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I swore I wasn't going to post here, but what the hell. I'm applying to ten (can't quite believe I'm doing it myself) schools, all on the east coast, from a public high school in California. It's the best school in the District, don't know if it has any name back there. The schools are Princeton, Harvard, Penn, Swarthmore, Haverford, NYU, Fordham, Georgetown, William & Mary, and Boston University (Rejected ED at Columbia).

GPA: 3.78 (Weighted)
Second Decile rank, all that will be reported to colleges

Seven Honors/AP Courses (School does not offer many, five AP/H courses senior year, including all humanitiies)

SAT I: 1500 - 800V, 700M
(Previously a 1430 780V, 650 M)
SAT II: Writing 800
U. S. History 800
Math IC 720
Literature 710 (Unprepped)

EC's are good, at least as far as I can tell. I run the schoo's 1600 user, 350 machine computer network, and have put an inordinate amount of time into it (should be reflected in recs). Chair of the County's Youth Commission, previously chair of the Policy Committee and have run the appointments process for the last two years. Last year created program and ran six youth forums across the County, responsible for all publicity, logistics, etc. President this year of the Philosophy Club. JSA Best Speaker. MUN. Mock Trial President and Lead Prosecution Attorney for three years, participant all four with countywide personal awards each year. Work experience with a non-profit sending computers and books to the Phillipines.

Also a legal internship with the District Attorney's Office in San Francisco - a major urban office. Only high school student - the DA I worked with sent a stellar letter stating I was doing work normally reserved for second and third year law students, with superior results.

Recs should be very good, and my essay I think (and am told by teachers and a professional editor) is superlative and personal.

Chances? I realise the GPA/Decile is my weakness, but is there hope? Be curious as to what you have to say...BJ

By justlurking on Tuesday, January 07, 2003 - 09:08 pm: Edit

what is your unweighted GPA?

By BJ on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 12:20 am: Edit

3.6-3.7 or so unweighted

By B18c1cx (B18c1cx) on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 12:40 am: Edit

You'll get into Fordham(easily), NYU, and maybe William and Mary. Kiss the others goodbye.

By trin on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 12:50 am: Edit

i think you've got a good chance at all the schools. really.

By BJ on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 01:16 am: Edit

Even with the subpar GPA/rank? BJ

By justlurking on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 07:40 am: Edit

Your ECs are really impressive, but it's hard to judge w/o knowing more about your school. Is your GPA high enough for your school's NHS or equivalent? What is the lowest GPA of students in the top decile, and how do students in the second decile usually do in college admissions? The competitive colleges will look at the whole picture, and if your school is generally competive, you'll have a good chance at all -- if your GPA is in "slacker" territory for your school, then I'd say no for the ivies, Georgetown & NYU. (The fact that your were rejected from Columbia, not deferred, is an indication that your GPA may not be high enough for the ivies.)

By Bump on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 04:49 pm: Edit

Other opinions?

By me on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 04:59 pm: Edit

Columbia doesn't defer a lot of applicants, so that should not be a negative sign. You have a shot at each school...except for harvard and princeton

By yours truley on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 10:03 pm: Edit

I'd start having your mail forwarded to Fordham, 'cause that's all you'll get...

By your local mayor on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 10:05 pm: Edit

how about you come back in a few months and tell us which school you're at.

By anonymous on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 11:54 pm: Edit

He's in at Boston U , NYU, and maybe Swarthmore.

By justlurking on Thursday, January 09, 2003 - 11:29 am: Edit

Statistics for Columbia ED at my kid's school:

9 applied
5 accepted
3 deferred
1 rejected

BTW, I think you will get $$ from BU b/c of your test scores.

By unique on Thursday, January 09, 2003 - 03:23 pm: Edit

With five of nine accepted, that must be a unique school...

By BJ on Thursday, January 09, 2003 - 05:06 pm: Edit

I shall report back when I hear something...any other opinions? BJ

By loser on Thursday, January 09, 2003 - 07:15 pm: Edit

don't you have better things to do than come to this board...

By bump on Thursday, January 09, 2003 - 11:30 pm: Edit

bump

By bump on Friday, January 10, 2003 - 02:08 am: Edit

bump

By b on Saturday, January 11, 2003 - 04:05 am: Edit

b

By b on Saturday, January 11, 2003 - 04:22 pm: Edit

b

By b on Saturday, January 11, 2003 - 11:48 pm: Edit

b

By Lit on Sunday, January 12, 2003 - 12:56 am: Edit

my English related scores: 790 Verbal, 760 Writing, 580 Lit. What will colleges think?

By b on Sunday, January 12, 2003 - 01:31 pm: Edit

b

By g on Sunday, January 12, 2003 - 02:49 pm: Edit

580 lit is terrible. they will think you need to read more closely.

By JD on Sunday, January 12, 2003 - 03:20 pm: Edit

particularly since it's incongruous with your other scores

By Lit on Sunday, January 12, 2003 - 09:10 pm: Edit

Any other opinions on my scores

By Lit on Monday, January 13, 2003 - 11:22 am: Edit

Do you think they might interpret the score as an abberation and consider it in context of my 790 Verbal/760 Writing?

By hohum on Monday, January 13, 2003 - 03:50 pm: Edit

I'd think you memorized Stanley Kaplan's list of words and can't actually read literature or other writing with more significance than mere facts

By Lit on Tuesday, January 14, 2003 - 11:05 am: Edit

Doesn't sound too good. I really don't know what that low score indicates about my English skills.

By Lit on Tuesday, January 14, 2003 - 11:37 am: Edit

I find it particularly perplexing that people with Verbal/Writing scores in the low 600s were able to score in the low and mid 700s on the Lit test. The only logical explanation that I've been able to come to is that (however improbable it may seem) there must be some ill-defined subject matter out there required to do well on the test and that comprehending old English is, not unlike Mathematics, a skill requiring a strong grounding in certain essential elements or fundamentals. There must be, as might be said, a "trick to it," just as there is a "trick" to most things of this sort. Well.... or perhaps the more obvious explanation holds more truth: I'm not a Lit person, and this post is a pitiable attempt to justify to myself my intellectual inadequacies as indicated my Lit score.

By bump on Wednesday, January 15, 2003 - 08:40 pm: Edit

bump

By fordhamprofessor on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 01:29 pm: Edit

fordham sucks monkey ••••!!!!!

By fordhamprofessor on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 01:36 pm: Edit

it really does in Fordham suck badly especially in the sciences
we have idiots for professors in the sciences
if you don't know anything about teaching science
come on down to fordham to get a cushy tenured job
maybe you'll do a better job

By emticonman on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 01:44 pm: Edit

Consider coming to fordham for science
where the science professors are when it's time to teach
or do anything else for that matter
you'll be very and sad
if you decide to attend it here