Chance for Princeton, Duke, Northwestern?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hello, I’m currently a junior and I’ve been looking into Princeton, Duke, CMU, UPenn, and Northwestern but will gladly take recommendations to broaden my horizons! I’ve been lurking this part of the forum for a few years now and I think I’m finally ready to post something. Could you chance me for those schools? Thank you!

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Plan to take in March. Got a 230/240 on Sophomore year PSAT if that helps.

SAT II: 800 Math II, 780 Chem

ACT (breakdown): 36C 35E 36R 36M 35S 36W one sitting.

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 1%. School does not rank.

AP (place score in parenthesis):
World History (4)
Music Theory (5)
Human Geography (5)
Calc AB (5)
Statistics (5)
Environmental (5)
This year will take Physics Mech, Calc BC, Bio, Lang, Gov

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None major. 2x AIME qualifier (9th and 10th grade), some state math titles, made a high chair in all-state band.

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Mu Alpha Theta (VP), Band (section leader, drum major hopeful), Show Choir, NHS

Job/Work Experience: Nope

Volunteer/Community service: Tutoring, NHS activities (200+ hours)

Summer Activities: BANDDD!!! + assorted math/science programs

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Probably will

Intended Major: Engineering maybe

State (if domestic applicant): WV

School Type: Public

Ethnicity: Asian

Gender: F

Income Bracket: Upper middle class.

Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection:
Possibly “weak” ECs but I devote a significant amount of time to them. Band is majority of summer + many many hours a week.

2

Why are you planning on taking the SAT with your stellar ACT score?

3

@inshm2016 I personally think my SAT score will only hurt my application and a perfect score won’t boost my chances of getting in, but I’ve always been told that colleges value the SAT more than the ACT (pretty sure that’s no more than a rumor in the Asian community). My parents are also urging me to take the SAT too because it’s “standard” to take both tests, and I can’t argue against that.

Edit: Also, I think it’s a requirement for National Merit.

4

No reason to take the SAT! Colleges don’t have any preference either :slight_smile:

5

It is required for merit. Anyways, you are definitely qualified for these schools (but so are 75% of the kids applying). I’d send a music supplement which will help you get in. It’s not whether you are qualified that gets you admitted, it’s whether or not you can benefit their school.

6

Hey I think you’ve got a good shot at all of the schools listed. Pick one and apply ED.

You don’t need to take the SAT with your great ACT scores.

7

As others have noted, there is 0 reason to take the SAT, other than if you want to apply for National Merit Finalist. Your other scores are top notch, and certainly competitive for the schools on your list. 2x AIME doesn’t hurt.

Your ECs are a bit on the weak side, and that’s an area to consider between now and next fall. What are your plans for the summer?

Your demographics are mixed - Asian doesn’t help, but coming from WV should offset that a bit.

8

@inshm2016 @Oberyn @sgopal2 @renaissancedad Thank you all for the replies! It really helps to get someone else’s opinion on things!

@renaissancedad I have limited options for ECs because of my location but I’ve tried to participate in every available option, just to see what I’m interested in. I’ve found music to be a big passion of mine and I’ve devoted a large amount of time to it, but there are simply no nearby youth symphonies or drum corps to join. Last summer I volunteered at the hospital and it was a great experience so I plan to do so again…though I forgot to mention it in the original post. Summer internships and renowned programs like TASP or RSI have been and still are out of the question because of band, but this summer I hope to spend some time doing research at the local university.

9

Pick one and apply ED and you should be in (except Princeton).
You have a solid chance at each one of these schools if you apply ED.

10

@HollaChalla thank you for the response! Why not Princeton though?

11

Princeton is a reach for anyone, even applying ED. The top-tier Ivy Leagues are high reaches for everybody.

12

@HollaChalla Yeah I realize that. I just asked to see if you saw something I needed to improve on! Thank you!