Mission (really selective, only 10 candidates from every major city selected to go)
Attended ACE aviation program summer of '04 and '05</p>

<p>Scores
PSAT
Math- 62
CR- 67
W- 80</p>

<p>SAT
Math- 630
Critical Reading- 660
Writing- 710 </p>

<p>Rank
Somewhere in the top 10%, last time I saw my rank it was 18/~200</p>

<p>Special thing
I am currently living on Chiloe Island, Chile because of a 6-month study abroad program that I decided to apply for and was accepted into. I’ve been here since March and put pretty much my entire first semester of 11th grade into making this trip happen, including working enough to pay half of the price and going through the lengthy application process. It’s paid off. I’ve had a wonderful experience that I will never forget, and even though I can’t speak fluently yet, I can understand almost everything that is said to me in spanish, and I plan on spending my last 6 weeks here working on speaking skills, so that when I return to the States I’ll be able to speak almost fluently. I plan on making this unforgettable trip the subject of my college essay. </p>

<p>Application: Early Decision</p>

<p>So there it is! If anyone could just give me a bit of advice on what to do, i mean, if I might get into one of these colleges, and if so if I might stand a chance at scholarship money, or even a few suggestions at cheaper small, New England liberal arts schools, that would be awesome. Thank you so much!</p>

2

<p>SweetCyd, you sound really motivated, hardworking, and getting savvy about the college admission process. Do you have college counseling resources there in Chile? Or will you need to get back to campus to get one-on-one advice? Your current choices (Brown, Amherst, Middlebury) are very different types of schools (urban/rural, ivy/not, open-ended curriculum/structured core, and so on). Have you visited these schools (e.g., Vermont in winter; I've lived there and it's no picnic; also, not much diversity -- Vermont and New Hampshire towns are very very caucasian)? Have you considered their particular draw for you, aside from "free curriculum"? </p>

<p>You go to a parochial school, yes? And you're Black? And on full scholarship? You get three plusses for diversity. So far, good! Your grades, test scores, and ECs wouldn't usually be considered top-tier (you know that, right?), but AA might help. Go for it.</p>

<p>BUT also start researching match schools. There are about 2000 good liberal arts colleges in the U.S., many of which will provide you with an excellent education and plenty of panache. Need-based financial aid shouldn't be any problem at all. Find out (from college-search tools, books, counselor, whatever) which of those good colleges meet full need, and apply to some of those too. Google an EFC calculator and put in your family income, etc., and you'll see immediately what your family contribution is likely to be. With three kids in college, whatever EFC the College Board comes up with for your family will be distributed among the three of you.</p>

<p>In the meantime, enjoy your summer.</p>

3

<p>Wow thanks a lot. I'm actually on my own here in Chile regarding college and will be until i get back into the States. That's why I came here looking for some advice. I have visited a few colleges includiing Amherst, Williams, and Tufts, and of all of these I liked Amherst most because it wasn't as remote as William or as close to the city as Tufts, though I wasn't too fond of how small it is. Then after doing more research, I became quite attached to Brown because it had more students, was a little closer to home, but not too close, and it had more options in case I'm not happy with my major (I'm still a bit undecided), and I absolutely LOVE the free curriculum choice because I think this fosters learning for the love of learning instead of for the grade. I mean, taking a class because you're genuinly interested in the subject matter, but for an easy A or not because the school requires it. I was homeschooled until high school, and all through my childhood loved knowing new things more than anything else; i've experienced anything but that in high school, and I was hoping to get that feeling from middle school again in college if it's possible.
And yes, I go to a private, catholic school with about 800 students, 30 in the '07 Honors Program, and I'm one of 2 African American girls in this program in my class. Me and my brothers have each been awarded partial scholarships to my school since 9th grade. lol, and I have no problem with a little help from AA.
I've been trying very hard to find a few good match schools, but can't seem to! They all seem too small, too large, too expensive or too selective! But I plan to keep looking. I also plan on using an EFC calculator when I get back to the States to get an idea of how much aid my family's looking at.</p>