<p>I've taken (and continue to take) all honors courses throught high school and all the AP classes my school provides: AP U.S. History, AP English/Lit., AP Biology, AP Calculus & AP Chemistry.</p>
<p>Important ECs:
- Volunteer at Cincinnati Zoo
- Varsity Cross-country and Track
- Dance Team Captain
- Member of National Honor Society
- Class Officer - Treasurer
- German Club President
- Member of Science competition team and Academic Team (Social studies)
- Attending the American Legion's Hoosier Girls State this summer (starting Sunday)</p>
<p>I'm interested in U of MD for its proximity to D.C. for I'm interested mainly in studying government, politics, history, ect. as it would be a good choice for intern possibilities.</p>
<p>What are your opinions? What I'm most worried about are my ACT/SAT scores and AP classes. The ACT/SAT were taken with no studying before hand and I'm currently studying and retaking both in the fall. Also, my school lacks available AP courses and I'm taking all the ones available to me. </p>
<p>Also, I was wondering if lack of a paying job will be a negative on my application (to U of MD or any college). Between volunteering all summer and my activities during the school year, I have found no time for a job (plus, in my small town no one is really hiring, either).</p>
<p>Any and all comments/suggestions are welcome.</p>
<p>If you’re taking a lot of honors and AP courses in high school, how do you have such a high unweighted gpa, but a low weighted gpa?</p>
<p>Otherwise, you look pretty strong, based on what I’ve learned is useful for colleges apps. You’re SAT score is a little weak though; if you can get it up to a 1900 or even 2000, that would be better.</p>
<p>Well I’ve only taken two of the five AP’s mentioned above (AP Bio and APUSH). The other three are in my schedule for next year (sorry, now after rereading my post above, the fact that I haven’t taken some of the AP’s yet wasn’t very clear). </p>
<p>APUSH - A-/A
Bio - A/A</p>
<p>The honors courses at my school are unweighted.</p>
<p>And thanks for the advice. I’m currently studying for the tests, as mentioned above. But I also have another question. I visited Maryland just the other day and they mentioned that they don’t use the Writing section of the SAT to determine the SAT scores. Since my Writing section was the weakest of the three, how much of my time should I invest in improving it? Or should I just focus on Math and CR for the best score I can get out of 1600? (Since, as I’ve determined from a lot of colleges, few even pay any attention to the Writing section.)</p>
<p>Its true that UMD doesn’t look at the writing section for general admissions, but if I remember correctly, the Scholars and Honors program do. Actually, I am pretty unsure of that fact. But bottom line, the writing section is pretty much ignored among colleges. It would probably be wise to focus more on math and reading, but be careful not to completely blow off the writing section. I would suggest taking perhaps 5-6 days per week this summer to study your tail off (maybe an hour a day?) for the ACT and SAT. You already have a strong application, and those two could help push you in the right direction for higher scholarships and such.</p>
<p>Yeah, like everyone else said, your SATs are a little weak, but not bad at all. If you were instate, I would say you would be almost guaranteed admission. So if you could hit 1900 (with most of the improvement in CR and Math) you would have a solid chance (maybe about 80%). Unfortunately, for Honors, Scholars, and Scholarships, its all GPA and SAT, so I wouldn’t get too hopeful (unless you could improve your SAT by at least 200 points).</p>