<p>white, middle class, girl, public high school</p>
<p>Class rank: 1
GPA: 4.0
SAT: 2110 (first time, waiting for April scores)
Math:700
CR: 720
Writing: 690 (8/12 essay. dang.)
10 APs by end of high school</p>
<p>4 yrs varsity soccer, sr. capt
4 yrs varsity track
11 yrs dance + dance instructor for little kids
ski instructor
special needs sports volunteer coach
drama
a capella singing group</p>
<p>Do you think I have a chance at any ivies, Brown in particular?</p>
<p>you need to have things that will make you stand out from the applicant crowd (getting larger every year) and help you get accepted (lowest acceptance rate in Brown's history this year: 13.8% overall)</p>
<p>But johnjohn, it seems like she has those things. Wow at the OP, your ECs are really strong, as are your stats...maybe pull your SAT up a bit? Do you need to take SAT IIs? And if Brown's your first choice then def. apply ED.</p>
<p>she does have a good background.. but, thousands and thousands of kids who apply to brown have 4.0 GPA's and rank 1 in their classes... many have perfect SAT scroes... and what's more important than the number of AP courses you take is what you actually get on the AP exams...
ec's are good but once again, it's a very good idea to have something(s) that will make you stand out very much (plenty of applicants are varsity captains and do other various activities)...
apply early decision (brown is not ea) if it's your first choice but keep my suggestions in mind.. i know, because i'm a senior and i just finished the admissions process myself and have seen how my friends and I have done</p>
<p>I did retake the SATs in April so hopefully at least the writing should be higher if not math as well.
I'll take SATIIs in May, too. I'm thinking Math 1 & 2 and US history.</p>
<p>I've taken one AP exam and got a 4 in comp sci A as a sophomore.</p>
<p>I'll be taking US, English, and Stat APs in May.</p>
<p>What can I do to stand out from the crowd? I know essays are really important to Brown, but they also look for out of school experience in my intended major (engineering/CS, something like that) so I was considering an internship over the summer. </p>
<p>Another thing to make the decision more difficult: I have free tuition at BU as a faculty family member. My parents support me, but at the same time are trying to convince me of the great benefits of free tuition. No student loans to pay off after college, money for great housing, don't need to worry about grad school financially, etc. Plus, BU has a good school of engineering, I don't want to be an Ivy snob.</p>
<p>I feel like I'm using this thread to complain about myself. lol. thanks for the advice :)</p>
<p>cmd, are you a junior? I think your stats look pretty impressive, but what I've heard about Brown, is that they judge a lot based on intangebles (but spelled right) ... that essays count a lot, etc... I hope you have a good shot, because I am looking for the same goal, but my stats are far less impressive... Good Luck!!</p>
<p>I actually got accepted to Brown and will be going there in the fall. A bunch (like 25 from a class of 87) of kids applied to Brown from my class and I know the kind of kids who got in and who didn't. One certain thing is that there is no formula for getting into almost any of the top schools nowadays, especially the Ivies. Admissions decisions, as you will find out next school year from applying to all these places, sometimes look completely arbitrary.
It never hurts to have higher SAT scores but don't put too big an emphasis on them. As long as they're in Brown's range, you're ok.
One thing Brown might find strange (and I find it strange too) is that you only took one AP exam after taking so many AP courses. In our school, when you take an AP course, you're expected (virtually required) to take the AP exams. But I digress.
You can do so many things to make yourself stand out and again, this is crucial. I cannot emphasis this enough because a majority of students that apply to Brown or to any Ivy have perfect GPA's and near-perfect to perfect SAT scores and AP scores. They're also varsity athletes, volunteers, musicians, the usual, etc. So what you must do- and you have one long summer break to do this- is something that relates to your interests (engineering/CS) which is impressively unique. There are several possibilies. Internships are helpful, of course, but don't do something that's trite.
Free tuition is always tempting. But DO NOT choose to attend a school which might otherwise not be your first choice school because of money. Whatever college loans you might accumulate over four years will only be a blip in your financial well-being and life. (Plus Brown has an excellent financial aid program anyway) You DON'T want to be looking back at this 20 years from now and having regrets because you didn't go to your first choice and, in my opinion, a better school. I could've chosen several universities that offered full scholarships (military academies, Duke (ROTC scholarship), etc.). But I concluded, as I hope you will too, that an Ivy League- a Brown education- is worth the cost and sacrifice. Millions of students in the world dream of simply being offered a chance to attend any Ivy like Brown. If you have the abilities to do it and that is your first choice school, there is no reason you should forego your ambitions and settle for second or third.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to e-mail me personally. You can probably do that by clicking on my ID.
Hope that helps.</p>