Chance for Columbia, Cornell, UChicago + more (Will chance back)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey guys, thanks for viewing. I’ll get back to you ASAP if you reply. This is for a younger friend.

Junior at a prestigious private school with great relationship with UChicago
GPA: 3.79 UW, Top 40% out of 150 (School doesn’t have GPA and doesn’t rank, either, so this is an estimate)
SAT: 2280
APs: Self studied chem, English Lang, Bio (4,4,5) , will be taking Calc BC, APUSH, French, Psych
(Please note: School is not AP oriented)

Awards:
Violin: Concertmaster of county orchestra (3,4)
Winner of two local concerto competitions
All State and Regional Orchestra participant
Played in many chamber groups and has attended many music camps
Volunteer at nonprofit, teaching violin (200+ hrs)
SciOly: 2nd place Chem Lab, 2nd place forensics at states
Writing: Scholastics Art and Writing Contest Gold Key Regional
Published in three literary magazines
Published an anthology (#7 on Amazon in the short stories category a few months ago, with reviews from Booklist
and Kirkus)
Volunteer at nonprofit, teaching vocabulary (60+ hrs)
Volunteer at another nonprofit, tutoring reading (150+ hrs)
Tennis: Varsity (2,3,4)
French: National French exam (1,2,3)
School: Brown University Book Award (3)

Other Activities:
Internship with a biology professor (2)
CTY writing online classes (3)

Recs: Bound to be outstanding as she is very good at chemistry and writing

Applying to:
Columbia (ED)
Cornell
UChicago
Williams
Amherst
Johns Hopkins
Northwestern
NYU
Barnard
Wellesley

She is also wondering whether it might be better to apply to Cornell ED.

Thanks for your input in advance!

2

I think you have a shot at all of the schools listed, especially UChichago. It will come down to the needs of the school. You should definitely get into three or four of the schools above, but it could be more. Obviously, the chances of admission to the better schools on your list (Hopkins, Columbia, Northwestern) will be lower, but it is like that for everyone. I wish I had an application like yours! Good luck!

Chance me back: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18388792/#Comment_18388792

3

Columbia, Cornell, UChicago, and Northwestern are all reaches but your friend certainly has an ok shot of maybe getting into one of them ED. Essays can make a big difference there, but all those schools have tough applicant pools.The others more likely but probably with rejections from a few. Great ECs and decent test scores. If GPA improves (or at least end of Junior grades show a clear upward trend) that would improve chances considerably. Cornell probably would fair better odds than Columbia, but I wouldn’t ED a choice that isn’t your friends true top. I’m not sure what major your friend is applying under (science, or English, or music?) odds vary by school within each university. Overall not bad, only weakness is GPA. Your friend will get in somewhere on this list, tell them not to worry!

4

Her awards and recognitions are all very commendable and her internships and relationship with UChicago is definitely a plus. Johns Hopkins, Colombia, and Northwestern are all reaches like anybody else but she has a good chance. Tell her to power through senior year in those AP classes; the only thing holding her back is the low GPA. She needs to try to get it in the top 10% if she can, top 20% otherwise.

Chance me back! http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1770127-duke-berkeley-rice-stanford-johns-hopkins-mit-ivies-chances.html#latest

5

EC’s and strong relationship with UChicago are major pluses. Many of the schools listed are reaches, as they would be for anyone, but if her essays are stellar I think she’ll have a good shot. The only thing that stands out to me is her estimated class rank/GPA–she needs to get those up by the end of this year.

Chance me? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1768567-yale-georgetown-chances.html#latest

6

Have safety schools as well! Even though your stats are very good, it always safe to have easier colleges to get into