Chance an African who *might* just have a chance, even with some low scores

Applying to College
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<p>Another Chance Thread!!</p>

<p>So. I’m REALLY unsure about my standings among other applicants and would like to get some insight as to how good my chances are with the schools I’m looking at. I understand that acceptance into top colleges are a crapshoot. I just want to know if my resume stands a chance. Personally, my feelings on the issue vacillate day to day. Sometimes I think I am a strong candidate. Other times I doubt why I think I should even send an app to a top college. I look forward to your responses, and I appreciate your feedback in advance. I’m looking at Columbia, Yale, NYU, and American as of now. Need to look into more matches, I know, but let the games begin! Also—be as brutal as you’d like. <em>Inhales deeply</em> I can take it :P</p>

<p>Background: Female, West African-American, 1st generation, From Brooklyn, NY but living in a respectable area in PA
Attending a public school (about 650 in my class) with a not-so-great academic record; still manages to send about 1-3 students to one of the Ivys)</p>

<p>Stats:
Super Scored SAT – 2160 (760 CR, 660 M, 740 W)
1st Sitting: 2080 (760 CR, 580 M (yes, I know), 740 W)
2nd: 2050 (700 CR, 660 M, 690 W)
SAT II – 740 US History, 570 Lit (ABSOLUTELY RETAKING – honestly don’t know what happened there!!), 640 Chem (Probably retaking. I know it’s low, but I despise standardized testing)
AP – Chem 3, US History 4, Euro History 5, Language 5, Psych 5 (As of now, qualifying for AP Scholar with Distinction)
Will have taken 11 APs by end of senior year.
Also plan to take the ACT this fall.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:<br>
Captain of the Debate Team (Involvement spans what will be 3 yrs by the end of senior year.)
Features Editor for the Newspaper (“ ” 3 yrs. " ")
VP of Chapter’s FBLA, Sec of Region’s FBLA (“ ” 4 yrs. " ")
Sunday School Teaching (also a summer experience) (“ ” 2 yrs.)
Primary Caretaker of 2 brothers while parents work from (6 PM to 1 AM on weekdays) (“ ” 6 yrs. " ") – Yes, that is A LOT of babysitting. I’ve spent thousands of hours caring for my brothers. Every single one of those hours, I think, has made me a better person.</p>

<p>Summer Experiences
Attended FBLA National Leadership Conference
Writing/Editing my collection of poetry (Sidenote: I love writing and reading—just finding it harder to find time for indulging in them as much as I’d like as a result of a bit of personal turmoil. In any event, I love it, love it, love it. Part of the reason my atrocious Lit score KILLED me. Big influences are Emily Dickinson, William Carlos Williams, e.e. cummings, Jack Kerouac, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, btw)</p>

<p>Possible Essay Topic:
The impact caring for/teaching children has had on me</p>

<p>Awards/Honors:
(I know this is not impressive by any stretch but it ties in with my love for poetry) Multiple poems published with TeenInk.com
Eight regional, state, and national awards from FBLA in competitive events including 2 for my chapter’s Community Service Project and one for Regional Who’s Who</p>

<p>Misc. – Have been upwardly trending in rank since freshman year. Ranked 16th, then 7th, 5th, now 4th </p>

<p>So to summarize: I have passion. I have personality. I have potential. I also have some p...oop scores. I have no idea what that'll amount to. Hoping some wise CCers will.</p>

<p>PS: If there are any typos, my apologize. Will chance back if you’d like, just let me know. :)</p>

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<p>The fact that you are a URM may push you into Columbia and Yale. You’ll definitely get into NYU.</p>

3

<p>You sound very sweet. I hope you know that an ivy education is not everything this world is accountable to. Have you researched any LAC’s? You would definitely fit in with Williams, Swarthmore, and Amherst. Might I suggest you apply to the Windows on Williams program? It’s quite an experience that might be to your advantage. All in all, I do have to say you have a competitive resume that might get you in an ivy and it very well might not. Just apply and see what happens! After all, as you said, acceptance to top colleges are a “crapshoot.”
You would probably get into NYU, and it’s a great school if you don’t need large sums of financial aid.
Good Luck !</p>

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<p>What’s your UW GPA/rank? I wasn’t able to see it for some reason.</p>

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<p>lol, are you insinuating that Brooklyn is not a “respectable” place to live?</p>

<p>What do you mean by “West African-American,” by the way?</p>

<p>There’s a difference between being African-American and American African.</p>

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<p>@asinine16 Aww, thank you very much for your insights! And no, not making it into an Ivy isn’t going to be the end of the world to me. I just realize that acceptance into one of the school would be awesome since the field of law (want to be a judge) is so competitive! Any bright spot on a resume helps. Ivy’s are pretty big bright spots. Also, I’m a junior, so isn’t it a little late to apply to WoW? It seems really cool, and I would have definitely applied had I known about it before…well, a few minutes ago, lol. </p>

<p>I feel like I will need the aid for NYU, but I’ll still apply just to have options. Again–thanks so much!</p>

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<p>I think your test scores and extracurriculars/awards are better than you give them credit for. I think you have good potential as far as crapshoot schools go.</p>

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<p>@Saugus UW GPA: 97ish? W GPA: 104ish. I’m ranked 4th in my class out of ~650</p>

<p>@kwu You know, I felt weird wording certain things the way I did haha. 1) No, I love Brooklyn and think it’s respectable. 2) My parents are Ghanaian (which is in West Africa), and I live in America. Therefore I am Ghanaian-American. Hope that clears things up.</p>

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<p>If you are a rising senior, I am pretty sure you can still apply to Wow. You’ve only missed the priority applicant deadline and nothing more. :)</p>

<p>Did you say you were a junior? If so, then I am impressed! I wish I had an amazing SAT score before junior year actually started!</p>

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<p>Whoops. I meant senior. And yes, I re-read it. You’re right. Thank you!</p>

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<p>OH! haha! Let me know if you get in! I applied as well :D</p>

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<p>Definitely will do!</p>