I’m an Asian-American looking to apply to top schools. I know Ivy League is a reach, but I’d like to go to a top university such as Berkeley, Northwestern, Virginia, NYU, etc. I am thinking about majoring in linguistics.
I have had straight A’s throughout my high school career, but I received my first ever B (89%) in AP Calculus (had an A before the final, but the final dropped me down 2%).
I am taking other tough AP classes, which I got all As in. I know most of the candidates applying will probably have straight As for everything, so how much will this affect me? I am not an outstanding award winner, and I am not outgoing/popular enough to be elected as the leader of a club or student body president.
ACT: 33 (first try, going to take another one to raise my score)
Vice-president of Recycling Club.
Volunteer for AFS.
Sophomore year: got a 4 in AP World History and a 5 in AP Spanish
Went on an exchange trip to Spain.
Like I said, I have pretty mediocre extracurriculars, and my coursework is probably the same as any other highly qualified candidate. (can someone recommend some extracurriculars for me, please?)
Will it even matter since my major has nothing to do with it? Math is my weakest subject, and I have always received borderline As and struggled to get good scores.
Also, if I am majoring in linguistics, do I have to take AP Calculus BC as a senior? If I’m applying to a top school, do they expect to see four years of math even though only 3 math credits are required to graduate?
And are my specs good for a linguistics major candidate? I have always been good at languages and am about to jump from Japanese 1 to AP Japanese due to the gap in skill level (I’m not Japanese), and I finished the Spanish course early. Would schools consider more of what I would bring to the table for my major, rather than the overall GPA for acceptance? Thank you.
99% that one B+ won’t significantly effect your college admissions chance, especially if your weighted GPA is still fairly high. How many AP’s will you have taken by the end of your junior year?
Your EC’s are just too weak for most of these schools. All the aforementioned colleges have hundreds of Asian-Americans with 1600s or near 1600s applying along with high GPA’s.
How would you stand out?
Unless your a crackpot essay writer, I just don’t see it.
You need to do more EC’s related to your desired major. Leadership, work experience, and more volunteer work. I would suggest research/internships over the summer, start volunteering in a community center/nursing center (meet diverse groups of individuals), and possibly starting a culture appreciation club in your school maybe?
Also, advice from a current Asian-American senior going through the process, don’t apply to the college just for the name. If your major doesn’t fit, it makes no sense to go, even if your parents just to want to brag about your acceptance letter.
You need MANY more extracurriculars to stand out. Your GPA is really good, don’t worry one B+ will NOT effect it. But with those EC’s it will be hard to get into those schools. Best of luck to you:)
I forgot to mention that I am in NHS, am on the varsity football and basketball cheer team and I am the youth group president at my church. I just don’t know what else I would do. I live in a pretty remote area, so there are not that many volunteer opportunities relative to my desired major.
Since I am taking three APs right now, I would have taken 5 total by the end of this year. Next year, I am planning on AP Lit, AP Gov/Econ, AP Japanese, AP Psych, AP Bio, AP Calc BC (iffy)