2300+ SAT, 34 ACT, weak-ish ECs, what's a match??? WILL CHANCE BACK!!!

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Hi!
I'm currently a senior and I'm trying to come to a decision about which school I'll apply to ED. I'm considering some top level schools, but I'm open to any suggestions that you think are REALISTIC for me.
My stats are as follows:
SAT: 2340 (770 M, 770 W, 800 CR <strong><em>SUPERSCORED</em></strong>) (2270 WITHOUT SUPERSCORE)
ACT: 34 Composite
SAT 2s: Math: 700, Biology: 750
APs: AP Macroeconomics: 5, AP Biology: 4, AP Chemistry: 3, AP US Government: 3, AP Language: 5, AP Calculus BC: 4 (5 AB subscore), currently in AP Physics C, AP Literature, AP World History, and AP Spanish, and Multivariable Calculus/Differential Equations
As for class rigor, I've taken the hardest schedule offered each year and, so far, have done fairly well, no Bs yet (looking to continue this for this semester)
GPA:
-4.0 UW, (no trend, consistently at around 4.06-4.09 each year)
-4.8 W (this is how my school does it, i'm not sure if its applicable to all)
Class Rank: 2 (isn't reported though)
ECs:
- INTEL ISEF 2x Participant (regional runner-up best of fair 2x) (Showed steady improvment each year since 8th grade)
- 4 years varsity tennis, 3x Team Captain
- Math Team 4 years, 1x Secretary
- NHS 3 years, 1x Treasurer
- Singapore International Mathematics Challenge participant
- 400 community service hours (at a special needs school because of sibling with special needs)
- Science National Honor Society, English National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, Math National Honor Society (MAO)
- Princeton Book Award (not sure this means much)
- possibly others, not remembering (means they're not important if i cant remember lol)
Teacher Recommendations
- 1 extremely good from science teacher
- still looking for other, deciding whether to go for a less-positive one from history teacher to appear well-rounded or a great one from math teacher, if you could help me decide which would be better in this as well, that'd be great
- Perfect counselor letter
Essays
- Main common app essay is very strong about a personal physical problem I overcame (should be good)
I should also be able to do really well in the interviews since I'm really passionate about things like this.</p>

<p>I'm sure I've forgotten something, but if not, I'd love if you guys could share what you think would be a good, realistic school for me to apply ED! A little about my interests: I'm looking to do pre-med, but I'm applying undecided maybe if that helps my chances idk if it does, and I'd prefer if the school was at least in the top 20, preferably top 15, since my family is really asian and it's very important to my dad (lol ik, but I want them happy), and it would make me happy as well.</p>

<p>So thanks!</p>

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<p>Oh yeah, I forgot to point out: I’d like to go to a school with a traditional college feel, not some place with no student life. I really want a nice balance between studying and socializing, as most would haha</p>

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<p>@topranked - Your ECs are not weak, and I feel their importance is often exaggerated here. First and foremost, the top colleges are looking for top students. The stronger your academics, the less important a role the ECs will play in the admissions decision. My daughter, with far weaker ECs, but with similar classes, grades and scores, was accepted to Harvard and MIT.</p>

<p>I think you are in good shape to be accepted to one or more of the top-tier colleges if your essays, recommendations, and interviews are as strong as you believe they will be. That you are thinking about this now bodes well for your chances. The impression I got from my daughter and her classmates was that those who put the extra effort into the application process were rewarded for their efforts. I think many Asian students are at a disadvantage because their parents are not familiar with the application process and are not able to effectively advice their children.</p>

<p>My advice would be to apply SCEA to one of HYPS, if any of them interest you. If you prefer LACs, apply EA or ED to your first choice, and start working on applications to other schools in case you are deferred or rejected. If you require financial aid, I’d recommend choosing an EA college and not an ED college, so you are able to compare offers.</p>

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<p>I would definitely apply to HYPS since you have a decent shot at them. Schools maybe like Duke, Brown, or Amherst would be a match as well. </p>

<p>Chance me back!
<a href=“http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1678009-chance-me-will-chance-you-back.html#latest”>http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1678009-chance-me-will-chance-you-back.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>For the rec I would go with the strong one from math and for your essay if its really anything about an injury or something like that, I would avoid that topic since its super overused.</p>

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<p>BldrDad- Thanks for the reply! I’m looking at schools like Duke, what do you think my chances would be for ED there?</p>

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<p>maymay5678- Yeah I was leaning for the math one too! Thanks! </p>

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<p>If I were you I might ED to one of the five ED Ivies. Also, I think you can do better than Cornell, so that leaves Penn, Brown, Dartmouth, and Columbia. With all that in mind, I wouldn’t blame you for trying SCEA at HYPS or EA at M. You have the scores to do that, but your SAT IIs and APs are on the weaker end.</p>

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<p>235423 I wouldn’t apply to all the Ivies just because they are all very different. Its rare that someone would like every Ivy league school due to their difference in location, campus life, and education style. For example, Brown is very open and you shape your own major by choosing specific classes. At Penn, it is a little more structured with required classes, but there is leeway for classes you want to take that are not in your major. At Columbia, they have a core curriculum they every student must pass in order to graduate so it is very structured. </p>

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<p>Fellow ISEF finalist here!</p>

<p>You have a great chance at every school! Your ECs aren’t weak in any sense. I would suggest you to apply SCEA to one of HYPS. You have a great chance at each one of them.
If you want to play it safe, apply to Cornell or UPenn ED as you will easily get in if you do good on the essay section.</p>

<p>Chance back?
<a href=“Chance an International! will do the same back - Chance Me / Match Me! - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1665159-chance-an-international-will-do-the-same-back-p1.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Best of luck!</p>

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<p>Guys, the OP said he/she was interested in Duke. I think you have a very good shot at Duke Early Decision, but I can’t really call it a match since Duke is so competitive. You would have a much better shot at Duke ED than HYPSM ED. I think Duke has everything you are looking for, top 15, traditional “college feel”, good socializing and academics, GREAT pre med acceptance rate (usually around 85 percent of applicants get in to med school) I strongly encourage you to go for Duke ED. </p>

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<p>@topranked - if you apply ED to Duke and get accepted, it means you won’t be attending any of HYPS. If you were to apply to one of these SCEA instead of Duke, you have a good shot of being accepted, You will likely be accepted RD at Duke, so there may not be a huge advantage to applying ED.</p>

<p>If I were you, I would apply early to the school you most want to attend, If it’s Duke, then apply there ED. If you would rather be at HYPS or one of the top LACs, apply there.</p>

<p>Note: all of this is based on the assumption that you are NOT an international applicant. If you are an international, please disclose this, as it will greatly affect your odds.</p>

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<p>I honestly don’t know if I’d want to risk everything by applying ED to Stanford, since the odds are so low, and it puts me at a lower chance for other schools like Duke in ED. Is this a mistake? How much harder would Stanford be than Duke, as far as getting in?</p>

<p>Also, I’m not an international student, and I won’t be applying for financial aid, if that changes anything.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>@topranked - you’ve got a good chance at any of the schools - research them all, decide which one you would most like to attend, and then apply there. Playing it safe by applying ED to Duke if it is not your top choice is a bad strategy, IMO. There is no simple answer though, evidence does suggest there is a significant advantage to applying early at all of these schools, even if the colleges themselves deny it. In my daughter’s class, some students who were rejected or deferred in the EA/ED round were accepted to peer colleges in the RD round, but others were not.</p>

<p>FYI, Stanford is SCEA, not ED, so you could still apply to other schools if you were accepted.</p>

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<p>Thanks all</p>