Ray

I took the January SAT and got these scores

Reading: 630

Math: 770

Writing: 800

Total: 2200

clearly, reading is a bit of an anomaly, and I want to improve that before I start applying for college next year. I already use the blue book from the College Board. Any other book/method suggestions?

The rest of my schedule is pretty much set. I want to go to Columbia University for Economics/Pre-Med, or Engineering/Finance Minor. I want to study something in science, but perhaps end up in banking or finance. Here are the options:

Bio (easiest science) + Chem (bad teacher, but I like the subject)

Chem + Spanish 5 AP

Physics (hardest science) + Bio

Physics + Spanish

---

Bio and Spanish is NOT an option because it'd be too easy.

Chem and Physics is NOT an option because it'd probably be too hard.

I got a 33 on the December ACT, with these subscores:

English-34

Math-35

Reading-34

Science-30

Writing 11/12

I'm ranked 1st out of 500something in my class, am involved in many clubs, and know I will have very impressive recommendations. I'll be taking the SAT and SAT II as well, and am expecting fairly high scores on both as well. Will the 33 hurt my chances?

So I just got home from taking the ACT, and the test proctor didn't really elaborate on HOW to get my scores. Will they be mailed/e-mailed to me, or do I have to go to the ACT website and log in?

I got a 34 on my ACT, and I was content with it. Would trying to raise it really help me at all in the admissions process? I always used to think that colleges use the ACT as a loose prescreener for applicants. How true is this?

I'll keep it short.

Family business used to do very well. My dad paid off most of our house (bought for 700k) in about 5 years. However, the past three years have been AWFUL, and income is down to 55k. Will I get aid for low income even though my assets are abnormally high? I'm planning on attending a school with a 50k pricetag. They give about 38k average for aid packages, but I'm not sure if i'll get much/any

I have a very nice house, worth about 900k, but in the past couple years, my mom got laid off and my dad's income got cut drastically. Would I be denied a good amount of aid because my property value is high? I know FAFSA looks at property, but what about the individual school aid? Or does that vary by school?

Stats:

Rank: 1/536

GPA Weighted: 4.851

GPA Unweighted: 4.0

AP Classes (By the end of JUNIOR year)

AP European History-5

AP English Language and Comp

AP US History

AP World History (as independent study)

AP Classes (By end of senior year)

Those listed above

AP Calc BC

AP Chem

AP Bio

AP Gov

AP English Lit

Extracurriculars:

Class Council, Member 07-present, running forTreasurer this year, good chance at winning

DECA, Member 08-Present, running for President this year, good chance of winning. I've won 4 awards, 3 second place in competitions, 1 first place in conference.

Mock Trial 08-Present

COACH Tutoring Tutor - 08-Present (paid)

Pi Sigma Pi - 07-Present

Scholastic Bowl Member for Freshman Year

Track and Field Member for Freshman Year, no exceptional performances.

Will be in NHS by the end of this year, maybe leadership position.

May be in Model U.N this year

May be in Student Council this year, may run for office.

Leadership

Jr/Sr. Leaders program

Pride Mentor

Hoping to be a Bio or Chem major who goes Pre-Med.

Have two amazing teachers more than willing to write me reccomendations. One is a uChicago and Northwestern Alum, and has a Ph.D the other I believe went to Northwestern.

Volunteer/Work Experience:

Internship Program with my school put me in a Walgreens as Pharm Tech 09-10

Will be volunteering at Hospital

Teaching Assistant (1 period a day, all year)

In School Tutoring (08-Present)

Coach Tutoring (paid)

ACT practice score: 32

SAT practice score: 2050. 760 Math, 680 Critical Reading

Will be taking the Chem, World, US, Math Level 1, Math level 2, and Physics, subject tests this year, and perhaps Bio next year

I'm also a minority (Asian)

Okay, so you can complete a pre-med at most schools, I know, but what are the top of the line schools that have the strongest programs for pre-med? Please list ANY school, because my application is extremely strong, and I will be applying to Ivies along with other schools.

Lesser known schools would be appreciated. Either in NYC, Chicago, or another ultra-urban place.

My top choice is Columbia, and that's followed by uChicago, NYU, WashU, and Northwestern.

Stats:

Rank: 1/536

GPA Weighted: 4.851

GPA Unweighted: 4.0

AP Classes (By the end of JUNIOR year)

AP European History-5

AP English Language and Comp

AP US History

AP World History (as independent study)

AP Classes (By end of senior year)

Those listed above

AP Calc BC

AP Chem

AP Bio

AP Gov

AP English Lit

Extracurriculars:

Class Council, Member 07-present, running forTreasurer this year, good chance at winning

DECA, Member 08-Present, running for President this year, good chance of winning. I've won 4 awards, 3 second place in competitions, 1 first place in conference.

Mock Trial 08-Present

COACH Tutoring Tutor - 08-Present (paid)

Pi Sigma Pi - 07-Present

Scholastic Bowl Member for Freshman Year

Track and Field Member for Freshman Year, no exceptional performances.

Will be in NHS by the end of this year, maybe leadership position.

May be in Model U.N this year

May be in Student Council this year, may run for office.

Leadership

Jr/Sr. Leaders program

Pride Mentor

Hoping to be a Bio or Chem major who goes Pre-Med.

Have two amazing teachers more than willing to write me reccomendations. One is a uChicago and Northwestern Alum, and has a Ph.D the other I believe went to Northwestern.

Volunteer/Work Experience:

Internship Program with my school put me in a Walgreens as Pharm Tech 09-10

Will be volunteering at Hospital

Teaching Assistant (1 period a day, all year)

In School Tutoring (08-Present)

Coach Tutoring (paid)

ACT practice score: 32

SAT practice score: 2050. 760 Math, 680 Critical Reading

Will be taking the World, US, Math Level 2, Physics, subject tests this year, and perhaps Bio and Government (not sure if there is one for gov) next year.

How are my odds at the schools I listed? How can I improve these odds?

My top choice is Columbia, and that's followed by uChicago, NYU, WashU, and Northwestern.

Stats:

Rank: 1/536

GPA Weighted: 4.851

GPA Unweighted: 4.0

AP Classes (By the end of JUNIOR year)

AP European History-5

AP English Language and Comp

AP US History

AP World History (as independent study)

AP Classes (By end of senior year)

Those listed above

AP Calc BC

AP Chem

AP Bio

AP Gov

AP English Lit

Extracurriculars:

Class Council, Member 07-present, running forTreasurer this year, good chance at winning

DECA, Member 08-Present, running for President this year, good chance of winning.

Mock Trial 08-Present

COACH Tutoring Tutor - 08-Present

Pi Sigma Pi - 07-Present

Scholastic Bowl Member for Freshman Year

Track and Field Member for Freshman Year, no exceptional performances.

Will be in NHS by the end of this year, maybe leadership position.

May be in Model U.N this year

May be in Student Council this year, may run for office.

Leadership

Jr/Sr. Leaders program

Pride Mentor

Hoping to be a Bio or Chem major who goes Pre-Med.

Have two amazing teachers more than willing to write me reccomendations. One is a uChicago and Northwestern Alum, and has a Ph.D the other I believe went to Northwestern.

Volunteer/Work Experience:

Pharmacy Internship 09-10

Will be volunteering at Hospital

Teaching Assistant

In School Tutoring (08-Present)

Coach Tutoring (paid)

ACT practice score: 32

SAT practice score: 2050. 760 Math, 680 Critical Reading

Will be taking the World, US, Math Level 2, Physics, subject tests this year, and perhaps Bio and Government (not sure if there is one for gov) next year.

How are my odds at the schools I listed? How can I improve these odds?

Right now, my composite is a 204

Critical Reading - 69

Writing - 61

Math - 74

My issues are with the Writing Part. How do I "study" for that?

My hope is to be a Merit Semifinalist, which in Illinois, requires a 213-215.

I'm buying a backpack off Amazon for $30, which meets the free super saver shipping thing. I frequent on Amazon, but I usually don't get the free shipping thing, so I want to make the most of the amazing deals amazon has that are sometimes ruined by the crazy shipping costs. I'm looking for cheap, practical stuff, that I'd use all the time. (just really general stuff) Any suggestions?

I'm an incoming junior, and I've taken practice ACTs and SATs. I live in Chicago, so the ACT is mandatory, but I can take the SAT if I want. I've heard that Columbia would prefer the SAT, but also accept ACT. Does that mean that by submitting the ACT (which I am better at) I'm putting myself at a disadvantage?

My scores are as follows

ACT Composite- anywhere from 31-33

Math-34-35

English- 32-34

Science 29-31

Reading 28-30

SAT Composite 1950-2000

Math 780-790

Critical Reading 600s

Writing 600s

obviously, other than math, my sat scores are pretty bad on Columbia's standards, so would it be okay if I didn't submit them at all?

I bought a book for school a few days ago, after confirming with an older student that it was the EXACT book that we would read in class (he took the class last year) The book I was sent was the same title and isbn, but it was a different cover, and I'm not sure if the page numbers will match up. Would I be allowed to get all my money back for the book? or should I just try selling it myself?

I know that eBay owns half.com, but when i was trying to buy a textbook yesterday on half.com, there was no paypal option. Is there any way I could use paypal with this, or would i need to give half.com my credit card info?

Their website was a bit confusing, because they had a college of dental medicine, and a college of physicians and surgeons. Is the latter a "med school" or is it something different?

Also, how's the pre-med program there?

I took a Princeton Review practice ACT today, and got a composite score of a 28. I'm going to be a Junior this fall. My goal is a 33.

On this test, I got:

30 in English

27 in Math

28 in Reading

27 in Science

This was shocking to me, because on the practice ACT I took earlier this year, my scores were

26 in English

34 in Math

30 in Reading

30 in Science.

I see my English jumped up, but everything else fell. Math got destroyed. How do I get one score higher, without losing points in another subject?

This was my first AP test, so I'm not really knowledgeable about these things. I know they mail me the scores in mid-July, but I'll most likely be on vacation at the time, and I'd like to know asap. I heard I can check the grades online, or can call in for $8 to get to know the scores. When are these options available for the Euro AP test? (If you took another class, tell me when yours are available.)

My 16th Birthday is coming up, and I wanted to take 10-12 friends to one of my favorite restaurants. 1 person in this group had a similar "party" except he's pretty rich and his dad paid for everybody's dinner. There's really no way I could do that. Would it be rude of me to ask everybody to pay for themselves? My sister and her friends do that all the time, they even buy HER dinner, but the idea hasn't taken any root in my group of friends. Should I still do the dinner and ask them to pay? Or make other changes to make it affordable to me?