<p>Hi everyone!</p>
<p>I hadn't planned on doing one of these but in the long, arduous wait for college acceptances (or rejections) I decided that I'd like to hear the opinions of others on my chances at getting into the schools I applied to since my parents are obviously a little bit biased whenever I talk to them!</p>
<p>Schools: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Dartmouth, Williams, Amherst, Wesleyan University and Bowdoin (I also have safety schools but I'm not too worried about those)</p>
<p>I am a senior at a public high school that isn't particularly competitive. My graduating class is approximately 172 people.</p>
<p>Rank: Valedictorian, have been first all four years of high school
AP Classes: Our school offers 7, I have taken 5 of them (didn't take art or physics as I am not an artist and we don't really have a physics teacher). </p>
<p>I took APUSH as a junior (only AP offered that year) and received a 5. I am currently taking AP English Lit, AP Calc AB, AP Music Theory, AP Gov and Politics, Honors French, and Band.</p>
<p>GPA: My rank is weighted but my gpa isn't. It is a 97.19 out of 100. </p>
<p>ACT: 35 (35 English, 35 Reading, 35 Math, 33 Science, 11 Writing)
SAT II: 710 US History, 700 Math I, 690 Math II</p>
<p>Awards:
I am a Questbridge Finalist and applied as such to all of the schools listed above except Harvard which isn't a partner school.
-Harvard Book Award
-National Merit Commended Student
-Questbridge College Prep scholarship
-Black belt in Tae Kwon Do </p>
<p>ECs:
-Debate Team (4 years, VP for 2): 1.5 hrs/week, 30 wks/yr
I have also attended American International College's Model Congress 3 times as a delegate.
-Band (Marching and concert, 4 years): 5 hrs/week (average), 37 wks/year
I have played trumpet and euphonium in my school's band and this year I'm the band president. Even though I put down 5 hrs/week average it ranges between 5 and 24+ a week during marching season
-Jazz Band (4 years): 1 hr/week, 24 weeks/year
-Math Team (3 years, Co-Captain this year): 3 hrs/week, 5 weeks/year (we attend 5 meets a year)
-Student Council (3 years): 1 hr/week, 20 weeks/year
-NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, 2 years): 10 hrs/week, 4 weeks/year
Twice now I have successfully attempted to write a 50,000 word novel from scratch in November</p>
<p>Volunteer Work:
-Local Library, shelving books (6 years, since 7th grade): ~30 mins to 1 hr/week, 45 weeks/year
I have volunteered between 25 and 45 hrs/year at my local library since 7th grade
-I have various other hours with different clubs I forgot to mention but I think my guidance counselor probably mentioned it in my recommendation</p>
<p>Paid Work:
-Tutoring (4 years): I have tutored a 7th grade girl one year and then a boy from 3rd grade through 5th grade the past 3 years. I help him with homework approximately 3 hrs/week, 36 weeks/year
-Anti-Tobacco Blogger (1 year): I blogged every week junior year for a teen anti-tobacco site, the84.org
-Breaking down tables/cleaning up after local bingo (3 years): For three years I spent approximately 2 hrs/week on Saturday mornings helping my parents clean after a local bingo</p>
<p>Essays:
-I wrote one about my interest in politics and how the Massachusetts Supreme Court's decision to allow gay marriage changed my view towards civil rights and made me a more accepting person with a desire to fight for civil liberties
-I wrote another essay that basically talked about how my love of reading and writing helped make me the person I am and how I wanted to further my education so that I could take the opportunities my parents weren't able to have</p>
<p>I think both essays were well written and constructed. Perhaps not the greatest but I was happy with them.</p>
<p>Recs:
I didn't read any of my recommendations but I had my US History I/AP Gov and Politics teacher write one and that's one of my best classes and I had my former English teacher write one. I'm sure both of them were very good.</p>
<p>Interviews:
I had alumni interviews with Harvard, Princeton, Brown, and Dartmouth, and Harvard actually asked me to come in for an on campus interview. I feel like all of the interviews went well. I had the opportunity in most of them to discuss my goals and how I want to run for Congress some day and my interests and other things. Except for my interview with the woman from Brown who had another interview scheduled right after mine, all of my interviews lasted over an hour, which I felt was a good sign.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this and respond!</p>