I am a junior in boarding school, looking for colleges to apply to while being realistic. I’m thinking larger schools.
My cumulative GPA is a 4.00, my sophomore year GPA is a 4.1 and junior year GPA is a 4.2, and my ACT score is a 30, but I’m trying to raise it.
Freshmen year:
English
Physics
World History
French
Geometry
Art 1
Sophomore year:
Chemistry honors
English 2 honors
French 2
Algebra 2 and trig
World history 2
Marine Science honors (its a three year, independent study program)
Junior year:
AP English Lit
Precalculus
Biology honors
French 3 Honors
Photography
Marine Science honors
Senior year I will take
AP Biology
AP French
AP English Lang
AP US History
Calculus
Marine science honors
My EC’s are:
Service trip to India sophomore year
JV Soccer freshmen and sophomore year
Varsity lacrosse junior and senior year
Alumnae intern at my high school
Internship with a professor from Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Station researching kelp and ocean acidification
Peer tutor in french
Worked in Hawaii with researchers at the university on the kelp, ocean acidification, and coral health
Senior class secretary
Senior prefect
Volunteer for the Alzheimer’s Association
You could do very well at a school like the University of Rochester, which is a “larger school,” would have the courses you are looking for, and where you would have a reasonable chance of acceptance. Their sciences are excellent. I know less about their English/writing.
What state are you in? I think some of the UCs would be ideal for you if you are a CA resident. If money is not a major concern, then they would be good choices from out of state, also.
For a lot of reasons, you definitely have a decent chance at NYU. NYU’s SAT scores are higher than UCLA’s, but their selection criteria is substantially different.
UCLA is not too competitive for you. The only issue is that they can be competitive in a very specific way. For example, they will look at your class rank first, and may not consider your application further if your rank is below a sharply defined threshold.
What kind of writing do you want to do/major in? Creative writing? Where does your interest in/experience with marine biology factor in? That really jumps out to me–I think you’d be a shoe-in as a marine biology major at a lot of places. Not to force you to do something you don’t want to do, but is there any intersection for you between your interest in writing and your experiences/internships in marine biology?
I do think you have a good shot at BU–GPA & ACT are a good match there. Are you applying to Stanford, too? Given your experience there, I would. Also, honestly you remind me of a girl I helped w/ her college apps last year who was a writer who was really into marine sciences (and had similar internship experience), and she got into Stanford.
If your focus is creative writing, there are a lot of smaller/niche schools that might be great for you. Look at Chapman, Simmons, Davidson (which has a creative writing scholarship program), Wells…
Thank you! @merc81 And yes, I do like Marine Bio and had thought about that as a possible major, especially with Stanford, but honestly, do you think I have what it takes to get in? I have some alumnae connection but its a really really selective school… @proudterrier do you think it’s worth it? I’ve written a few papers in marine bio which i could submit as possible supplements…