Worried about total rejection.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>To be quite honest, I've been an extreme slacker throughout highschool. I just wanted to get that straight out there. Complete absence of work in many classes results in seriously bad grades in MANY classes.</p>

<p>Demographic Background:
Male, White, Public School </p>

<p>Academics:
SAT M:800 V:800 W:780
SAT II - MIIC: 800, US History: 750
AP Calculus BC - 5
AP US History- 5
AP English Lang/Comp- 5
Unweighted GPA-2.9 (8th decile)
Weighted GPA-3.3 (6th decile)
(No class ranking system)</p>

<p>Transcript:</p>

<p>Freshman Year:
English 9- C
Cultural Geography- C
Statistics AP- C
Calculus AB AP- D
Molecular Biology- C
Keyboarding- A
Men's Choir- A
Health/PE- A</p>

<p>Sophmore Year:
English 10-
World Civilizations- C
Calculus AB AP- B
Quantitative Chemistry- A
Latin II- C
Concert Choir- A
Health- B
Phys Ed- A</p>

<p>Junior Year:
English 11 AP-C
US History AP- B
Intro to Philosophy- B
Calculus BC AP- A
Biology II AP- Withdraw Failing
Physcis I- A
Latin III- C
Concert Choir- A
Recreational Sports- A</p>

<p>Senior Year (Schedule):
English 12 AP
Latin IV
Physics II
Economics AP
Concert Choir
Adventure Sports
Modern European History AP
Intro to Sociology
Linear Algebra</p>

<p>Awards:
National Merit Semi-Finalist (Doubt I'll actually be a finalist)
Certificate of Distinction-American Mathematics Contest</p>

<p>Extracurriculars, Sports, Work Experience:
None</p>

<p>I don't even know where I should apply. I'd like to go to a good school but I can't get in to any good schools so I have a dilemna. If anyone could offer me some idea of what kind of schools I would be able to get into I would really appreciate it.</p>

<p>I guess the school I would want to go to the absolute most would be Deep Springs College. An extremely selective school that I won't be able to get in to so I don't even know why I bother mentioning it.</p>

2

<p>Well, Deep Springs is an interesting school. Some consider it more of a cult than a school--others say it's a different type of education that provides a different way of looking at things. But you are right--your chances of getting in there are slim at best, since they only take 16 students total and the average scores are 760/760 SATs and 3.94 GPAs.</p>

<p>Now getting back to a real chance at a good school, let's consider places that you have a shot at. First of all, you can apply to the UC system using their specialized admittance program, which considers only test scores for admittance. Here's the link:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman/exam_eligibility.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman/exam_eligibility.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Obviously, with your scores, you would have no problem at all getting admitted through this program--and might even be able to get into one of their better campuses. (UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, UC Davis, UC Irvine).</p>

<p>Also, if you live in California the tuition is cheap ($6,000), although it costs quite a bit more (an additional $13,000) if you are from out-of-state, plus of course you still have to pay for room and board.</p>

<p>Another choice is to consider schools with your stats in mind. Here in California one of the best Cal States that take students with 3.1 GPA averages is Sonoma State--where you could probably get in. Other good schools where you don't need a great GPA to get in--places like Goucher and Towson University in Maryland, Drexel and Temple in Pennsylvania, and DePaul in Illinois.</p>

<p>Also, places in the midwest like Univ of Pittsburgh or University of Kansas or Ball State would probably give someone like you with a lesser GPA, but fantastic test scores a chance if you can keep your scores up during the first semester of this year. Other schools like this are Evergreen State in Washington, Oregon State University or UMass--Amherst. </p>

<p>There are also feeder colleges--like in Pennsylvania, there are lots of Penn States (like Penn State--Erie) where you could go for the first year or two--and then transfer to the main school (Penn State--University Park). Indiana has a similar system. </p>

<p>Lastly, you could go to a local community college for one year, and then transfer to a great college after you prove that you can keep your grades high for one college year-long period (and a 3.3 GPA or so is all you would probably need there to get into a pretty-good 4-year school).</p>

<p>Good luck--and write me or post again if you need more info.</p>

3

<p>jbyrnes, what is the attraction of Deep Springs? Are you ready to work incredibly hard? Or do you like the price? Is money an issue?</p>

<p>If Deep Springs is your favorite, apply there.
Getting rejected from a school is not a big deal. You won't get in if you don't apply.</p>

<p>I would pick up the book, "Cool Colleges for the Hyper Intelligent...."</p>

<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cool-Colleges-Hyper-Intelligent-Self-Directed-Different/dp/1580081509/sr=8-1/qid=1159501737/ref=sr_1_1/102-1830728-6802504?ie=UTF8&s=books%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.amazon.com/Cool-Colleges-Hyper-Intelligent-Self-Directed-Different/dp/1580081509/sr=8-1/qid=1159501737/ref=sr_1_1/102-1830728-6802504?ie=UTF8&s=books&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>You will get many ideas.</p>

<p>Have you looked at St John's (in Maryland or Sante Fe)?</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the suggestions.</p>

<p>I'll take a look at see what comes up.</p>

5

<p>I'm sorry for double-posting but I don't know how to edit my post.</p>

<p>In response to dstark's question about why I want to go to Deep Springs, there are several reasons.</p>

<p>One reason is, of course, that it's a top quality academic institute where I could learn a tremendous amount (though I do admit it has some failings in math/science programs, I can look past that)
Another reason is of course, the cost. I'm not the richest person in the world and not having to pay anything to go to a school of such a high caliber would be wonderful. But honestly, if I got a free ride to any other school, I would almost definitely pick Deep Springs over it anyway.</p>

<p>But one of the biggest reasons that I wish to go there is I think it's the kind of place where I can learn to be a different kind of person, a place where I'm motivated to work hard, learn a lot, and help make decisions about everything I do. I want to work incredibly hard, I want to be challenged, and I want to experience something completely different from the life I'm living now.</p>

6

<p>"But one of the biggest reasons that I wish to go there is I think it's the kind of place where I can learn to be a different kind of person, a place where I'm motivated to work hard, learn a lot, and help make decisions about everything I do. I want to work incredibly hard, I want to be challenged, and I want to experience something completely different from the life I'm living now".</p>

<p>jbyrnes, if you take that attitude with you wherever you go, you will be successful wherever you go.</p>

7

<p>dstark,</p>

<p>I was affected similarly by that passage you quoted.</p>

8

<p>I looked up St. John's college (and I'll take a look at the book you mentioned when I get the chance) and I have mixed feelings.</p>

<p>I like the idea of the kind of learning they're doing there. Representative of all fields of western thought going back to the greeks. And while I also like the class structure there, I'm just a little bothered.</p>

<p>I really don't like the idea of having no choice in what courses I take. Some courses are just not interesting to me, and while it would expose me to a wide variety of thought, I know that it would be much less meaningful and enjoyable if I didn't really find it that interesting. I'm not saying that those classes would be bad, I'm saying that I would probably benefit a lot from being able to change at least some of them.</p>

<p>But it does receive a positive reception overall.</p>

9

<p>Check out Marlboro, Prescott, New College in Florida, and Hampshire.</p>

10

<p>reed? you might have a shot there.</p>

11

<p>Hey dstark.</p>

<p>I checked out a bunch of those and thought they were pretty interesting. What do you think my chances of getting into all those schools you mentioned are though?</p>

12

<p>You want to go to a school with 20 males? That's your idea of a good education?</p>

13

<p>The Evergreen State College is similar in feel to Reed, as is Hampshire College and Pitzer College. Hendrix is a good school as well, as is Bennington and Antioch.</p>

14

<p>Excellent chance to get into all of them with New College slightly more difficult than the others.</p>

15

<p>Adonalmao: I wouldn't assume the quality of a school's education based solely on the number of people going there.</p>

16

<p>One last bump to see if anyone has any other advice they're willing to share.</p>