Chance an average student for a few above average schools?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Obviously, my first choice is Cornell, which is a very high reach, but if you have valuable infor to offer rather than just shooting me down, it would be appreciated. My other main choices are Villanova, the University of Richmond, and George Mason University. Also, I guess I should have prefaced this by saying that I am a white male at a moderately competitive public school in PA. Also, I plan to major in something along the lines of Business/Business Management, Law or Politics. So, without further ado, here is the spiel:</p>

<p>GPA: UW-3.98 W-4.3
Class Rank: 1/279 (valedictorian from the class of 2010 is headed to Cornell)</p>

<p>SATs(not the best test taker, I over-analyze the CR):
CR:570
M:660
W:660</p>

<p>I plan to take the SAT's again in June and possibly the ACTs around the same time. Also, I plan to squeeze the SAT IIs in there sometime as well. </p>

<p>Since the start of high school, I have taken the absolute hardest possible course load that my school offers(AP is not offered to Freshman and Sophomores).</p>

<p>Freshman:
Honors English 9
Honors Geometry
Honors U.S. History I
Agricultural Science 9 (considered the hardest freshman course considering our ag program(FFA) is perenially in the top ten food science teams in the nation and wins state titles also).
General Business
Gym/Health(required)
Latin I and II</p>

<p>Sophomore:
Honors English 10
Honors Algebra II
Honors U.S. History II
Agricultural Science 10
Accounting I
Latin III
Gym/Drivers Ed(required)
Biology(required, no honors or AP offered)</p>

<p>Junior:
Honors Pre-Calculus
Honors English 11
AP World History
AP Environmental Science
Accounting II (weighted course)
Latin IV
Chemistry(required, no honors or AP offered)
Gym/Health(required)</p>

<p>Senior year schedule:
AP English 12
AP Government and Politics
AP Calculus AB
AP Latin V vergil
Microeconomics( weighter course, considered to be the difficulty of an AP course)
Biotechnology (weighted course)
Health/Service Learning(required, volunteering at local corporation that works with children and adults with developmental disabilities such as Down syndrome.)
Business Law</p>

<p>EC's:
-Secretary of JCL:(Junior Classical League or Latin Club)
-FFA:(involved, member of Dairy Science Team competing at states)
-FBLA: (considered to be a useless club at our school, which is precisely the reason as to why i am not highly involved)
-NHS: (running for president later this year)
-PAML:(Pennsylvania Math League)
-100+ hours of community service including a mission trip to Peru. I collected money,crayons and pillowcases for a project known as "Pillowcase Magic" that my grandmother and I started in order to provide clothing made from pillowcases for less fortunate children in Peru. We went to hospitals in Iquitos, Peru and delivered pillowcases and crayons to ill children(possible app. essay?). Also, I earned community service hours as a wrestling referee, a camp counselor and a supervisor for children and adults with developmental disorders.
-co-captain of my varsity cross-country team(3x county champs, 2x district champs), 4 years
-Varsity spring track and field-3 years
-Varsity winter track and field-2 years
-Varsity wrestling- 2 years (named all-division in 10th grade, but gave it up to pursue running)
-JV baseball-1 year
-Junior Legion baseball-1 year (Also gave baseball up to pursue running)</p>

<p>Possible Hooks: Legacy(my uncle, grandfather, and great-grandfather all went to Cornell), maybe running for Cornell or UofR, but not for Villanova.</p>

<p>Family Income: 45,000-50,000. My mother was a RN(registered Nurse) but was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis nearly ten years ago and has been on disability for about 9 of those years(possible app. essay?). </p>

<p>Lastly, I plan to apply ED to Cornell and have already visited the campus and met with the head admissions officer of Cornell's school of ILR. If you could assess my chances for the aforementioned schools and offer some other possible schools that might fit me well it would be greatly appreciated!!! I will Chance back!</p>

2

<p>Your class rank is phenomenal. It is definitely your best point. Assuming you maintain a solid 94 (A), Cornell is not impossible. At the worst–very worst–do not get more than 2 (or 3, if things get really really really tough) Bs during your entire high school career (if so, they’ll only fly for the harder courses). </p>

<p>Your ECs are great as well–in your essays, be sure to write about what you love. Hone it down to that and tie to the rest of who you are. Find sincere teachers who would write you out-of-the-world recs! </p>

<p>Your SAT, your weakest point, and biggest hurdle yet (as is so for sometimes the brightest of students) can be overcome. First, work on math (memorize formulas and concepts and practice them over). Then, writing (memorize grammar rules and practice them over–essay writing itself needs practice too). Get these, at the least, into the 720-740 range (750+ on each would be an immense plus). It will compensate your CR score in overall scoring. Even then, a 2200+ is necessary for a safer journey to becoming a Cornell admit. THUS, of course, you will have to work on your CR last. But knowing that you have fairly conquered two-thirds of it already by then will make prep for this sections less stressful. Tackle sentence completions and vocab first. Then the short passages. Then the long passages. And finally, those awful double passages. Practice your math and writing skills lightly while you are at it–you do not want these skills to lose their luster over time. If you hate CR, aim then for a 700. </p>

<p>FINALLY, GOOD LUCK AND I HOPE THIS HELPS!! :)</p>

3

<p>Take the May SAT’s, you’re going to need to go up at least 300 points to even have a shot and you need the extra time. If you take SAT’s in May you will have the opportunity to take them a third time in the fall, and be able to take SAT2’s in June. You need to leave yourself the chance to retake standardized testing. Not being a good test taker is not an excuse for low scores and Cornell will not overlook a 570.</p>

4

<p>Thank you both! I realize I could use more than a little work on the SAT’s. Do either of you feel that I should look into taking the ACTs considering science is a forte of mine? Also, what do you think of my chances at Villanova, University of Richmond or Northeastern if I improve my CR to a 650 and the other two to 700s?</p>

5

<p>The science section of the ACT isn’t actually about science, it’s about how you deal with interpretation. That said you should try it, some people do better on it than the SAT and since the tests are on different dates it can’t hurt. <em>keep in mind Math 1 and Math 2 don’t really count as seperate SAT2’s</em>
Any chance of being a recruited athlete?
Villanova and Northeastern are both doable if your tests go to at least 2000 which you’re pretty close to.</p>

6

<p>Sadly, I can guarantee that I would not be a recruited athlete at Villanova. They are a top-tier running school(a little out of my league), but i am not quite sure about Northeastern, University of Richmond or Cornell. Most likely, I would not be recruited by those schools, but from the looks of it I could run varsity for Cornell (i looked at Cornell’s cross-country roster and all of there times). Anyone else want to assess my chances at these schools?</p>

7

<p>their* hahaha…maybe it is my writing score that should be lacking…</p>

8

<p>buuummmmpppp</p>

9

<p>Please offer me your opinions! I will chance back if you post your link!</p>

10

<p>bummmpppp.</p>

11

<p>Northeastern=safety (I also want to go there)
Cornell = reach</p>

<p>If you get your SAT grades up a bit, hold office in some more clubs and keep your GPA at what it is now, you have a fair shot at Cornell.</p>