<p>So the schools I'm thinking about are UofM, UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, UPenn, Columbia, UChicago, and my safety school is Illinois-Urbana/Champaign. </p>
<p>My Scores:
WGPA-4.05
UWGPA-3.79
ACT-31
SAT Math II-Math level 2-800
SAT Physics-640(will retake next year in November, but if I don't get time, I'll just submit this. Assume for now the 640)
Extras:
Chess Club-4 years(Vice President)
Participated in a lot of chess competitions during the last few months. Our high school team got 2nd in the state. I plan on competing in many more competitions in the next few months.
Math Club-3 years
Statewide Math Competition-made top 1000 freshman, sophomore, and junior years.
Physics Club-2 years
BuildOn-2 years
Swim Team-2 years
National Spanish Exam-Silver 2 years ago, Silver last year, bronze this year.
I will have volunteered a total of 50 hours by the end of the summer, but I'm going for 100 during September and October.
I have volunteered at a local tutoring center and the local historical museum. </p>
<p>My courses have been pretty rigorous(if I do say so myself), as I have taken AP Human Geography, AP Chemistry, AP Physics C, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, and AP Computer Science. I will be taking dual enrollment courses(multivariable calculus and linear algebra) next year, as well as AP Spanish, AP Economics, and AP Physics 2. </p>
<p>I know I'm not a typical applicant(high GPA/scores/over the top) for a lot of these colleges, but be as brutal as possible, and any suggestions are welcome. </p>
<p>Thanks in advance!!</p>
<p>All of the schools you listed except Illinois look like reaches to me… your ECs seem decent, maybe try to work them into your essays? Your course load looks rigorous but (and I don’t know how your school weights GPA) your GPA, as you said, is a little on the low side.
You are definitely a decent candidate for many schools – have you considered some a step down in selectivity, i.e. Bucknell, Lafayette, Penn State, etc.? I would also add in another safety or two just to be safe. If you are planning to look at math/science/engineering programs, I would definitely try to retake the physics SAT and try to get above 700.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>UofM: High Match / Low Reach
UC Berkeley: Low Reach
Carnegie Mellon: Low/Mid Reach
Cornell: Low/Mid Reach
UPenn: High Reach
Columbia: High Reach
UChicago: High Reach</p>
<p>Your chances at UofM and UC Berkeley would increase if you can pay full price. </p>
<p>Are you going for engineering? If so, your chances would increase if you have straight As in math and science (which seems to be the case based on your course load and SAT 2 score) and a 35/36 in ACT math and science.</p>
<p>Also, if you’re going for engineering, your physics SAT 2 is a tad bit too low and I wouldn’t even consider submitting it unless you get over a 700 in the fall. </p>
<p>I would suggest going for a few less selective schools that you would be more likely to get into. </p>
<p>However, take my evaluation with a grain of salt because I am no expert on this subject and I’m just giving my honest opinion. Best of luck!</p>
<p>First of all, I have to say I LOVE BUILDON! I didn’t realize they had it out in Illinois.</p>
<p>Anyways, I think you are very reach heavy on your list, especially with an ACT score of 31. Many top qualified students apply to these schools each year and get rejected due to the competitiveness of the admissions process. Your course rigor is pretty rigorous, and maintaining a high GPA is pretty impressive but in the grand scope of things I think there is a lack of a strong “hook” that really screams out “accept me!” So I’d have to agree that most of them are reaches. Also, aside from strong academics, what do the schools you applied to have in common?</p>
<p>Perhaps we could help suggest some better fits to schools if we had a better idea of what you are interested in and what you are looking for in a school. It’s a good idea to have a good range of reaches, matches, and safeties so that you have options in case things don’t work out.</p>