reach schools... i think.
vandy , wash u, emory (will my associations with vandy help me at all? See below.)
note: if you think ALL of these are reach schools for me, can you give me an idea of what colleges are good ? i want to major in chemical engineering
[ive deleted all superfluous information] i think
Class of ‘16
school stats
-1st generation Asian-American
-financial burdens including sister with severe visual disability
-fluent in Japanese and Korean
-Native Tennessean
-3.70 GPA
scores
-ACT:30
-SUPERSCORE: 32 (taking final one on october 24th)
AWARDS
-studied violin for 15 years
-4 years in the most advanced musical ensemble in the state of Tennessee (Blair School of Music). 1 year as concert master and 2 years as 2nd violin principal. Students from even KY, MS, and AL come weekly for a 4 hour session.
-1 year in MTSBOA orchestra as 1st violin
-1st place in B.E.S.T robotics in TN – team (10th)
-1st place in B.E.S.T robotics in TN – team (11th)
-2nd place in B.E.S.T robotics in southeastern America – team(10th)
-1st place in B.E.S.T robotics in southeastern America – team (11th)
-number of chess awards [regional, state, national, and international]
-[2nd place national chess champion in 2007]
-[25th place international chess champion in 2009]
-HOSA state qualifier
CLUBS AND WORK
HOSA (2 years) – gave speech on the relationship between school sports and concussions. Conducted experiment on percentage of people wearing seatbelts after leaving school.
ROBOTICS(3 years) – see above
RESTAURANT(3 YEARS) – 20 hours a week, taking most rigorous classes, learned the value of time management, communication skills, and leadership.
CHESS CLUB (4 YEARS) – 2 years as officer and taught many students on how to improve chess styles
MOCK TRIAL (2 YEARS) - learned the value of thinking quickly and importance of speech.
KUMON INSTRUCTOR (volunteer)
TRACK AND FIELD (2 years) – everyday after school and then went to work 5 times a week
MATH TUTORING(2-3 YEARS) – 1 and only other volunteer who taught many other students about complicated math problems and explained how certain problems are solved and creating new one to solve for themselves.
NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY (2 years) – volunteered at local historic site (Rock Castle). Volunteered at local church during thanksgiving. Volunteered at WalMart during Christmas sponsored Toy and Gift shopping spree for underprivileged children Learned about the importance of giving back to the community and appreciated at looking at the happy faces of many children.
BETA CLUB OFFICER (1 YEAR) – meticulously documented and organized files that many other students gave to the teacher.
CHURCH (3 YEARS) – played the violin for the church on every Wednesday/Sunday for a total of 6 hours and played during the mass. Played during Christmas week.
TEACHING VIOLIN – teaching violin to 5 students for one hour on top of working at restaurant and currently preparing them to be accepted into one of the most selective musical ensemble in state of TN (MTSBOA).
NASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY (1 YEAR) – volunteered for nearly 100+ hours during summer and guided other new volunteers on how to maintain the largest library in state of tennessee.
also, how possible is cornell ?
i was wondering but i have a really close relationship with the conductor at the blair school of music (vanderbilt university)… i was wondering but how much more powerful will my application be if i can get a recommendation letter from her.
im not sure how much vandy weighs connections with their staff when you apply, but i would imagine that if you can get a rec it would look pretty good.
carnegie, boston university emory are high matches/low reaches
washington university, vandy, are mid reaches
tulane is a match
try to get a 33+ on the act, and take sat or sat subject tests if you have time before your deadline and think you can score well. your gpa is good but not great, and might lower your chances at your more selective schools. however, you’re qualified for all of your schools and a lot of it will come down to quality of your essays and recs. good luck!
carnegie: high reach
wash u: low reach
vandy: low reach
tulane: match
emory: high match/low reach
boston u: match
If you’re going to major in chem. engineering do you really think that vandy’s conductor can write you an appealing letter based on your pursued major? Just a heads up.
잘할수있어! 화이팅!
나도챈스해주삼~: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1809679-chance-me-for-nyu-bu-bc-northeastern-ann-arbor-umich-nd-cornell-etc.html#latest
im sorry but what do you guys exactly mean by high match/low reach exactly ?
Reach means little chance for admission. Match means admission chance is about 50/50.
You seem like a good match, as long as ACT Math is 34+ and SAT Math II is 750+, preferably 800. Also if AP Calc BC, Chemistry and Physics are 5s with A grades in class.
so is a high match is good right ? because match is 50/50
A low match is better odds than 50/50 without being a safety. A high match is “close to a reach but some extenuating circumstance doesn’t quite push it there”.
For example due to your association with Vanderbilt, I’d say it’s a high match, not a reach, even though its selectivity rate makes it an “automatic reach” for about everyone.
Tulane and Boston U are matches to low matches, but you need to find 2 good safeties. I would suggest UAlabama’s Honors college, since you’re guaranteed admission + honors dorm + full tuition scholarship + engineering stipend, and you can apply for Fellows or Computer Based (Research) (CBHP).
All of your other colleges are reaches, even though your profile is incredibly impressive, simply because of their selectivity. There’s no way anyone can predict 50/50 for such schools because luck factors in.
However you’re VERY competitive for these. I’m impressed and I’m willing to bet you’ll get several acceptances. Please DO return to your thread once you have your decisions!
In fact, you should apply to Yale because they’re trying to build up their School of Engineering AND they really like musicians, plus they’ve made a promise to the White House to enroll more first gen students AND Tennessee tends to be under-represented. So… What have you got to lose? 
Is Vanderbilt your #1 choice?Or could you apply to Yale REA? Or do you have a choice that you will apply ED/REA/SCEA?
Due to your music ability, I’d also add URochester.
Think about it like shelves at the convenience stores. Safeties are near the bottom, matches near the middle, and reaches an arms length away. The “lower” something is, the easier it would be for you to grab an item off the shelf.
awesome! thanks for the insight and advice. i DID apply to stanford as one of my reaches instead of yale… because u know…lol…but ill try yale i guess? @MYOS1634 … anyways, IF i can raise my god awful ACT score, to something like a 33, will my chances SIGNIFICANTLY improve… or will my chances still remain the same ?
You can"t apply REA to both Yale and Stanford.
In my opinion, your profile is a better fit for Yale than for Stanford.
Your chances definitely improve if you can reach a 32 or 33 composite (not superscored).
You have very strong ECs but a lower than ideal GPA and ACT. At this point you can try to improve your ACT by a few points and make sure your essays are great. What do you want to study? You sound like a music person not a tech person
@wje9164be i either want to major in civil/chemical engineering
Consider also Rose-Hulman, U.Illinois, Purdue