Chance a Junior on New Year's!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I know it's a little early, but I've been doing my research after getting my October SATs (first time taking them), and I put together a list of schools I'm probably going to apply to next year. They are, in order of preference:</p>

<p>Harvard
U Penn
Columbia
U Chicago
Georgetown
Northwestern
Johns Hopkins
Tufts
NYU
UVA
U Michigan
SUNY Binghamton</p>

<p>Now for my scores, stats, and other info:
SAT I: 2280 (800 CR, 730 M, 750 W)
SAT II: 790 Biology, 740 World History (I'll probably take Math II, US History, and English this year)
PSAT: 227 (80 CR, 67 M, 80 W) - almost certainly going to be a semifinalist/finalist for National Merit Scholarship
ACT: 33 (probably won't send this though, since my math and science scores were a little low at 30 each)
GPA (expected): ~3.90 UW, ~4.15 W
Class Rank: None (my school doesn't do class rank, or Valedictorian/Salutatorian for that matter)</p>

<p>I go to a relatively good public school on Long Island, New York. My school changed its grading policy after my freshman year from As being anything above a 90 and counting as 4 points, B+ being 87-89.9 counting as 3.5, B being 83-86.9 for 3 pts, etc... to a system where A+ is 97 and up for a 4.4, A is a 93-96.9 for a 4, A- is 90-92.9 for a 3.6, B+ is 87-89.9 for a 3.3, B is 83-86.9 for a 3. AP classes are weighted by adding an extra point (so an A- in an AP class starts as a 3.6 and becomes a 4.6).</p>

<p>I took AP and honors whenever possible (even taking AP electives when I could fit them), and the only non-AP/honors core class I've taken is Introduction to Calculus ("accelerated" 12th grade Regents level) this year instead of Pre-Calculus Honors because I struggled through Trig Honors in sophomore year (my teacher and I just didn't click and I had difficulty understanding some things - I wasn't the only one to experience this but that doesn't make it any better, of course) and managed to get a B+ for the course. Next year, however, I intend to take AP Calculus and rejoin my honors peers since I'm on track for an A or A+ this year so far. I'm concerned that dropping out of the math honors track, even if just for a year, could hurt me for college admissions, but I'm hoping that admissions officers will see it as a fluke if I rejoin the honors/AP track next year. My other low grade outlier is a B in AP Biology, also in sophomore year, but I'm hoping that my 5 on the AP exam and 790 for the SAT Subject test will compensate for that.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
- Political Awareness Club for 4 years, probably president next year
- DECA for 4 years, state medalist for Travel and Tourism event in sophomore year and hopefully advancing to Nationals this year
- Eagle Scout, Senior Patrol Leader of my Boy Scout troop this year, probably close to 300 or so hours of community service
- Mock Trial team, advanced to regional semifinals
- National Spanish Honor Society, National English Honor Society, National Honor Society
- JV Tennis in freshman year, Varsity Badminton in sophomore year (and I will return this year and senior year)
- 4th place All-County Math Teachers' Association Award 2009
- Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Participant 2010 (nominated by school, selected by the Rotary club)
- Participated in MathCounts and Science Olympiads at the state level in middle school, including 2nd place for Bio Process Lab event in 8th grade</p>

<p>Ethnicity: White (would it help if I answered, "Prefer not to answer" on my application?)
Income: $100,000 (need significant financial aid)</p>

<p>I'm interested in studying International Relations and possibly business as a double major or minor. Please chance me, and I'll try to chance right back!</p>

<p>EDIT: Here's the AP classes that I've taken/am taking/will take:
AP World 10th grade (4)
AP Biology 10th grade (5)
AP US History 11th grade (5?)
AP Human Geography 11th grade (5?)
AP Physics B 11th grade (5?)
AP English Language and Comp 11th grade (5? based on SAT English scores)</p>

<p>This is the course load I hope to take senior year (provided that scheduling isn't an issue):
AP Calculus AB 12th grade
AP Government 12th grade
AP Economics 12th grade
AP Psychology 12th grade
AP Physics C/AP Chemistry 12th grade
AP English Literature 12th grade
College Business Law 12th grade
College Spanish 12th grade</p>

2

<p>get your math score up</p>

3

<p>My SAT math score? Isn’t a 730 good enough for those schools? It’s pretty close to the 75th percentile for most of my choices, and well within the middle 50%. Should I retake the SAT then? What if I don’t do as well on the other two sections, wouldn’t that look bad to colleges (especially if I only go up 10-30 points on the math)?</p>

4

<p>You’ll get in somewhere if you apply to all of these places… Impossible to say where, but probability says you’ll get into some of them.</p>

5

<p>I don’t know why 730 isn’t good enough either, unless you plan on going into econ/business, then you want to get it a little higher because it demands a lot of math. But everything looks great, just keep it up and write some great essays.</p>

<p>Good luck!:)</p>

6

<p>This is what I had been thinking as far as reach/match/safety schools, but if anyone disagrees feel free to correct me (since obviously that’s the point of this thread, isn’t it?):</p>

<p>Harvard - High Reach
U Penn - High Match/Low Reach
Columbia - Reach/High Reach
U Chicago - High Match
Georgetown - High Match
Northwestern - High Match
Johns Hopkins - Match
Tufts - Match
NYU - Low Match
UVA - Low Match
U Michigan - Safety
Binghamton - Safety</p>

<p>Is it a bit of a stetch to say that some of those are “High Match” (such as Penn, Chicago, Georgetown, etc…)? Thanks for everyone’s input!</p>

7

<p>Your stats seem really good. The ivies are considered reaches to everyone but if you continue to do what your doing and have good recommendations and essays then I think you should have a fair shot to get in. The rest of the schools seem like they are right for you and you should get in.</p>

8

<p>Gardy24 - so you think that most of those schools are matches for me, with the exception of Harvard, Columbia, and Penn? How many do you (and anyone else who cares to answer) realistically think I will be accepted to? Which ones?</p>

9

<p>All except for Ivies and U Chicago seem like great matches. It would be possible to get into one of them though. </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1062913-chance-senior-i-will-chance-back-if-you-post-link.html#post1066176199[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1062913-chance-senior-i-will-chance-back-if-you-post-link.html#post1066176199&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

10

<p>I think your scores are solid. You probably should have 2-4 activities in which you show a lot of devotion or have leadership in, eagle scout is perfect. If you figure out a way to show some achievement by the time you’re applying next year, you will have great chances at all the ivies. You would have a good chance at lower tier ivies with your current application.</p>