So I'm a freshman... Help me out?

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>(I know that I am only a freshman and I apologize for wasting your time, but I need advice)</p>

<p>I'm currently wrapping up my freshman year at a large public high school in north Chicago suburbs. I've been worried about what I can do to improve my chances at some of the following colleges. (Psychology major, I think.) In order of preference:</p>

<p>Bowdoin
Brown
Pomona
U of Chicago
U of Illinois
Reed
UVa
Grinnell
UMass
Michigan State (backup, I think?)</p>

<p>I'm a white male.
GPA: 3.6 UW, 6.0 UW (my school is weird)
Class Rank: 63/704 (9% I think this will go up, I had a weird year)
ECs: Model UN, SADD Club, Naturalist Club (taking care of the woods and such).
I volunteer at a soup kitchen and will volunteer at a hospital possibly, as well as an organization called Night Ministry that helps adults and teens in times of need.</p>

<p>I am the president of a club called the Urban Exploration club that involves going into the city (Chicago) by public transportation and adventuring about different neighborhoods. I am the only freshman club president at my school.</p>

<p>Also, here's something I was wondering about. When I was in 8th Grade, I began a project with special ed kids at my school called Kows 4 Kenyan Families. The objective was to get special ed students more involved in the community and one of the social workers at our school had recently married a woman from Kenya and adopted her niece and nephew so with this connection we raised thousands of dollars and purchased cows for an entire village and are continuing to expand to date. We've been on Chicago Public Radio and have gone to two World Activism Expos. The Tribune also did a piece on our project. I also went to Kenya by myself in August 2009 right after summer school at my high school so I suppose I was a student there at the time. So I'm still doing this project in high school and it is a big part of my life. Does this count? :/</p>

<p>So... I guess I started to ramble. Well, thank you for reading all this, my main question was what can I do to get on the right track to these schools? Preferably Brown and Bowdoin. I think that I have a good idea for an essay, the whole cows stuff. I realize the SATs/ACT are a big part, I was also wondering what I can do to prepare for those.</p>

<p>Sorry for all these questions, my counselor isn't answering my emails :)</p>

<p>EDIT: If it matters, I'll be taking AP Psychology Sophomore year, (my school doesn't offer any for freshman) then AP Spanish, Environmental Science, US History, and English Language as a Junior. After that, it doesn't really matter, since I'll already have gotten accepted at wherever I go. All my other classes are honors.</p>

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<p>bump? :frowning: thanks.</p>

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<p>Have a look at this to see how the college selection process works:</p>

<p>[Admissions</a> Messages vs. Admissions Realities](<a href=“http://www.reed.edu/apply/news_and_articles/admission_messages.html]Admissions”>http://www.reed.edu/apply/news_and_articles/admission_messages.html)</p>

<p>You generally can’t make yourself attractive to particular schools; they’ll pick you or not.</p>

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<p>Hey SgtDonut,</p>

<p>The Kows 4 Kenya program actually sounds very interesting; I can see how you can intervene it with a psychology major. Keep doing what you’re doing, but don’t slump out in senior year – instead, keep showing interest, but you can relax. Give 99% in stead of 100%, haha…</p>

<p>Brown and Bowdoin will be impressed by Kows, although Urban Exploration sounds very interesting as well.</p>

<p>I wish you the best of luck in your college search.</p>

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<p>Wow, thank you very much! :slight_smile: I’m glad I can calm down.</p>

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<p>I’d really be able to help you, but your GPA is freaky man… seriously.
On top of that, we have no SAT/ACTs… That comes into play too. Keep up with those AP’s, trying getting another leadership role too probably…
Though that Kenyan thing is going to be your hook. If you devote yourself truly to it (make a website, bring it into your school, etc.), it’s gonna really bump you up.
Hope to go to UChicago with you when I apply in around 3 years ~_-</p>

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<p>keep your gpa up! keep it up up up! get it way higher seriously!</p>

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<p>Honorlions: My school’s GPA thing is way blown out of proportion, I don’t even know where that 6.0 came from. But yeah, I will definitely be working on it. We’re taking the PLAN today actually…<br>
The website is in the works! Thank you all for reassuring me.</p>

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<p>Haha np, You can use it all as a hook on ur app. I myself am just trying to grab onto a few leadership positions myself. Btw why’d u add me? lol.</p>

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<p>Why not? You’re a freshman too right? Not to be a creeper or anything.</p>

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<p>any other advice?</p>

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<p>Here’s some general advice: Make sure you get your GPA up because it’s only freshman year, everything gets significantly harder. There are sooooo many people who wish they could have done better freshman year because it messed up their GPA, just my 2 cents.</p>

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<p>Guess we’ll just work hard together mate ; )</p>

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<p>Does not go on your college transcript because you were not a high school student.
You took summer school classes at a high school but were technically only a middle school graduate not a high school student.
Adcom can determine you started high school in Fall 2009 but did your Kenya trip Summer 2009.
You can bring up how Kenya affected you blah, blah,blah in your application essays.
In My Humble Opinion.</p>

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<p>I’m going back though and I’m still doing the project now, does it still not matter if I started it in middle school?</p>

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<p>I’m a freshman too! Overplanning freshman unite!</p>

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<p>So I really can’t use my Kenya hook because I began it in 8th grade even though it’s ongoing?</p>

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<p>Please stop calling your work in Kenya a “hook”, it devalues and cheapens it, IMHO.
Of course, if you go back to Kenya and continue what you started you can put it on your transcript- the dates will reflect involvement during your high school years.
FYI, focus on working to strengthen your whole transcript, not relying on one aspect to make up for weaker sections.
Again, IMHO.</p>

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<p>Of course you can use it; hooks don’t necessarily have anything to do with school. But it is more of an EC than a hook; it would be a hook if a school were looking specifically for applicants with this kind of activity.</p>

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<p>What are my “weaker sections?” I know it’s not really a hook but it’s something unique about me, that’s what I meant. I’m not a minority or rich or anything special.</p>