<p>i have somehow allowed finding a college consume me.
now that it has consumed me, i thought i’d ask other people about college.</p>
<li><p>how helpful will being from alabama be?</p></li>
<li><p>i want to do international relations, is it best to jump straight into a prestigious undergrad program or take the solid liberal arts path? </p></li>
</ol>
<p>some more about me:</p>
<p>i have a weigthed 4.19 GPA
i recently made a 31 on my ACT (haven’t gotten April 1st SAT back yet)
i’m 1/4 filipino and 1/2 jewish
i’m taking three APs and will take three next year
i take spanish, french, and latin and will continue next year
i’m also interested in languages (obviously)</p>
<p>if anyone has any answers to my questions above or can tell me some good undergrad language programs (especially for the more needed languages), i would appreciate greatly!</p>
<ol>
<li>Not that much. I don't think certain state is going to help much.</li>
<li>I don't really know about international relations.</li>
</ol>
<p>Some comments:
1. I think you should also take the SAT.
2. What is your unweighted GPA? That is more important.
3. Wow you take 3 languages at the same time?!</p>
<p>With your credentials, rather unique background and interests, I'd say your choices are many. Check out schools like Georgetown, Michigan-Ann Arbor and Penn.</p>
<p>i have taken the SAT, my scores from April 1st are not available yet b/c college board delayed everyones.</p>
<p>3.89 unweighted GPA (i calculated this myself so this might be slightly off)
and this year i have an unweighted 4.0 (and hope to finish the year that way)</p>
<p>step back for a minute -- you're not ready to pick schools yet! You need to get a picture in your mind of what type of school is right for you, and then find schools that match that picture. Obviously with your interests you want a school strong in languages and with a good study abroad program (hey, I'll throw out a name -- Kalamazoo), but there's much more than that. Large or small? With advising for each student or one where you're more or less on your own? Near home or far away? What type of students should that school attract? Urban or rural setting? A school with kids from the local area, from the state, or all over the country? A commuter school? And that just scratches the surface of what you should be asking. And until you know what you're looking for, you won't know it when you see it.</p>
<p>So my advice is this: you have plenty of time, so first get informed. There are many great books about college admissions. I'd recommend "Admission Matters" to read first, because it has a solid overview of the whole process including figuring out what type of schools are a fit. I also like the books by Pope such as "Colleges that Change Lives" because they're an antidote to the name-worshipping you see on this forum.</p>
<p>Next is choosing where to apply. You should focus on matches and a safety you'd really like to attend. On these forums people are fixated on the top schools such as HYPS which are great schools, but the odds of admission are small. And there are lots of schools out there that can offer a great college experience but where the odds of admission are much higher. So spend 80% or more of your time finding matches and a safety, which is about the opposite of what most kids on these boards seem to do.</p>
<p>one other thing I forgot to mention that you ought to do at the very start. Consider finances. Have your parents fill out one of the FAFSA calculators online and see what their contribution is expected to be, and whether they can actually contribute that much. There's no sense spending a lot of time and effort looking into schools that are unavailable due to money issues.</p>
<p>thanks for the advice, the FAFSA calculator is probably a very good idea</p>
<p>a little more about me:
i'm definitely looking to get out of alabama
i'd like to stay east of the MS
i feel like i'm looking for a more liberal arts based school (preferably a college or smaller university) with wonderful language options
plus money is a major issue (and i hear financial aid is just getting stingier)</p>
<p>hah! emory is actually my first choice, (but financial aid is a factor, and i know someone who applied as a triplet and got NO aid. can you imagine putting three kids through elite schools at the same time with almost no aid!)</p>
<p>Aid at emory does suck, but its HOTLANTA and I'm in love with the school. Plus I'm following the love of my life there, but she doesnt know about this, so please dont tell her.</p>