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Hey! I just finished my junior year and I'm trying to figure out where to apply to college this fall. What do you think my chances are at Georgetown? Any other college recommendations? Thanks!

Entering senior at a top 10 public high school in California
GPA: 3.5 UW/ 3.65 W (upward trend with the most challenging curriculum- definitely low for Georgetown, though)
SATII Writing: 800
SATII Literature: 690
I'm taking the SATI in October after I do test prep this summer- will probably be around 1400, but I'm not sure
By the end of senior year, I will have taken 7 APs and 1 honors class (AP Music Theory, AP Psych, AP Euro, AP US History, Hon. English, AP English, AP Gov/Econ, AP Stats)
I'm probably going to major in Classics and either English, History, or Poli Sci
I got 4's on the AP US and AP Psych tests

-Member of Junior Statesmen of America- 3 yrs
-Mock Trial- 2 years
-Vice President of Philosophy Club
-Staff writer on school newspaper
-Member of Amnesty International- 3 yrs
-Member of History Club
-Member of the school district's Diversity Committee, which works to combat such issues as homophobia in the school environment
-I'm starting a book club and a Democratic club next year, both of which I'll obviously be president of
-Member/Volunteer at Feminist Majority Foundation
-Volunteer/Organizer for John Kerry for President/ Kerry Campaign Writers Bureau/ Students for Kerry (about 15 hours a week)
-Participated in National Youth Leadership Forum for Law in Washington DC this spring
-Won the underclassman award at my school 2 years in a row, once for English, once for Precalculus (each teacher picks one student from years frosh-junior to give an award to for academic excellence)
- Won the California Governor's Scholars Award for high STAR test scores
- National Merit Commended Scholar
- I'm in the Gifted and Talented Education Program (GATE) at my school
-Took classes at UC Berkeley every summer I've been in high school (got straight A's in them)
-Taking classes at local community college as well
-During budget cuts, I led a letter-writing campaign among the students to protect the teachers and programs that had been put in jeopardy
-Wrote a novel (unpublished) and 2 plays, one of which was performed at UC Berkeley
-I don't know if this will factor in at all in assessing my grades, but my mom has been unemployed for a year, on top of which there was a death in the family, the combination of which made for a stressful junior year to say the least. :-( However, my grades have definitely rebounded significantly.
-I'm a very strong writer, I interview well, and will be able to get great recommendations

If someone could let me know what you think my chances are, that would be great!! By the way, I'm also looking at Haverford, Reed, Brown, Mt. Holyoke, Wesleyan, Bard, and Trinity (CT), but I don't know if I'm on the right track with those schools...

Also, does anyone know what Georgetown's financial aid is like? That's going to be a really big deal for me... Thanks!!

By Tlaktan (Tlaktan) on Saturday, August 28, 2004 - 12:10 pm: Edit

(Bah, I've forgotten about the Governor's Scholar award).. Georgetown's financial aid is great, they have a huge endowment, I think one of the top 20 in the nation.

As for your chances, well, *shrug*.. I'd recommend you scrap the NYLF and the GATE.

I'm not going to comment on your chances, because, well, I don't quite honestly know what they are. I think you have a better chance applying ED at one of the LACs.

By Manderz (Manderz) on Saturday, August 28, 2004 - 12:22 pm: Edit

Yea, GATE is pretty meaningless. I took the test and got in in like, 2nd or 3rd grade? I think having all these extras might detract from your resume.

Your mom being unemployed for a year won't make a difference about you getting in, but once you get in it will probably help with Finaid (if it was this year's tax return). My dad was (and still is) unemployed (yay Bush, driving the nail through R&D companies)..

What you can do is talk about your Junior year in your essay- here you have one of the most difficult years of high school and it's compounded by this tremendous thing..Or, if you'd prefer to talk about something else, and you had shared this with your teacher, they will probably write about how you dealt with it. I know one of my recommendations will probably write about my parents' divorce and how I dealt with it.

As for the NYLF, I have this to say about that.

It has been my understanding, from everyone I've talked to, that Georgetown likes to see an interest in a particular area.
If you're interested in being geared towards Law or some related thing, keep it in. I personally will add NSLC International Diplomacy to my resume because I'm interested in International Politics...Maybe it won't be a factor in admission, but at least you're showing that you've taken an interest yadda yadda.

I like Tlaktan can't comment on your chances, it's really hard without an SAT and plus I don't know where I myself stand, either.