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I'm a Caucasian, female junior. I go to a fairly competitive public high school in suburban New Jersey.

SAT:
between 1350 and 1460. (I haven't taken it officially yet, but I'm projecting based on PSAT scores and practice tests. I tend to score between 720 and 800 on verbal and between 590 and 650 on math. I'm currently practicing and enrolled in a prep course, so the scores may go up.)

SAT IIs:
biology, US history (will be taken in May) and writing (in June). (I've been told that I'm likely to get over 700 in biology and US history because I'm in the corresponding AP courses, and I should do fairly well on the writing because I got over a 70 on it on the PSATs.)


GPA:
3.8 (based on a straight ‘4.0=A’ scale)

Rank:
within the top 10 to 14 in my class of 450 or so. So the top 2-3%

APs taken and enrolled in for next year:
biology, US history, calculus AB, world history, literature, composition. (No tests taken yet, but my APUS and bio teachers think I'll get 5s or 4s)

ECs:
-literary magazine: submissions (9), literary editor (10, 11) and I'll be editor in chief next year.
-key club: general member (9, 10, 11 and will continue 12)
-volunteered at my town’s summer enrichment program (arts program for elementary school children) the summers before 9th and 10th grade
-JSA: general member (10th), treasurer (11th), will continue through 12th (hopefully chapter VP next year)
-mock trial: alternate witness (10th), alternate lawyer/witness (11th)
-science league (9th, 11th)
-newspaper: editorial assistant (11th) and will hopefully continue 12th
-stage crew for the spring drama (9, 10, 11)
-teen book club at public library- executive board (9, 10, 11)
-On teen advisory board for Firebird Books (Division of Penguin Putnam Inc.)

Some EC predictions:
-National Merit semi-finalist (this is a prediction, but based on the fact that I got a 217 and was in the 99th percentile)
-NHS (Hopefully. At my school, they don’t do nominations until spring of junior year. But I’d say I have a decent shot.)
-I applied to two prestigious summer programs, one of which (Governor's School of New Jersey) I'm likely to get into.

I'm a good writer and can probably pull off some decent essays. I also have a few teachers who like me a great deal me and will write lovely reccomendations.


So, do you think I'd have a shot at any of the 'name' schools? Which schools should I realistically aim for?

By Soccerstar2291 (Soccerstar2291) on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 - 06:35 pm: Edit

Your ECs aren’t focused. Even worst you don’t have any leadership positions besides newspaper club, book club, and advisory club. And those positions aren’t respectable like “President for 3 years.” Colleges may question your commitment. Your rank is OK and it doesn’t matter what your teachers “think” you’ll get on your AP – it only matters what you’ll really get. Students have won the Intel Science fair, but are rejected from the “big ones.” You might not be the scientific type, but have you done THAT well in your favorite studies?

By Lyralily (Lyralily) on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 - 06:40 pm: Edit

I have a leadership position on my high school's literary magazine. I've been an editor since freshman year and will be the editor in chief next year.

I know that my ECs aren't particularly well focused, but that's a major part of my personality. I have a wide range of interests, which is something that I tend to play up.

I'm at the top of my classes in both of my APs and am studying already. It's very likely that I'll get a 5 on both of my exams (and definitely no less than a 4).

But no, I haven't won the Intel Science fair or anything comparable. I'm fairly average. I just wanted an assessment of my possibilities. Thanks for commenting though.

By Jane1018 (Jane1018) on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 - 06:47 pm: Edit

I disagree with the person who commented earlier. Having focused ECs doesn't matter that much unless you are really the BEST in something. I don't know what the world would be coming to if it was suddenly a disadvantage to have a variety of interests and be good at a variety of things. Not all schools automatically disregard well-rounded applicants. My brother was very well-rounded rather than focused in one area and was without any "hooks" and he got into some great schools including Duke, Pomona, and Middlebury.

By Chen (Chen) on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 - 06:52 pm: Edit

You should definitely apply to the big schools if you can handle it. Those are very good stats. Stay on top of all your SATs - Is and IIs. You're taking them all at once, which is hard to handle junior year, so your SATs might not come out as high as you project. But still, your PSAT score is very good, so you'll have no problem with your SAT Is.

By Ohio_Mom (Ohio_Mom) on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 - 07:02 pm: Edit

Also, remember that merit money may be at issue, too. So - why not aim high - just try to keep a sense of humor and perspective about it all. And make sure you have good safeties.

By Mikepatterson (Mikepatterson) on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 - 07:05 pm: Edit

I read that colleges are looking for "angular students" (good at a few things), not well rounded anymore.

By Gianscolere (Gianscolere) on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 - 07:19 pm: Edit

i'm inclined to vote you a "yes" for a top 25 college but i could change my mind depending on the following info that i wish for you to post:

-how is your school's college placement record
-is your courseload the most difficult a senior can/has been able to take at your school?
-have you taken major academic courses at the local community college?
-how aggressive are you in each of your classes?
-how much time do you devote *per day* to *each* of the following activities: key club, JSA, mock trial, science league, newspaper, stage crew for the spring drama, teen book club, and teen advisory board.
-next, list all contributions you have made to each club...please provide more than leadership positions and/or titles.
-what are your *three* main interests and how have you shown commitment and passion for each of them?
-what are you academic/extracurricular awards? did you win these awards on a school, local, state, or national scale?
-how would you describe your personality?
-are you curious about the world? how so?

please be honest

By Jane1018 (Jane1018) on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 - 07:45 pm: Edit

One question: What does it mean to be a mock trial "alternate?" If that just means that you go in if someone gets sick...you better be on the state champion team or I'm a little offended that you'd try to pass that off as a legitimate EC.

By Lyralily (Lyralily) on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 - 08:06 pm: Edit

Jane, being an alternate does mean that I go to competition only if someone gets sick, but that does not mean that I put in any less time than those who were regular members of the team. It means that I went to all of the meetings and learned my part as well as the actual witness and was taught some of the skills of a mock trial lawyer, just in case. It was a legitimate EC, and I did put quite a bit of time into it.

Gianscolere, I copied and pasted your questions to a word document and will get some complete answers for you soon.

By Skulkarni1 (Skulkarni1) on Thursday, March 04, 2004 - 12:06 am: Edit

i don't know what everyone is talking about. u seem like a strong candidate to me. i mean, i don't know if ur strong enough for hte ivies or not, but u should be able to get into top 25 range schools. i find it funny "Even worst you don’t have any leadership positions besides newspaper club, book club, and advisory club". i dunno- having three leadership positions is a lot in my opinion! and the fact that ur ECS aren't focused is fine- just know that college preference varies like some colleges prefer u to have focused ECS (stanford, UMICH, berkeley, JHU) to name a few, whereas some prefer u to have a varied amount of ECS like you do (harvard for example prefers well-rounded.) u seem like a candidate who would get into a challenging, top 25 school, but top ten would be hard. that's my opinion......good luck with it all, and don't be discouraged by what people on this board say. the best opinion that u could have, is ask ur college counselor. no one knows better than he/she abour ur personal transcript. good luck, and i hope it all works out!

By Northstarmom (Northstarmom) on Thursday, March 04, 2004 - 12:35 am: Edit

Correction to what Skull...wrote. Harvard wants a well rounded class. While H will take some exceptionally well rounded applicants, typical admits are well lopsided. They don 't do a ton of ECs, but do one or two in depth on a longterm basis and with passion, creativity and independence. This is how H meets its goal of creating a well rounded class.
(Back when current students' parents were applying, H looked for well rounded students. Those days are long gone).

By Riesenmy (Riesenmy) on Thursday, March 04, 2004 - 12:46 am: Edit

maybe i'm wrong, but i thought NJ's cutoff for NM semifinalist was in the 220's...? if i'm wrong, i'm sorry, but i thought i saw that somewhere.

By Amarsn (Amarsn) on Thursday, March 04, 2004 - 02:06 am: Edit

Aim high, Lyralily-- it can't hurt anything.

If you had looked at me at the beginning of my junior year, with my 225 PSAT, 3.9 or so GPA and moderate involvements, you might not be impressed. I sucked at writing, but aside from that, i was generally a smart guy, but a poor student.

As the college admissions process continued, however, I decided to become the kind of student the top schools are looking for. I took AP English, my one really weak area, and since then, my writing improved a ton.

When i finally applied to colleges, my stats were 750 SAT I verbal and a 740 SAT I Math. In SAT II's, I got a 740 on Math IIc, 760 on Literature, and an 800 on Writing (my previous weakness) My GPA is 4.03 weighted, I am 1st sax in our band and jazz band, and got the Lead in the Drama.
If you actually put my stats in the academix index calculator, i'm an "8"
Of course, i'm far from the 1600 5.0 people, but i wasn't remarkable, and now i fit the pool of applicants.

You should do the same. A 217 on the PSAT says you've got the brains to do it, so push as hard as you can. It can't hurt to try.

Also, in deciding whether to be "well-rounded" or "well-angular," you've established that you're well rounded, so why not specialize in two or three things. Take the three activities you love most and get good, and pour yourself into them. Then, when you have applications, you have lots of activities to put on (from 9, 10, and 11) and a few very powerful activities (12)

By Shahab (Shahab) on Sunday, March 07, 2004 - 11:13 pm: Edit

Some EC predictions:
-National Merit semi-finalist (this is a prediction, but based on the fact that I got a 217 and was in the 99th percentile)

Nope. Had the same thing like 4 years ago, missed it by 1. It was 218 like 4 years ago, its destined to have gone up. You just missed it.