Sick Dog

Ok people,

It’s been a long time since I have written (tried a month ago but to internet killed my work…) but now I am stuck in a Hong Kong hospital so I don’t have anything else to distract me from my duty.
I checked myself in after two nights of really high fever and stomach ache etc., they say I have a liver problem, but it is not hepatitis or alcoholism so the doctor is stumped. While they have been puzzled over what I have, I have gotten a lot better. I plan to check myself out today, and maybe fly home early so that the U.S. doctors can take a crack at it and make sure the problem is solved, what ever it is…
This week, our predicted grades will be given. Predicted grades our basically our grades, but are our teachers “predictions” of what we will on our final exams, as opposed to strict tally of the grades on our assignments etc.
These are the grades that will be sent to universities when I apply, the most important factor of my admission candidacy. Because I don’t know the grades at this point, I am not sure exactly which colleges I will apply to. OK, I’ll float a few to you, maybe you can tell me what you think.
There are a lot of great fall back schools, but my favorite so far is University of Hawaii at Manoa. They offer an uncommon major that I am interested in, urban planning… OK, it’s the location J.
Colorado College in Colorado Springs is a great little school, which is probably in my range in terms of grades/SAT scores, etc. CC has a strange scheduling system, where you only take one class at a time for a few weeks. This offer great advantages if you want to take time off, or get sick etc., because you just miss a class, instead of suffering in four or five. They have one thing I am really searching for: language immersion houses, which are dormitories whose residents have a contractual agreement to only speak that specified language. Location might not be so exotic.
A little more in reach, Pitzer college in Pomona CA is one of the coolest schools around. They let I.B. grads start as sophomores, giving us a ton of credits. Its also part of the Clairmount-McKenna consortium, so one can take courses a four other schools, including Pomona; a school I might not get accepted to if I tried ;). Plus it is about 40 miles away from my uncle in Thousand Oaks.
The best school on my radar is the one with a recognizable name: Middlebury College. Despite being in the center of nowhere it is awesome. It has the best language program of the schools I have studied, with majors, minors, and language houses I am interested in. It has the best foreign exchange program. Also it is a “Davis” school, meaning it has a close affiliation with the UWC movement, has tons of international students, and my current benefactor Shelby Davis, will pay any part of the 43,000 tuition my family can’t cover. I might not have the grades or SAT scores to get in, but maybe the will appreciate my enthusiasm for internationalism.
Other ones that come to mind are: American university (D.C.), Occidental (CA), U. of Massachusetts Amherst, Lewis and Clark (OR). Also two that are out of my league, but may apply to if I have a miracle with my grades: Bard and Brown.