Trying to narrow down places to apply to.. So please chance!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Ok.</p>

<p>I am:</p>

<p>Rising senior in a small, pathetic high school.
A white female.
Reside in Virginia.
I have dual citizenship with Germany [If that matters at all].
A first generation college student.
Family yearly income of about 20,100. [~5,000 dollars above the poverty line : D ]</p>

<p>My scores:</p>

<p>SAT 2130
Reading 800; Math 620; and Writing 710
[This was my first time taking the SAT, and I may take it again, however it would be in November, so scores would have to be rushed for any EDs]</p>

<p>SAT II: Have yet to take ;D
Will take biology and literature in October and (am guessing) will get pretty good scores.</p>

<p>GPA:
UW: 3.95
W: 4.19
Top 10 in school. [Not sure what rank yet]</p>

<p>My classes:</p>

<p>[My highschool only offers 3 AP classes : ) I however, have doubled this to 6 by using the online option! Highschool also offers DE (dual enrollment) classes which are basically community college classes taken in highschool] [Also, I have basically taken the most rigorous courses offered by my school- and then some : ) ]</p>

<p>Junior: 1 honors class, 2 DE classes and 3 AP classes [ AP bio, AP Psych, and AP US hist; I got all 5s on the exams! : ) ]
Senior: 3 DE classes and 3 AP classes [ AP gov, AP env science, and one more I've yet to decide ]</p>

<p>ECs: :[</p>

<p>Forensics Team, 9-12; Team Captain 11-12
Drama Club, 9-12; Have had lead role in play, been stage manager, etc
French Club; 9-12; secretary.. >.<
[And a few other small clubs that I have not done as long.. Sports=none]</p>

<p>Work exp:</p>

<p>Been working since I turned 15.
Amusement park, art company in an amusement park, and a daycare.</p>

<p>Volunteer exp:</p>

<p>Babysitting these little girls for free for a single mother who works two jobs.
Hopefully will rack up a few hours over the summer at other stuff too..</p>

<p>Awards/honors:</p>

<p>A few awards in forensics..
Virginia Girls State [City commonwealth attorney]
And that's really it... Except for perfect SOL scores..</p>

<p>Yeah, so in review.. I realize I'm pretty weak EC and volunteer wise..
I think I may be somewhat strong in the overcoming obstacles [being very poor, etc] category, but I'm not sure if that really only helps URMs..</p>

<p>Oh! Extenuating family circumstances that I might fit in somewhere:</p>

<p>I live with my 22 yr old brother and his girlfriend, help to take care of their baby daughter, and will also help take care of the second child which will be born in September. [Oh, the statistics]
My mother ditched me for her boyfriend! : D
My father has been in and out of mental institutions, has anger problems, and filed bankruptcy a little while ago..
Any of these I might work into the apps/essays... Somehow..</p>

<p>So, could I get any feedback, advice, criticism? Sorry, I realize this ran long.</p>

<p>Colleges I'm interested in that would be reaches for me:
UVA! : )
U of Chicago
Duke
Johns Hopkins
Northwestern
Rice
Washington Uni in St. Louis
And one of the California colleges.. Perhaps UCSD or Pamona..
[ And Cornell and uPenn... Which are supperrrr big reaches..]</p>

2

<p>UChicago, Duke, Hopkins, NW, and Rice also seem like high reaches…</p>

<p>UVA perhaps a match?</p>

<p>Have you considered applying for things like Questbridge?</p>

3

<p>Yeah i’m going to try for qb but I don’t see winning as likely…</p>

4

<p>Haha, I have dual citizenship U.S./Germany, too! Were you born there? </p>

<p>It seems to me that you’ve tried really hard in all aspects and that you’ve been extremely successful academically and in terms of extra-curriculars, even in spite of your extenuating circumstances. Your counselor can maybe address your situation in his/her recommendation, as usually counselors are the ones that give background on any unusual events/circumstances that may have had an impact on your academic performance or motivated you to surmount these obstacles. </p>

<p>What do you want to study? I’d say this is a big factor for most people in deciding where they want to attend. Even if you’re not exactly sure, knowing what subject area you’d like to focus on can often help you narrow down. Also, knowing what kind of school you want to attend (big/small, urban/rural, state/private) can help you narrow down the list!</p>

<p>Hope this helps!</p>

5

<p>Since you are in state with your stats, UVA is most certainly a match - you have an excellent shot. UCSD barely accepts any OOS - something like 4 percent, so who knows? Pomona included, the rest are all reaches which they are for most people. But I would certainly say you have a shot. Good luck!</p>

6

<p>Yes, I was born in Heidelberg : )
Where are you from?
Yeah, the problem with that is that I have really bad counselors…
But, I want to go into a field where I can actually go over to third-world countries and help people. Not sure what type of major would be best for that… Perhaps nursing or something which will help me design better wells, houses, etc… I’m interested in biology and the environment too…</p>

<p>And thank you, Tinfoyl, I’ve heard the UCs aren’t much for OOS. I think I won’t bother there.</p>

7

<p>Oh, and I’m kind of interested in Swarthmore college too… Just will stick that in since I can’t edit my first post</p>

8

<p>I was born in Münster (my dad’s German, and my mom’s American). I moved here when I was two, though, so I’m pretty much fully Americanized. I don’t even speak that much German :frowning: </p>

<p>Have you ever considered an International Development major? I googled “International Development Major” and it seems that there are a number of schools that offer that major, including UVA! If you’re not exactly sure what all International Development entails, look it up on wikipedia. From what you briefly said in your post, it seems to match you perfectly!</p>

9

<p>I think you have a really compelling life story - of achieving in spite of many obstacles. I think you might want to consider applying to some of the schools best known for terrific financial aid - Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Stanford. Of course those are super reaches for everyone, but your stats put you in contention (particularly if you can get that M score up) and will convince them that you’re capable of doing the work - and your life story might make you pretty desirable. </p>

<p>In terms of other financial safeties, you might look at some of the schools that provide merit aid based on scores & gpa such as Univ. of South Carolina, Auburn, Alabama, Oklahoma, Ole’ Miss (see the thread about guaranteed merit aid). And of course you’re fortunate to have good in-state options such as William and Mary, University of Mary Washington, James Madison, Virginia Tech - the later 4 would probably be pretty safe bets for you. </p>

<p>Best of luck to you - you’re going to have some good opportunities!</p>

10

<p>Nattilee, colleges may look very favorably on your work experience if you have had to work in order to help out your family. It’s extremely, extremely important that you identify your circumstances on your application. You also need to emphasize the fact that you have gone beyond the offerings at your high school to APs online. </p>

<p>On the common app, you should have a little room to add some additional information commenting on your ECs. I would do it there. Comment that the work and babysitting you have done has been to help out and support your family, and that it has kept you from being as involved in other ECs as you would like. You might also sit down and talk to your counselor and make sure that a note or two about your family circumstances makes it into your letter. Don’t use your main essay to address your circumstances, as you don’t want to write a “Pity Me” essay for that one.</p>

<p>I would say that your chances are really quite good except that your SATs are low. I would even say (as a former college counselor) that you could add another reach school or two, or even a high reach if you like. If you’re interested in Swarthmore, definitely apply. Colleges LOVE true adversity candidates. </p>

<p>Definitely study for the math and retake. Try to get the Math into the 700s.</p>

11

<p>Oh, and I definitely agree with Runners2. If you have any interest in HYP, etc., you should definitely apply to those schools, especially with their aid policies being so generous these days. You would definitely want to do everything possible to get your SAT scores up for those schools, however.</p>

<p>And I agree with Runners2 in wishing you good luck!</p>

12

<p>Given your background and what you have had to overcome, I would be surprised if even high reach colleges are not interested in you. You bring something different to the table. My daughter has higher scores and more academic rigor. On the other hand, she has had a lot more privileges than you and if it wasn’t for her strong science and math background and theater tech, I am not sure she would stand out from others.</p>

13

<p>Hm, ok thank you everyone… I’m pretty americanized too, agh, and I will most definitely check out the major.</p>

<p>I’m really not sure about the HYPS! lol Just looking at all the perfect scores on this site, I don’t see me standing a chance! But thank you : )</p>

<p>Thanks sesame that’s really good advice… I’m just not really too sure about how best to go about doing that on the app. I will definitely try and get my counselor to write about my situation, though</p>

14

<p>Thanks Sue. Where did your daughter end up going?</p>

15

<p>Ok, so this is really random, but do you speak German? If you do, I’m pretty sure you can go to university in Germany for free because you’re a citizen. That option is out for me, but if being that far from home doesn’t bother you, you should really check that out. You wouldn’t have to worry about the financial stuff at all!</p>

16

<p>Unfortunately i don’t : (
I just recently started trying to learn it self-study, but I don’t think I will be anywhere good enough by college time
I am however thinking of abandoning everything here if I don’t make it into a good college and trying my luck in Germany : D</p>

17

<p>It could definitely be interesting! I really wish that I was fluent in German. Not only would it help me to get into colleges, but I would be able to converse with my German relatives, and just be bilingual! But my dad didn’t want to speak to me in German when we moved here because he wanted to focus on learning English, and he thought that speaking to me solely in German would hinder his language learning. How about you?</p>

18

<p>Well, kinda the same. When we moved here I hadn’t really started speaking too much, I was a baby. My parents planned on letting me go on learning german and then english in school, but my older brother ended up failing the second grade because he couldn’t pick up english. So they thought it’d be better to just teach me english. Makes me sad :/</p>

19

<p>Consider Berea. You’d fit and it’s affordable.</p>