High School Seniors, where are you applying?

[Reincarnate]

Re: High School Seniors, where are you applying?

Haha yeah the Ivies are reaches for everyone, no question

[benguino]

Re: High School Seniors, where are you applying?

I meant match as in, his and my schools. XD Sorry if that confused anyone. I should have worded it better.

Yeah, I was wondering what you meant by "match" since I didn't even post my stats yet.

Stats:

SAT: 1910 Total, 590R, 760M, 560W, 8 Essay
SATII: 790 MathII, 680 Bio M
ACT: 30 Composite, 25E, 31R, 34M, 30S, 24 Combined English/Writing, 8 Essay

Current UGPA: 3.92
Current WGPA: 3.96
Expected Cumulative UGPA for Midyear-Report: 3.93
Expected Cumulative WGPA for Midyear-Report: 4.02
*Our school only weighs AP classes (not honor or X-level classes). Also, our school only offers AP English/Composition prior to Senior year. Some colleges however weigh GPA in their own manner, considering honors courses. So if you count honors-level classes in the weighted GPA:
Current WGPA: 4.04
Expected Cumulative WGPA for Midyear-Report: 4.09

Senior Course-load consists of 4 AP classes.

Current Rank: 18/300+
Expected Midyear-Report Rank: better

E/C's & Awards & Etc
-4 Years of band, clarinet section leader
-Math league
-Robotics
-National Honor Society Member
-Founder and President of a digital media club
-News anchor for school's news station
-Upward Bound Math/Science member
-Accepted (out of a pool of applicants) to do some summer exchange program up in California
-QuestBridge Finalist (National Level)
-2nd place in a national competition at the state-level called "LifeSmarts."
-Department of Math award and Department of Science award for three years in a row (school-wide)
-Senior Class Council Representative
-Probably some other random stuff I can't remember

Other Facts:
-income <$20,000
-Household of 4
-White, male
-Have some American-Indian (<10%) but no certificates to prove it
-First-Generation student
-Live with single parent

That's all I can think of right now...

[infinity.]

Re: High School Seniors, where are you applying?

Yeah, I was wondering what you meant by "match" since I didn't even post my stats yet.

Stats:

SAT: 1910 Total, 590R, 760M, 560W, 8 Essay
SATII: 790 MathII, 680 Bio M
ACT: 30 Composite, 25E, 31R, 34M, 30S, 24 Combined English/Writing, 8 Essay

Current UGPA: 3.92
Current WGPA: 3.96
Expected Cumulative UGPA for Midyear-Report: 3.93
Expected Cumulative WGPA for Midyear-Report: 4.02
*Our school only weighs AP classes (not honor or X-level classes). Also, our school only offers AP English/Composition prior to Senior year. Some colleges however weigh GPA in their own manner, considering honors courses. So if you count honors-level classes in the weighted GPA:
Current WGPA: 4.04
Expected Cumulative WGPA for Midyear-Report: 4.09

Senior Course-load consists of 4 AP classes.

Current Rank: 18/300+
Expected Midyear-Report Rank: better

E/C's & Awards & Etc
-4 Years of band, clarinet section leader
-Math league
-Robotics
-National Honor Society Member
-Founder and President of a digital media club
-News anchor for school's news station
-Upward Bound Math/Science member
-Accepted (out of a pool of applicants) to do some summer exchange program up in California
-QuestBridge Finalist (National Level)
-2nd place in a national competition at the state-level called "LifeSmarts."
-Department of Math award and Department of Science award for three years in a row (school-wide)
-Senior Class Council Representative
-Probably some other random stuff I can't remember

Other Facts:
-income <$20,000
-Household of 4
-White, male
-Have some American-Indian (<10%) but no certificates to prove it
-First-Generation student
-Live with single parent

That's all I can think of right now...

are you putting yourself as white or indian?
american-indian would be an in everywhere hahaha.
and a ton of hooks definitely help.

[benguino]

Re: High School Seniors, where are you applying?

are you putting yourself as white or indian?
american-indian would be an in everywhere hahaha.
and a ton of hooks definitely help.

Most college apps have check-boxes rather than radio-buttons so I would just check both. If it asks for a single primary ethnicity though then I would put white.

[Reincarnate]

Re: High School Seniors, where are you applying?

Reuben: Your scores, even for a first-gen, are going to keep you out of Ivies/MIT/Stanford/Caltech/etc. Your rank also kicks you out of the top 5% of your class. Admission rates tend to plummet past this point on both these metrics.

[benguino]

Re: High School Seniors, where are you applying?

Reuben: Your scores, even for a first-gen, are going to keep you out of Ivies/MIT/Stanford/Caltech/etc. Your rank also kicks you out of the top 5% of your class. Admission rates tend to plummet past this point on both these metrics.

I know that my test scores are probably going to be the single biggest thing that is going to set me back. However, I am a very ambitious person and as long as the percentile statistics show above 0% admittance rate for my scores, I'm determined to at least try. I am not expecting admittance, I'm just trying for it.

[Reincarnate]

Re: High School Seniors, where are you applying?

I know that my test scores are probably going to be the single biggest thing that is going to set me back. However, I am a very ambitious person and as long as the percentile statistics show above 0% admittance rate for my scores, I'm determined to at least try. I am not expecting admittance, I'm just trying for it.

Great attitude to have -- you'll land somewhere out of those schools on your list. Just be sure to pick something fun that isn't too expensive and you'll have a great four years.

[Rubin0]

Re: High School Seniors, where are you applying?

I was pretty happy with my SAT score/didn't care about my ACT score/didn't bother taking the SATIIs. I'm an only child any my mother was obsessing about me not leaving the state/general area so I ended up going to Hofstra University which costs as much as the ivies but gives you an only slightly better than mediocre education.

[benguino]

Re: High School Seniors, where are you applying?

Great attitude to have -- you'll land somewhere out of those schools on your list. Just be sure to pick something fun that isn't too expensive and you'll have a great four years.

Thanks for being supportive.

[dag12]

Re: High School Seniors, where are you applying?

I'm a first generation Japanese student.
I agree with Rubix regarding the magnitude of influence that your background can have on you.
I'm first generation, but my parents knew, and stressed the importance of a good education. My high school, though public and non-magnet, was also very competitive (~15 into HYPSM Caltech evey year), so it definitely pushed me to try harder.
At Yale, I feel the same way. My peers are so talented and hardworking that it really motivates me to try harder as well.

A common misconception is that the Ivies give legacy applicants (students whose parents went to that particular college) a big hand up in admissions. What it is mainly is that the parents, having come from ivy schools, know the importance of education and have the resources to provide their children with a good education, even before college. So their kids end up being well-qualified, independent of their "legacy" status.

There's definitely a self-perpetrating cycle - as Rubix said, the rich get richer,
and the poor stay poor. Oftentimes the only thing that can break the so-called "Cycle of Poverty" is education, which is why many private colleges practice affirmative action. It's not a perfect solution - there are definitely problems with the system, such as high drop-out rates among affirmative action students - but I think it's a step in the right direction.

[Reincarnate]

Re: High School Seniors, where are you applying?

All I know is that I'm so tired. :<

[benguino]

Re: High School Seniors, where are you applying?

All I know is that I'm so tired. :<

Tired from what?

[Reincarnate]

Re: High School Seniors, where are you applying?

Tired from what?

Everything's a big rat race -- it'd be nice to stop worrying all the time

[Breakdown16]

Re: High School Seniors, where are you applying?

Everything's a big rat race -- it'd be nice to stop worrying all the time

Freaking right - sometimes (actually, all the time) I feel that college admissions have become a competition rather than an honest assessment of finding where you truly belong. Even I'm treating it as such - the pressure to get into a top Ivy or whatever is strong to the point where the name of the institution matters more than its personal value to you.

And here I am, finding ways to stall from editing my CommonApp essay. >.>

[awein999]

Re: High School Seniors, where are you applying?

Then just relax a little bit. Take a day or two for yourself. It doesn't need to be a big worry.