Discussion Archive

Question 1:
hi, im in 11th grade, and im thinking a lot about college. I am a full IB student and i have a gpa of above a 4.0. im about 4th or 5th in the class rankiing and i participate in a lot of extracurricular activities (piano, tennis, debate, model united nations, clubs, student council, etc) with consistency since 9th grade. I am looking to apply to top colleges in the US, even a few Ivy League schools. I took chemistry (honors) in 9th grade, physics (honors) and biology (honors) in 10th grade (they were required), and this year i started off with two sciences: physics and biology. however, i have now realized that i do not like physics, and i do not think i will do well at all in the course this year. i do not want to risk hurting my gpa so im looking at other optios. my only other option (that fits my schedule) is to replace physics with IB theater arts (honors), which I'd take this year and next year. do you think this is a good idea, or do you think it will affect my chances of getting into a top university? do colleges want to see two science courses, even if i apply as "undecided" thank you... - Julia

Howard and Matthew Greene:
Thanks for the details. You have enough sciences, and if it makes sense for you to drop the physics, you won't suffer for it. The theater arts class might be more interesting for you, and you can stick with it for two years. That is especially true if you are applying as a science-oriented major.

Howard and Matthew Greene:
The top factor for highly selective colleges like MIT is your curriculum (taking a tough courseload of demanding college prep classes) and your performance in that curriculum (strong grades, especially in more recent years). Standardized test scores, which tend to reflect one's performance in a demanding college prep program, are the third factor. Then comes a cluster of factors including essays, recommendation letters, interviews (where offered), and extracurricular activities.

Question 3:
Hi- I know that these chances things get really annoying, but I need to know if I would be wasting my time doing overnights at these schools, as they are my favorites. I have visited 35 schools, a crazy amount, and have decided that these are my favorites as of now. Wake Forest University, The University of Rochester, Franklin and Marshall College, Muhlenberg College, and possibly Case Western Reserve Unviersity (the only school I haven't visited at all yet). I want to get a true feel of each school by spending the day and night, but am hesitant to do so, as I will miss a lot of schoolwork, though I will surely be able to make it up. Should I consider seeing all of these? Or are my stats too low for some? Here are my stats: SAT I: CR680, M670 W700, SAT II: Math IC 720, Math IIC 680 GPA: 3.611/4.0, rank 43/208 ECs: Ski Club- member (4 years) and possibly a position Project Harmony Diversity Awareness- member (3 years) committee chair this year Girl Scouts- 13 years Hospital volunteer- 51 hours as of now Softball- 11 years (2 for school, 1 summer league, 8 little league) Field Hockey- 2 years (1 year JV and 1 JV and Varsity) I attended religious school through confirmation (10th grade), and substitute for Sunday School (it's very hard to get a full time job doing this) I will be in NAHS in 12th grade Certified Scuba Diver, though I have only been on 7 dives or so. Awards and Recognitions: Academic Art Award (for 11th grade)- school-wide competition Girl Scout Silver Award- for community service with girl scouts I plan to enter a city-wide art competition in the fall for photography. The judging will be September 28th, so if I win anything, it will be on my application LIU Summer Academy- an art camp that is selective in who it admits, although it is only for my region, so it is only slightly impressive. I attended this camp for 3 years, though I will only be able to count one of them that occurred the summer before 9th grade Other Pennsylvania resident, senior in high school Considering an art minor- Commissioned this summer to draw the religious school cover, which I did for charity, and received many compliments on. They actually asked me to do another project for them, which has no deadline, but I haven't had time to start yet because of my heavy workload in chem II (college prep advanced) (equivalent to an ap this year), and because I have been focusing on my apps. My GPA each year is as follows: 9th: 3.39 10th: 3.572 11th: 3.871 As you can see, I am on an upward trend. (also consider the strange GPA system that my school uses- 98% is a 4.0, not a 96%, as in most schools- this would make my GPA higher in other schools) Worried about my weak courseload- 6 honors/aps (my school offers their own thing, which is probably tougher than honors, and depending on the class, tougher than the aps) out of a possible 16 that I would have been able to take considering my schedule - Stephanie

Howard and Matthew Greene:
Thanks for the details. You're on track for the colleges in which you are interested, making Wake and Rochester, for example, realistic reaches. You have indeed visited a crazy number of schools. It doesn't sound like you need to go back to any this fall, as your visits so far should help you to shape your list of 8-10 more to less demanding colleges and universities. You can revisit a few to which you have been admitted in April for careful evaluation and overnights before making your final decision. The exception here is if you are considering Early Decision at any of these. Since ED is binding, you might do an overnight or two at a possible ED school to make sure you are considering the ED choice carefully enough at this stage of the process.

Howard and Matthew Greene:
Well, scholarships are typically non-need-based, and can be based on standardized test scores, GPA, class rank, engagement in a particular activity, or a combination of the above. Grants are need-based, and are not connected to academics. If your GPA is low, you might qualify for more scholarships by trying to do very well on the SAT or ACT.

Question 5:
If a college sends you a letter saying that you would do well at their school based on your ACT score, does that mean that if you were to apply for admissions that they will more than likely accept you? - James

Howard and Matthew Greene:
Unfortunately not. Many many colleges are sending out these type of early recruiting letters to vast numbers of students based on PSAT, ACT, or SAT scores encouraging applications, offering free and/or pre-filled out applications, internet based options, etc. While they may have identified you as being in their ACT score range, they will make admissions decisions based on the factors noted above: courses, grades, recommendations, etc. So, you might evaluate whether this college could be a good fit for you, but don't take these early letters as promising anything.

Question 6:
ok hi i graduated this year but i want to go to college.i didnt apply for a college caause i was interested in the military but now im not. I wanted to know if i can still take my SAT exam an apply for a college or if i could only go to a community college. Thank you - luis

Howard and Matthew Greene:
You have several options available. For the fall, you're in non-academic mode, and could work, volunteer, take the SAT in October, November, or December, and research and visit colleges. You could apply for college entrance at four-year schools that accept January entrants. They will detail this on their web sites, and have application deadlines typically in October or November. You can also consider registering for spring classes at a community college for the winter term. Alternately, you could plan this to be a whole year off, and apply for entrance for next fall. You could still take some classes in the winter, spring, and summer at a local college to improve your academic standing and chances for admission to a more selective college, better prepare yourself for success, and gain some college credits. Deadlines for fall admission are typically January, though if you are applying to most public universities, which often use rolling admission, you should get the apps out by mid-fall, or ASAP.

Question 7:
My son is a senior at a very competitive NJ public school. He took 5 AP courses during his Junior year. Here are his results (Subject, AP exam score, and class grade): (English,5,B),(Calc BC,5,B),(USHistory,4,A),(Chem,4,B),(Bio,4,B). Unweighted GPA = 3.4 (3.39), Weighted GPA = 4.0 (3.96) PSAT = 225 (NMSP semi finalist in NJ) SAT 2s: Math2C=800, Chem=770, Bio=700 SAT: Writ=800, CR=650, Math=720 He is going to repeat SAT in October. His senior classes include Multivar Calc, AP Lit,AP Gov, Advanced Physics and Human Anatomy. He has always taken the most challenging math and science classes. But he ends up getting more Bs than As. Since our school does not have B+, he ends up getting high 80s with a B grade. This affected his GPA a lot. He has one C for his 10th grade. --------Music (As a 1st violinist): *Member of the prestigious Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra *Member of the advanced highly reputed Princeton Youth Orchestra *High School Advanced Symphony Orchestra *Officer Position - High School Orchestra Council *Toured Italy and Scotland for concerts *Formed Quartet and played at local Red Cross blood drives and local events --------Volunteer: *Received Pacesetter award for his committed work as Blood Drive Schedule Coordinator by the Red Cross local chapter *Officer - Executive Committee of Red Cross Youth Council - Actively coordinated the first Dance-a-thon fund raising event organized by the Youth Council *Overall 3 years of volunteer service with over 400 hours of community service --------Other activities/awards: *United States Academic Decathlon (USAD) Team Member - Won 2 team medals at the Regional Competition, School placed first in the regions and qualified for the State Competition (Officer position at the school USAD club) *Participated at the NJ State Future Problem Solving Competition (FPS) -Won 2 medals at the NJ State level and participated in the international competition in 8th grade University courses: *Fall 2006 - Enrolled in UPENN freshman economics course *Summer 2006 - UPENN Summer Science Academy, Bio Medical Research, Second place winner of the final presentation, good recommendation letter from the professor *Summer 2005 - Harvard Summer School in summer 2005 - Neurobiology and International Relations --------UPENN is his dream school. He has a legacy status at UPENN. He wants to apply ED to UPENN and RD to Northwestern, UChicago, Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, and UMich. Our GC is advising us that these schools are high reach for him. He has picked several other safe schools also. --------Question: Do you think he has a shot at UPENN ED and RD choices? Do you think his low GPA and his one C grade hurt him so much? I apologize for the long message. I wanted to give you the whole picture. Any help will be greatly appreciated. - DSK

Howard and Matthew Greene:
Thanks - the whole picture is helpful. To gain the legacy advantage at Penn, your son does need to apply ED, and hopefully has checked out the university well enough to be excited and comfortable about that choice. It is, unfortunately, a lot of pressure from the university to make that commitment this early in the admissions process. Your son seems qualified for Penn and the other schools on his list. His courses, activities, and test scores are certainly in range to make them realistic reaches (the best anyone can do at the top level schools these days). His grades sound strong, but not strongest, so there is some comparing to do in terms of other applicants that might be applying from his high school this year and in past years with similar courses, test scores, and grades. Curriculum, as we have noted consistently, is most important. So, if he is taking very tough classes (which he is) and getting lower grades (but not C's) then colleges will appreciate that he has been stretching himself academically. Again, this won't look as good if there are a number of other students at his school with similar profiles overall, similar courses, and better grades to boot. Then he will stand a tougher chance at the most competitive schools.

Question 8:
Hi. I recently convinced one of my teammates from field hockey to try to get into a 4 year college instead of attending a community college for two years and then trying to transfer. I told her that if she can handle the work now, it will be better to start out in a four year school than attempting to transfer in, which is always harder. She doesn't have good stats- I don't know them exactly, but I would guess a low 900/1600 SAT and between a 2.0 and 3.0 GPA. She is in college preparatory and general classes. She has ECs, though they are not outstanding. She wants to become a nurse, and I'm assuming she wants to stay close to home. She and I both live in York, PA, and I wanted to know what schools she should be considering. I don't know much about nursing, since I am a potential bio major, and I need advice. Also, a list of safeties, matches, and reaches for her would be great. I suggested York College of Pennsylvania, but I think this would be a realistic/reach for her, and don't want her to give up hope of attending a 4 year college if she is rejected. Also, Bloomsbrg is on her list, though I think this may be an unrealistic reach consdering the strength of their program. Suggestion/ comments/ etc. would be appreciated :) Thanks again- Stephanie - Stephanie

Howard and Matthew Greene:
You're great to try to help out and encourage your friend, Stephanie. The good news is, she can make it to nursing, or any field, through either strategy (community college or direct to four-year). Yes, especially if she is interesting in pre-nursing, it could be easier to try to start a four-year program right away at an appropriate college. She should know that the two-year route can still work, however, and that she can transfer in future as long as her grades and courses are good. There might be financial implications of each choice, as well, and she will need to talk with her family about the cost of community college versus four-year. She should know that she should apply for financial aid in January for both tracks, if she is likely to need it, and that there is a lot of aid available. She still has time to work on her SAT (or ACT) to try to bring that up by December/January. This could help with a lot of colleges, and her senior year grades can also have an impact. Some options to consider: (close by and a little farther from home...) Adelphi U. College Misericordia Curry College Elmira La Salle Mercyhurst Moravian Penn State Altoona Ramapo Sacred Heart (CT) Salve Regina (RI) Southern CT

Howard and Matthew Greene:
It depends on what you are looking for. And, there is a great amount of variability within the Ivy League and among similar most competitive level universities (Stanford, Duke, etc.). Within the Ivies, you have institutions like U. Pennsylvania, at about 10,000 undergrads in an urban environment in Philadelphia, and Dartmouth, at 4,300 undergrads in a small town, more woodsy campus in New Hampshire. We love the small liberal arts colleges, and there is a great deal of variability among that group as well, from a Bowdoin to a Pomona to a Davidson to a Swarthmore. Neither group, small liberal arts or "Ivy", works perfectly for all students, and one must look carefully at models of each to discern what group, or which schools within each group, will fit your interests and needs best.

Question 10:
hi i m rakshit from india. i just want to know that how many subjects do we have to take in SAT 2 for engineering.also is there any site where i can know the syllabus and access some sample papers to get familiar with the pattern. - rakshit

Howard and Matthew Greene:
Depending on the university, you might need none, two, or three. It is best to try for three if you can put them together, with two (the Math Level 2 and a science, preferable Chemistry or Physics) being a minimum for many top colleges. You can find out individual college requirements on their web sites. The petersons.com site also has profiles of the various colleges listing requirements for admission.

Question 11:
Hello, I received my bachelor degree in Italy. Now I would like to take my masters on line and they are asking me to take toefl test first. Where should I go for that? Thanks for your time. Regards, Jantine - jantine