I’m a white male rising senior at a public school and I am wondering my chances at some of the best schools in the nation.
Prospective Major: Biology
GPA: 4.0 unweighted
ACT: 36 (35 English, 36 Math, 35 Reading, 36 Science)
SAT II: 760 Biology, 780 Math 2
ECs: (I have stuck with all clubs through all 3 years, I’ll list highest ranking)
Key Club: President
LEOs Club: VP
Science Olympiad: Secretary
Math Tutoring Center: Co-Founder
Math Team: General Member
Student Senate: General Member
National Honor Society: General Member
JV tennis: 9th grade
Varsity tennis: 10th & 11th grade
School Newspaper: Staff Writer
Over 100 hours of community service
Intern at an oral surgeon’s office
Awards:
Scholar Athlete
Principal’s List every quarter of my high school career
UPenn Book Award
So, I am looking at applying to a ton of schools but I think I’ll only ask about a few to save some trouble for you all (Don’t worry I have quite a few safeties on my list):
Harvard
Yale
Princeton
Columbia
UPenn
Cornell
Dartmouth
Brown
Stanford
I’d like to know what you all think my chances are at getting into these schools! Thanks!
There is nothing in what you presented that would hinder your admissions prospects at the schools listed. There is an assumption that you have taken the most rigorous courses available to you. If your Letters of recommendation are excellent and you write top notch essays your chances are as good as anyone’s. With the exception of development admits and highly sought after athletes that have comparable academic credentials as yourself.
You have got the goods! Go for it!
Ok good to know, I mean I just would like to go to one of those schools but they all seem like a crapshoot even though I’m over the 75th percentile for all of their standardized test criteria and have, what I think are solid enough extracurricular activities and GPA. I just feel like this whole thing is very uncertain.
Like you said, they are all crapshoots but you’re qualified and should get into at least 1-2 of the lower ones maybe more if your essays and recs are outstanding. Best of luck!
Chance me back:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1782833-chance-a-rising-senior-for-uchicago-georgetown-ivies-etc-will-chance-back.html#latest
Forgot to mention I am first generation college if that matters?
You should really apply Ivy
You are “Ivy material”, but your ECs seem kind of generic to me. Your best chance is to apply to UPenn ED. Chance back?: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18614306#Comment_18614306
Wow. Thanks for chancing me. Your stats are amazing compared to mine. I think you’re guaranteed admission to any ordinary or excellent college in the U.S. Like the UCs, MIT, GA tech. I really don’t know what it takes to get into Ivy League. I have a friend who has similar stats to yours except her act is lower but her GPA is incredible however. She will be applying this fall. Her brother got it with similar stats to Harvard. Overall, I think you have an excellent chance. For some reason you don’t get into an ivys, which I highly doubt, you definitely can make it to other top schools.
First generation college will help a bit. You are qualified, but nothing stands out to improve your chances markedly over the general applicant pool. Think about what makes you distinctive, and what qualifies you over someone else.
Harvard
Yale
Princeton
Columbia
UPenn
Cornell
Dartmouth
Brown
Stanford
If you are only applying to these elite schools and some safeties, and lack any mid-range – while I think you will likely get into at least one of those elite schools – you should definitely apply to a handful of schools above the “safety” line and below the level of your elite choices. Maybe pick five from this list, or schools similar in stature and selectivity:
Georgetown
Rice
Notre Dame
Emory
Cal-Berkeley
Michigan
Virginia
Boston College
U of Rochester
Tulane
Each of those is probably either a high match or a match for you. Why are they important? Imagine if you didn’t get into any of your “Ivies+Stanford” list… you would want to have a buffer zone between them and your true safeties. You can get a great education at all of those schools, but they are not (in some cases, not nearly…) as difficult to get into as the Ivies and Stanford.
@chyaboi123 I took the SAT I but will not be sending it to any schools considering I got a 36 on my ACT.
@prezbucky Thanks for the chance! Don’t worry I have a bunch of mid range schools on my list like Berkeley, UMich, NYU, Tufts, UMiami, UNC Chapel Hill, and UVA. I’m more concerned with how I would do for more tier 1 schools since I’m fairly certain that I’ll be accepted to a lot of these mid range schools so I am more concerned about the higher ones on my list.
@heisenberg2016 Thanks for chancing me back and thanks for your input!
@renaissancedad I’m not sure exactly but compared to the other kids in my school that are applying to tier one schools like these I am definitely more diversified. I have quite a bit of leadership and founded a club and also the 36 ACT I think will put me at a slight advantage over other applicants because I’m over the 75th percentile for all of these schools. Thanks for your opinion!
A 36 ACT is impressive, but it won’t get you far. I believe Stanford turns down the vast majority of candidates with perfect test scores, and accounting for test variation there is not much if any difference between a 36 and a 35, or a 2400 SAT and a 2350+.
Diversification is also nice, but it doesn’t count for as much as having something that really stands out. All top colleges are dealing with the same problem: 10-20 times more qualified applicants than they can possibly admit, and “bunching” of applicants due to things like test preparation, multiple test taking, superscoring, grade inflation, and other factors.
You have the qualifications to be competitive, but after that it is a crapshoot. There is never any certainty, but the best way to improve your chances beyond those of most qualified applicants is to stand out. This can be done by virtue of excellence in an EC, showing sustained passion, having an interest/skill that sets you apart form the norm, and writing compelling essays.
All top schools want to get to know applicants beyond a list of test scores and achievements. Think about who you are and what makes you different.
@renaissancedad much of what you’re saying is true and I agree standing out in a crowd of qualified students is important and I plan on doing so in my essay with a very personal story. However, with Stanford at least, I read that 69% of students with perfect scores do not get in but 31% did! In my opinion that’s huge as compared to their 5% acceptance rate, and shows that they care about hitting the perfect score.
You need to think about it from the college admin point of view. What do you have that they need? Maybe they need someone from your state or maybe they need a few writers for the school newspaper. Then you just need to stand out in that pool of kids and with your great grades and scores you probably will.
You should also know that the elite school supplemental essays are very long. So if you can’t reduce your list of schools then plan on spending at least two entire days (like 20 hours) on each elite application supplement.
@KathleenA Thanks for taking the time to chance me! Don’t worry I’m planning on setting aside a lot of time to write essays (unfortunately). Hopefully who I am comes through in those essays and then I might have a solid chance at these schools. Thanks again!
You have the stats. It all comes down to the essays- why should these schools take you over every other qualified candidate? If you have a good answer for that and can show them why in your essays, you’re good to go. And hey- be proud of what you accomplished! It’s pretty incredible.