Chance a Senior for Business Schools -27 ACT

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey, I'm a senior at a private (Catholic) High School next year in Southern California. I am hoping to get a sense of where I lie in the eyes of the admissions board for the colleges I'm applying to. I'm primarily focusing on business schools that have good undergraduate programs, and I'm also hoping to attend a school under $20,000 a year, ideally under $15,000 . In order of preference, as well as my personal optimism that I will get in, I've listed my college choices (with 3 reach schools, the rest I consider matches):
1.) Wake Forest (Third Biggest Reach)
2.) Villanova (Second Biggest Reach)
3.) University of Richmond
4.) Cornell University (Biggest Reach)
5.) University of San Diego
6.) Babson University
7.) Cal Poly SLO
8.) Syracuse University
9.) UC Berkeley
10.) UC Irvine</p>

<p>Grades:
Freshman: 3.5 GPA/ 3.8 GPA
Algebra 1A- A-/A
Biology- B+/B
Catholic Faith- B+/A-
English 1- B+/A-
Spanish 1- A/A-
Speech Com/P.E.- A-/A</p>

<p>Sophomore: 4.0 GPA/ 3.8 GPA
Chemistry- A-/A-
English 2- A-/A-
Geometry- A/A
Scripture- A/A
Spanish 2- A-/A-
World History- A/B+ (I hold a grudge against this teacher for this)</p>

<p>Junior: 4.33 GPA/ 4.33 GPA
AP Chemistry- A-/B+ (Very mad about the B+, but I will get a great teachers rec)
AP Envi Science- A/A-
Campus Ministry Liturgy- A/A+
English 3- A/A
Pre-Calc (Honors)- B/A- (1st sem. I gave up on the final, 2nd sem. went better)
US History A/A-</p>

<p>Senior: Guaranteed a 4.0 GPA, shooting for a 4.33, 4.1 minimum
AP Calculus AB
Advanced British Literature
American Government/ AP Economics
Multimedia
AP Statistics
Campus Ministry Retreat</p>

<p>Weighted GPA (9-12): 3.97
Unweighted GPA (9-12): 3.81
Weighted GPA (10-12): 4.13
Unweighted GPA (10-12): 3.88
Class Rank: 75/415 (18%)</p>

<p>Notables:
1.) Played soccer my entire life, I'll be putting 13 years down.
2.) Competitive travel soccer since 3rd grade, JV 9th, Varsity 10th-12th (12th captain)
3.) Received a Varsity Athletic Award, and got the "Most Improved Award" as I recovered from an injury that could have taken my leg. I had a bone cyst in my femur (hip region) that was basically liquefied bone, and if my femur had broken at that point I probably would have lost my leg. After recovering from the injury I grew as a person and became a better player than ever.
4.) Very interested in Business and market activity, and I've been an independent stock trader for years.
5.) Spent a week living with the owner of the popular blog directed towards lawyers "TheCorporateCouncil." I learned about the many strategies taken in the stock market, researching skills, and attended his "Summer Business Program for the Gifted," and shadowed him in his work.
6.) I will be interning at an Accounting Firm for several days towards the end of the summer.
7.) NHS Member (10-12) Tutoring Chemistry, Geometry, Algebra, etc. Possible Treasurer this year.
8.) Member of the Business Club at my school (9), President of it (10-12) where I educate the members on the stock market trends, popular stocks, and strategies. ALSO President and Treasurer of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) this year.
9.) VP of Chess Club (11-12), may not mention since it sounds nerdy haha.
10.) Member of the Science and Engineering Club
11.) Participated in the JETS Science competition representing my school and we placed in the top 30% of the nation.
12.) Member of the Science Olympiads: Technical Problem Solver.
13.) Writer for “InDepth Magazine” with several published pieces.
14.) Volunteered 3 separate summers to lead a Vacation Bible School event at my previous middle school (20+ hours each year).
15.) I plan to have 150+ service hours by the time I send my applications.
16.) My father was 100% Macedonian so I am 50% and qualified to get citizenship, but to do so I would need to forfeit my US citizenship... so I'm just going to mention that I can become a citizen haha.
17.) My father, who was my biggest role model and influence, had passed away the summer before my Freshman year which both challenged me and helped me grow as a person, and may have resulted in a lower GPA during my 1st 2 years but that may just be my upward grade trend.</p>

<p>Strengths:
1.) During the summer between Freshman and Sophomore year, I attempted to take Geometry through a summer school so that I could move into the accelerated math program and be on a better path for taking AP Calc senior year. However, 1/2 way through the class my genetic condition regarding the bone cyst within my femur forced me to be taken out of the class and to get immediate surgery in which a titanium rod was placed to protect my leg and prevent it from breaking and possibly resulting in a lost limb.
Following my Sophomore year, I decided to take matters in my own hands as my family traveled to Europe to see my father's side of the family to be with them for the 2 year anniversary of his passing, and I took measures to teach my self Algebra 2/Trig over the summer. My school administered the Algebra 2/Trig exam to test my knowledge of the subject that I had taught myself, and I received an 88% which enabled me to proceed into Pre-Calc Honors my junior year.
This ordeal shows my willingness to pursue a better education and challenge myself. I plan to express this as I write my college essays.
2.) I should have enough to talk about in my essays to define myself as a person and possibly candidate for the school.</p>

<p>Weaknesses:
1.) ACT- 27 ACT
2.) SAT 1- 1680 with several tutoring sessions but very little outside preparation.
SAT 2: 680 Chemistry, 530 Math (I don’t plan to send scores).
On my ACT, I got a 29 on English, 30 on math, 23 on reading, and a 24 on science with an 8 on the essay… I’m taking it again in October but I’m not the best test taker, and after all that preparation I’m not expecting much better. PLEASE don’t stress that I take it as a last stitched effort since I already plan to, but the schools that I’m applying early to may not see it anyway.
On my SAT, I got a 530 on math, 560 on reading, and a 590 on writing (going to hide this one from the colleges… haha)
3.) My widowed mother makes <$35,000 and since my brother will also be in college, I am financially limited (less than $20,000, ideally under $14,000?).</p>

<p>I believe my strengths include my resilient effort and willingness to take my education in my own hands while challenging myself, and my main weakness is evident: ACT and SAT scores. I thank you for your time and consideration, and am open to other schools recommended.</p>

2

<p>Honestly I think you have an excellent chance at all of the above schools, You should have high likelihood of getting into Cornell, I wouldn’t worry yourself.</p>

<p>Your biggest killer is that ACT, You should really consider trying to take it again, there’s a couple more date before application time, aren’t there? Give it a go.</p>

<p>Your GPA is a little iffy, but the anti-inflationary +/- scale should help you a bit. </p>

<p>Extracurriculars are excellent, definitely play those up especially if you can connect you ECs in your EC essay with your passion and with the school/program you’re applying for. I’d also suggest you try some better schools, Stern and McIntyre should be reachable for you.</p>

<p>Care to chance back? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1215821-chance-long-shot-top-schools.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1215821-chance-long-shot-top-schools.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>Wow thanks for the reply. I’ve always been extremely realistic, and although I feel my acceptance into 80% of these schools are iffy, I really appreciate your input. I sort of laughed when you said I have “a high likelihood of getting into Cornell,” since that was just a dream school that I threw in there (easiest Ivy with a great business program), and you really made my day.
I know my ACT is my biggest weakness, and in all honesty, I’m not even that depressed with the score since it’s the best I’ve ever done on a standardized tests. I’ve had a lot of struggle in my life, and standardized testing has always been a significant one, an example being a 24 on my first ACT last December. 2 months before the September ACT I started studying with 8 books (7 borrowed from the library), and within the last week before the test alone I managed to take 5 full practice tests, scoring above a 28 on each test. I went up in every single category so there is no superscore, so on this upcoming ACT I plan to focus on the reading and science section, though I don’t plan to prepare nearly as much since I feel my time would be better spent relaxing, focusing on school work, and working on my essays which I temporarily set aside.</p>

<p>I know a 27 on the ACT is holding me back, and unfortunately I can’t expect much better (even super scored), but I will still try my best. I’m considering my % chance to get in, as well as the % financial aid met, when looking for schools to apply to, so I hear Stern and McIntyre would cost much more than I can afford. </p>

<p>Thanks again for all the comments, and I just chanced you (congratulations on your application, by the way, it’s really impressive haha). Just out of curiosity, what position would I be in with a 24 ACT (what I previously had)? I feel that a 27 is bad, but definitely better to work off of as opposed to having even lower of a score, though I hope to improve on the October 22nd test.</p>

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<p>UC Berkeley is probably a bigger reach than Wake Forest + Villanova since it puts more of an emphasis on scores than those two do.</p>

5

<p>Thanks for the chance :)</p>

<p>Staying realistic will be a big help, you’ll never know till the envelope comes back.</p>

<p>But definitely, good chances all around. Your ECs are fantastic and I think you could really make a lot of them if you put them in the right light. Keep the essays focused on YOUR growth, not just the pain you went through. Second look at your app is just as promising (maybe try and get some additional recs from some of the people you’ve worked with). </p>

<p>And I wouldn’t hold yourself back because of money, most colleges will meet the majority of demonstrated financial need and you can get application fee wavers from pretty much anyone. And if money is still a really big issue, why don’t you reach higher? Wharton or Harvard etc. will meet 100% of financial need, It’ll still be a high reach, but you might be the candidate they’re looking for, who the hell knows?</p>

<p>That 24 would have been pretty painful, it’s pretty low, just a few points above average. I do think that if you can pull a 30 on the ACT the test really won’t have too much of a negative impact on your admissions decision. A month is a long time to improve a test score.</p>

<p>Again, lots of luck, thanks for the chance. I really think you might be what colleges out there would be looking for, especially if you can portray yourself in the app well enough. There are never any guarantees, but I think you might be surprised how things work out for you.</p>

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<p>anybody else?</p>

7

<p>Thanks for the chance! I’ve been looking into both Babson and Syracuse as well. What have you heard of them, regarding reputation, academics, difficulty of acceptance, etc.?</p>

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<p>From what I hear, Babson is more prestigious and definitely more geared towards business with a nation-wide rank of 20, while Syracuse is only 47th. I recognized Syracuse through athletics years ago, and after seeing a decent rank I thought it might be worth while to apply for a safety. Babson has a 40% acceptance and has an ACT 50% range of 25-29, meeting 92% of students’ aid on average, while Syracuse has a 60% acceptance with an ACT range of 23-28 meeting an average of 95% aid. </p>

<p>Syracuse seems like it would have a really cool vibe, but babson is clearly a business oriented school: [College</a> Search - Babson College - Majors](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board)</p>

<p>In my opinion, both schools are respectable and can be considered a safety for you (babson may just be a match for me), but if you’re only focused on attending the best business school possible (like me), babson would probably be the best bet. </p>

<p>Just imagine being immersed in an environment filled with future business men and women with no art or history outliers haha. College is fun no matter where you go, so I’m not limiting myself to specific regions or # of students, just hoping to attend the best school possible. Though Babson isn’t on the top of my list, it is a school i’m applying to, and since I’m shaving my list down to realistic/schools i would actually want to go to, I would consider it a viable option.</p>

9

<p>UC Berk, Wake Forest, Cornell are all reaches. The other schools you can probably get into.</p>

10

<p>thanks, what do you think about villanova?</p>

11

<p>Villanova, Cornell, UC Berkeley, and Wake forest are all extremely high reaches with your test scores, the rest are low reaches/matches.</p>

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<p>Thanks for commenting jd. I know they are all reaches, hopefully october’s ACT helps me raise a few points so that I can be more competitive. I know wake forest is a testing optional school, so i could even apply without sending my SAT/ACT. Would anybody recommend me applying without sending my scores to wake forest so that I can focus on the other aspects of my application, or should i send in the 27, even though it’s a bit on the low side?</p>

<p>I would consider my biggest reaches: Uc berkeley, cornell, villanova, wake forest (in that order), and I only consider UCB a lower chance since they focus so much on test scores. I may not even apply to UCB since it would probably be a waste of time, and I can honestly say that I see myself having fun/success elsewhere.</p>

<p>and jd, with a mere 27 on the ACT, what do you think my chance would be at for these reaches (since I’m not too familiar with schools on the west coast)? I’m familiar with the schools themselves as well as the testing threshold, but not so much with success stories coming from students who lack the high scores for other qualities.</p>

<p>thanks to everybody for their time, it’s greatly appreciated.</p>

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<p>anybody else?</p>

14

<p>1.) Wake Forest (Third Biggest Reach) High Match/reach
2.) Villanova (Second Biggest Reach) High Match
3.) University of Richmond Match
4.) Cornell University (Biggest Reach) Reach
5.) University of San Diego Match
6.) Babson University High Match
7.) Cal Poly SLO Not sure
8.) Syracuse University Low Match/safety
9.) UC Berkeley Reach
10.) UC Irvine Match</p>

<p>This is assuming you use the 28 ACT because the SAT scores are low for all of these schools.</p>

15

<p>Thanks for the chance. Yeah I will be using my ACT score regardless, and hopefully my October score will be 28 or higher, or at least superscore in my favor. </p>

<p>Realistically, I can see myself at U of Richmond or USD since both are relatively in my range and also have really strong business programs. </p>

<p>Do you think U of Richmond is harder to get into than Babson?</p>

16

<p>If you’re from the SoCal area, you might want to take a look at Chapman. You’re within their range and may qualify for merit-aid.</p>

17

<p>I’ve only heard bad things about chapman, and their business program isn’t on the radar. I think USD is a match/safety since my brother also goes there, so I’d prefer that over any lower caliber school.</p>

18

<p>bumppppppppp</p>

19

<p>bumppppppppppp</p>

<p>p.s. since babson is thought to be a hard school with a large grade deflation, is it worth it to go to other schools and have a higher gpa with the option to go into a prestigious MBA program?</p>

20

<p>Dude I live in Winston, I know the type of people that go to Wake–you’re practically a shoo-in! It’s not a reach, trust me. Just make sure you interview well and they don’t even care about standardized tests! Write good essays–I know people on the admissions board and they say essays really determine one’s character. That’s so interesting that someone from CA would want to go to Wake. Can I ask what interests you?</p>