u/Rookium

hey — i'm going into my senior year of high school and i'm currently making my college list. i'm like nearly 100% sure i want to work on the hill and/or for political campaigns for a couple of years inbetween undergrad and law school. what universities offer the best opportunities/network to work on the hill. thanks in advance

i really messed up freshman year—largely due to circumstances outside of my control but that’s life.

my gpa is a 4.1w counting freshman year but a 4.55w without considering freshman year. i was wondering if anyone knows any schools that don’t consider freshman year grades.

i know the ucs and emory don’t, but i cannot afford oos tuition at ucs. if anyone knows any other schools that would be much appreciated. i heard somewhere that princeton doesn’t but i haven’t seen that confirmed anywhere.

Demographics:

• Race: Asian
• Gender: Male
• Income: Middle Class
• Region: Mid-Atlantic
• School: Moderately competitive large public.

Intended Major:

• Political Science, Philosophy, or History.

Academics:

• GPA: To preface, I had seriously low grades freshman year (C- on transcript). Decent upwards trajectory.
  • Including freshman year: 3.58 UW 4.10 W
  • Excluding freshman year: 3.70 UW 4.33 W
  • Excluding freshman year, including the best case scenario grades senior year: 3.82 UW 4.55W
  • Struggled freshman year because my parents were about to divorce and I couldn't focus on schoolwork.
• Coursework: 13 AP & 3 DE by senior year
• SAT: 1520 at the moment (800 English, 720 Math). Planning on retaking to get math up.

Extracurricular Activities

• President of Mock Trial
  • 40+ members, 4 year competitor, coached 15+ students, 3x regional winner, grew membership.
• President of a Political Science related Club
  • 25+ members, prominent guest speakers, helped w/ civic engagement for statewide elections & will do more with the 2026 midterms
• Captain of Debate
  • Coached 10+ students in my section, 3x regional first place, 2x qualifier for major tournament
• Intern for my Congressman
  • This is my summer internship, hoping to do a lot of canvassing & voter outreach.
  • Was told I would be doing campaign finance & media work too.
• DECA
  • 4 year competitor, qualified twice for internationals, 2x State Finalist, 3x District Finalist (going to be 4x when I apply).
• Digitally translated documents for the Smithsonian and Library of Congress
  • 1000+ Documents. Been doing this for about 2 years at this point.
• Summer Program w/ Prominent Political Entity
  • Gotta be vague to avoid getting doxxed. It's a nationally recognized, competitive, free summer program.
• Key Club
  • Just a regular member, might not list this at all.
• Work Experience
  • Worked as a server for a summer
  • Worked at a grocery store for a year

Awards:

1. AP Scholar w/ Distinction
2. Shortlisted for a National Poetry Competition
3. 1st Place at Regional Debate Tournament (3x)
4. 2024 DECA State Finalist and International Qualifier (2x)
5. Honor Roll (2x)

Letters of Recommendation:

1. APUSH Teacher: 8/10. I have a super close relationship with him, he knows literally everything about me. Although, I heard his rec letters are kinda mediocre.

2. Business Teacher: 10/10. Known for writing outstanding rec letters and he loves me.

3. Counselor: 3/10. Literally don't know them at all. My school is way to big and understaffed to have a relationship with your counselor.

Colleges I am interested in:

• William and Mary
• George Washington
• University of Virginia
• Wesleyan University
• Boston University
• New York University
• Case Western Reserve
• University of Maryland
• Emory University (doesn't consider freshman grades)
• University of Rochester
• Tufts University
• Virginia Tech
• Georgetown
• Cornell
• Brown

Closing Note:
Really wished I took my education more seriously sooner. I grew up in an environment where my parents never pushed me at all academically, so I slacked off a lot. If anyone knows any other schools that don't consider freshman grades, that would be much appreciated. Let me know if I should be aiming lower/higher.

I'm a rising senior in high school and I am currently making my college list. I am generally aware that going to a school that offers A+ grades gives you an advantage in the law school admissions process because of how GPA is recalculated.

If anyone has recommendations for universities that offer A+ grades that would be much appreciated.

hey, i’m currently a junior and looking for recommendations for an admissions counselor. i only need help reviewing essays, phrasing my activities section, and just general advice w/ common app. i’m not high income and will be paying for this myself with the money i get from a summer job. any/all recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

ap test in less than 12 hours and i don’t know the difference between ivt and squeeze theorem. i will be donating to the curve

For context, I'm currently a high school junior strongly considering applying Early Decision to Boston University. I really love the school and it's environment, however I am very concerned about grade deflation. I plan on applying to law school, and GPA is incredibly important in the law school admissions process. Is the grade deflation really that bad? If you put in the effort, is it reasonable to get an A? I probably plan on majoring in Political Science, Philosophy, or History, is the grade deflation as bad in the humanities? BU is my dream school, but I just want to make sure that it is somewhere where I could succeed.

thanks in advance for any advice :)