Am I "Ivy League material"?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hello, CC.</p>

<p>Please read the profile below.</p>

<p>High school sophomore</p>

<p>Weighted GPA: 4.769
Unweighted GPA: 4.000</p>

<p>Current AP classes: AP English Language and Composition, AP Spanish Language, AP Psychology (Are these considered "fluff"?)</p>

<p>Other classes this year: Some honors, some (including three half-credit Florida Virtual School courses that I completed in one semester and one half-credit FVS course that I am in the process of completing right now) regular.</p>

<p>Last year's classes: Almost all honors, no AP classes, one or two regular classes (from what I can remember).</p>

<p>My high school does not offer Calculus, nor do I think that I would succeed when tackling such a difficult subject (low self-esteem? impostor syndrome?). I am currently taking Algebra II and have signed up for Honors Statistics next year.</p>

<p>Plans for next year: I have selected honors and AP classes on my subject selection form, including AP Environmental Science, AP English Literature, AP United States History, and AP Human Geography. (Once again, are most of these considered "easy" classes that will get me nowhere in terms of college admissions?) </p>

<p>Extracurricular activities / school clubs / community service hours: None. I intend to join my school's National Honor Society chapter next school year and I am planning on accruing at least 10-20 community service hours during this summer out of the 100 hours that my high school requires for graduation.</p>

<p>SATs/PSATs: I took the PSAT months ago. My scores: </p>

<ul>
<li>Critical Reading: 77</li>
<li>Mathematics: 57</li>
<li>Writing: 70</li>
</ul>

<p>I have not yet taken the SAT. However, I registered to take the SAT Spanish Subject Test (without the listening section) for June 1st of this year. My reason for this: the euphoria that I felt after answering 14 out of 15 SAT Spanish practice questions correctly on the College Board website. Being a native speaker (learned Spanish and English simultaneously), I think that I will do very well on that test. Does being a native speaker make this a lesser accomplishment in the eyes of college admissions officers?</p>

<p>By the way, my preferred university is the University of Chicago (not an Ivy League school, but it still has a great reputation).</p>

<p>Tips? Ideas? What do you think I should do to boost my humble transcript and improve my chances of being accepted into a prestigious university?</p>

2

<p>Join more ECs, get leadership, get into community service, from a GPA perspective you are set, however your rigor is eh, and your SAT is mediocre, and your ECs are nonexistent. YOU NEED SOME ECs!!</p>

3

<p>There’s not enough info to tell. You haven’t even taken your SATs yet. Focus on studying for those before worrying about whether you’re Ivy material.</p>

<p>Your PSAT score’s not too great (see this for common National Merit Semifinalists by state: <a href=“http://www.collegeplanningsimplified.com/NationalMerit.html[/url]”>http://www.collegeplanningsimplified.com/NationalMerit.html&lt;/a&gt;), but your GPA’s very good. </p>

<p>I am afraid that since you’re a native speaker, a good score in SAT Spanish wouldn’t count for much. I would actually recommend you take something else.</p>

4

<p>How does your school weight your classes?
A GPA that high in high school, as a sophomore, is…</p>

<p>boombastic.</p>

<p>Seriously though, I’ve never seen a GPA that high, even among the absolutely depraved children at my high school who purposefully take easy community college courses weighted 5.0 to boost their GPAs. </p>

<p>You need more ECs. Not kidding, you have ZERO chance of making it in without some stellar ECs. I’m not talking IMO Gold Medalist, but you’re going to need some leadership stuff. Join a club (or better yet, form one!), make yourself distinguished and focus in on a single specialty. Excel at it! Colleges don’t approve of “laundry list” extracurriculars. </p>

<p>SAT/ACT scores are also extremely important. Improve on your math skills - you’re very close to become a NMS qualified student, which definitely helps. </p>

<p>Hope I helped!</p>

5

<p>What do you think about me taking the SAT I this June as a “practice run” to see where I am in terms of my mastery of the subjects covered by the SAT? Some classmates have done this and have returned with less-than-stellar results (one, for example, had a score of 1850). I think that it is wiser to wait and take practice exams in the meantime. Do you agree?</p>

<p>Edit: Also, if I scored a 3 or less on one of my AP exams, would admissions officers likely dismiss my high GPA, assuming that it is the result of grade inflation or cheating?</p>

<p>Another edit: Thank you very much for the feedback so far! :)</p>

6

<p>Take the real thing.</p>

<p>Doubtful on cheating unless you had a disciplinary record to prove it.
Grade inflation, highly unlikely but possible.</p>

7

<p>I have another question to add (I apologize in advance if you encounter this one often): Does the SAT Math section include a page with the necessary formulas? </p>

<p>Thank you very much for your help.</p>

8

<p>Yes, there are formulas in the beginning of the section.</p>