Hello everybody!
I am a freshman at an university in Poland. I have a dream to get accepted into prestigious grad school in US. I tried to get in for undegrad but all of 15 universities I applied for rejected me despite summer schools at really presitigous institutes all over the world and strong (in my opinion) academics I had.
I study Computer Science, but at high school I was involved in math and physics activities. My university is top in the country, but doesnt exist in world rankings. For grad school, I would like to do sth related to math and/or physics, maybe with elements of computer science. I would be ok with working interdisciplinary. Quantum Information Theory is kind of a mix of all of that and really excites me, but there is not a single course about it at my university.
The problem is I only had math classes at university during the first semester and I will never have math again during my undergrad (I cannot adjust courses list). I also cannot go for any sensible exchange, partner universities are no-names.
I am top of my class with high GPA. I am involved in some research in bioinformatics (publications may appear in the future), but I am not particularly interested in this area(I have no other sensible research opprotunities).
Could you advice me what to do in my situation to improve chances for grad school? I know I should take up Math GRE and General GRE. I feel ok with it, even now Math GRE is not so hard for me, and I learn English intensively. Is it still crucial to volunteer or should I focus on academics? I practise algorithms a lot, try myself in competitions, but I am a beginner for now and to get into the top I should probably dedicate all of my free time to it. Isn't it a blind alley maybe? Would publications be more important?
Thanks in advice for sharing any tips!
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Tips for international undergrad student.
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anyone get letters today?
anyone get anything in the mail yet??
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Georgetown Class of 2018 (HS Class of 2014)
Okay, guys. The application goes up in a mere two months. I figured that the sooner we get this started the better. We can use this forum for applying, decisions, admissions, advice, or anything else! Let's just be supportive and get this crazy process started! Who's applying for EA?
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GW, Michigan, Vassar, or U of Washington
I've been accepted to these four an now I can't really decide. I'm looking to major in bio (or something related) and I'm looking to be pre-med. I'd like to minor in poli sci too. I can afford any of them, but spending less would be good, considering future med school expenses. Also, I'm gay and, while I understand that all of these places would be accepting, I would really like to have a large gay population on campus.
I've come up with some points on each:
GW: Great location (love DC), lots of internship opportunities, reasonable weather (comparatively), great for a possible poli sci minor, like the urban campus (though I wonder if I might regret missing a "traditional college experience" later), fairly nice size, gave me 25k per year (so it's least expensive on the list)
Academics seem to have a good reputation, but I'm not so sure about academics/reputation in my field. I'm not sure if it's a great place to be pre-med/apply to med school.
Michigan: out of state, Ann arbor is all right (weather sucks), great bio science reputation, good research opportunities, has a more specific microbiology major that I might prefer, generally strong stats and reputation
I worry a little about pre-med being competitive and cutthroat. Also, I'm sort of a quiet person, and I worry that I might not really fit in with the Michigan atmosphere/spirit or that I might get lost in the crowd
Vassar: Great reputation (though not necessarily in science), would have small science classes, very pretty campus, I think I would fit in pretty well with the liberal/social justice feel of the campus, people seem to be similar to my personality
Location is terrible and weather sucks, I worry about the campus and social life being too insular, might be too small, most expensive on the list since they gave no aid, not sure about internships and research
Washington: out of state, good-ish academics (pretty good reputation in bio), social life seems a little quieter/more my speed than Michigan, great location (love Seattle, and sorta like the weather), gave me 7k per year in merit aid, probably good research/internships
Academically it's not as strong as the others and their 4-year grad rate is terrible, not sure how it is to be pre-med there, it seems that very few actually live on campus (I'd rather not go to a commuter school as an oos student)
I applied to honors and I'm still waiting to hear back
I've pretty much narrowed it down to these four and I'm really not sure what I want to do. I'd appreciate and advice, suggestions, and recommendations.
(I've also gotten into Brandeis and McGill, but I think I might not be so interested in those)
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Banneker Key Notification (Full or Partial)
Hi everyone! I know we are all anxious for the decision (If full or partial), so I am wondering how are we going to be notified? I know they are going to notify us by April 1st, but are they going to notify us by email, snail mail, banneker key account (site)? Thank you!
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Chances of getting into Cornell?
I want to be a veterinarian. I'm very passionate about the sciences.
My GPA is about a 3.85
I'm a junior at an IB school.
My ACT score is a 32
I'm taking the SAT soon, and I could get above a 2k but I'm not sure by how much.
I'm a founder and vice president of my high school's Writing Center(helping students write their assessments/lab reports).
I'm involved in my school's HCC(Helping the Community Club) which helps provide charity to students in our school district.
I shadow an exotic veterinarian 2 hours a week.
I'm on the varsity swim team
I'm from Seattle.
I've competed at a statewide level for DECA
My junior/senior coursework:
IB HL: biology and history with solid A's.
IB SL: marine biology with a solid A.
I'm deciding on whether or not to take AP calc next year or take it at the college through our Running Start program.
Running Start College Classes: Precalculus I and II, Astronomy, two English classes, Intro to Stats, intro to chemistry, cell biology, physics
And I'll have met my other graduation requirements but they don't have anything to do with my pre-vet zoology major.
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Drexel vs Towson
College admissions counselors told us that DD had virtually no chance to get into a direct entry nursing program. She is a B student that never really worked too hard.
Accepted and committed to Towson for pre-nursing. Students apply in Junior year for the nursing program. We were set.
Yesterday she got accepted to Drexel direct entry to 5 year nursing co-op. She was ecstatic. Wanted to go.
Drexel is a much better school. The first two academic semesters are identical course-work in both schools.
I was always the bottom student in the brightest class. I hated this, so I picked a college where I would be an average student. I thrived.
She is so torn, these schools could not be more different. City vs Suburban, etc. We were VERY impressed with Towson's administration. Haven't gotten a feel yet for Drexel. Regardless of the school, she would have to pass the nursing exams.
DD is not social and had a socially hard time in HS. She had no trouble finding a roommate at Towson. She has been speaking to potential roommates at Drexel and hasn't clicked with anyone yet and gets the sense that she might not fit in.
College prepares us for our future, therefore Drexel. However, there is a very big social aspect to college and a happy student has a greater chance of success so I think she will be better at Towson.
She is very confused. Nursing a sure thing at Drexel, but she may not fit in socially. Chance at nursing but will almost definitely fit in at Towson.
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Living in the dorms
Ok so I lived in the dorms as a freshman, got an apartment as a sophomore, and now I am thinking of going back to the dorms. I liked the dorms because it was easy to meet people and socialize. Now that I'm in an apartment it is hard to meet people and if I'm not in class I'm just in my room or watching tv with my other roommate. I'm thinking of going back to the dorms for my junior year (fall '14). I was wondering if that would be a weird or bad decision of me? Please share your thoughts.
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Cornell University HEOP Class of 2018
Hey, I'm sure you guys have seen the Rd thread or ED thread but there isn't an HEOP thread. So I've decided to make one because I'm sure everyone who applied through this program has a lot of questions. I know I do. So you can just can come here. So who applied RD HEOP?
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Entrepreneur in Wesleyan - courseload
Hello guys,
I have several interests, and would like to pursue some of them in university. I've been accepted to Wesleyan and, therefore, would like to know which courses should I choose. I have no problem in pursuing two majors at the same time. Can you help with this?
I want to study Computer Science as 4-year-major, no doubt. Apart from it, I would also like to study Psychology in what regards to Marketing, Human-Computer Interaction and Cognitive Science. Business Administration is also a plus although I can study it as an MBA. I know Wes has a great Economics department, although I don't know how it relates to administration. Asides from these all, and taking into account the great artsy environment of Wesleyan, I would like to know what opportunities do I have there to study Product Design.
Thank you!
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Parents of the HS Class of 2015
Ok, The thread has been started.
I have a class 15 D, very smart, loves languages.
Speaks two besides English, the big question now is weather to take Mandarin or French in HS (she is thinking about 2 foreign languages, is this wrong?).
Tomorrow is ACT test for the Talent Search. Off to bed now......
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Binghamton University Class of 2018 deferred student
Ok... Here we go again... More waiting! So now what?
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Math/IR Double Major?
How doable is a double major like the one I'm interested in at Wellesley? Do any current students have experience with double majoring in a science/math and another pretty full/difficult major? (I'm also planning on being on the pre-med track...) If I were to attend Wellesley, I'm thinking about doing math and international relations (either polisci or econ). I do have a lot of college credit (not sure how well Wellesley deals with those) in math (I've taken up to cal 3, lin alg, and app stats), so maybe that will help with the math side of things? (Unless I just end up taking even harder courses instead...)
I don't want to double major in these two things at the expense of a social life or my GPA (I'm aware of the shadow grading system, so maybe I can just try it out first semester and see?). I'm thinking about either law school or medical school, and both require a tippy-toppy GPA (I'm aiming for a 4.0 but won't be too disappointed with a 3.8).
Any experience/insight will help!
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A parent's cautionary tale – SWF- Northeast need not apply?
I would like to start out by saying this is not a rant just one parent's observation as I've participated in this process over the past 3+ years; I would like to thank the many members who have provided their effort, time and expertise in transmitting the information that has been so valuable to me and I am sure others on the site. I would like to be as transparent as possible so that others may benefit from this Odyssey that was just undertaken – –
There are many reasons why parents and their children play the game of high stakes college admission but I think it gets crystallized down into the scene that we will probably remember from "Jerry Maguire" where Renée Zellweger says as the curtain closes to the first class compartment of the airplane to her son "first class used to mean a better meal and a more comfortable seat-- now it means a ticket to a better life" there is some truth to that statement as far as I see it in terms of this process that many of us have entered.
As Northstarmom might have pointed out my daughter was competitive in most every way except one – she was not an athlete in any way. In every other respect, she was "beyond the 75th percentile"; perfect score on the ACT; NMF; 800/800/750 on 3 SAT II's. She took 90% of the APs offered at her school and got fives on all of them. Her unweighted average was 98.5 out of 100. She was the editor of the literary magazine for the school which has won awards across the state, and she was the technical director for the theater company for 4 years- proficient at mechanical props and such.. She started her own business and website and makes $$; and most importantly (as seems to be the rage today) showed a "deep EC" over 10 years with the culmination in a GS gold award project with 3 regional speakers, 2 national speakers on safety issues for girls regarding pertinent topics of the day including sexual assault, financial literacy and the like.She has also held other leadership positions across her state for STEM programs, and currently has a nomination for the US presidential scholarship for her state.
As you can see, It appears as if she has almost all the things that "they"prize/request/advise.
Unfortunately, she is a middle-class/barely upper-middle-class white female from a high tax state/NE with parents or family who are not legacies of any of the schools she applied to; her ancestors come from Northern Europe; and she is not interested in sports competition.
Her results were typical of what many will report today-- denied at H, Y, Brown, MIT. Waitlisted at Bowdoin, Williams, Davidson.You might be wondering if she neglected the other things that we all talk about on the site. She did not. She visited each and every small school/LAC and interviewed at each one (other than Williams which has no interviews). She wrote personal thank you notes to each interviewer; she wrote personalized essays that mentioned professors by name for the classes that she shall sat in on while attending. She weaved and the such that (at least in this parents opinion) would likely make any Adcom smile in a gesture of knowing. In other words it was not generic, it was not canned; it was authentic.
Everyone has read the platitudes 1000 times "it's a crapshoot"its holistic/they can do what they want (and boy they sure do)- but this does not answer the why of the process for some.
I'm struck by what I read on a recent thread concerning the boy that was lamenting his friend's inability to get into one of 4 Ivy League schools that he had chosen based upon his stats, etc- and the multitude of pages that ensued all of which were enlightening- the most enlightening for me was the post by Lucilake who provided the concept of "institutional engineering".
As I mentioned at the outset this was our family's foray into the high-stakes game of college admissions – I have one special needs child was already in college doing well and I have one behind this child who is decidedly average in most every way!!!. Again, I am so grateful for the information provided on this site- it was interesting throwing our family's hat in the ring for this process.
PS before anyone takes us/me to task she has applied and has an acceptance to a financial safety a full ride to a NMF school.
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NCSSM Class of 2016- Future Applicants
I was wondering how many people are thinking of applying to NCSSM next year. I believe it is never to early to start thinking about the application process, and becoming acquainted with other possible applicants. If you know you are going to apply to NCSSM next year, or see it as a strong possibility I encourage you to post! You can also say what CD you are from or yours stats if you want.
Past applicants can also post about the school and give tips about the app process, and NCSSM in general!
Go Class of 2016!
The previous thread like this is: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1359561-ncssm-class-2015-future-applicants.html
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Wondering if my risky essay was the reason I didn't get in to some (Ivy) colleges?
Like the title says. Anyone be willing to read it?
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How to get more financial aid?
So i received a very generous package from BU. My EFC is 20k and I received approximately 42k in financial aid (33k grant + loans and work study)
While they have met my EFC, the issue is that the EFC is not reflective of what my family can afford. A variety of factors (such as one unemployed parent + an above average financial year for the other(real estate)) have resulted in us having an EFC much higher than sustainable. For me to be able to attend i would need to received roughly another 10k in aid (hopefully in grants) for me to be able to attend. If given, I would love to attend BU.
My question is how do I go about asking for some more financial aid? I am planning on visiting in the next week or two for reference. Advice much appreciated
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High School Class of 2014
So, I have seen a thread for the class of '15, the members of which aren't even in high school yet. I figured that we needed a thread of our own. If there already is one (I haven't found one) direct me to that. Just post whatever, academics, non-school related things, schedules, that sort of thing. Uhh, I'll post my next year's schedule for y'all to compare yours to, and that sort of thing.
AP Euro
Honors Algebra II/Trig.
Honors English 10
Chemistry
Health
AP Psych
Latin II
Debate
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Bizarre Registration Process
Fair warning, the registration process can be utterly devastating. Read the case studies on the Cal Poly Parents Facebook page. I'll give you the details on one that I am VERY familiar with. Each Fall Quarter a very unfortunate group of students draw the short straw (1/12th).
1st rotation is assigned each Quarterl based on spelling of the last name. 1st rotation is the best choice for students without special preferences, student government, athletes, etc. But if your student's 1st rotation is Fall Quarter of his/her Freshman year he/she looses it. Freshmen are block scheduled based on their major, they can wave their ONLY 1st rotation option in 12 quarters goodbye. BUT IT GETS BETTER. Next quarter their rotation will be 12th, DEAD LAST. If the school has over booked it's freshman class that year, by 12th rotation there are no remotely desirable classes left when their turn comes to register. Now each student gets 3 wild card choices in their time at SLO, thus if push comes to shove they can play a wild card and register by priority. But NOT if they are Freshmen! So SLO gives this 1/12th of the freshman class the One Two Punch, waste the only 1st rotation slot of the undergraduate studies, and they get dumped into 12th rotation Winter Quarter with no classes to choose from. Guess what? Freshman Engineering students who have to knock down 200+ units to graduate are left with only Geology & Theater classes at the bottom of the barrel. And guess who is paying the bills for a kid that just turned 18 a few weeks back? LET'S DO THE NUMBERS Tuition+Fees+Housing+Food =($25,000/year divided by 3 Quarters/year) = $8,333.33 wasted! Did I do the math right? Did I put the parentheses in the right place? Did I get the units right? Please correct me if I'm wrong. Let me see, how much of that is the STUDENT SUCCESS FEE? I must be missing something. Please point me in the right direction, PLEASE.
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College of Holy Cross, MA vs Providence College
D got accepted at both schools and plans on majoring in Biology or Psychology (Pre-Med). She loves both schools. The schools will cost about the same. She did accepted in Liberal Arts Honors Program at Providence College. Both our good schools. What school do you think is better?
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