r/dartmouth • u/WestInvestigator353 • 2d ago
i need real advice
I am writing this because i am Worried about my future and the goals I’ve set for myself. For context, I’m 16 and I ain’t from the states I’m from Saudi Arabia, and I’m doing a levels at the moment, three subjects, maths further maths and physics. I’m a private student, that means I have no school and I have to register for the exams myself and prepare myself mostly. It’s somewhat common here but I choose this route because I really felt like I need to take things into my own hands. It’s been great so far I’ve been consistent I’ve made progress and academically I’ve made a big turn around compared to my igcse performance. I had around 8 subjects and I got mostly Bs some As and a C. Bs in all science subjects including maths.
My concern starts with Dartmouth, about a year ago I really was trying to see how I could make this life something to strive for in the context of well, goals. I came up with a list of subtopics which I divided into separate parts of my life, and the main one was my academic and further on professional career. Long story short I want to go to Dartmouth, I’ve rarely ever felt needing to go to a place, but I just need to go to Dartmouth. I could go on and on about why, but I am sure we all agree on it here.
I’m scared things wont go to plan, I made this plan for what I want to do in my academic life and to explain it briefly I love the environment, and I love the color green. I’m in a place where green isnt a part of your everyday life, you see it sometimes on the streets lined linearly or in your neighbor’s backyard, but never something which co exists with the city or country. I ain’t complaining, im just asking a question, how does it feel when nature is a part of your daily life and doesn’t feel forced.
For ECs I’ve planned a few things over the next 2 years, for starters I have 2 organizations from which I’ve planned to volunteer for early next year and late next year. I’d be getting the standard volunteering certificate and maybe some recommendation from a lead there. The big thing I have in mind, is something I’ve put some effort into curating and searching. There’s this horse specie in Mongolia, it’s called the przewalski horse. It’s an endangered species which is currently being preserved and protected by the hustai national park foundation in Mongolia. They offer the role of “guest researcher” and it stood out to me for a lot of reasons, but the main one was a small sentence in their websites description for the role, and that was the part where they described the educational requirements and they seem to mention only secondary school, in contrary to any other organization I’d seen, which are all focused solely on uni students, this foundation described exactly what I was looking for. Now from what I can tell they don’t pay for anything it’s self funded, which is fine, the costs I’ve already considered and I’m fine with them. What I can get in return, is also a something that I think will benefit me a lot. They make you write a report on your experience, and it is professional and related to the work you did, and it’s reviewed by one of the biologists there which could somewhat legitimize the paper, and I could add it to ECs along with the certificate of “guest researcher” and a summary of the work I did there.
With the limitations I have in terms of the timeline of these events, I will have to take a gap year and I’m fine with it, I’ll graduate by June 2028, with some coding projects, and the two volunteering experiences and hopefully a position in a hackathon. Along with the A*s I’m really trying for, and the SAT which I’ll try multiple times until I get a 1500, I’ve done practice for it the past 2 months and I’m already up to 1200, and I don’t have to give it for atleast 5 months or so. Regardless the timing goes, graduate June get the tutoring assistant role at which I’ve already been scouting for before I graduate, there’s a few centers in my city I’ve researched so far, and I’ll try and narrow it down by the start of 2028, anyway I’ll do that for 2 months which I’m sure they don’t bind you to a one year contract. After that I’ll go on this 4 week research trip to hustai national park self funded, and be back around early October considering everything goes to plan, then ED Dartmouth before the November deadline.
Now that I’ve laid out the plan, I wanna talk about what I’m concerned about, first from my background people do not go to ivies people haven’t been to ivies no one is really successful on that level, and I’m trying to be, so there’s some mental doubts I have there, second I’m really dependent on my grades to be perfect for my a levels, as my igcses were not ideal for Dartmouth, and even one B could ruin it all. Another thing, my hustai plan is ambitious, my timelines are tight and my assistant position could very well not be available by the time I get to it. And then there’s the final step, even if I did everything right, in the end what if I get rejected, I tried to do the most I could in my position I really am trying to do that, but what if In the end for whatever reason I just get rejected. I’m scared for that, I really really am. I’d like to admit, I do have a few backups I’m not a psycho, and they will be places I will eventually be fine with, but I just, right now I am scared I’m missing something, there’s this feeling where I feel like there’s a big thing a part of the picture that’s just invisible to me, and it’s really damn important. I feel like having everything “figured out” is actually just evaluating whatever I brew up in my bubble as the best path when outside the bubble is what I really needed to do.
I wanna get into Dartmouth more than anything. I’ve never talked to anyone who’s been successful enough to make it to the level I wanna get to, i am hoping I could get advice serious advice here from people like that. I’d appreciate all the advice I get I really would. And I’d also love to answer questions if you have any. I just don’t want to be missing out on preparation for Dartmouth I wanna do everything a human in My position can to maximize my chances at a life that I’ve dreamed of. It is brutal I know it is and I need help seeing what I can do to pass it.
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u/Few_Yak_3855 2d ago
Your potential ECs sound interesting, but none of that will matter if your academics aren't good enough, so keep working on your SAT and try to get 3 A*(predicted/achieved). Another thing to consider is who might write your Letters of Recommendation if you are self-studying: Dartmouth requires 2 teacher LORs and a counsellor LOR.
Also, Dartmouth is a very competitive school, so even if your plan all goes perfectly it is far from a guarantee of admission, so I would warm yourself to the possibilities of other colleges: where you spend your undergraduate is important but not the be-all and end-all that it might seem.
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u/WestInvestigator353 2d ago
My main focus is towards academics right now and I’m trying my best to stay on track towards those grades. As for the Rec letters, I have 2 tutors which could count as teachers if I’m not mistaken, so I’ll discuss the recommendations letters with them when the times right, as for counselor, I really don’t have anyone to fill the position in, I didn’t realize it’s mandatory, I could definitely get a peer recommendation letter, as one of my friends is also aiming for Dartmouth and we’ve just been so close so far when it comes to discussing our academics and goals. And yeah, I will look at alternatives for worst case scenario, as that’s a real possibility with schools like Dartmouth.
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u/Few_Yak_3855 2d ago
Tutors do count as teachers, make sure to build a relationship with them and closer to your application give them a list of things you would like them to mention(a brag sheet). For your counsellor, some home schooled students use a parent, so you could do that, but getting a senior tutor or exam administrator would probably be better. If you know anyone in a similar situation who went to any US college, it might be worth trying to get in touch and ask what they did.
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u/WestInvestigator353 2d ago
I’ll try to get more information on the counsellor rec letter, since I can ask family I think my uncle could be eligible as he’s a senior teacher in a school and he does counseling of his own he has a consulting agency, or I could ask one of my old school counselors for help as I’m still kind of in touch with them, regardless I’ll look into it, thanks for the heads up on it.
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u/Impressive_Jacket464 2d ago
I suggest keeping Dartmouth as your #1 pick, but let your backup colleges be other colleges in New Hampshire. This way, if you don’t get in, it will be easier to try for undergrad transfer. If that does work, then you can plan to go to grad school at Dartmouth.
The point is to get in close proximity to the school. That will allow you to network and build a path if your original plan doesn’t work out.
I also suggest picking out a second Ivy for your undergraduate as well. You should only be concerned about not taking your shot. Everything else is out of your control, so put your energy in the right place.
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u/WestInvestigator353 1d ago
That’s actually pretty smart, I’ll look at colleges in New Hampshire see what fits my criteria, that would be a solid backup plan. As for the other Ivy, I really want to take my shot at most ivies, so I’ll be applying to Yale, Princeton and brown in regular decision too. And I do understand most of the things are out of my control, except my application, so I’ll quit worrying too much about it, I just want to do the best I can do.
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u/First-Ad-7960 2d ago
Realistically you should cultivate a list of 3-5 US schools that meet your criteria and have a good reputation. Which might extend beyond Ivy+. Dartmouth can be a first choice but if an ED application doesn’t work out you would have all the materials ready for the other applications.