SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP: utterly clueless Hispanic girl who knows nothing about chances

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I accidentally posted this in the Admissions forum but I haven't gotten many responses and I am desperate for help. Sorry for the redundancy.</p>

<p>My parents are clueless about college; my counselors are overworked and are mainly concerned with getting kids in my high school into public Texas universities. I spend my time in between double shifts at work sitting in Barnes & Noble pouring through college guidebooks (because, pathetic as it I can't spend money on them) and trying to figure some of this stuff out. I'm still overwhelmed though. Essentially I have nobody to help me, my parents think UT-Austin would be a good match for me but I'm already in because of Texas top 10% ruling. Both my parents went to college but my dad was the first in his family and went to some tiny private NJ college...basically NOBODY has any experience or knowledge.</p>

<p>I'm a Hispanic female from a public high school in Texas (I'm half Meixcan and half white, I don't think that matters though.)</p>

<p>TEST SCORES:
PSAT: 214 (I will probably get National Hispanic Merit Scholar and cross-my-fingers Commended??)
SAT Math: 650 (I hope to raise this to above 700 when I take it again, but I couldn't afford to do a prep course like most other kids I know)
SAT Critical Reading: 800
SAT Writing:800
--I haven't taken SAT Subject Tests but I should probably score high on Spanish and Literature. Kind of freaking out about the Math IC or IIC (haven't chosen yet) though!
AP Spanish: 4
AP Psychology: 5 (I don't know if this one matters much though)
AP English Language: 5
IB Psychology: 6 (on a scale of 7)</p>

<p>** I'm an IB Diploma candidate. I also did the Middle Years Program, which is a 5-year IB track from 6-10th grade. I KNOW colleges could absolutely care less about middle school activities but this was a 5 year program that extended into 2 years of high school, I'm not sure if I'll end up including it in my apps though.</p>

<p>GPA: 4.2 W (have no clue what it is unweighted, but I only have 3 Bs on my transcript)
Rank: 14/468 (this will hopefully go up in the next few months)
Course Load: I have taken the hardest courses possible in every aspect.
Senior Class Schedule:
AP/IB Bio II (fourth year of science)
IB World Area Studies (fourth year of history)
IB Theory of Knowledge (required for IB Diploma)
AP/IB English Literature (fourth year of English)
AP/IB Spanish V aka Spanish Lit (fifth year of Spanish)
AP/IB Calculus BC (fifth year of math)</p>

<p>ECs:
-National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta (my filler ECs, I know they don't matter)
-Swimming
JV 9th, 10th
Lettered 11th
Varsity 11th, 12th
-Debate
5th-place UIL All-District Prose Interpretation 10th grade (not sure if this is anything worth mentioning or not)
-Elected VP of National Spanish Honor Society
-heavily involved in Youth Council (leadership position) and youth activities at church--about 10/15 hours a week for 52 weeks a year for the 4 years of high school
-Elected student body Vice President --requires about 10 hours of work a week
-Physics Club (I only did this junior year, becuase that's the only year I was eligible for it, but I devoted 10 hours a week to it...not sure if it's worthwhile mentioning though)</p>

<p>AWARDS:
-Academic All-District for Swimming 9th, 10th (missed it 11th because I was doing mission work in Honduras and missed the qualifying meet)
-Trustee Award 9th, 10th, 11th (awarded to top students at my high school)
-Outstanding Hispanic Leader Award (awarded to one or two students from each high school in my city's district, I think)</p>

<p>COMMUNITY SERVICE:
I have about 400 years of community service over the past 4 years; none of it is soup-kitchen-type work though. I have taken many trips with my church during the summers and have done everything from repairing run-down churches in New Orleans (pre-Katrina, however) to spending 8 hours a day with inner-city Nashville kids at a Boys & Girls club to re-roofing houses in 110 degree heat on the Mexican border. Last year I received a scholarship to go to Honduras and do mission work. I think I could write great essays about any of these trips (too cliche of a topic, though??). </p>

<p>WORK:
I couldn't get a job until this past summer because I'm young for my grade, but I worked 3 jobs this summer for about 40-50 hours a week.</p>

<p>During the school year I'm working 10-15 hours a week, all of this to save money for college.</p>

<p>My recommendations will be great, the teachers know me well and understand how badly I want to break the mold of settling for what's easy in my family and go to an Ivy League school.</p>

<p>My essays will hopefully be awesome, I don't wnat to brag but I'm fairly good at writing.</p>

<p>Sorry that this post is so long and obnoxious, but I am COMPLETELY IGNORANT AND CLUELESS. I don't know where to set my sights, I don't know if I'm being completely unrealistic in my schools, I really am desperate for any and all advice. </p>

<p>Possible schools:
Princeton
Stanford
Yale
Dartmouth
Harvard
Georgetown
Penn
UNC-Chapel Hill
USC
Berkeley
UCLA</p>

<p>(my safeties are all Texas schools that I'm already into because of top 10% rulings)</p>

<p>Thank you again for your time.</p>

2

<p>hey, i just posted my resume...we're kind of alike, lol. except you're better. sorry i can't offer too much help, i'm pretty clueless as well.</p>

3

<p>That's a good list for you.</p>

4

<p>How in the world did you come up with this list. I'd say that you either are pulling our legs, or you just really don't have a clue. Sorry to be so flipant, but seriously, these schools are all so different. It doesn't supprise me however, that you are applying to almost all the Ivy League schools. It sounds like you really don't know what you want from a school. I'd say you need to focus on what you want from a school before just applying because it has a good reputation.</p>

5

<p>You're right. I AM COMPLETELY CLUELESS.
If anybody wants to know why I made this list...I guess I can do that?
I'm not just kidding around though.</p>

<p>I haven't been able to visit any of these schools, and I know that my list will be cut down before I actually apply...but:</p>

<ol>
<li>Harvard's on there because the Undergrad Minority Recruitment Program has called me a couple times, and they at least sound like they would like me to apply (I know this doesn't mean I will be accepted)</li>
<li>Princeton is probably my number one choice. From what I've read, there is at least a substantial focus on undergrads there, which is something I'm looking for.</li>
<li>The atmosphere of Dartmouth is what attracts me to it, the whole woodsy and outdoor thing is appealing.</li>
<li>My mom is making me apply to USC.</li>
</ol>

<p>I didn't just pick any of these for the brand name, even though a lot of people probably won't believe that. You're right in that I am clueless. I am looking to prepare for a top-tier law school. My family is for the most part lazy and have thrown away opportunities left and right. I want to break free from that mold and utilize every opportunity I can.</p>

<p>And this is another thing: I need the money. Private Ivy Leagues can offer better financial aid than most state schools can. I dont know...this is why I'm asking for help. But aside from that, do you have any comments on my chances?</p>

6

<p>I think your list is fine. It's going to be expensive to apply to so many schools, though, so try your best to research and cut down the list.
Even if your list is a little too long (more than 10 is a bit much) it's ok--you can make your choices once decisions come in. It's always good to have more options--just keep in mind that applications cost quite a bit of money.</p>

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<p>i know this thread is dull and they all look the same after awhile, but i really am desperate. i'm sorry its posted in this forum twice, somebody moved it? ANY advice would be appreciated</p>

8

<p>first problem is see is that you really don't a safety school to apply to to lean back on just in case your luck sucks and you don't get into any other school. ur ec's (minus the community service) aren't that particularly mindblowing. however, because you have urm, you have a pretty fair chance at princeton if you ed, and you work your math score, and you take your sat2s. the problem is just whether you want to take your sat2's first, or sat's first, because you'll only have 2 opportunities left for your early school.</p>

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<p>i can answer that question for you. She is in the top 10% of her class in Texas, meaning she has automatic admission to UT-Austin. So basically she can load her list with reaches.</p>

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<p>oh i heard of that rule, damn 10% texans rule. what if you're the top 10% of a sucky school? that's unfair.</p>

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<p>yeah, they are probably going to do away with that rule within the next couple years. people transfer to worse high schools just to get into top 10%. but jaken333 is right, my safeties are UT-Austin, Texas A&M, and if things get really really bleak Texas Tech (no offense to anybody who loves that place). Does anybody have any specific recommendations for other schools that would be good matches? Or maybe just going through my list and saying match/reach? I know most of them are pretty tough...but really I don't know what I'm doing here.</p>

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<p>sorry to be so annoying...but please, anyone and everyone advice is welcome...</p>

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<p>I think you have a good list. I mean you're bound to get into one of them, and you do have the stats to prove it.</p>

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<p>bump... (10 chars)</p>

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<p>j07:</p>

<p>UCB/UCLA: Match (out of state)
UCSD: Safe Match (out of state)</p>

16

<p>Um, can you tell me why on earth you're applying to the UC's out of state?</p>

17

<p>what? why wouldn't i?
do you think i won't get in to any of them?
like i said in my thread, i don't know anything about college. pretty much i want to go east coast or cali just for location purposes, so...i don't know. i'm kinda confused by that question.</p>

18

<p>bump again??
sorry in advance if i'm being annoying...</p>

19

<p>dude u got a pretty good chance, with you being a minority and all</p>

<p>umm another thing, you made this awesome resume, and yet ur so clueless, you aint joking right?</p>

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<p>i have read books...that's about it though.
as for my resume, i just listed every single thing i could think of, i don't even know if i will put some of that on my apps...i was just trying to be thorough.
basically in my family/school, people think "oh of course you'll get in, if you even decide to apply there, which is dumb because you can't afford it and ivy league schools aren't worth anything anyway"</p>

<p>and i don't agree with them. and so i was just trying to get a REALISTIC perspective on my chances, because i really am kinda clueless about how i measure up to anybody else.</p>