hi! I’m a current high school senior and I’m trying to get a realistic idea of where I stand. this is just a brief ai explanation on my stuff!

Demographics:

• Female
• First-generation
• Low-income, single parent household
• Latina
• Non-completive high school, only 25% of kids go to a 4-year college

Academics

• UW GPA: ~3.86
• AP Classes
  • 10th Grade:
    • AP Spanish Language and Culture
    • AP Macroeconomics
    • AP World History
  • 11th Grade: 
    • AP Spanish Literature and Culture 
    • AP French Language and Culture
    • AP English Language and Composition
    • AP United States History
    • AP Statistics
    • AP Environmental Science

   

• 12th grade ill be taking college courses at local college
• I've taken 2 years of spanish (shown above) and all 4 years of french, french 1-ap
• I have not taken the SAT yet. I probably wont submit to many places because im not confident (other than georgetown obi)

gpa explanation: i was involved in a car accident that made me miss a lot of school, which was not ideal for ap classes :(

Extracurriculars

• Debate: 2 years only; competed at the state level
• Teen Court: address juvenile cases through a peer-led restorative justice process.
• NHS
• Community service: 400+ hours
• Volunteer leadership: worked with a local organization serving children/families and took on increasing responsibility
• Student Advisory Committee
• Student representative on my school board
• Local non-profit board member, program for kids also, but different from above
• STEM teacher summer volunteering
• Summer study aboard in france
• Summer government/policy program in d.c (one week)

Awards

nothing extortionary :(

• Seal of Biliteracy in Spanish
• Varsity letter for Volunteerism (awarded for three consecutive years)
• College Board School Recognition Award
• College Board First-Generation Recognition Award
• Ap Scholar

I know this isn't an insane national-level EC list, so I'm not trying to portray it that way. A lot of my involvement has been centered around community service as in working with younger students/community members because I am from a small town! :(

Intended major

international relations/political science and possible double major in linguistics/french (depends on school)

College List

(i didn't add in-state safeties btw!)

Boston University

Middlebury College

Vassar College

Georgetown University

New York University

Macalester College

Tulane University

Wesleyan University (got into wes explore)

University of Richmond

Lehigh University

Lafayette College

Oberlin College

Connecticut College

University of Rochester

American University

George Washington University

Syracuse University

St. Lawrence University

What I'm looking for

Please be brutally honest. I’m not looking for reassurance or “you have a great profile, anything is possible.” I want a realistic assessment of my chances. Which schools would be targets, reaches, and extreme reaches for me? Are T20 universities realistic reaches based on my profile, or am I overestimating myself? If I’m overestimating myself, what level of schools should I realistically be targeting?

hi! I’m a current high school senior and I’m trying to get a realistic idea of where I stand. this is just a brief ai explanation on my stuff!

Demographics:

• Female
• First-generation
• Low-income, single parent household
• Latina
• Non-completive high school, only 25% of kids go to a 4-year college

Academics

• UW GPA: ~3.86
• AP Classes
  • 10th Grade:
    • AP Spanish Language and Culture
    • AP Macroeconomics
    • AP World History
  • 11th Grade: 
    • AP Spanish Literature and Culture 
    • AP French Language and Culture
    • AP English Language and Composition
    • AP United States History
    • AP Statistics
    • AP Environmental Science

   

• 12th grade ill be taking college courses at local college
• I've taken 2 years of spanish (shown above) and all 4 years of french, french 1-ap
• I have not taken the SAT yet. I probably wont submit to many places because im not confident (other than georgetown obi)

gpa explanation: i was involved in a car accident that made me miss a lot of school, which was not ideal for ap classes :(

Extracurriculars

• Debate: 2 years only; competed at the state level
• Teen Court: address juvenile cases through a peer-led restorative justice process.
• NHS
• Community service: 400+ hours
• Volunteer leadership: worked with a local organization serving children/families and took on increasing responsibility
• Student Advisory Committee
• Student representative on my school board
• Local non-profit board member, program for kids also, but different from above
• STEM teacher summer volunteering
• Summer study aboard in france
• Summer government/policy program in d.c (one week)

Awards

nothing extortionary :(

• Seal of Biliteracy in Spanish
• Varsity letter for Volunteerism (awarded for three consecutive years)
• College Board School Recognition Award
• College Board First-Generation Recognition Award
• Ap Scholar

I know this isn't an insane national-level EC list, so I'm not trying to portray it that way. A lot of my involvement has been centered around community service as in working with younger students/community members because I am from a small town! :(

Intended major

international relations/political science and possible double major in linguistics/french (depends on school)

College List

(i didn't add in-state safeties btw!)

Boston University

Brown University

Columbia University

Cornell University

Dartmouth College

Middlebury College

Vassar College

Georgetown University

New York University

Macalester College

Tulane University

Wesleyan University (got into wes explore)

University of Richmond

Lehigh University

Lafayette College

Oberlin College

Connecticut College

American University

George Washington University

What I'm looking for

Please be brutally honest. I’m not looking for reassurance or “you have a great profile, anything is possible.” I want a realistic assessment of my chances. Which schools would be targets, reaches, and extreme reaches for me? Are T20 universities realistic reaches based on my profile, or am I overestimating myself? If I’m overestimating myself, what level of schools should I realistically be targeting?

hi! I've been having a really difficult time writing my Common App essay because I genuinely don't have many hobbies, and I don't even know what type of person I am. I don't really enjoy doing things like at all and I've struggled with depression since childhood, and I also don't have many friends. My depression isn't a challenge I've "overcome", depression doesn't just go away like that. There have been better and worse periods, but it's still something I live with. I'm also worried because I feel like my experience isn't particularly unique.

I am passionate about going to college and have put a lot of effort into my extracurriculars, but when I try to think of a personal story or something meaningful to write about, I feel like I have nothing. I don't want to write the generic "I struggled, but I overcame it" essay, especially because that wouldn't be an accurate representation of my experience. I'm applying mostly to highly selective/T20 schools, so I feel like I need a genuinely strong essay.

Does anyone have advice for figuring out what I could write about when I don't have a big hobby, unusual talent, or dramatic story? What kinds of things should I look for in my everyday life or experiences that could make a meaningful essay? I'd really appreciate any advice or perspectives!

thank you!

Hispanic/filipino, Female, US citizen, International Relations or political science major, and minor in linguistics or French  (depends on school). First-generation, low-income. Non-competitive high school; only 50% of kids go to two-year or four year college/university, Title I public school.

Grade: 12th

AP classes; not reporting scores because they are bad :( 

10th Grade: 

AP Spanish Language and Culture
AP Macroeconomics
AP World History 

11th Grade: 
AP Spanish Literature and Culture 
AP French Language and Culture 
AP English Language and Composition 
AP United States History 
AP Statistics 
AP Environmental Science

12th Grade:
Doing full-time dual enrollment at local college 

I've taken the two years of Spanish and all four classes of French 1- AP French :)

GPA: 3.86/4.00 Unweighted (school doesn’t do weighted)
Explanation: I was in a car accident that made me miss a lot of school (not ideal for ap classes)

No SAT yet :( but soon!

Extracurriculars:

Local non-profit after-school program for elementary kids. Grades: 9th-12th. Volunteer as a teacher’s aide and coordinator, supporting children through educational activities, tutoring, and daily programming 400+ hours 

APAICS Youth Leadership Academy program. Spent a week in Washington, D.C., participating in leadership and civic engagement workshops focused on public policy, advocacy, and Asian history. Met with Members of Congress and congressional staff to discuss policy issues affecting my community 

Local nonprofit Board Member, different program for kids

Student Representative on School Board (voted on by school board)

Student Advisory Committee. Discuss issues affecting students, providing feedback on educational policies, student needs, and school initiatives.

Summer study abroad. Participated in a study abroad program in France, strengthening French proficiency through academic and cultural immersion. Learned French history, culture, and society while developing independence, adaptability, and a broader global perspective.

Forensics. Only grades 9th-10th. No awards; competed at state level twice; did oratory and congress

Court meetings. Helped address juvenile cases through a peer-led restorative justice process. Developed skills in public speaking, critical thinking, and civic responsibility while learning about the legal system and community accountability.

National Honors Society, yk i just need 10 activities :(

Awards

• Seal of Biliteracy in Spanish 
•  100+ volunteer hours Letter — Awarded for Three Consecutive Years
• College Board School Recognition Award 
• College Board First-Generation Recognition Award
• Ap Scholar

 

Please chance me for these schools:

i only plan on EA or RD no ED!!!

Georgetown University

New York University

Macalester College

Tulane University

Wesleyan University

University of Richmond

Lehigh University

Lafayette College

Oberlin College

Connecticut College

University of Rochester

American University

George Washington University

Syracuse University

St. Lawrence University

Boston University

Bowdoin College

Brown University

Middlebury College

Vassar College

Williams College

anything helps :) thanks i have safeties i just didn't add them btw!!

hello everyone! I know questbridge doesn't care what a non-custodial parent chooses to do with their money, but I feel like this might be an extenuating circumstance. My non-custodial parent alone makes more than $65k+ but doesn't contribute to my education beyond child support, and has struggled with a gambling addiction for all of my life. Should I explain his addiction as part of my circumstances, or should I leave it out? thank you!

hello everyone! i’m wondering how you show demonstrated interest to colleges other than joining their mailing lists. i get tons of emails and mail from the schools i do want to apply to, but i doubt that’s enough for schools like tulane or other schools with a high yield protection

i’ve also heard that american university has been moving toward needing more demonstrated interest, along with other schools, because of yield protection. so besides joining mailing lists and opening their emails or scanning their qr codes, what else can i do to show interest and avoid being affected by this? thank you!

edit: i live in the middle of no where in washington state so visiting schools is not in the cards as i am low income (yes i am applying to fly in programs) but also most regional visits happen in seattle which is far from me. but thank you for the advice everyone!

hello everyone! I want to major in international relations, and I'm having a hard time finding target and safety schools. I know Georgetown, Tufts, and the Ivies are great, which is what everyone recommends, but I obviously want to be more realistic too. I don't like my state schools, but I am applying to a few just in case because cost is a big factor for me too. So far, for target schools, I only have American, Syracuse, and St. Lawrence, but I definitely know I need more, though I do have some state schools. I have okay stats and academics to have a 50% acceptance rate school admit me, not to sound too corny, sorry 😢 but anything helps! I'm mostly looking for targets and safeties, and please don't say ASU, I'm not going for the nursing program ✌️