<p>I have no clue which final colleges I should apply to. I know I'm going to apply to Furman, USC honors, and Clemson. just because they're in SC and they're smart. Also definately applying to Duke. Which of the following should I go to?i want to narrow down the final list to eight so I need four more to add to the colleges i'm definately applying to. was going to apply to Notre Dame but parents said its too far. Thanks!
Washington & Lee
Case Western Reserve University(no one has ever heard of it)
College of William and Mary(might not apply because of bad financial aid)
Georgetown
UNC
Vanderbilt
Villanova
Wake Forest
University of the South</p>
<p>SAT: havent taken yet. but I love standardized tests and do really well on them.
ACT: 30 taking again..i was sick that day:(
GPA: 3.7
School: private school with no ap courses and only 4 honor courses
Courses: one honors course..hard classes senior year..homeschooling some of them like two spanish classes. and a couple of science classes.</p>
<p>State: SC
Race: white but have a little bit of indian in me..so maybe a mix?
rank: top 25%
prospective major: economics.or accounting or poly sci.</p>
<p>ECs: mock trial-one year
forensics(nfl)-three years
basketball:4 years
volleyball:4 years
soccer: 4 years
club lacrosse:1 year
club volleyball: 1 year</p>
<p>Volunteer:
soup kitchen
tutoring
reading to the blind
rescue mission
local library
awanas
teach sign language at church
special olympics ( yes, most of this I have recently just started so hopeully it wont look like i did it to just pad my application)</p>
<p>Random:
ok counselor recommendations
good teacher recommendations
brother works at the capitol in sc. could get recommendations from sanford, treasurer chellis or bauer so that might up my application a little...
I have been acting alot been in a couple of plays at school, local theatre, and church. also am going to be in an independent movie coming out soon.</p>
<p>How will the fact that your brother works at the SC capitol get you a good recommendation from sanford, chellis, etc? If they only know you by association the recommendation will be cookie cutter at best and could in fact hurt you, especially if it looks like you asked them purely because of their position</p>
<p>Whenever I visit my brother, I always talk to the governor or treasurer. They know me pretty well. If I only said hi to them once I wouldnt imagine even asking for a recommendation. Even though I know them well, do you think it will still look bad? and I was just wondering which colleges I should apply to. not about the other stuff.</p>
<p>haha, I was waiting for a post like this to come up. </p>
<p>I would put a lot of thought into it if I was to ask someone like that. Because whether or not your relationship with them is good, you must consider what the readers of those letters will think. Will the letter be unique enough to alleviate their concerns. Also, I’m sure Sanford talks to a bunch of people, many of them frequently, while you might think he knows you very well, he might not have the time or remember enough to truly write a good letter. </p>
<p>I’m not saying not to do it, but I would approach this with extreme caution.</p>
<p>Yeah, I was wondering about the affair too. And yeah he does talk to alot of people but maybe I can just get the lieutenant governors recommendation since there is nothing really bad about him recently. I could just write the recommendation and tell him to put his name on it. haha not! he would be like yeah you think i’m stupid?</p>
<p>Having a recommendation from a politician, notable businessman, diplomat, etc. won’t help you at all unless they know you REALLY WELL… sending in a generic rec from one of these authorities will only irk the admissions officer’s nerves, which you don’t want to happen. Honestly, getting a recommendation from a counselor and a teacher who knows you well will suit your purposes for Duke.</p>
<p>ok…thanks! probably wont do that now but back to the purpose of this thread…haha which colleges do yall think I should apply to(of the ones I listed)? and if you have any colleges you think would be better for me tell me!!! I would appreciate it alot!!</p>
<p>If I’m not wrong, colleges don’t recommend that you get a recommendation letter from someone outside your school. I know Duke only wants recommendation from teachers. Other recommendations don’t matter to you admissions at all. Same goes for all top schools I’m pretty sure. Because they don’t care how well you can file papers or type, they want to know how well you can participate with others in school and team work and treat others.</p>
<p>yep Duke wants 2 teacher recommendations and one counselor and an optional extra one from outside school like pastor, employer, etc. any college suggestions?:)</p>
<p>Wait hookem, if those are reaches then wouldn’t</p>
<p>USC honors
Duke
Notre Dame
Wake Forest
UNC </p>
<p>also be reaches, with Duke, Notre Dame and USC being the biggest?
Hmm I think we just like eliminated nearly all of them…that’s not good at all…</p>
<p>Duke is definitely a reach, but he listed it as one he’s going to apply to anyway.</p>
<p>and no, Vanderbilt and Georgetown are by FAR bigger reaches then anything else on his list (except Duke). And by USC, he means South Carolina, not Southern California.</p>
<p>Funny story, my guy friend was trying to decide between SMU and Notre Dame. His dad said he’d buy him a car if he picked Notre Dame. Friend visited, didn’t see a single attractive female, and subsequently picked SMU LOL. “Notre Dame, where the men are men, and the women are too!”</p>
<p>ANYway, as it is, I think you’re in at Furman, USC, Clemson, Case Western, Villanova, and Sewanee…you’re not an impossible reach for any of the other schools, but you need to make all As your first semester this year…bring that ACT up to 33 or so…write a killer essay…and you’ve a got shot :)</p>
<p>haha!! thanks! yea, the only school I’m totally sold on is Duke but thats a reach so I guess I have to have my safeties like USC. Do you know anything about Case Western? I know its sorta smart but it seems nobody has heard of it. I would hate to start working in the South and people would be like ummm…what is Case Western? haha</p>
<p>“Do you know anything about Case Western?”
It’s smart but you have to know which major you want to be in. And yes not many people hear about it. Case Western is great if you want to work in BME but some other majors are not really impressive. Their acceptance rate is 70 some percent so it is high. </p>
<p>Umm you biggest thing that is making your application a reach is the fact that your school doesn’t have APs and you have a 3.7 GPA. Usually if you have many APs and a 3.7 GPA, it is acceptable but 3.7 without any APs doesn’t make your application impressive. Your ACT scores aren’t either but you can change that, STUDY!!! and write your essays well. I don’t want to say you won’t have a chance at Duke but your chances aren’t exactly the greatest I have to say… Sorry…</p>
<p>Yea i was sorta thinking it was for engineers, which i’m not going to be haha! Yep so hopefully I will be working on my essays right now until I turn my app. in… and I’m going to be studying for my ACT too and my SAT. and then I need to get basically all a’s this first semester and do some amazing stuff…Have you taken any Subject tests? I heard that Math 1 isnt really respected anymore. Math 2 is better even though that test is rounded more. I think I might take Literature, Math 1 or 2…everything else disinterests me…I’m not good at sciences and I dont feel like studying for US History…</p>