Hi all,
I haven’t been on CC in a while, so I just wanted to check in. I’ve been looking a bit more seriously at schools recently and reevaluating my career choices and such.
Right now, I’m in my sophomore year and I’ve been interested in a career that would have to do with international issues, politics, and activism. I want to find some match schools, but the schools that I’ve come up with so far are:
-Stanford
-Pomona
-Tufts
-Duke
-Yale
-Northwestern
-Georgetown
Here are my stats/info:
State: NJ (moving to OR)
PSAT: 1480
GPA: (still in the works- it isn’t final until the end of the year)
Schedule:
AP Economics
Honors English 2
Honors Pre-Calculus
Honors Chemistry
Honors US History
Honors Latin 2
Concert Choir
I’m very active in my school’s theatre program, and I’m class president. I’m studying Spanish and Chinese on my own. I’m also a school newspaper editor and such. Most of my current ECs have to do with being a leader within my school community. Since I’m moving to a small city for next school year, I’m going to shift my focus to being a leader within the greater community, and do things that would make a greater impact. There’s just a broader range of opportunities there.
Thanks everyone!
Since you’re only a sophomore, it’s pretty much impossible to say what will be a reach/match/safety for you- you need a GPA and test scores to do that. However, I know that that’s pretty unhelpful, so below I’ve done a bit of explaining of the schools on your list.
Ivies will be reaches for everyone, and most of the other schools on your list too. Tufts might be a high match depending on GPA and test scores. For matches/safeties that are good in poli sci/IR, look at George Washington and American University in DC, Lafayette (often a match for high-stats scholarships), Elon University (one of my safeties this year), College of William & Mary, Lewis & Clark.
For now, do as well as you can in school, keep taking advanced courses, and continue to be involved in extracurricular activities.
Thank you! I’ve been looking at GW and American, but I’m not really into them because they’re so intensely focused on politics. While I want to go into politics, I think that a school like Georgetown or Tufts, which offers really strong programs in other areas, would be beneficial to me. (I believe that a more interdisciplinary approach is beneficial to policy and advocacy.)
For you a match school would be a school with an acceptance rate between 30 and 45%. So, pick up the Princeton Review 's Best colleges and look for possibilities.
Run the NPC on two reaches, two matches, and two safeties. Talk with your parents about costs.