thinking about my list, resume

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I posted a little while ago and have revised some things, so here is my resume. I'm trying to figure out the range of colleges I can attend. I'm humble enough to be pretty sure harvard and princeton are way out of my reach, but I am looking at places like University of Chicago, Dartmouth, Columbia, and Duke as possible reaches or slight reaches.</p>

<p>Backstory:</p>

<p>I homeschooled through the public school system for the first 3 years of high school due to allergies. Basically, my nose would run or I'd feel so lousy that being in school just wasn't productive for me, and I would tend to be absent a lot, so I homeschooled. My health has improved a lot now, mainly due to getting allergy shots four times a week. I am in my senior year at a local high school now and taking basic classes because of this, not that many APs or anything.</p>

<p>In addition to this, around the start of winter in my sophomore year my mom went mentally insane. To this day she is a clinical psychotic and I have had to take care of her on a daily basis.</p>

<p>Demographic:
Southern Kansas
White (one generation away from being qualified for Indian scholarship money, D'oh!)
18
Male</p>

<p>Classes:
Your vanilla stuff, 4 years in history, math, english, and science, 2 years of foreign language, have a college credit for precalc and am taking a college course in English (passing with above 100% right now I think). I also have taken the Cisco networking and computer systems classes, passed with As.</p>

<p>GPA: 3.8
Top 10% in class of 335</p>

<p>Test scores:
SAT I: Taking in november, since I'm a Kansas boy I didn't put importance on these until now
SAT II: Waiting for results (nerrrrvous)
ACT: 32 composite (retaking this saturday, I think my math score will improve because I had forgotten some of the basics)
ACT category breakdown:
Math - 27
Science - 30
English - 34
Reading - 36</p>

<p>Hobbies (things I don't think count as EC but they're interests):
- Guitar (I suck but I'm learning)
- Golf, I love golf and hope to make the team this spring. Before this year I couldn't even go outside my allergies were so bad, but now I can and golf is a fantastic chance to get outside and enjoy the outdoors.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
- NHS</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Volunteer twice weekly for a few hours at a local children's home: we are a shelter for beaten or displaced children</p></li>
<li><p>Peer tutor as well as tutoring kids in the later stages of elementary school</p></li>
<li><p>Started and run a small business: Around the end of my junior year I got sick of not working because I have to take care of my mom so much. Over the summer I drew up plans and now in the fall everything is getting wheels. Basically I build arcade machines in my garage and sell them. Occasionally I hire friends or family to help me out when I get too many orders, and I enjoy it quite a bit.</p></li>
<li><p>Stock market simulation team captain and founder: I am interested in the business field and wanted to get a look at the stock market, so I formed a society where we compete in online competitions or just against each other.</p></li>
<li><p>SADD leadership council member. I came up with a method of fundraising that took the program from scraping by, and devoting all of its time to trying to get some scratch, to having money to do whatever it wants with minimal effort. I would say it has at least doubled the productivity of the chapter.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Like I said, I am interested in business and an MBA, although I might do engineering for undergrad. My list looks like (in no order):
- Dartmouth
- Duke
- Columbia
- UPenn
- Univ of Chicago
- A couple of state safety schools</p>

<p>Please do not factor money into the advice, and as far as demographic I think I will probably be happy at any of these colleges though particularly Duke.</p>

<p>My dream college would be MIT because of their strong combo of business and engineering, as well as the location of Boston, but I don't think I am capable of getting in.</p>

2

<p>What you have done in the business field -- arcade games, stock market simulation, is extremely impressive. It shows lots of drive and creativity. Highlight those things in your essays.</p>

<p>Since you like Boston, have you considered also applying to other Boston-area schools like Boston U and Northeastern?</p>

<p>When you leave home, what arrangements will be made to help your mom? When you make your college plans, be realistic about what needs to be done at home. If you must stay relatively close to where your mom lives, take that into account as you do your applications.</p>

<p>I know that it must be hard on you to have such a large responsibiltiy on your shoulders. Better to plan for this now, as you do your applications, than to get wonderful acceptances that when May comes, you feel that you could not take advantage of.</p>

3

<p>You have a good shot at most of these! Write great essays, you have an amazing background. Maybe add a couple more matchlike schools like UNC-CH, Northwestern, WUSTL. But overall I think you hve a very good shot at the schools you mentioned. One thing to mention about Dartmouth is its in the middle of the mountains, not sure how that will play with your allergies...</p>

4

<p>To northsar: I have talked with my dad and decided that I can't let my mom tie me down for the rest of my life. So while I will be sad to leave, I will also be happy to get away from the situation. My blood pressure was high during a recent doctor visit, and I honestly think it's because my mom tends to frustrate me so much and I can't get it across to her because she's in another world. It's like someone is poking you with a needle and you can't explain to them why it hurts. Anyway, like I said I am fully prepared to leave.</p>

<p>I hadn't really considered other Boston schools. I gave them only a cursory glance, I will give them another look.</p>

5

<p>Don't feel bad about being critical because I have a sob story guys.</p>

<p><em>Bump</em></p>

6

<p>Thats a tough situation you are in...and even though you are so committed you still have time for EC's. They are sparse compared to some other people, but you're definetely in a unique and trying situation.</p>

<p>If you mention this to the admissions, I'm sure you will get special treatment in respect to where your time has been going. Whereas I've had free time to do clubs and such, you've been dedicated to taking care of your family. Undoubtedly what you do is more important.</p>

7

<p>to the comment about allergies...</p>

<p>I have allergies at dartmouth and they have improved since I came here. the cold air and no pollens (at least now) help.</p>

8

<p>How do you like the people and the town at Dartmouth drownindreams? I'm curious about that, because other than Duke it's about the only one I'm looking at that isn't in or near a huge city.</p>

9

<p>i think you're such a cool person with a unique background...i just find your story so intriguing and i hope that the adcoms would too. i hope you make it to your first choice (or better yet to u of c, my first choice). i think you will get in many places if you manage to get across your personality well through your essays (take this from someone who goes to a school where more than 10 kids went to harvard last year).</p>

10

<p>Thanks for the kind words schnauzer. Last time I posted I left all of my background out and I realized it was a major part of the way things have played out for me, so I decided to post it this time.</p>

<p>Ahh I forgot to mention that I do science olympiad, although that is a pretty basic EC, oh well. I would say outside of ECs the thing I am most proud of is around the time I started getting allergy shots I also started working out and went from being 135 pounds of nothing to weighing 156 pounds without gaining fat in about 11 months. My heart is much healthier and I'm a lot bigger :)</p>

11

<p>Actually, weightlifting is one of my biggest achievements over high school I would say. Probably an essay topic or something.</p>

12

<p>Oh, and I had some spare time last week so I set up and ran a voter registration drive at my school. We registered pretty much everyone who was eligible and several teachers. I need to write all this out in a word file, things have been moving so fast lately.</p>