Stressing Out About College

Parents Forum
1

<p>To clarify, I'm a high school student in my last year. Northstarmom advised me to post in this section so here I am. I've been meaning to post this but I was too shy. I'd appreciate it if you would read this thoroughly, despite its length. Thank you very much for taking your time out of your daily life and reading this! </p>

<p>Well, I'm stressed out about college and honestly, there's no one around me I can go to except this forum. My dream college is to enroll in the University of Southern California however...</p>

<p>*I don't think I stand a chance within the competition for USC
*I don't know what to write for my essays because I don't think my ideas are good
*So far, I have a 1400 on a SAT I took (but it was a practice one; different from the PSAT!) but I'm yearning for a 2100 or at least in the 2000 range to boost up my academic profile
*However, I didn't study the entire summer because I found it hard to sit down and study and with little time remaining, I don't know if I can pull a miracle to achieve a 2100 for the October SAT..
*I don't know what schools I should apply and/or put as "match" and "safety" </p>

<p>So there you have it. I'll include my academic profile so you'll have an idea of what kind of student I am. </p>

<p>*Asian
*Female
*Top 20%
*3.459/4.0 (UW, I think)
*Public School
*RI
*Dad graduated from community college, mom only completed high school</p>

<p>G=General
E=Enriched (step up from General)
H=Honors
A2 (new as of last year)=General+Enriched </p>

<p>Freshmen: (3.7/4.0; top 100/300.. in the 80 range)
English (G) A
Algebra I (G) A
Spanish I (G) A
Biology I (G) B
US History (G) B
Drama B </p>

<p>*Sophomore (3.4/4.0; top 100/300.. in the 80 range) *
English (E) B
Geometry (E) B
Spanish II (H) A
Chemistry (E) C or B (I forgot)
US History II (G) A or B (I forgot)
Comp. Apps A >>mandatory to take Comp. Apps<<</p>

<p>Junior (3.459/4.0; top 100/300.. in the 70ish range)
English (A2) A
Algebra II (A2) B
Spanish III (H) A
Physics (H) C
Western Civ. (H) A
Digital Photography A </p>

<p>*Senior: *
English (H)
Pre-Calc (H)
AP Biology
Psychology (H)
**Sports Science (A2) >>I'm switching this class to Honors Sociology or another AP class because it is not what I expected but most likely Sociology though because there is not another AP class besides AP Bio I am interested in yet and Sociology peaks my interest, anyways<<
Culinary Arts </p>

<p>*ECs: *
~Self-studied Japanese (3 years -- ongoing)
~Self-studied Korean (1 year -- ongoing)
~Writing ** do this count?
~Drawing ** do this count?
~Chorus (2 years - Junior/Senior)
~GayStraightAlliance (2 years - Junior/Senior)
~Art Society (4 years) </p>

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<p>Work Experience:
Cashier at a supermarket
~around 15 hours/wk; $7.40/hr
~started working this July </p>

<p>Volunteer Work:
~16 hours recycling around school</p>

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<p>Ah! This final year, I am putting my best effort for the first time to gain all straight A's! Other than that, there you have it. I don't have much going for me, as you can see... however I look forward to the advice here. Thank you, once again, for taking your time out of your daily life to read and respond to this post. I really and truly appreciate it!</p>

2

<p>Well I think your chances of acceptance is low, but not impossible.
This is not unlikely, many have top choice universities that are reaches etc… but perhaps finding a school similar to USC may reduce your stress. </p>

<p>A few other schools you may want to look into ( these schools may also be a reach, match, or safety):
University of Michigan
University of Wisconsin
University of Colorado
University of Miami
University of Arizona
Arizona State University
UC’s</p>

3

<p>Take a deep breath…</p>

<p>It is only early September, you can take the SAT even as late as January. Devote one hour a day, every day and take the test in November. Register to take in again in January (in case you aren’t happy with the November scores). You may not raise it all the way to your goal, but you will improve and there is no point in not using the time you have.</p>

<p>Second, and, I think, more important: I think “dream schools” are illusory. They don’t really exist. USC may be a great school, but there are a hundred great schools and you don’t really know what it would be like to be a USC student; you have a fantasy about being a USC student that may not be very realistic. Whatever you imagine about USC also exists elsewhere. Look around at other schools and find out what you like about those schools.
The above is not to suggest you shouldn’t apply to USC, just that you shouldn’t imagine that there is any one perfect school and should instead look at the positive attributes of a wide range of schools.</p>

4

<p>Oh, wow! I didn’t expect to receive replies this quick! I thank the both of you so much for reading my entire post. </p>

<p>And yes, you are right about thinking of USC as not the only one. In fact, I’m looking into colleges around Boston right now. And thanks for the advice about the SAT. I really didn’t know that you can still take it late in January, even if you are a senior! </p>

<p>Both of your posts made me breathe again. Thanks for posting, once again! And I appreciate any other responses that comes to this thread.</p>

5

<p>I think most colleges will consider SATs taken in January, but some want them earlier–Check the website of the colleges you are looking at to be sure or specific requirements. Good luck!</p>

6

<p>Thanks! Thank you so much!</p>

<p>Also, I’m looking into colleges in Hartford, Connecticut. I had an amazing experience over the summer visiting that city so it would be great to look into colleges there too.</p>

<p>Thanks for giving me an eye-opener on other colleges besides USC that are just as great. I’m so happy to have stumbled upon this forum!</p>

7

<p>We live near Hartford - which is not that popular with the college crowd, so I might be able to suggest a few schools. University of Hartford would be a safety for you. Trinity is much harder but with good SAT’s you would have a shot. St. Joseph’s would also be a safety for you. If there was a specific school you were interested in I could give you my opinion.</p>

8

<p>I don’t think increasing your SAT score from 1400 to 2100 is a realistic goal. You might want to start looking into some SAT-optional schools.</p>

9

<p>I agree with nngmm; a 300 pt. increase would be very good…700 pts isn’t likely, no matter how much you study. As part of your studying for the SAT, why don’t you get a book from the bookstore with real sample SAT tests in it. Go to the library, take a stopwatch, and take a practice test. See if the score you get is anywhere near the 1400 you made before. If it is, you should probably adjust your school list accordingly.</p>

10

<p>I just want to tell you that I am FAR from a good test taker…no matter if I study or not…just know that college admin are PEOPLE who looks for students who would bring something to the school. With this in your head…go with the advice of breathing and retaking the SAT…but know that there are DEFINITELY other schools out there, and SAT scores aren’t EVERYTHING!! There is also NOTHING wrong with applying, just don’t depend on that ONE school</p>

11

<p>USC accepts about 8500 students, 75% of which have SAT scores over 1960. That means there are 2,100 students or so who are admitted with lower scores. Many of those, however, may have some other “hook” that makes any low scores irrelevant (e.g., recruited athletes, auditioning musicians/actors, etc.) Definitely work to improve your SATs (but be realistic – a 700 point improvement is not likely). Given your scores, USC will be a big reach. Sounds like you are already broadening your search – that is good. There are many, many good schools out there that would be potential fits for you.</p>

12

<p>What is it that attracts you to USC? It’s a <em>long</em> way from Rhode Island. </p>

<p>I think you are very smart to look around New England – Boston, Providence, Newport, New London, Hartford, New Hampshire, Springfield. And don’t stress – you are working hard, getting good grades – just get a little test prep on how exactly to take the SAT and go for it!</p>

13

<p>Also talk to your parents about how much they’re willing to spend each year on your college education, use the financial aid calculator that’s on CC’s website, and check the financial aid policies of the colleges before you bother to apply. No reason to apply to colleges that you can’t afford. If you have a low expected financial contribution that doesn’t mean that you’ll get a lot of financial aid. A lot of colleges don’t have the ability to meet the demonstrated financial need of most of their applicants.</p>

<p>Also keep in mind transportation costs. It would cost a lot to travel to a far away school, and even with excellent financial aid, you’d get money to go home for Christmas and at the end of the school year. That could cause you to be very lonely during Thanksgiving and spring break unless you had friends whom you could afford to go home with. Your family may not have the funds to visit you at a faraway school for activities like family weekends.</p>

<p>Many of the public universities that have been suggested to you are not able to provide much aid to out of state students even out of state students with high need. </p>

<p>Most students attend college within 250 miles of their hometowns.</p>

14

<p>You might want to look at Clark University in Worcester MA.</p>