<p>hello
so before anyone says "why are you worrying about college already," i''d like to say, that's just the kind of person i am. haha.i like to keep things in perspective and have an idea of what's coming up...</p>
<p>currently, i have a few ideas of colleges i'm interested in but they're either reach schools or fall back schools. i really don't have any target schools that interest me. im interested in history and international relations so maybe a lawyer-ish type path. i am really not at all interested by the maths or sciences.</p>
<p>a bit about me:
i live in the chicagoland suburbs and go to a very competitive public high school. we don't have class rank but im pretty sure im in the top 5%. weighted gpa of 4.4 and all honors/AP classes. Currently all A's... though my precalc grade is tettering very dangerously...My extracurriculars include JV badminton, Model UN, Human Rights Club, and rotary interact. I love drawing and i attend private lessons. Also chinese school (ugh...)</p>
<p>my reach schools:
1. brown university (a horrendusly hard reach)
2. Northwestern (same)
3. UCLA ..only accepts around 5% out of staters :[
4. USC</p>
<p>Middle: Notre Dame</p>
<p>Fall backish
1. U of I urbana champaign
2. U of W madison
3. Illinois Welsleyan University</p>
<p>i know those are a lot of colleges but i'm keeping my options open because it's not like i don't have the time to. They're all over the country too...</p>
<p>Bottom line question: what should i do in terms of Sat subject tests and/or AP tests. Any suggestions older people have with experiences? Suggestions for target schools that might be a good fit?</p>
<p>Regarding the SAT, I took it and found it much easier than I expected. I only got a 2060, but that was as a freshman with no studying whatsoever.</p>
<p>AP tests are a different story. I am facing my first at the end of this year (AP Calc AB) and am pretty scared. But my Calc teacher is unbelievably awesome, and we spend the last month of the class reviewing for the test. Just make sure you do AP problems for practice - some of them are tricky!</p>
<p>Dravinna,
it is good you are thinking about college already, it is right around the corner for you. I would try to figure out what kind of school you are interested in before you start making your list. Would you prefer a big university, or small LAC? Location? Money? I am just going to throw some names of colleges out there for you to look into so you can see what you might prefer.</p>
<p>TOP LACS
Swarthmore, Williams, Amherst
Middle line LACS
Franklin and Marshall, Grinell, Oberlin
Lower line(for you, higher for others)
Ursinus, Muhlenberg, Gettysburg</p>
<p>Top Public Universities
UVA, Michigan, UNC
Middle line Public Universities
Rutgers, Florida, Penn State</p>
<p>Out of all these schools, Swarthmore is my favorite LAC. UVA is my favorite Public University. Both are good for the lawyer-ish path.</p>
<p>The midwest has a lot of excellent public and private options (it's also home to the best school in the nation, tee hee hee) so even if you're staying in region, you're in luck.</p>
<p>Definitely consider WashU and Chicago. You're already interested in Notre Dame and Northwestern, the other two midwestern private superelites-- and then you can rule them out. It looks like sports scene is a relatively important factor to you, and if it is, then WashU and Chicago might not be good fits.</p>
<p>Consider Michigan and Indiana too. Both of them have great representation and name recognition in the Second City and nation-wide.</p>
<p>Other thoughts: Duke (weather and sports), UNC, University of Pittsburgh, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, University of Texas-Austin, Boston College</p>