Sophmore looking for Tips and Info

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Male, Half Jewish (Last name= Shapiro) by heritage, although my family has not been religious for generations.</p>

<p>GPA=3.5ish, I should get it up...</p>

<p>I'm taking the hardest courses available at my school, which is an urbanish school, 3000 students, only 50% of which are White. Getting into the top 10% will be easy because of the sheer number of, excuse my language, dumbasses.</p>

<p>However, my school does offer the IB program, which I will be fully enrolled in.</p>

<p>I am interested in Political Science and International Affairs.</p>

<p>My parents both went to Dartmouth, although my mom transferred out after 2 years. Both Phds: Dad = MIT Grad School, Mom = Harvard Grad School.</p>

<p>Colleges I am looking at:
Haverford
Johns Hopkins
American
George Washington
Maybe Dartmouth or Amherst, although they are LARGE reaches</p>

<p>Although I was thinking a nice liberal arts college for undergrad and something in DC for Grad school.</p>

<p>My ECs are Horrid:
2Year JV 2 Year V Soccer
I'm going to do some track, haven't started yet
I am a founding member and board member of a out of school writing program</p>

<p>Now some questions:
I know at my school, IB courses are weighted by .5, how much will this help in admissions? Do colleges care about weighting?</p>

<p>I don't think so, but is there any way extended family alumni could help?</p>

<p>Any recommendations for more ECs?</p>

<p>Any other suggested colleges?</p>

2

<p>Added:
PSAT Scores!
CR:65/80
M:67/80
WS:53/80</p>

<p>I didnt really have a good day and since you cant get those scholarship things as a Soph, I did not study AT ALL which hurt me all over, especially in Writing Skills</p>

<p>7th Grade SATs anyone?
Around a 1050/1600 in 7th Grade, pretty decent</p>

3

<p>Obviously, get those test scores up! Your chances for all of those schools will be helped out greatly if you can do that. Take the ACT and SAT. Take the one you like better again. If you still aren't happy, take it again. </p>

<p>Try and take the hardest classes available to you...as many IBs as you are comfortable with. Good luck to you with your studies...a good GPA and challenging curriculum can help compensate for low test scores (still, get those test scores up).</p>

<p>Now, to your questions:</p>

<p>I know at my school, IB courses are weighted by .5, how much will this help in admissions? Do colleges care about weighting?
in short, no. Most colleges and universities will take your transcript and refigure your GPA using their own standards (most of the time, it's a simple A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, etc.). However, they do care about the rigor of your curriculum...so don't let the fact that they don't really look at weighting discourage you from taking more challenging classes.</p>

<p>I don't think so, but is there any way extended family alumni could help?
Actually, in some cases, yes. There are a few universities with applications that ask you to name "any relative" who attended or graduated from their institution. However, most colleges and universities only ask for your parents' educational information. </p>

<p>Any recommendations for more ECs?
Do things that you are interested in. A high level of involvement will look more impressive to a college than a long list of impressive-sounding ECs with low levels of involvement.</p>

<p>Any other suggested colleges?
Don't limit yourself to east-coast LACs (unless you just simply want the East Coast). There are many good LACs across the country as well as good liberal arts programs at large universities. The University of Texas may be worth looking into, as they have a very good Government program (with internships at the state capitol down the street) as well as several good honors programs for students who want to make the large university feel smaller (Plan II and Liberal Arts Honors are the Liberal Arts-oriented honors programs). If you are looking for a more rural environment, I would suggest Miami University in Ohio, which has a beautiful campus and a liberal arts focus. In addition, they are heavy on study abroad, which could help you if you want to study International Affairs. Along the lines of smaller institutions, Gettysburg College may be worth looking into, as well as Trinity University in Texas.</p>

4

<p>Thanks so much for your reply, I dont think I'll have problems with the standardized tests, I am generally really good at then and will work especcially hard to prepare fot the SAT, etc..</p>

5

<p>Good luck to you. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.</p>

6

<p>Also, I have been wondering this, how much do alumni relations really matter. I mentioned where my Parents went, but my uncles went to Haverford and Hopkins, and I have cousins in Amherst and Brown. I realise these will not save my GPA and other shortcomings, but how much will they help?</p>

7

<p>Any other ideas?</p>

8

<p>Alumni Relations/Legacy Status help more in some places than in others...Harvard is known for preferring Legacies...I cannot speak as to the others because I do not know myself.</p>

9

<p>"I did not study AT ALL which hurt me all over,"</p>

<p>Nobody studies for the sophomore PSAT. It's only a preparation.
Don't worry too much about those scores then. See how you do on your junior PSAT.</p>

10

<p>Again, thanks for the posts.</p>

11

<p>Any new ideas?</p>

12

<p>tell us more about your out of school writing program</p>

<p>what exactly is it / how'd you start it</p>

<p>could make a great conversational piece at an interview, or essay even.</p>

13

<p>Well I didnt personally "start" it, but there I'm on the "Youth Board" and we have been getting it set up and situated for over a year. It provides writing classes for kids grades 5-12 who like to write. We are asslociated with a newspaper that prints work from the program once in a while and we plan on putting together a literary journal in the next year.</p>