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i'd really appreciate your input here...
i have a 3.92 gpa (unweighted), but have a depressing sat (1120). i take a rigorous courseload, with honors and ap (will graduate with 5 ap classes) and am fluent in french, spanish, and english. i play 2 varsity sports, am a captain for one of these sports, am involved in leadership and peer mediation at my school as well. i'm VP of honor society and do a lot of community service. i will have excellent recs from teachers as well. will my SAT mess me up that much? what are my chances at the following schools: pepperdine, whitman, gonzaga, georgetown (school of foreign service/or just regular), tufts, santa clara, usc. do you have any advice for me? should i shoot higher/lower? i'd love to go into international relations. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME!

By Dadster on Sunday, July 07, 2002 - 11:48 am: Edit

Hi, Jessica. I think you sound very competitive, except for your SAT score. I'd certainly apply to the kinds of schools you mention, but I'd really recommend studying and retaking the SAT. That looks like the only weak point in your package right now. Some schools might overlook it, but it would definitely be worth another try. From all other aspects, it sounds like you have a lot going for you. Good luck!

By JT (Sky99) on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 12:42 pm: Edit

hi-I have a 4.2548 gpa, I take all honors classes, I am involved in many clubs, play a sport, and do volunteer work. I also recieved first place in my region and state in Future Business Leaders of America competition. I got a 1340 on my SATs, and all my satIIs are in the 600s. What types of colleges could I get into?

By JT (Sky99) on Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 12:45 pm: Edit

oh yea--im also an officer of many clubs, icluding multicultural, peer mediation and also in national honor society. Thanks!

By Sally R. on Tuesday, July 16, 2002 - 09:28 pm: Edit

With that kind of record, you can probably get into most colleges. The hypercompetitive ones (Ivy League, Stanford, MIT, etc.) may be out of reach without more astronomical SAT scores, but that really depends on a number of factors. These include:

1. Your racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic background (in other words, do you belong to a group that might be underrepresented on one of those campuses?)

2. When you say you "play a sport," are you a star? Do you ride the pines? Somewhere in the middle? Is your sport a not-so-prevalent one (e.g.,squash? diving? badminton?)

3. Do you have any other unique interests, experiences, or special talents? (For instance, what earned you that FBLA win?)

4. What is your rank in class?

College admission officials will look at the information you've included above, plus your answers to all of these questions. They'll scrutinize your writing and (to a lesser extent) your recommendations. (It's not that they don't care about the recs; it's just that recommendations often don't say a whole lot or they say the same things that every other applicants' references proclaim: "hardworking," "thoughtful," "reliable," etc.)

What colleges interest you so far? If the top-of-the-heap elites aren't on your list anyway, you may find you will bat 1000 at decision time.

By Fern Herrmann (Fernmom) on Wednesday, July 17, 2002 - 12:50 am: Edit

Jessica, in addition to retaking the SAT you might consider the SAT optional schools. Bates and Bowdoin are the ones that come to mind, but I know there are others if you do a little research. I noticed there are some small LACs on your list so Bates or Bowdoin might suit you. Also look at Lewis and Clarke, I think they have an international relations program.