<p>Hi guys! Just reading through the SSP thread makes me feel like I belong there. So, before I bother applying, can you tell me if my stats are good enough? First of all, I'm junior and I'm taking PreCalc.
SAT: 2180- 660CR 720M (bad day, I guess) 800W
PSAT: 220 - 64CR 80M 76W
GPA: 4.45 weighted 3.87 unweighted (we add .5 for honors, 1.0 for AP
ECs: nothing too special, I feel like its a laundry list, but I've done it all since freshman year unless it says otherwise.
My Alpha Theta (treasurer this year) Key Club (I organize a lot of the events) Academic Quiz Team (4th place in district last year) NHS (inducted sophomore year) Model UN (President this year)
I also founded a Creative Writing Club this year. I started playing lacrosse sophomore year and made varsity. I have a part time job in retail. </p>
<p>I attended a Duke TIP summer program after freshman year, but it was very challenging... I know I have a lot of excess information here, but I figured I may as well include it on here as well. I haven't really looked at the application yet. But I know I could get good letters of recommendation, and if there are essays, I can write pretty well, I guess. </p>
<p>So yeah, that's pretty much it. I want to major in astrophysics, and I can't find any other programs that are similar... Do you think I have a chance? Or are there any other programs you know of? Thanks so much if you are willing to read all that! :)</p>
<p>Hi, I haven’t actually been to SSP, but I know some people that have. I would say your SAT, PSAT scores are just a tad bit lower than what I’ve heard about, but everything else looks in fine shape. They do say that you have to be on track to finish calculus by the end of high school, but my friends agree that having a solid calculus background is helpful so you might want to go a little beyond the classroom just this year. Otherwise, you should be fine. Oh, I might also be concerned at the absence of any science research experience, but not everybody they admit does anyway.</p>
<p>On an unrelated note, I saw that you were your school’s Model UN president. I was thinking of starting a Model UN club at my school since it doesn’t have one, but I’ve read that it’s really expensive and people say that you have to compete at colleges against college teams. Is it true that it is really expensive and competition is pretty unbalanced? I don’t want eveybody to get really discouraged by it really fast. Thanks!</p>
<p>Thank you for replying. I am planning to take AP calc next year, so I’ll see what I can do outside the classroom. I’m sure if I get in my teacher will help me prepare. I’m hoping that my 80 on the PSAT will balance out the 720 I got on the SAT. (I get 800 on practice tests consistently…) I plan to retest in March or April, too late for sending it to them.
For MUN-
It really depends on how competitive you want it to be. Our school has been known at the competition as the “joke team” for the past couple years. But this year, I’m making everyone write a position paper and making sure everyone knows their topic before the competition. We only go to one or two each year, because that’s all there are where I live. Maybe next year we’ll be good enough to travel other places. One school in our district traveled to Harvard and Turkey for competitions - they’re really into it.
But you should definitely start a team. Make it kind of chill for the first year, and try next year to build it up, after people know what’s going on and are interested. It’s a really great experience; I mean, you kind of get to role play as your country, but also practice debating and public speaking, writing and research!</p>