<p>Hey, guys. A friend of mine who is a junior is trying to start her college search, but the counselor isn't much of a help and gave her a list of about 2,000 colleges that she's a "perfect match" for. I told her I'd start a chance thread to find some colleges she's a match for and that offer a strong chemistry program. (This is most likely going to be her major. Either way, she prefers a strong science-based school.)</p>
<p>-Unweighted GPA: 3.7
-Weighted GPA: ~4.5
-Residency: AZ, though she can claim for WA as well
-Race: 1/4 Chinese, 3/4 Caucasian
-Income: Middle-to-low, neither parent went to college</p>
<p>-AP Courses: None fresh/soph. Junior: Government, Calculus AB, Chemistry, English Lit (predicting 4 on Gov/Lit, 5 on Calc/Chem)</p>
<ul>
<li>High School Courses
<ul>
<li>Freshman: Geometry, Algebra II, Biology, English, (not sure what electives)</li>
<li>Sophomore: Chemistry, Physics, Pre-Calculus, English, (not sure what electives)</li>
<li>Junior: AP Chemistry, Drama, AP English Lit, Academic Decathlon, AP Calc AB (college credit), AP Government, AP Economics, Computer-Aided Design</li>
<li>Projected Senior Schedule: AP Stats, AP Calc BC, Calc III (college course), Academic Decathlon, possibly AP Physics</li>
</ul></li>
</ul>
<p>-class rank/size: 5-6/18</p>
<p>-High School: Current school is competitive charter school, well-known throughout the region for maxing out on every science fair/math contest/international competitions. Previous school was a prestigious private school in Washington.</p>
<p>-SAT/ACT scores -- 680M/690R/570W, 1370 or 1940</p>
<p>-ECs
- Academic Decathlon: Scholastic (2008-2010), very dedicated and pretty good scores
- Thespians: Costume Manger (2008-2010)
- Lego League: Mentor (2008-2009)
- Basketball: Not sure of position, on school team (2005-2008)
- Volleyball: Not sure of position, on school team (2005-2008)
- Math League: Member (2008-2010)
- No real volunteer work yet, but she'll be in NHS next year and may join me at a local organization for HIV/AIDS awareness this summer</p>
<p>-Summer Programs
- Either going to go to SSP or SHARP program this summer.</p>
<p>-honors/awards: not many yet since her old school didn't do much competitions and she didn't look for them...
- Academic Decathlon: top 20 at AZ state for scholastics, about 4 medals, team made it to state and placed 8th overall
- Math League: Part of #1 team in the state</p>
<p>-Letters of Rec: Will be very strong, one coming from a math professor, the other probably from a chemistry teacher who holds her in high esteem.
As for essays, she's a decent writer, but some editing will bring hers up closer to the top of the pile. I have a feeling she's going to write about her history with science classes and teamwork. She's taken two science and two math courses a year for most of high school and still managed to excel in them when the rest of the class has taken more classes and are upper-classmen.</p>
<p>-College choices:
She's been thinking a bit about going internationally to a Turkish college (as we go to a primarily Turkish high school), but she's leaning towards staying in the US, I think. Distance doesn't seem to be a matter for her, so anywhere in the US is open. She's really looking at the top 100 schools/ivy league, but partly wanted a chance thread since she doesn't think she can get into them. Her main goal is to find a school with a very strong science program.</p>