Swarthmore?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Princeton is my first choice but I'm looking for a good target/backup (not safety) school. What are my chances at Swarthmore (or maybe Williams)?</p>

<p>High school grad class: 2008
Location/Type: Washington, DC private, all girls
GPA: 3.9 unweighted
Test Scores:
SAT: 800 crit reading 740 math 750 writing
Math Level 2: 780
Literature: 790
US History: 740
AP US: 5
AP Latin: 5
AP Eng Lang: 5
AP Eng Lit: 5
AP Macro: 5
AP Spanish Lang: 4
PSAT: 227</p>

<p>I've taken 6 classes and 2 languages (5 is the usual at my school) the past 3 years. I have good teacher recs (I hope) and an outstanding "additional rec."</p>

<p>ECs:
Teacher's Assistant/Tutor -- at my school AND at an urban charter school
Varsity Tennis/Competitive USTA Tennis -- could play D3 but not D1 probably
Volunteering at a free medical clinic -- twice a month, all of high school
School Newspaper -- staff writer (9, 10), news editor (11) (I quit for senior year bc I'll be spending a lot of time on my independent study in Urban Education)</p>

<p>(there are a lot more ECs but i only put the ones important to me)</p>

<p>Awards:
United Nations Association (DC area) High School Essay Contest -- 1st place
Fellowship to study at Oxford (from my school, for excellence in expository writing)
The Maureen O'Donnell Oxford Classical Dictionary Award -- for 4 years of gold medals on the National Latin Exam (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
Silver Medal National Spanish Exam 2007
Tennis Independent School League Champion, 4 singles, 2007
Tennis Independent School League Champion, 3 singles, 2005</p>

<p>Summer Experiences:
2007 -- Outward Bound North Cascades Mountaineering
Studying at Oxford (for the fellowship)
tennis
2006 -- Outward Bound Sierra Nevada Mountaineering
tennis
2005 -- Center for Talented Youth International Politics
tennis</p>

<p>I also plan to take a gap year and do the following:
Summer: teach urban students at a program called Summerbridge
Fall/Winter: go on the NOLS semester course in Patagonia
Winter/Spring: work as a ski instructor
Spring/Summer: work or get an internship in DC (or teach)</p>

<p>So, 1) Will the gap year help, hurt, or not affect my chances? 2) What are my chances at prestigious liberal arts schools like Swarthmore, Williams, and Amherst? 3) Any suggestions for safety schools? I intend to major in Education or Public Policy. 4) Any other suggestions?</p>

2

<p>1) I don't think it'd affect your chances.</p>

<p>2) Very good. You have a very impressive resume.</p>

3

<p>You will have a much better chance at Swat or Williams if they recruit you for tennis than you have at Princeton, but they are hardly safeties.</p>

<p>Your biggest problem at Princeton if you go to a strong DC private is competing with the kids of powerful people and legacies at all DC privates if you're not one.</p>

4

<p>Are you at NCS? If you are, looking at your school's scatterplot for admitted students would be helpful to you. Much more helpful than this board.</p>

5

<p>I don't know how to log in to the scatterplot. I guess you go to NCS too then?</p>

6

<p>If people from NCS are on these boards I guess I better not post detailed information then...it would be awkward if people knew my scores and stuff. Maybe I can get the admin to take it down.</p>

7

<p>I don't go to NCS. But there are only so many girls schools in DC.</p>

8

<p>Well there's Visi...and Holton...and Stone Ridge (isn't that all girls?)...and Madeira. I mean Holton and Madeira aren't IN the city itself but it's the same area. Still, I should try to do a better job of protecting anonymity. Oh and yes, I will try to find my scatterplot.</p>

9

<p>Stone Ridge is all girls--it's in Bethesda.</p>

10

<p>hi catherine</p>

11

<p>You are a perfect candidate for Northwestern's School of Education and Social Policy (SESP). The gap year spent teaching will help-- although you are already highly qualified for Swarthmore and Northwestern. A gap year teaching will help you to decide what you want to pursue, demonstate maturity and responsibility. At Northwestern you will receive extensive guidance and the opportunity to double major in the College of Arts and Sciences. Multiple internships are also available to Northwestern University's SESP students whose average SAT was about 1440 this year. Also consider the Univ. of Chicago if you want to obtain a PhD.</p>