Chance an average kid at Illinois schools!!! (Urbana, Loyola etc)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hello, I am going to be a senior next year and am wondering what my chances are at these Illinois schools (staying in-state because of financial reasons):</p>

<p>U of I (Urbana)
U of I (Chicago)
Loyola
Illinois Wesleyan
Benedictine
Northwestern (didn't have a clear reach school so I'll apply here for the hell of it)</p>

<p>Stats:
1st generation immigrant from Afghanistan (came here in 1996). Mother and Father both have Masters degrees but are international graduates (Russia and Kabul).
Fluent in 4 languages: English, Farsi, Pashto, and Latin (if that counts). Can read Arabic.</p>

<p>Go to very competitive suburban public school. Top 3 academically in Illinois.
GPA: 4.44 / 6 (max is 6 for my school if you have all honors/AP. 5 if no honors).
Didn't try at all Freshman and Sophomore year (terrible grades) but pulled myself together and managed to get straight A's Junior year (upward trend in grades throughout high school).</p>

<p>School does not rank students.</p>

<p>AP's: Took US History (expecting 5) and Latin Literature (expecting 4). I will have Bio, Psych, Calc AB, and Latin Vergil senior year.</p>

<p>ACT: 31 (1st time. Just retook it and am expecting a 32..)
SAT II: Going to take Physics, Math II soon. Maybe US Hist.</p>

<p>Worked part time 2008 summer at a hotel's banquet dept. Working part time now at same position.</p>

<p>Not much volunteer work, but I will travel to Kabul, Afghanistan in July for like a month. There, I will volunteer full-time at a clinic working with doctors on educating impoverished families on the importance of basic hygiene and health (such as clean drinking water, preventing malaria, etc, and I will talk to mothers about how to keep up with regular vaccinations for their kids and their families). I'll be the only teenager and the youngest person on the team.. hopefully this shows some maturity or leadership. It will amount to ~180 hrs.</p>

<p>Rec letters will be great. My essay will be about living in war-torn Afghanistan or my experiences this summer volunteering there.</p>

<p>Potential Majors:
Aspiring Doctor. I want to major in Psychology or Biophysics. I will definitely do better in College.</p>

<p>That's all I've got. I hope that my GPA doesn't entirely screw me over or my lack of EC's. Please chance me for those schools and be honest.. I really appreciate it. Also.. are there any other schools that I should look at in Illinois that I didn't list yet?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

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<p>bump
10char</p>

3

<p>I don’t usually do chances but after reading yours I am very impressed. I think all your schools will accept you except for Northwestern. I am not saying that you won’t get in, I’m just saying that I can’t tell you and that the odds may not be too much in your favor. First you are instate, I think if they had a kid with similar stats like yours that is out of state they will take them to increase diversity. Also being that you are Asian or middle eastern, that is also another odd against you. </p>

<p>Why don’t you look for schools outside of illinois, there are lots of excellent private schools that are very comparible to Northwestern. Many will give you merit aid too :).</p>

4

<p>thanks for the reply… i will definitely look into that.</p>

<p>bump</p>

5

<p>bump… anyone have advice?</p>

6

<p>bump
10char</p>

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<p>I think you are in at UIUC, UIC, Loyola, etc. and that you have a shot at Northwestern. You have unique work experience and volunteering experience that will definitely help your application and if you can craft a unique essay that brings to life an interesting moment in your life, you are in. You have good ACT’s which UIUC looks for.</p>