<p>Do i have any shot at Brown? I wanted one super reach, and i had chosen Cornell but i know i would rather go to Brown so why not. But if theres a 0% chance then i would just be wasting my time/money. So anyway here are my stats.</p>
<p>Reasonably competitive Public School MA
Rank 45/370
SAT Reasoning CR-800 M-750 W-770 (2320)
2 Sport Captain
Essays- good common app one.
Recs- 1 excellent 1 subpar </p>
<p>Whaddya think?</p>
<p>Basically, is it normal for a person in your high school with your ranking to get into a school like Brown?</p>
<p>no, it would be highly out of the ordinary. Although, i do have out-of the ordinary test scores for someone of my rank. Also, i have a steep upward trend (taking AP Calc, Physics, Gov. and Chem and averaging a 95 thus far.)</p>
<p>I am not trying to influence the answers i get. I realize it would be a reach, but what i want to know is if it would be impossible. Like, they would see my rank and instantly discard me based on that. I realize that happens at some schools.</p>
<p>I really do not understand the widespread perception among potential applicants that Brown “automatically discards” anyone for any reason.</p>
<p>Although class rank certainly provides one measure of success, the admissions office takes into account your whole picture. Indeed, the vast majority of Brown students come from high schools that don’t rank.</p>
<p>I would say that having a “subpar” recommendation letter is going to hurt you more than anything. You only get two recs, and those are what allows the admissions officers to visualize how you conduct yourself in an academic environment. I mean, exactly how “subpar” is it? Does the teacher dislike you or something?</p>
<p>Also, how are your essays/ECs? Those matter more than anything, provided your grades and test scores are in-range (which yours appears to be).</p>
<p>Either way–
Best of luck, and don’t beat yourself up so much! Ivy League admissions are a gigantic crapshoot at the end of the day anyway.</p>