Am I screwed?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>-So, prior to signing up to this forum, I thought I was pretty competitive for most top schools (Reed, Amherst, Priceton, etc). After reading through a few "chance me" threads, where students are insecure about perfect grades, perfect SAT scores, and EC lists that go on for miles, I feel like I'm still in elementary school. </p>

<p>-I guess the point of this thread is, how do I fix myself up? How do I compete with all these incredible students. So, a little info about myself; </p>

<p>-I took Algebra in 8th grade.
Highschool;
Honors Geometry
Honors Algebra 2
Pre Cal (over summer)
AP Calc (this year as a Junior) </p>

<p>As for other classes, I've only taken 1 AP class (APHG, got a 5), and this year I'm taking AP Calc, AP Psychology, College Bio, and College US History. </p>

<p>All the other classes are I've taken are general Adv English 1, 2, and 3. Chem, Biology, etc. Nothing fancy. I've had a 4.0 since 4th grade, and am ranked #1 in my class of 700+ students. I attend David Douglas High School, the largest highschool in Oregon. It's not that great.. doesn't offer many AP classes (around 6-7), I'll take all of them, and score 4-5 for sure, I always score well, I learn quickly and retain information. </p>

<p>For EC's, I've played Clarinet for 5 years, up to freshmen year. I volunteer at OMSI (a Museum here in Portland), I just joined the Rocket Club. And I'll run for students council this year. That's about it..</p>

<p>-I don't have any spare time for other clubs/sports, I have to work to support myself, I don't have parents to support me. I was born in a tiny Romanian village and am the first generation to attend College (or highschool for that matter). So I figured for my situation I wasn't doing too bad, I'm, somehow, regarded as a genius at my school. I have a passions for learning, it's my life, but reading through this forum.. geez, I feel like I could hardly get accepted at my state university. </p>

<p>-Anyway, my writing is decent, but by no means exceptional, English is my second language. I'll take the SAT's and ACT's this year, and I won't bother to speculate what I'll get, but it's safe to say I'll score 2000+ on my SAT's, and I'm not sure for ACT's. I'm not sure how good my writing will be by Senior year, so I can't project how strong my application essays will be.</p>

<p>-ANYWAY, sorry for the insecure, 'tell me I'm pretty' thread, but, help me out, how do I compete? Am I even eligible for top schools? Is my being a first generation minority enough to scoot me by? Or am I totally hopeless relative to all these other geniuses?</p>

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<p>Do not allow CC to scare you away from your dream schools, the students on here are the top 1% of students in the nation. Just continue what you are doing, stay at the top of your class, take as rigorous classes as possible and in terms of the ECs, avoid having a laundry list of typical ECs like most students on here have. Focus on one or two ECs that you have a passion for. Also, colleges will take into consideration that you have had t support yourself and that you are first generation. Colleges understand that comparing applicants is like comparing apples to oranges, every applicant has a totally different situation.</p>

<p>Keep your head high and keep on top of your academics and you should be golden.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>I agree. Dont let CC be a discouragement. A key factor in admissions that many don’t talk about is the essay/interview. As many have demonstrated, the impression you make on the application essay is just as important as grades. </p>

<p>Many who have great academic records didn’t do so well for the essays. There are people who literally rehash their entire academic record on the essay portion, quickly destroying the years of effort they undertook for grades and scores.</p>

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<p>I wonder why most students who post on the chances board seem to be among the “best-and-brightest”…</p>

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<p>Thanks a lot for your replies! But in all honesty, without the huge list of EC’s, and coming from my position, is practical for a guy like me to try to prepare for top schools? </p>

<p>And one more thing… are there students around here that are in my position? Like, that have to support themselves, find connections themselves and all that? Or are the majority of the students on CC fully backed by successful parents? Because I’m starting to feel like natural advantages (born in relative wealth, educated parents, etc) will ultimately win out, despite the work I put in.</p>

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<p>DenisRS, you should certainly keep pursuing top colleges!
No, not all students on here have had everything given to them on a silver platter. Personally, I come from a middle class family and thankfully do not have to support myself but I have had to struggle with cancer which has been difficult and it has not always been easy to keep up a 3.8+ uw gpa and due to the medical costs we are not as well off as we look on paper which sucks for financial aid :confused:
But to answer your question no you are not alone and believe it or not colleges do care about the work you put in.</p>

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<p>Okay, thank you, I feel like I’m not hopeless after all (:
I’m sorry to hear about your cancer, I hope everything is alright now! And best of luck with your pursuit of knowledge! </p>

<p>So does anyone have any ideas regarding how to improve my chances? Any good EC ideas? Should I perhaps email professors asking for research opportunities?</p>

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<p>For the EC’s, just do what you love to do. Don’t volunteer or do something you don’t have a passion for. I can’t give you any idea’s about EC’s than what I have already said. </p>

<p>To improve your chances, I honestly do not know what you can do better. You have great grades, are doing all of your schools offered AP classes, are at the top of you class, and you are doing this plus supporting yourself. But I will say this, if your writing truly isn’t that great, try working on it to make it better. Maybe reply often to posts. Write in a journal about your day…something to improve it.</p>

<p>You can email professors if you would like. But do not do it if you don’t have a passion for the research you would be doing.</p>

<p>The best of luck!</p>

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<p>-Thank you for the tips goodnyte. I’m not very passionate about the EC’s I have so far; volunteering at OMSI is proving far more a babysitting gig than the hands on experience I was imagining, and rocket club is just not very well funded at all due to budget cuts. I will work hard to find a research opportunity. I will also apply to volunteer at a local hospital over summer, I’m considering research in the medical field as a career, and I feel volunteering at a hospital will prove to be up my alley. </p>

<p>-Unfortunately I’m not sure how much being at the top of my class really says. I do work very hard, and I had to get administration involved in order to get the schedule I currently have (the rigor was making them nervous). However my school isn’t very competitive, it’s just a simple public school. However I suppose you all are right, comparing myself to others on CC is comparing myself to the best from private college prep schools. I can only hope that during my interview(s) at colleges I will apply to, I will be able to demonstrate I have done the very best possible with the cards allotted. I will continue to work hard and dream big, there will be no reward in feeling sorry for myself :P</p>

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<p>If anyone has any other feedback/insight on my situation, how I can improve, or any ideas to boost my stats, I’d love to hear!</p>

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<p>Denis – if you’re number 1 in your class or thereabouts, and have pretty good SATs (2000, or thereabouts), you should get into a very good school.</p>

<p>… boost your stats – The SAT and ACT are tests that you can study for, to a degree. There are tricks and methodologies. If your family can afford an SAT prep course, consider it. Otherwise, if you invest in a good study guide and put in the time you should do fine.</p>

<p>PS – don’t let this forum discourage you. Many people know very much about admissions – those who know ‘something’ pretty much have the same data you could get from a college guide or by googling a school’s common data set.</p>

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<p>Don’t worry so much. We will be applying to college at the same time/probably with some overlap in schools, and guess what, I’m not perfect! Neither are my friends who are applying to top schools. Yeah we have decent grades (well me not so much) and ECs, but it is not like we our superhuman. The truth is there are people with lower stats who do great, CC just tends to showcase the top of the top. I remember I chanced somebody for top LACs a few months back and everybody (myself included) said that they would be lucky if they got into one or two top school since their scores were low and their ECs were good but not great, we recently got an update that they got into their first choice school through QuestBridge. It just goes to show, that you don’t have to be perfect. Good luck when you take your standardized tests, I am sure you will do fine!</p>

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<p>Here at CC, there are many types of people. Just becuase your stats arent same as others here doesnt mean ur worse. Ur situation is much much different than some of those people so don’t worry. You should be fine in terms of where you are applying and such and ur essays have good prompts considering your situation. I am in a similar situation myself. I was born in a small city in India and have lived there for 8 years before coming to the US. Would appreciate you chancing me. You might see some similarities
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1424564-please-chance-top-colleges-really-need-advice.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1424564-please-chance-top-colleges-really-need-advice.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Thanks Zephyr, I will definitely invest in an SAT prep book, and I will try to see if I can get into a prep course over summer. By a very good school do you mean the likes of Amherst/Princeton/Reed? Or just top state schools? </p>

<p>And good luck on your tests as well artsygirl! What rank are you in your class? And what schools are you considering?</p>

15

<p>Thanks Jakjak. What do you mean by ‘I should be fine in terms of where I’m applying’?</p>

<p>And I will definitely give your thread a look and see if I can offer any insight; however I’m not sure how helpful I can be, seeing as how shocked I am at these new standards set by CC.</p>

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<p>I am ranked 13 of 120 (it is killing me that I am one away from top 10, but this is what happens when the top 5 are all geniuses). My first choice is Swarthmore, though I will also probably be applying to University of Chicago, Bowdoin, Haverford and Amherst as reaches, I am still picking my matches/safeties (I have a list, but I have not spent enough time researching them).</p>

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<p>Denis:</p>

<p>Here’s the thing about Amherst/Princeton – it is absolutely 100% impossible for anyone to make predictions about either of those schools – the acceptance rates are just too small (each around 10% or less, I believe – you can look this up though). Average SATs for those schools are over 2100. Each of those schools rejects far more highly qualified candidates than they accept, so all one can do is apply and hope.</p>

<p>Still – if you can get each SAT section over 700 (or pretty close) it’s worth an application.</p>

<p>I know less about Reed (other than it’s excellent school, obviously), but based on their published data, they appear to be somewhat easier than Princeton or Amherst. Reed gets about 3000-3100 applicants and accepts more than 1300 – so it’s something like 40%. 2000-2100 on the SAT would put you right in the middle of their freshman class statistically – students do a bit better on the SAT-CR and SAT-W than in the SAT-M.</p>

<p>(BTW – all this data is available here – [Reed</a> College 2010-11 Common Data Set SecC](<a href=“http://www.reed.edu/ir/cds/cds1011/cdssecc201011.html]Reed”>Reed College 2010-11 Common Data Set SecC - Institutional Research - Reed College)). </p>

<p>Being #1 in your class, if you can meet your SAT projections, Reed certainly seems like target school for you. Not a guarantee and Reed is certainly not a safety – but EVERYONE needs safety schools.</p>

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<p>Artsygirl, I previewed your stats on your profile, and we seem to be relatively similar. I have a slightly stronger GPA/Class Rank/Schedule Rigor (the academic side), while your EC’s destroy mine hands down. And there is a bit of overlap with our hopeful applications. I wish you the best of luck! Perhaps we’ll attend school together in the future (:</p>

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<p>Thank you again zephyr, your advice seems half calming, half a reality check! I’ll check out that link. And I have already done much research on Reed/Amherst, which is why I was so surprised how much higher the standards on CC seem to be. I’m afraid Reed is my safety school for now… perhaps I should find a different school for a safety. I suppose I am assuming if I apply to 4-5 schools I wish to attend, Reed being as early decision as possible, I will get accepted somewhere.</p>

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<p>Yeah, I am praying that my ECs compensate (I am assuming that you did not see the updated list)/my essay will make me stand out (I am writing about the relationship between yearbooks and neuroscience). Good luck! Like you said, who knows, maybe we will end up being in classes together in two years…</p>