<p>Hello everyone, this is my debut post here on CC. The reason for this post is so that I might garner a better idea on what level of schools I should aim for. My "portfolio" isn't the most typical on the block, however I ask that you give me an honest assessment! In light of my atypical profile, I have a number of questions, too, if you felt so inclined. Unfortunately, I fear I'm quite behind on this whole college thing, due to ignorance on both my parents and myself. [Questions in brackets], (additional comments in parenthesis)</p>
<p>Gender: Male
Ethnicity: White
State: Pennsylvania
Desired school: Small-medium sized LACs</p>
<p>Year: Finishing up my Junior year.
General areas of interest: Philosophy, history, political science, Christianity.
Schooling: Public Cyber Charter school. (I typically associate with homeschoolers.)
[In light of the rest of my stats, is this a pro or con? Is it worth going to public school senior year..?]
Course selection: I've taken virtually all Honors classes. For senior year, I'm taking APUSH, APEL&C, APBIO. [Is APCalc really worth it? Note: This is all the AP courses offered by my school.]
Current GPA: 3.93 unweighted. (And rising. Spanish II gave me trouble -- this was before I even knew GPA was even remotely important!)
Rank: My school is unranked.</p>
<p>SAT: Currently, 1910. My Uncle enrolled me in a Kaplan prep course, however, which does promise a 200 point increase. For the sake of this profile, I hope it would be fair to use a projected score of 2050?
Subject test: N/A [I would probably do well with US History. Is it worth taking?]
AP tests: N/A [Are these worth taking, even if they are at the end of your senior year and you won't be able to report them?]</p>
<p>Extra-curriculars/activities/awards: I'm hoping that the good people in this forum might advise me on which of these amount to anything, and which I should continue to pursue and develop.</p>
<ul>
<li>National Honors Society</li>
<li>Internship under a political campaign committee for one of our county's three commissioner spots. (At this point in the campaign, average 3 hours a week. Our candidate has good chances.)</li>
<li>Bible Quiz, Team captain. (9+ hours weekly. Through my church denomination, Assemblies of God. It's not as lame as it sounds, I promise. It involves memorization of certain books of the Bible, team competitive panel-style quizzing, and TIME. My team quizzed in a middle league and came second in the state, with me personally achieving fifth highest quizzer for the state competition. This particular league only went to states. Our coach came in second at nationals when he quizzed, and we hope to go far next year. Too late for college applications, but...)</li>
<li>Hosting weekly small group/Bible study. (3+ hours weekly. Since the beginning of the year, I've hosted/taught a weekly small group/bible study in my home. It doesn't seem impressive, but I feel alot comes of it.)</li>
<li>Cross country Sophomore, Junior, and planning on Senior year. (Obviously, I do this through the local public school system. I'm not fantastic. Aiming for varsity this year.) </li>
<li>Involved in Youth Leadership for two youth groups I attend. I have taught lessons at one, volunteered weekly in the cafe at the other. [Worth including?]</li>
<li>Black Belt in Isshin-Ryu karate. [I haven't practiced in two years. Is it worth returning to over the summer?] </li>
<li>Deer and bird hunting each year. [Worth mentioning? How many other people at a LAC can field dress and butcher a deer!?]</li>
<li>Piano for 9 years. [I'm merely passable, for all the time I've put in. Worth including?]</li>
<li>Member of a political discussion & informal debate club. (EPIC - Establishment for the Progression of the Informed Citizen. Again, through the public schools.)</li>
<li>Committee member for an educational conservation camp run by our Conservation District. (36 y.o. program.)</li>
<li>Certified challenge course facilitator and program counselor for a nearby wildlife/recreational facility. (It doesn't sound like much, but I find it substantial considering much of the time the group I am facilitating/counseling is comprised of college students.</li>
</ul>
<p>Recent summer activities: [Worth including?]
- Attended three summers ago, volunteered as staff for a week last summer--hopefully this summer, too--for the Conservation Camp.
- Attended for two years a week long youth leadership conference, City on the Hill. (Mock state legislature, won peer-elected position of senate Whip.)
- Also, going on a missions trip to an indian reservation in Mississippi this summer. [Potential, if cliche, essay material, hm..?]</p>
<p>So there's that. Again, my primary goal is to gain an idea of what colleges I should realistically be looking at.</p>
<p>However, I do have questions that I wouldn't mind having answers to! :P Obviously, I think there are some major weaknesses here. But, what are the most damaging? What can I hope to realistically expand on before application time? I really do enjoy debating, but I can't figure out how to demonstrate that in a real way. Would it be worth it to take a speech/writing course at the local community college? Are there any summer programs that I could add to this?</p>
<p>Thank for any advice for this poor, frazzled junior!</p>
