Chance a rising senior for UChicago, Georgetown, Ivies etc. Will chance back!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi! I am finishing up my junior year and was wondering my chances at these schools:
Columbia
UPenn
Harvard (lol I know)
Yale (lolol again)
Brown
UChicago-EA
Tufts
Georgetown-EA
Johns Hopkins
Brandeis
Northeastern- EA (6 yr DPT program)
BU (6 yr DPT program)
Emory
American
George Washington
William and Mary
Ithaca (6 yr DPT program)
Sacred Heart (6 yr DPT program)
Suny Stonybrook
Suny Geneseo
Skidmore
I might take off a few of these schools.

I go to a competitive public high school in the northeast. Usually sends 10ish kids to Ivies and a dozen more to top 20 schools.

GPA: UW 98/100, W 99.89- UW might go down very slightly, due to increase in difficulty of classes this year
Rank: 8/539
Courseload: Most rigorous (1exception- took ap physics 1 instead of combined ap physics 1&2, if this matters). All honors fresh and sophomore and AP world as a sophomore (1st one allowed to take- got a 4)
This year took Physics 1, English Language and Composition, US History. Also took pre Calc honors, spanish 4 honors, Latin 4 university and chamber orchestra.
Senior Year courseload: AP Lit, AP macroeconomics, AP Calc BC (might not fit in schedule and might have to take AB), AP Bio, AP Euro, Latin 5 honors and chamber orchestra.
Self-studying AP Psychology.
SAT: 2010 superscored, took a third time today and not expecting much more, going to try ACTs in September. (I know this is a weak point :()

Awards: (nothing big but some good ones maybe)
-Published in local newspaper for article about accountability, honored by county board for article and given scholarship
-Selected for Area all-state Orchestra festivals 2013&2014, principal violist 2014
-Selected for All-County Orchestra 2010-2015, principal all years
-Harvard and Brandeis Book Awards
-English&music class awards 2013, social studies award 2014, music award 2015
-respect award 2013-2015

Extracurriculars:
-Yearbook Editor-in-Chief (12,11 staff member 9-10)
-Violist in highly regarded Youth Orchestra in my state- (performed in Carnegie, performing abroad next year, huge televised cancer fundraiser, other community performances) (10-12)
-Weekly volunteer at Physical therapy office, help around the clinic and shadow the therapists as well(have 350 hours, will continue until graduation) (10-12)
-Girl Scout since kindergarten- completed silver award and going for Gold- big big project, don’t want to go into it too much here
-Highly involved in Church- on music ministry (10-12), selected as youth representative on Parish Council (1 of 2 selected) (11-12), religious Ed instructor (12)
-Fiddle Club- president 12, vp 11, treasurer 10, member 9- toured abroad this year in Ireland, lots of community gigs and performances every year
-Recycling Club- president (hopefully) 12, vp 11, secretary 10, member 9

  • Rec Soccer- spring & fall, k-12

Summers:
2014- Attended NSLC health care and medicine conference; church camp counselor, also self-employed street musician to fundraise for trips abroad
2015- taking for credit online Harvard course in Neurobiology, church camp counselor, street musician again

Other:
Essays: starting soon, should be great
Recs: guidance counselor will be outstanding, latin teacher who had me all 4 years even more outstanding, sophomore Chem teacher probably an 8/10. Also submitting additional Rec from a physical therapist I shadow, should be pretty great too.
I will submit a music supplement at most schools.

I will apply as either a Psychology, Neuroscience, or Health Sciences major depending on the school.
I have a legacy at Brandeis.
No hooks that’s for sure.

Sorry if there are any mistakes because I’m on mobile. If you made it through this lengthy post I appreciate it so much. I will chance you back! Just leave me a link.
Thank you!!

2

Your biggest weakness is defenitely your standardized tests. Make sure to aim for at least a 32+ on the ACT. A 34+ would be great. Best of luck!

3

I think you have a chance at all but honestly, in ivies, you won’t stand out with what you’ve written. In such a case, you will really need to stand out by bringing life to those experiences,

Also. Standardized testing is not stellar but is not a major concern at top colleges (I believe uniqueness and potential are more valued but I may be wrong)

4

Okay thank you! @lsalck32 @andyis

5

Funny how you put lol next to Harvard and Yale but not Penn, Columbia, Brown, Chicago. All those schools are insanely selective and are all equally difficult to get into.
I agree with everyone else, take the ACT. Unless you get a 2250+ (Since this is your third time) you may want to just take the ACT. Getting a 2000 on your second try is not the most impressive for Ivies considering so many get 2300+ on their first try.

You have great EC’s especially for music and editor-in-chief for yearbook.

You sure you want to apply Chicago EA? Applying Harvard/Yale SCEA or Penn/Columbia ED will give you a significant boost in admissions while U Chicago’s EA does not have that much of an advantage. Harvard for example, is selecting more and more of its incoming freshman class through SCEA. The REA admissions process is ridiculous at about a 2% admit rate.

You have a LOT of commitments. Try to find what you like the most (viola,shadowing the physician) and make that the theme of your application. For example, if you like shadowing the most, then you can somehow relate that to viola and how the precision helps you play better. Don’t just talk about everything, have one thing from your application stand out. If you have too many things, then the adcoms won’t remember you after flipping through a couple thousand more apps.

6

As someone who got into UChicago EA, my best piece of advice would be to learn how to seem as esoteric and cultured as you possibly can on your essays.

Also try your best to get an interview and make the talk with your interviewer very philosophical and multi-faceted.

Although I can’t reapply to UChicago, I would personally enjoy writing the prompt on paradoxes as that opens up to talk about “The Theatre of the Absurd” in connection to existentialism philosophy and doing so would produce a sense of a “life-long learner who learns for the sake of learning” which is what UChicago’s philosophy survives on.

7

-Definitely take ACTs to see if you get a higher ACT to SAT converted score.
-Hone down your extracurricular activities to those you feel play an important role in your life. You have a lot.
-Are you from NYC? I’m from there and I may be able to help more (I’m a senior and went through the college process)

Chances:

Columbia: Reach
UPenn:Reach
Harvard: definite reach
Yale: definite reach
Brown: definite reach
UChicago-EA: will be deferred due to current SAT score
Tufts: match/low-reach. Your GPA is very good but your SAT score is low.
Georgetown-EA: reach
Johns Hopkins: reach
Brandeis: match
Northeastern- EA (6 yr DPT program): match
BU (6 yr DPT program): match
Emory:low reach/match
American:match
George Washington:match
William and Mary:match

Suny Stonybrook:safety
Suny Geneseo:safety
Skidmore:not sure…

8

Your SAT score would be at or below the 25th percentile of admitted students at Northeastern and BU, they would be low reaches.

9

I would love to apply ED, but cannot for financial reasons. SCEA would also be smart I know, but I felt like I had to be realistic. Northeastern and many of the other 6 year DPT programs I’m applying to highly encourage PT applicants to apply early due to the selectivity of the programs, so I didn’t want to throw away the chances at schools that are more realistic for me. @rdeng2614

10

@ezrapineapple okay thanks, that sounds very creative. I am thinking of doing the option where you select an old essay prompt and choose the “why are you here?” One. I’ll be sure to sound cultural and creative haha :slight_smile:

11

I know I have a lot of ECs, but considering that I have leadership positions in all of them and that I’ve been doing them for several years I don’t think I can cut down on any :frowning: I truly do enjoy them all though and am going to highlight physical therapy and music specifically in my essays. @JalapenoGreens

Okay thanks for the response @TomSrOfBoston

12

I was asked by you to chance you, but being a high school student, I really dont think I am qualified to do so. I’d say bring sat up to at least 2100-2200.

13

Okay thanks! @Kylemcgrogan

14

@ptkid16 I’d say the only weakness you have is your SAT. I would aim for 2200+ or 33+ on the ACT.

Columbia: reach
UPenn: reach
Harvard: high reach
Yale: high reach
Brown: reach
UChicago-EA: reach
Tufts: reach
Georgetown-EA: reach
Johns Hopkins: reach (low reach if you raise your test score)
Brandeis: match
Northeastern- EA (6 yr DPT program): match? don’t know enough about the DPT program
BU (6 yr DPT program): match? same as above
Emory: high match
American: low match/safety
George Washington: low match
William and Mary: match
Suny Stonybrook: safety
Suny Geneseo: safety
Skidmore: safety

15

Thank you so much! @creedbratton

16

UPenn - low reach
Harvard (lol I know) - high reach
Yale (lolol again) - high reach
Brown - low reach
UChicago-EA - high match
Tufts - high match
Georgetown-EA - high match
Johns Hopkins - high match
Brandeis - match
Northeastern- EA (6 yr DPT program) - low match
BU (6 yr DPT program) - low match
Emory - match
American - safety
George Washington - no clue
William and Mary - low match
Ithaca (6 yr DPT program)-?
Sacred Heart (6 yr DPT program)-?
Suny Stonybrook-?
Suny Geneseo-?
Skidmore-?

17

Try to get a 2200+ on the SAT, and you’ll have a substantially better chance for top schools.

18

With the schools you are applying to, I think you should definitely take the ACT. I took the ACT and got a 35, but did pretty bad on the SAT. I think everyone has a test that “works” for them, and for you it might be the ACT. I also think it’s unique how you play the viola and seem good at it, which sets you apart from the thousands of other kids who play violin and the such. Maybe for one of your essays, you could focus on the viola and what is says about you, because it is unique.

I think you definitely have a chance at all the schools listed. Obviously, certain schools are always a reach for everyone.

Also, if you wouldn’t mind telling me, how do you become eligible for the Harvard Book Award?

Good luck! :slight_smile:

19

Thank you! @agc1998 @supercilious

20

@pineapple86 oh okay that gives me some hope thank you! That is a great idea for an essay I love it. Thank you for the inspiration!!

The Harvard Book Award is an award I got through my school, every year they, like several other high schools across the country, offer book awards to juniors. It is literally just a book about the school, but it helps for the award section of the apps I guess. I suggest asking your schools guidance office maybe if they offer any book awards that you can apply for, that’s how it’s done at my school at least.

Thank you so much for the chance, it gave me a lot of helpful insight!