<p>great tips</p>
<p>what if you have been to three different school??? I did a LOT of extracurricular fresh and soph year, but we have been moving so much and i ahven’t really had a chance to do a lot of EC’s… i was in HOSA,NHS, and the English Academic Team last year(junior yr) and this year i’m in HOSA and i’m trying to join NHS but for some reason they won’t let me join since i’m new… arghhh</p>
<p>Great, I am worried about my ECs</p>
<p>Yes this is the thread I’ve been looking for 
I have a question, do SAT subject tests count for a lot for admissions? I have an awesome SAT 1 score but my subject test scores…not so stellar…will this affect me negatively?</p>
<p>thank you so much!</p>
<p><em>subscribing to thread</em></p>
<p>OP- Congrats on BU. My son started his second year and he’s thriving there academically and athletically.</p>
<p>A few comments which are just my experience/perspective/opinion:</p>
<p>It’s dismaying to see the original post followed by questions which ask if a SAT score of XXX is “good enough”. The entire point of the first post was missed. Yes, the higher the SAT the better but it’s a subjective process…SAT scores are not used as a “hard cutoff”. A well-rounded person may be accepted while another with SAT scores 200 points higher may not be. Don’t lose sight of the holistic “big picture” and keep in mind different colleges weigh what’s important differently. Captain of the swim team may be golden at one U, helping run a downtown soup kitchen for your church might be at another.</p>
<p>One person commented that personal issues hurt his academics in his frosh/soph HS years. I recall a very similar example being cited at a recruiting presentation by BU staff. A student had a low GPA in her soph year but improved somewhat in her later years. She was accepted. Her mother died and she had to help take care of young siblings. The BU admissions officer said that overcoming an adversity in life shows great leadership qualities…and the same thing was said at a UC presentation. Strongly consider using that as the centerpiece of your essay since it sounds like you overcame it rather than being “victim”.</p>
<p>Many schools are de-emphasizing SAT’s… UC (Calif) is in the process of phasing out SAT’s entirely and (I believe) no longer accepts Subject Tests. UC has a (sometimes controversial) initiative to give preference to well-rounded students rather than “focused” students with outstanding scores and little else.</p>
<p>Additional tips- Take AP or IB classes and exams, especially if the subjects relate to your major. It shows you will be interested and able to handle college-level work. And, if you pass the test it will save some serious $$ by not having to take the course in college and possibly graduating sooner.</p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
<p>I got have a low gpa unweighted (2.9) because I wasnt focused enough. I took a lot of honors classes, but only one AP this year (stats). I did fairly well on the sat 2000. I help out at my church a lot and I am active in the confirmation program. Im also 4 year varsity golf and captain since junior year. Im hispanic also if that makes any difference. Im from LA and I really want to go to a good school, but I know im a longshot even at a decent one. What should I do? Also im taking the sat again in october, but i dont think im going to do much better especially since I havnt been studying for it. </p>
<p>My dream schools are pepperdine, wake forest, and the University of Miami. </p>
<p>Other schools are Loyola Marymount University, Santa Clara, University of San Francisco, Marquette</p>
<p>To be honest I know I would be happy at any of these places. I have moved around a lot in my life and know how to adjust. Do you think its realistic I would be accepted at any of these? Should I even apply to college?</p>
<p>Thank you so much SidtheKid, you gave me the inspiration to continue my applications 
God bless</p>
<p>Thank you. You will never know how much I needed that.</p>
<p>Go for it diegocortez! The truth is, race does matter in college admissions and as a Hispanic student, you are an underrepresented minority. But, you also have some really nice EC’s and a Varsity letter! You also have a potentially interesting story to tell regarding the fact that you moved around a lot.</p>
<p>Try your best to bring up your GPA because that could hurt you and although your SAT is very good at 2000, imagine how much better it could be if you studied for it? </p>
<p>Your work ethic may be your stumbling block as you may not have fully applied yourself in school earning you only a 2.9 and you didn’t study for the SAT. It sounds like you are realizing that now which is a sign of maturity. Address this issue now in order to be successful in college no matter where you end up. The goal is not only to get in but to do well and stay in.</p>
<p>You say you moved around a lot which could make for a very interesting personal statement essay. Make sure if you choose this topic, you focus on lessons learned and how you grew from that experience.</p>
<p>Do not be discouraged. Just get cracking on showing an upward trend in your grades and that you are going to work hard for the opportunity to go to college and succeed.
I wish you the best of luck!!</p>
<p>er . . . um . . . effect?</p>
<p>Great thread! Thanks so much!</p>
<p>It depends on your ranking in the examination of the entrance examination.according to rank you get your college as you deserve.</p>
<p>Can someone read my essay and let me know if it answers the prompt correctly! Any revisions would be helpful, thanks! </p>
<p>Prompt: Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you belong, and describe that community and your place within it. (Approximately 250 words)</p>
<p>Looking at me or even speaking to me, one could not tell that I am Albanian, but once a person gets to know me and is around my family more often, my Albanian heritage starts to show. It’s little things such as the food, like baklava or burek, sitting on my kitchen counter, my father’s heavy accent, and the Albanian CDs laying near my computer that show my Albanian heritage. The commonly asked questions like, “Why is your family yelling at each other?” or “Why is your mom screaming into the phone?” that also give off that Albanian essence. There is no such thing as “indoor voices” when it comes to family gatherings or overseas phone calls; that is just normal speaking volume for my family and Albanians in general. Aside from the Albanian language, food and music, the intense sense of family morals and respect is a huge part of my culture. It is something that I had learned at a young age and, to this day, is still incredibly important to me. I am part of the first generation that was born in America, so opposed to my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, I can intertwine the American culture with my Albanian culture. Being raised in America makes me view things differently than past generations but having my family around with the strong Albani</p>
<p>this was a great read</p>
<p>Has anyone noticed that sidthekid hasn’t come back to the post. I know he might be busy being in college and all, but started a post like this without reply to anyone in the last 3 or 4 pages…what’s up with that?</p>
<p>very helpful, thank you!</p>
<p>may i ask, what were some of your ECs?</p>
<p>Now i’m confused. How do you show yourself in an application (minus the essay parts)? I mean it’s all just facts and stuff. Now i’m kind of worried about my ECs. I listed about 9 or so, most of them having to do with volunteering, 1 of them about sports, a lot about tutoring. But what will colleges think if i haven’t done all of them in all 4 years? like the sports one, tennis, i was only on my school team for 9th & 10th grade because I got cut from the team in 11th. That doesn’t necessarily mean i’m inconsistent with it. And what if you don’t check the “I plan to continue this in college” button for all of them? like most of them like National Honor Society you can’t really do in college. Also what if I put one that I only did for like 1 or 2 years but i’m still passionate about? How can i show that i actually care about them? This was a really good post but the part about the ECs kinda confused me now haha. Sid or anyone please help!</p>