Hi guys!
So I’m a junior at regular, not too competitive high school. I’ve gotten good grades in hard classes and I’ve been somewhat involved, but nothing too special. I was thinking I’d just list all of my classes and ecs and criteria for a college and you guys could suggest low reaches and matches.
Objective:
ACT:34
SAT II: none
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): not sure, but I’ve gotten all As in my classes (my gc said the school takes in account percentages so we can’t self calculate it)
Rank: not sure yet, anywhere from 1-8 I’d think but two Bs in 9th grade courses during 8th grade while not looked at by colleges will go into my GPA/class rank so I might not be val or sal
AP (place score in parenthesis): English Lang- 5, APUSH-3, now taking Physics, Stats, Lit, Gov, and Bio
Also I’m in Spanish 4 Honors right now and I plan on taking Spanish 5 Honors so hopefully I’ll eventually be fluent!
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none that I can think of…
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): just Key Club and Mock Trial (attorney). This year my team is going to try really hard to get to states so hopefully something comes out of that. This year I’m doing NHS and Acadec too
Job/Work Experience: last summer I worked at a restaurant but it was only ~6 hrs a week and I quit so idk if I should even list it
Volunteer/Community service: junior volunteer last summer at an arboretum (~80 hours) and just random stuff with Key Club
Summer Activities: junior volunteer above
After typing this out I feel so unaccomplished but c’est la vie I guess. I do have family circumstances that make it hard for me to achieve things so idk if I should write about them because they are central to who I am and they explain for some things but i don’t want my essays to be super negative or even if I end on something light I don’t want them to seem like I’m trying to get in off of pity so also what do you think I should do? (My mom died when I was six and so my dad went into depression and my siblings and I have basically raised ourselves. My siblings (2) also still live in the household (they are 18 and 20). Literally my whole immediate family has depression so it makes it really hard to get motivation.) Oh and finances. My dad retired in June 2014 and was making ~70,000 but now that he is retired our household income is ~34,000 which is all coming from his pension. I really want to get in somewhere that will give me full need-based financial aid. I know there are colleges that would probably give full ride merit to me, but I really would prefer to be at a college where my scores and gpa are pretty typical. Also, I’d prefer a college that is private and focuses on undergraduate (although it doesn’t have to be LAC).
Thank you soooo much for reading the whole thing and if you need a second opinion on anything just post the link and I’ll be glad to give my two cents!
Hello! Hope you’re having a good day
I think that your GPA is amazing, and ACT as well! The dedication to Spanish is also a benefit.
Course rigor is solid.
As a senior, for your ECs, I think the best thing you can do is really invest yourself in the clubs you already participate in. (Good luck with state!!) Again, dedication is important.
Yeah, you probably shouldn’t mention the restaurant
It is freaking awesome that you’ve done so much without the best support team. Seriously – team you!! That could make for a good essay, but focus on how you’ve been successful despite challenges.
You will definitely get financial aid, and you’d totally get a full ride from a smaller state college. I understand that you don’t want that, though – I get it. That intellectual environment in some colleges is awesome!
To really pick a college, knowing what your potential majors can be is so helpful. You don’t even have to be that specific – narrowing it down to stem, or medicine, or humanities helps focus on colleges with those strengths.
Also, what state are you in? D’you want to be in or out-of-state? Don’t entirely discount public schools – some are very prestigious indeed!
I’ve no doubt that you can get into a top 67 - 26-ish school! (so specific) Ivies are meh, don’t worry about them.
If you get back to me w some more specifics, I’ll try to give you better feedback.
Thank you for responding!! I plan on doing a double major in philosophy and political science. I live in Ohio but I’d prefer out of state. Also, I know many public schools are absolutely amazing but from what I’ve read private schools tend to cater to their students more and I need that lol. Btw I’m really looking for high match/low reach schools because I already have financial safeties that I plan on applying to. Thanks again!
Okay, cool! Your major is fascinating
You should take these with a grain of salt (I’m no pro!), but I think this is quite accurate.
Brandeis - MA - reach, but possible!
Lehigh - PA - lower reach
Northeastern - MA - reach
Yeshiva - NY - match!!
George Washington University - DC - match!
Fordham University - NY- match!
Davidson College - NC - high match (it’s known for trying to get it’s students thru with little debt) (LAC)
Wesleyan - CT - match ! (LAC)
Boston U (reach) and Pittsburgh U (low reach/high match) are two public universities that have specific combined politics/philosophy majors; you may want to look into that.
These schools all have medium sized student populations and strong undergrad programs.
Whoo, that was fun! I hope you can whittle this list down based on what you really enjoy
Best of luck!
Definitely highlight your unique story and describe not only how you overcame your challenges, but also what you LEARNED about these challenges. I don’t know your story very well, and to be honest I am no writing expert, but if you did an essay on a moment you almost gave into the depression around you but managed to convince yourself to keep pushing, it may make for an interesting take on an interesting situation (but again, I am NO expert…I’m still writing my essays so you might not want to listen to me lol). As @meepmoop already said, it is best that you really commit yourself to the EC’s you already have. Try to lock up some leadership positions for next year and try to win some awards if possible. I did start some new clubs in Junior year, but those were because Junior year was the first year I was eligible and I won awards for those clubs; if this is applicable for your NHS and AcDec, then power to you. I don’t know how many weeks you worked at the restaurant, but I’ve heard that colleges do like kids who get gritty physical labor jobs, but again I’m not sure how many total hours you’ve done. Finally, if finances and time aren’t a problem, I would suggest taking a few SAT IIs. Good scores on these will be extra impressive, and since you will probably submit your ACT, if you bomb the SAT IIs you don’t have to worry about meeting the SAT II requirement (as long as the school participates in score choice). Good luck to you, and keep your head high; the fact that you are already starting the college app process this early is a good sign for you.
