- 2015 Highlights #2
Personal Statement
My name is Mario Zaninovic ,I'm 18 years old and I will be graduating from high school in 2016. My GPA for the last three years of high school is 4.9/5. I'm also a competitive swimmer for the Medveščak Zagreb swimming club in Zagreb, Croatia.
I have been to many competitions with the Croatian Junior National Team and am a Croatian National record holder. These records include 2 personal records: 200 fly and 800 freestyle in the cadet category; and a dozen relay records from cadet to junior category (SCM and LCM). Some of my best times are: 200 freestyle 1:55.18(SCM)/1:57.14(LCM), 400 freestyle 4:00.78(SCM)/4:06.99(LCM), 800 freestyle 8:31.88(SCM 2011)/8:38.96(LCM), 1500 freestyle 15:52.85(SCM)/16:29.75(LCM), 200 fly 2:05.12(SCM)/2:09.01(LCM) and 400 medley 4:31.31(SCM)/4:43.11(LCM). I have also been awarded as the best young Junior in my club in 2013 and I've won first place in all age groups (1500 freestyle) at the 2013 Croatian Nationals.
I'm in the top 10 of my class at Gimnazija Tituša Brezovačkog, I have studied Latin and French and have a fluency certificate for both. I have taken part in many school competitions; both athletic and academic.
I'm currently preparing for the SAT, that I'll be taking in November. I have taken a practice SAT test and scored around 1840. My hope is to increase this score by 100-200 points in the next month since the practice test I took was my first encounter(I also took a mock SAT test and scored around 2100)
Due to my financial situation and the fact that I come from a family with modest means I am not in a position to pay for my studies. Therefore, I am curious about scholarship opportunities and am very interested to attend college on academic and/or athletic scholarship to further my academic and sports career.
In the USA I plan to study biology (ecology, conservational biology) and pursue a career in ethnobotany. I also hope to thrive in the classroom as well as the pool. I think I'm a great match for your university because of my great work habits, my leadership skills and my teamwork.
