[||MY LUCKY SE7EN]

First off, anyone going to any of the colleges I mentioned?

Brown University
Tufts Uni.
Boston College
Cornell
Smith College
Mount Holyoke
Amherst College

I live in MA...a junior right now....and my parents want me to get into colleges around new england...

so BROWN is my top choice....

but anyone here going to these colleges and can tell me what their high school transcript/gpa was like

cuz i want to know if i have a chance....


haven't taken the SATs yet......but what did u guys score on yours ? did anyone take the ACTs or SAT subject tests?

i really don't know where to start...

~lisa

[mehlonghae]

I didn't apply to any of those schools, but I do know you have to have a pretty good GPA like 4.0+ and good SAT scores like 1400+. Also, you should take a lot of SAT subject tests. Make sure you're greatly involved in your school. Join a lot of clubs, maybe even run for class officer, and volunteer a lot. Those colleges look mostly for well-rounded individuals. I hope this helps.

[gemini]

don't just join a bunch of clubs, you have to show dedication. college counselors know that students tend to do that just so that it'll look good on their apps. yes, they do want well-rounded individuals, but they also want students who are going to make a difference on their campus and contribute skills, passion, etc.
find some things that you enjoy or are interested in and dedicate yourself to it. for example, if you're interested in ballroom dancing, start a ballroom dancing club, hold events, be active. do something that hasn't been done before. put yourself in leadership roles. don't just be a member of a bajillion clubs.
get to know your teachers (if you haven't already). they're the ones who are going to write your recommendations, keep that in mind. i've read some pretty sh*tty recommendations. they don't really help.
take challenging classes.
the obvious - keep up a good gpa. further, colleges don't just look at your cumulative gpa, they also look at grade trends. having crappy grades in your frosh and soph years sucks but if your transcript shows you worked hard to get better grades as you got older, it's impressive. get good sat scores. take a lot of practice sats so you can become more familiar with the format. read a lot to increase your vocab and help your reading comprehension. it should help your writing too.
sorry, i wrote alot
good luck, pm me if you have other questions...
cornell, brown and amherst are probably gonna be the toughest to get into.

[||MY LUCKY SE7EN]

^^^ i am most nervous about SATs because......the new 2400 one.....man.....i took the PSAT this year and i got a 202 which is like a 2020/2400


it's hard >.<

but thanks for the other advice....i am running for officer in two of my clubs and i am active....

k so i gotta focus on grades

>.<


noooooo physics and precal >.>

[iDoof]

Brown is big on 'well-rounded' kids. Places like Harvard or others like specificity, a huge potential in a particular direction, but Brown is all about kids being interested in, as well as capable in multiple areas. So try to do a variety of different things. So doing really well in all school subjects PLUS one extracurricular specialty, like music or art or something you can show off in....that would be good.

I'll probably be outta there by the time you get in, but good luck with it. Any other questions let me know.

[Elysia]

heya -

I'm a senior ATM and I'm applying to alot of the schools on your list actually, lol. I'm applying to (from your list) - brown, tufts, BC, cornell, and amherst... (all girl schools don't appeal to me, LOL), so I'm guessing we have very similiar tastes for schools You should also have a few safties (I live in Mass too! Where are ya from?) because those are all VERY good schools and difficult to get into... (look into UMass Amherst! you prob got a scholarship there - John&Abigail waives tuition)

as was stated before - grades and SAT scores aren't EVERYTHING, but they do comprise most of the admission decisions, lol. make sure you have a few very dedicated extracurriculars, and although these are highly variable, an unweighted GPA of 3.7+ (roughly A-, out of a 4.0 scale) or a rank in the top 10% and an SAT of 2100+ should be decent/put you in excellent running for any of those schools... some higher some lower of course, seeing as cornell is easier to get into than brown, etc...

your PSAT score is pretty good :] I only got about a 191 on those junior year and I scored a 2210 on the ACTUAL SAT lol, so just prep a lot! it helps a looot... I actually took a course in Lexington which helped, I think =]

anyways, yeah GOOD LUCK! be sure to visit all those schools too =] brown is amazing though!!

[gemini]

no problemo. a hypothetical 2020 is pretty good. just keep doing practice tests and prepping and you should be fine. the advice above is good too. good luck!
don't be afraid to go to your teachers for extra help, or asking friends. ask a cute guy in your class or something, haha

[||MY LUCKY SE7EN]

^^again thanks for the advice

Elysia!!!

i live in west springfield, ma!!

where r u ?

wow so much in common!

i'll PM u

BROWN <3

[sarangie]

my bro goes to cornell...
was a valedictorian in hs.
president, vice president, treasury in several honor societies/clubs.
and i think he took 3-4 AP courses, but not sure.
i don't know about his SATs tho...

but i'm sure you're one of top students to consider those schools~!!
good luck~!

[||MY LUCKY SE7EN]

^^cool.....congrats to him

i think i am in top 3....plus i run a few clubs.....VP + Secretary etc..

i do take APs....maybe i will have a chance %

[xosweetie]

^^cool.....congrats to him

i think i am in top 3....plus i run a few clubs.....VP + Secretary etc..

i do take APs....maybe i will have a chance %

You don't haev a chance unless you score high on your SATS because if you don't, colleges are going to question how you did well in school. Probably your school isn't up to high standards. It varies.

[*ahnnyoung*]

make sure you dont ruin your chances for college admission just because you didnt take a SAT subject test...
and take them in things you are comfortable with,
..because you are taking AP classes, you should take the SAT subject test on that particular subject

i took my SAT Chemistry in may/june after my AP class was over.
SAT Korean is easy, you should take that if you are comfortable with Korean..

make sure you take three because ivy leagues USUALLY require 3 (some, only 2)

[krit]

i go to Cornell (well, about to graduate from it). My gpa was 4.0, my EC's were pretty varied (a couple in the field i'm in, and a few *community spirit* type things).

I think that if you have a strong GPA, you have a pretty good chance - but in order to make yourself stand out from all the other students (because most come in w/4.0 gpas along with ppl that apply), all you need is to show that you volunteer, you work, etc. Even if your GPA isn't stellar, this will pull you through alot. (I think the minority card pulls alot of ppl through as well, but asians are judged differently.... and the card doesn't really apply ....too bad it doesn't.... it would have been so much easier)

[xgoody2shoes15x]

lol i wanna go to brown too~!! xD
im a sophomore though lol so i have uh... 1 1/2 more years?? o_O

anyways...
i searched Brown in the collegeboard.com website and it says that brown only accepts 9% of all applicants...

you should take your SATs soon so that if you don't do as well as you wanted to you can take it again.
and if you're taking your AP and SATII tests in the end of the year, you should just focus on studying for those starting from march and take your SATs at least by march. you shouldn't study for both your SATs and AP/SATII tests at the same time, because it's going to be too hard. so after taking your SATs by march, during the summer you can study for your SATs more and then take it again in the beginning of senior year before all the application stuff are due and get a better score =)

[alluring.honey]

well im currently a senior in highschool in MA too! (and done with applications now =D)... well I applied to BC out of your list. What might help is to go on collegeboard and check out the profiles of the schools you are thinking about applying to. they have like the 50 percentile SAT scores, etc.