admissions chances / what are the odds

hey everyone im a rising senior who is going to be applying to colleges in the upcoming cycle, below are my stats and info about that I’m going to be applying with, please leave comments / advice of what i should do, thank you !

  • i know this isn't the biggest cap of why my grades/stats are bad but during my junior year recently my dad was really sick and was diagnosed with the worst stage of colon cancer and was told he had a few months to live and ended up passing away during the second semester, and the effect of losing my dad took a toll on my work and me and made it very difficult to do school work at all, it was never the same. I don't want to get too deep into, but I thought this was important to share to admission officers in college

gpa: 3.6 uw / 4.4 ww

ap classes taken so far: 7 and 2 IB classes

demographics : female / african american from Maryland in Lower End of Middle Class

psat : 1080 ( i have not taken the SAT because of coronavirus and Im on the fence on taking it because I know a lot of schools are canceling the requirements and making it test optional, but I think it would be a good way to make up for a bad GPA)

EC: Debate Team Captain 3 years, 4 Honor Society, Student Government, Co-Editor of Senior Quarantine Writing Blog, My highschool’s School Newspaper Chief Staff Editor, Created a local Non Profit to help with Grant Donations for students interested in activism work (raised over $50,000)Model UN, Joe Biden’s Campaign, Internships for Congressmen in my District, Intern for my State’s General Assembly, Countywide rep for Athletics in my school area, Apart of Black Lives Matter Chapter and helping with protesting during these times)
-1000+ community services and before I apply I will have around
-Congressional Award Reception ( for Community Service)

Majors Applying to: Political Science, Linguistics,

Schools:
1 - Harvard
2 - Yale
3 - Dartmouth
4 - U Penn
5 - Columbia
6 - U Chicago
7 - Stanford
8 - Georgetown SFS
9 -Brown
10 -Cornell
11 - University Miami

12 - University of Maryland (Safety In-State for me)

*What are odds of getting into any of these schools and what are my odds looking like, because I don’t know but i really want to get into a Nice college

In all honesty, except for Maryland and Miami, the odds are not in your favor. Even with perfect grades and test scores, along with stellar EC’s, numbers 1-10 in your list are high reaches.

Hopefully you’re working on a realistic list of matches and reaches.

Just curious, why did you exclude Princeton?

Frankly, I think everything of your entire list is reaches. Even if you got 1600 on your SATs, the top 10 would all be high reaches. Miami and UMd might be matches but I don’t know enough about them to be sure. I don’t think you have any safeties. You need to really rethink this list. You don’t want to have more than a couple high reaches, so out of the first 10, I would pick your two favorites. Then try to find more matches and a true safety.

I am very sorry about your dad! Please be sure that your guidance counselor knows about the situation and let the counselor address it in their letter of recommendation.

I agree that you have a very, very reach heavy list. I would prep this summer to take the SAT or ACT in the Fall. IMO, a strong score could really help you (strong being 1500+ for the reach schools on your list).

I agree that Miami and MD are matches, not safeties. I would try to find an instate option that is a sure bet - 75% acceptance rate where your stats put you above the 75th percentile of scores. I’m not that familiar with the MD schools so hopefully another poster will give some suggestions.

I’m thinking American U would be a school to explore further. It would still be a reach but more of a low reach and has a very strong poly sci program.

Run the Net Price Calculators on any school that you add to your list to be sure they are affordable.

One last thought - many of the schools on your list have very little in common other than prestige. What are you looking for in a college? What’s the perfect size? Location? Campus culture? That may help you narrow down your list some and give posters here more of a direction to give you other recommendations to help you with a more balanced list.

Congratulations on your achievements and I’m sorry about your dad.

Unfortunately, I think that your list only has reach schools at this point. UMD is not a safety, especially if your standardized test scores do not markedly increase from your PSAT.

As you continue your search I suggest you focus on finding a group of colleges that are both financial and academic fits. Be sure to run the net price calculator for each school you look at to be sure it appears affordable.

I’d look at some other in-state options (Townson might be one idea) as well as some less competitive and some test optional private options (American is a good suggestion, perhaps Dickinson which is test optional could work). If you might be interested in a HBCU then Howard in DC could be another school to consider especially given your political interests.

Keep in mind that there are so many excellent colleges and universities in the US. Don’t just focus on a few super-competitive schools. If you can get your hands on a good college guide book (ex. Fiske, Princeton Review) that could help you to expand your horizons.

You are willing to look at private schools, want to study Poli Sci, but don’t have any DC schools on your list besides Georgetown (yet another reach)?!

I would stop looking at names and look at fit/best options. You are perceived prestige chasing- for example, Cornell is not known for Poli Sci- that is a remote small Ivy better suited to Engineering. U Miami is the same thing. Your list is all over the place, you def need to do some research.

Maybe look at American, George Mason, GW. William and Mary, James Madison are all good schools in VA.

Re #5:

-Cornell is not a “small ivy”. It is the 4th largest Ivy by total enrollment. And has the largest undergraduate enrollment, IIRC.

  • While there are no reliable undergraduate rankings I'm aware of , Cornell's graduate Poli Sci (Government) program is ranked #19 by US News, tied with Penn, which is a better ranking than many of the other schools mentioned on this thread (eg, Georgetown, Brown, Maryland, American, George Mason,..). The schools with Poli Sci departments ranked "better" are among the most difficult schools to get admitted to in the country. Though Cornell is no auto-admit either, of course.

Cornell government majors in its College of Arts & Sciences benefit by the ability to take courses in other colleges of the university- Such as the College of Industrial Relations and offerings in Policy Studies in the College of Human Ecology. FWIW there is a Cornell In Washington program.

-According to one source I found, : “During the 2017-2018 academic year, Cornell University handed out 123 bachelor’s degrees in political science and government.”

  • As of Fall 2011 (latest year I can find breakouts) over 400 Cornell undergrads came from Maryland. IIRC there is a Cornell- Bethesda bus. It is a 5 hour drive from Baltimore.

@monydad Why are you trying to sell Cornell to this student? She has a 3.6 gpa and a 1080 PSAT. How does it help her to build up Cornell? She needs more realistic options. I think post #5 had some excellent suggestions.

@me29034:
I was attempting to correct assertions in #5 that I felt were false or misleading.
Whether this helps OP or not, others also read these threads besides the OP.
If you have further concerns about this suggest take it up on PM.
Comments on this forum are supposed to be directed to the posts, not the posters.

It’s hard to say without an SAT, but based on your GPA and slight bump for the URM hook:

  • Maryland in-state is a pretty good bet. Low match/safety.
  • U of Miami is probably a low reach.
  • The rest are reaches.

If you would be happy at Maryland or Miami, I think you’re fine, and if you got lucky by getting into one of the Ivies, Stanford, UChicago, or Georgetown SFS… then that would be gravy.

But if you want more options than Maryland and/or Miami, I would add a few more match-range schools. And maybe remove a few of the reaches.

Think about what you value in terms of these variables, and update your list accordingly:

  • Setting (urban, rural, suburban?)
  • Location
  • Available majors (especially if you know what you want to study)
  • Vibe (social, academic)
  • Selectivity (for you, matches are schools that admit at least 30% of applicants, given your measurables)