Standing in the dark about this whole process. Help!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
1

<p>I’m terribly confused as to where I stand. My SAT scores are at best, average. I’m expecting a 1900 at most. I have a solid weighted GPA of 4.3 (but everyone does these days). I haven’t taken every challenging class possible because my previous counselor believed I wasn’t up to par with the people in my class who were native english speakers.
Part of the discrepancies in my academic record can be attributed to my atypical situation. I am a US-born citizen by document, but I have lived in South Korea for two-thirds of my life (where I’ve been educated in an international school).
Here’s an outline of my academic record:
GPA
9th: 3.3 (bio 9, CP Alg, Eng 9, Fine Art I, PE, Music, Spanish I, US History 9, World History)
10th: 3.7 (Acting I, Aerobics, Bio II, CP Geometry, Government, Honors Eng; Mental Health; Spanish II, US History 10)
11th: 4.0 (first semester: accounting I; AP psyc; Chem 1, CP Alg II; honors anatomy; honors english; Spanish III; second semester: Adv. Chem; Adv. Spanish III; Alg II, Anat/Phys; AP Psyc; Adv. Eng Religion 11; Speech)
12th: 4.3 (AP Spanish; AP English: Religion 12, Ap Government; Adv. Physics; Calculus; Ceramics/Graphic Arts) </p>

<p>My extracurricular activities:
Great Miami Youth Orchestra (First Violin) - two and half years
Grace Korean Church (Violin for Choir) - two years
Science Fair (first place at international school in South Korea) - 9th grade
Su Casa (community service) - one year (sr. summer)
Chesterwood Village Nursing home - one year (jr. summer)
NSLC (National Leadership Conference) - (sr. summer)
Creative Writer’s Workshop (Summer program at Duke University)
Spanish Club (President) - 11th grade and probably through 12th grade
Babel Tower (a multicultural club I had started at school) - 11th grade
Psychology Club - 11th grade (no longer available in the school I transferred to.)
Big Sister, Little Sister - 11th grade (no longer available in the school I transferred to.)
Student Government - 9th grade - president; 10th grade - just transferred student; 11th grade - transferred to a new school so missed the chance to become elected so I became Rep.
I’ve also helped Korean immigrants who have been invited to the pastor’s house with adjusting to the American culture and English.
From middle school I’ve worked as a translator (korean - english).</p>

<p>I missed many chances to get involved in the National Honors Society and clubs such as that because I had transferred high schools three times. I also failed to win various academic awards for this reason also. Because I had no one to provide transportation for after school activities I couldn’t be involved in sports. </p>

<p>I cannot rely on anyone for guidance concerning colleges except my counselor. And in all honesty, she isn’t attentive to my needs. The pastor and his wife have shed great spiritual light unto my life, but they are not familiar with American colleges and their admission processes. My parents in South Korea are also unfamiliar with American colleges. </p>

<p>Since I don’t live with my parents I don’t have the liberty to make college visits and such. I want to inform Wellesley, Brown and Cornell of my interests, but I don’t know how I should go about doing that. </p>

<p>After reading everyone’s near perfect SAT scores, GPAs, extracurricular activities, and etc I realized the Ivies are so much more competitive than I previouisly thought they were. Would anyone give me some advice as to where I stand in the admissions process for Wellesley, Brown, and Cornell?
I’m very nervous about all of this as many of you are. I don’t know how I’ll ever handle this by myself. Please help!</p>

2

<p>hey, I would be more than willing to attempt to help you with your college search. my AIM screen name is yeah im jason 27 and my email is <a href="mailto:goliath72545@hotmail.com">goliath72545@hotmail.com</a></p>

<p>I know what scores and stuff most schools accept, and I think i'd be able to help you get on track.</p>

3

<p>i'd be cautious about seriously considering the advice of anonymous posters on this matter--especially from people who claim to know "what scores and stuff most schools accept"</p>

<p>as a long time brown student who has been involved with admissions, i'd say never say never. give it your best shot. people have been accepted to brown with lower stats on paper than the ones you've posted. most people who are accepted have higher stats but that doesn't mean your SAT's and GPA are deal breakers. brown is likely to take your frequent moving into account. how you sell yourself can make a big difference.</p>

4

<p>yes, I'm a vicious, credential-degrading vermin.</p>

<p>no.</p>

<p>Brown is probably the most random school when it comes to admissions, so its very hard, harder than for most schools, to guage your chances.</p>

<p>anyways, dcircle, i didn't realize that attempting to help someone with their request for anonymous help on an internet message board was a harmful act</p>

5

<p>check the websites of the schools you're interested in and take note of the sked of information sessions that tour around the country in september and october. attend the ones that are near you. these sessions, in your case, can substitute for a campus visit. plus you get to meet admission officers and pick their minds on the admission process.</p>

6

<p>Thank you for your advice dcircle. May I ask you for some more input? I'm confused as to how I should "sell" myself. If you are referring to the essay, I am confident that I can write an insightful one, but my essay has a conservative voice that liberal colleges don't really take to. Does Brown prefer liberal students? I am not particularly relgious, but I am going to incorporate principles of the Bible that I believe and the person who had laid those foundations for me. Other than my life with the pastor's wife, I have nothing I can really "sell". I'm not spectacular at anything. The only aspect I admire about myself is my determination to come to the states without my family for the sole purpose of to self-advance myself intellectually and culturally. I have pushed myself to the limit, but how can I convey this to Brown without impressive accomplishments? I really wish I had a chance to prove myself, but that would only be in the essays. Those who have been accepted to Brown with lower stats than me probably have made notable national acheivements. How can I portray myself as a person of "Brown" capacity? As a former brown admission's officer, would you say Brown is random in its admissions process? What does Brown value most in its applicants? My cousins have graduated from Brown, but they aren't legacies. I doubt Brown accepts legacy students much anyway. Thank you for responding. I hope to receive more input from you again. Thank you.</p>

7

<p>i'm a student that volunteered my time on admissions committees, not a former admissions officer, so you should take my advice with some grains of salt as well.</p>

<p>the only helpful thing i (or probably anyone) can tell you, is to convey a coherent and strong identity. this is as opposed to a laundary list of experiences that had limited meaningful value to you. if possible, try to have you letters of recommendation substantiate this identity--they will be more important than any other non-numerical factor.</p>

<p>brown does not "prefer" a mostly liberal student body so much as it attracts them. if your conservative views are an important part of who you are and/or what you do, you ought to highlight them. there are plenty of vocally conservative students at brown--in fact the student speaker at last year's commencement spoke extensively about his conservative views when reflecting on his brown experience.</p>

8

<p>thanks, thanks, and thanks again! Would you mind keeping in touch with me?</p>