Stanford
Harvard
Yale
UChicago
UC Berkeley
USC
UCLA
UT
Grade:11
Ethnicity: African American
State: TX
Gender: Male
Rank: 4/551(school has 2500-2900 students)
GPA: 105.115
SAT: 2280 composite: 780 CR, 700 M, 800 W(11 essay)
SAT II: US History: 800, Math1 710, Literature 720
ACT: 32
AP Course Load:
Freshman-
AP Human Geography (3)
Sophomore-
AP World History (4)
Junior-
AP English Language (5?)
AP Chemistry(2/3?) Mistake. Not math/sciency. Shouldn’t have taken it
AP Physics 1(3?)
AP US History(5?)
AP Spanish Language(3?)
Senior(selected schedule)-
AP Calculus AB
AP Statistics
AP English Literature
AP European History
AP Government
AP Economics
AP Psychology
Extracurriculars:
TAME(Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering)- consists of math and science competitions 9th-12th
•Regionals 9th-11th
•State 9th-10th
HOSA- 10th
UIL( University Interscholastic League)
• Ready Writing- District 10th-11th
Regionals 11th
•Social Studies- District 10th (would’ve been higher but I joined the team as a sub and didn’t read the material)
• Math - District 10th
•Science - District 10th
Math Club- 10th-12th( current treasurer)
Science Club 10th-12th( active member)
Link Crew (12th) -school group that helps ease freshman into high school life
High on Life (school anti drugs group) 10th, 12th?
NHS
Haltom Students for a Democratic Society (leftist group founded by a friend of mine of whom I happen to have common interests)
Book Club 10th-12th
Philosophy Club 11th
Academic Quiz League 10th-12th
• Captain
BTP(Biology Tutoring Program) - cofounder and active participant
Senior Class VP?? (Voting was last week, have yet to have heard about potential victory)
Working Experience: I plan on working this summer.
Summer Activities: Besides working, none. Had to turn down multiple summer programs offered by Stanford, Harvard, Columbia, Brown, Emory, Vanderbilt, etc because my family is very poor. (Don’t mean to sound conceited, especially because they’re widely offered programs. My apologies.)
Volunteering: Not much, only around 50 hours for this school year. I didn’t realize how much of a factor volunteering was in college admissions circles until this year. If ushering at my church for the past 3 years counts however, I need to verify, then I have well over 500+ hours.
Comments: I realize my extracurriculars are all over the place and I’ve considered not reporting some exactly for that purpose. I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do although now I’ve decided on law. I don’t like math and science courses, but I’m still a propenent of well rounded learning.
Forgot to add I was Secretary? ( I forget lol) of Stuco for my sophomore class last year.
I plan on using the fact that I’m Congolese on my application to my advantage to show the struggle and adversity I had to go through, and still am. That’s an African country btw
Also member of the National Society of High School Scholars. Will graduate with distinction (top 12, top 5%, member of NHS, and currently on DAP- distinguished achievement plan- for graduation). Participated in Duke TIP
you’re from texas buddy…
You are auto admit into UT Austin with class rank within top 7%.
“Your family is very poor”.
Figure out how much your family’s EFC is and check what you would have to pay to attend the above schools through the NPC. If you are poor, then you should qualify for a lot need-based aid. Most of the schools on your list meet full need.
Berkeley and UCLA may not be affordable as an OOS.
USC offers some large merit scholarships. Do you think you will be a NMSF?
What do you think you want to study?
The top 4 schools on your list are super selective, and you may have a chance. But you need to add match schools as you probably know. Think about adding Rice for another TX school. Rice is generous with financial aid.
You are an auto-admit to UT, TX A&M etc. Consider applying to Plan II at UT.
BTW working during the summer is not a negative, and I think the ushering at your church does count toward volunteering but check with your GC.
why is Rice or Princeton or Duke not on your list ?
i think you have the “numbers” … but as we all know, admissions is a very nebulous process … none of have any idea what the individual schools look for …
You are a competitive applicant but if you are looking for financial aid, then cross the California UC’s off the list. As an OOS student, you will receive little to no fianancial aid and expect to pay close to $55K/year. At the minimum, you would be paying at least $23K/year for the OOS tuition fee. USC would be your best bet in California since they do offer good FA and merit aid. Good Luck.
I want to study law and plan on majoring in political science with perhaps a minor in history. That’s why I didn’t include Rice and Texas A&M since they’re both primarily medical and engineering schools, respectively. My family makes less than $20K annually, so I most certainly am going to get a large sum of financial need. I thought about applying to Vanderbilt and Duke but ultimately their location dissuaded me.
I would encourage you to add Rice to your list. You need a full ride, and if you are accepted to Rice, the generous financial aid policies could really be beneficial. I was a history major at RIce. There are plenty of Humanities majors there. There is a new head of the Economics Department and a new minor in Political Theory and Practice. Dig around on the Rice website and look at courses.
You have to follow the money so to say.
I think you’re competitive/have hooks, but as others have mentioned, your top schools are competitive for everyone and most of them aren’t known for being super generous with merit aid (though a few of them do meet full need). You should add a few lower tier (but still good!) match schools that are known for being generous. The ones that come to mind are Washington University in St. Louis (which has several full ride scholarship options that require a separate application) and Boston University (my alma mater, admittedly!), though there are also some very good state schools that might be worth looking at–UMD, CU Boulder/Denver, Alabama. I know at BU specifically being URM would be a hook, and writing a compelling essay can make a huge difference. Hedging your bets with places that give merit aid gives you a safety net, because even when EFC is zero, sometimes schools don’t actually meet full need and/or a student is still not able to attend (because traveling to & from school can be expensive, etc.).
If you’re interested in political science and history, those things should come through more if you want to get in to Stanford, Harvard, and Yale. You tried to downplay your involvement in the Democratic club, which is probably good on CC to avoid political debates and whatnot, but you should be passionate on your college app about why you want to major in political science. I would be very surprised if you didn’t get in to UT. I think you have a good shot at the California schools, but as said before, they give crappy financial aid. I also suggest that in your essays, you write about something that connects your volunteering with your passion for political science. The best thing you can do is do some meaningful work this summer so that you have experiences to draw from when writing college essays. Good luck!
^ do you think the OP will be able to afford UT Austin? That is a worry. There are some scholarships but not many.
If you’re interested in political science and history, why are you not applying to any schools in Washington D.C.? Just curious, because I think you have a shot at Georgetown with your stats, ECs and hook. You could apply to Howard University (safety) and American University (you’re definitely in, but you would need $). You’re guaranteed a full ride plus laptop and book stipend at Howard so you wouldn’t have to worry about finding more affordable safeties, and I think you would get merit aid from American.
You should consider Tufts too! They meet full demonstrated need. My uncle went to Tufts (he was really poor too) and now he works as a Senior Investigator at the World Bank.
I’m not sure if my parents will sanction the addition of schools to my list that aren’t necessarily at the top of college “food chain,” so to speak. I know it’s crazy, but being an immigrant they want me to indulge myself in a life of prosperity after being blighted by economic woes most of my life. They believe Ivy caliber schools are the only ones that can help me achieve that dream. And personally, I’m rather ambitious myself and Rice, Princeton, and Georgetown are perhaps the only suggestions I’ll consider looking into. My sister attends UT and is receiving generous amounts of aid as an international (immigration screwed us over). But overall, I’m just not drawn to a lot if your very helpful suggestions!!! Some debt isn’t that bad. I’m a very solid writer and I’m actually anticpiating the challenge of writing an essay because I know that’s where my voice will shine through the longest. My college essay ideas so far include: the political and economic struggle my family went through as we tried to escape the turmoil in the DRC, the long, strenuous process of naturalization, and helping my friend founds HSDS to show my passion for political involvement. I wanted to intern at a courthouse and enter some writing competions since writing is my thing and I want to show exceptional talent in a given field but couldn’t find some, I’ll keep looking. And it’s confirmed, I’m officially senior class VP. So I have that for leadership :).
I totally understand your POV; your stats are much higher than the average for American and Howard. Tufts is one of the top schools in the US though, and it has a “prestigious” IR program. I think it would be a good match for your caliber and interests.
Just make sure you apply to at least 1 school where you’re guaranteed a full tuition scholarship!
But you can only borrow about $31,000 TOTAL. It doesn’t sound like your parents will qualify for loans nor should they.
Georgetown and Tufts are extremely selective school that meet full need. They should be on your list.
Think of it this way. Many Parents who are expected to pay the FULL PRICE have to tell their kids to not reach for the stars because they can’t afford those schools. You also have financial limits. Please be certain you understand the “rules” before you enter the game of college admissions.
No I do, college excites me and I’ve done a seemingly exorbitant amount of research. The Ivies, as well as the other institutions of high prestige that I’m applying to, don’t even give out loans to students. And students who make less than $65K don’t have to expect parental involvement in their tuition. Therefore, I’ll only be able to take grants, coupled with the many other scholarships I plan and hope to receive, and might have to work on campus depending on my economic status after I’ve received my share of financial help. So to be honest, the schools I’m applying to ( with the unfortunate exceptions of the UCs 
) are actually the most affordable schools for me XD, granted I get in. Perhaps I should add more colleges to heighten my chances then? Is that a prevalent strategy? If so, does it usually work because logic tells me yes…