Chance? I ll chance back

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey CC, would love a chance. If you post a link, please rate me well. Thanks!!

List of Schools.
USC
Stanford
Cornell
Rice
WashU
CMU
JHU
Northeastern U
Trinity College
URochester

I know where I stand with Stanford and Cornell. My dream school is USC as of now.

Major: Electrical or Computer Engineering. some college combine both and some do not.

GPA: 4.3/5 dont know UW but I will

9th: 2.9
10th: 4.15
11th: 4.45
12th: most likely 4.7

SAT: 2070 (620 CR 770 Math 680 W) Superscored: 2150 (620 CR 800M 730 W)
*Will not send unless they require it

ACT: 33 (32E 35M 30R 34S 28W) Superscored: 34 (34E 35M 33R 34S 33W)

SAT II: Math 2 800, Physics 780

Extracurriculars:

  1. Vice President and Co-founder of Crops of Love Art Club, an organization that feeds tens of thousands of Africans for the past 3-4 years
  2. Held annual art exhibitions at museums for the past 3 years, raising money and awareness to aid the people in Africa.
  3. Math tutor and mentor for an academy for the past 3-4 years, totaling over 250 hours.
  4. Secretary of my Spanish club
  5. Treasurer/Vice President of my MUN club
  6. started a non-profit system where people over Southern California, collecting up to $3000.
  7. Other volunteer activites from a variety of organizations (PAVA, Habitat for humanity, Midnight Missions), did not collect too many hours so I wont go too deep with that.
  8. Went to the Art Center College of Design for one summer.
  9. visited Malawi, Africa. Helped feed and teach children for 2 weeks.

Awards:

  1. Congressional award from the former congressman in my community for service.
  2. Two congressional awards from the congresswoman in my community (3 in total)
  3. President’s Award (Gold) for service.
  4. Outstanding Academic and Leadership award from the council that oversaw the schools I participated in at Malawi.
  5. National Honor Society Member

Letter of Recs:

  1. My physics teacher is very close to me and will write a good one.
  2. Congresswoman knows my record for service and will possibly write one as well.
  3. Average: Math teacher who knows my success in her class. Got 100’s in both semesters.
  4. Average: APUSH teacher who knows my struggle in history, yet I applied myself and ended with an A.

Essays:

I’m not the strongest writer, but my UC ones was pretty good. I’m average, but for some colleges, they will be stronger because I spent more time on them. I really dont know where I stand with my writing skills. On standardized tests, I do okay but I’m lowering my expectations as I’ve read samples that are way better than mine.

I’ve started most of them, but I would want to know which ones I have a better chance, as they will require more of my attention.

Financial issues:

my family is low income (40-50k) and I hope to receive lots of aid. I specifically picked colleges with good financial aid deals.

Other: I’m an Korean male living in Southern California at a Christian school. I have been improving since freshman year, and I want colleges to know that. I know they see my grades, but please acknowledge that I did most of these stats in sophomore year.

Thanks again.

2

yes, my list is kinda out there, but I did cal polys and ucs.
strengths: test scores? ecs, essays
weaknesses: gpa, class rank, lack of aps.

3

I agree. Most are very optimistic but I think you have a good shot at USC. Also probably northeastern as well. I’d say they’re both high matches. I don’t know enough about rockchester or trinity.
If you would http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1845025-chance-me-at-ucla-cal-and-ucsd-please.html#latest

4

Hello,
I will breakdown my chance into separate sections then give one cumulative conclusion.

Statistics---------------------------------------------------
Your GPA is not terrible but is as you indicated, a weakness. This is especially considering that you are applying to very top tier schools like Stanford and JHU.
Your SATs are good. I would consider them a neutrality. This is again because of the schools you are applying to. They will set you in competition with other applicants, but consider that at the very competitive schools, scores like this will be common and expected. I expected high scores just by seeing your list. Good job :slight_smile:

Course work----------------------------------------------
This is a blank area… Your GPA can be justified by a list of rigorous courses. How many APs have you taken and which? Did you earn reasonable marks in those classes?

ECs---------------------------------------------------------
Considering the volume of the application pool the # of qualified applicants is going to be very high. Your ECs I agree are a definite plus. They are well rounded, continued, and extensive. This is the ticket to set you above other applicants.

Extra stuff-------------------------------------------------
Your essays and supplements must show a part of you. Contrary to popular opinion I would not hold high regard to the essays. Quoting an admission counselor “A good essay has never gotten someone into college, but a bad essay has gotten people rejected” Make sure your essays are perfect. They should showcase your abilities.

CUMULATIVE CHANCE -----------------------------
I’d say you have a shot at any of these schools.
USC
Stanford: mid reach
Cornell: mid reach
Rice: high match
WashU: match
CMU: High match
JHU: Low reach
Northeastern U: match
Trinity College: mid match
URochester: match

5

thanks!! @Lukenod drop a link if you want a good chance too haha

I forgot to list my classes haha.
only 2 AP’s by junior year.
Freshman year- terrible year for me. 2.9 gpa
Sophomore-half reg and honors= all A’s
Junior- 2 APs and some honors and reg=all A’s and one B+ one semester
Senior-know it doesnt matter but 4 AP’s and one B.
Grades show an overall positive trend.
I know what Im capable of, and my school wouldnt let me take the top honors since they saw my freshman grades.

For my essays, I am working extremely hard on them as we speak since the deadlines are approaching very fast.

6

And @Lukenod how about USC? thats my dream school and probably very realistic for me.

7

For USC I would say a high match.
You have what they want with some minor weaknesses that can be justified by other aspects of your application.
6 APs might be a bit low, but that is just because its USC. Your test scores mildly justify the lack of course rigor but that lack bolsters the weakness of your low GPA freshman year. Your low GPA is then justified by improvement in the following years.

Its very difficult to say. There are also other aspects of your application that could shine. Do you have a hook? Are you particularly talented in a sport or instrument? Are you submitting any supplemental materials?
in totality, I wish you the best. I hope this coming spring you receive plenty of large packets in the mail.
-Lucas

8

Hey! I’m at Cornell ECE now.

We are very similar, so I’ll let you know what I know.
Do not send it those SAT scores. I called three times to confirm they do not need them if you send your ACT score because mine too were not stellar.
I also had a ACT score of 34, and had similar SAT II scores.
I am also Korean (though female)
I think you have a very good chance!

Now the only thing I am curious is: How far are you in math? They weigh that very very heavily.

Best of luck!

9

USC – match I think you have a very good shot here.
Stanford – high reach
Cornell – reach
Rice – low reach
WashU – low match/safety
CMU – reach
JHU – low reach
Northeastern U – low reach
Trinity College – dont know
URochester – dont know

If you have the time http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19122198#Comment_19122198

10

@Lukenod thanks for the encouragement!! i hate that my lack of ap’s are hampering my chances. but I did improve throughout the years and an USC representative told me they love improvement. I am submitting an arts portfolio just to show my expertise in painting => im writing one of my extracurriculars on art.

@helewidis1005 Thanks!!
im in calc ab but i plan to take calc 2 in the summer. Great!! It’s rare to see a female ECE.

@laphysica of course!! thanks. does low match mean its easier than high match?

11

Ya it does. I would guess that you wouldn’t get in but wouldn’t be shocked.

12

@ikim16 Your extracurriculars are good and they may distinguish you at USC. However, your test scores are and GPA are on the low end(especially for Asian ethnicity). That may put you at a sizable disadvantage. Your lack of AP’s until junior year may lower your chances. Now, your essays need to be very good especially for schools like Stanford and USC. Put a lot of work into those. Most of the schools you are applying to are mostly academically stressed and put less emphasis on extracurriculars(except for Stanford).

Stanford-High Reach(for anyone)
USC- Reach
Cornell-High Reach
Rice-Match
WashU-High Reach(I don’t know why people consider this a safety)
CMU- Reach
JHU-High Reach
Northeastern-High Match
Trinity-I don’t know
Rochester-Match

And I think High Match is considered easier to get into than Low Match. It’s similar to reaches, where High reach is considered harder to get into than low reach.
All the best and good luck. Decisions will come out soon unless you already applied to a college ED.

13

I would argue that Rice is almost as much as a reach for anyone as WashU, JHU, and Cornell. I’d put it at reach.
Otherwise, I agree with HollaCholla’s assessment.
You have good chances at Trinity.

14

thanks! im looking for really good engineering school and i wanted to shoot high since i already did cal states and ucs

15

thanks @usualhopeful
@HollaChalla i am working on those essays as we speak. But do you think if my essays are really really good, I have an awesome chance? Because of certain schools, it’s hard to concentrate on only one college. Im looking to eliminate JHU, CMU, Rice, and possibly URochester.

16

No matter how good your essays are, no one has an awesome chance at any of the high reaches, especially Stanford. However, I think you have a decent shot at USC with good essays; I don’t know so much about Rice and CMU.
If you’re not attached to JHU, I would cut it. It would be a stretch and arguably not worth the time & money if it’s not a dream school.
I think you should keep URochester because you don’t have many matches. Consider replacing JHU, CMU, and Rice with slightly easier-to-get-into schools.
Also, you did mean Trinity in Hartford, right? Just realized I should double-check.

17

Agree with @usualhopeful above.
I would focus on writing really good essays for a few colleges rather than spreading them out. Stanford may be a high reach based on your low SAT score. Just focus on USC and some matches and see what happens. Good luck.

18

USC - high match (decent shot; it’s really competitive though)
Stanford - high reach
Cornell - low reach
Rice - reach
WashU - reach
CMU - high reach
JHU- reach
Northeastern U - low match
Trinity College - low match
Rochester - low match

You’re a strong applicant; you have a high % of getting into any of your matches; all of those other schools are reaches. Good luck!

Chance me back!!!

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1846121-chance-me-please-this-is-pretty-long-hopefully-decently-organized.html#latest

19

@usualhopeful thanks! i meant trinity college, yes.

20

USC: high match
Stanford: reach, but you have a competitive app
Cornell: ^similar but more likely
Rice: match
WashU: match
CMU: low reach/high match
JHU: low reach
Northeastern U: don’t know about this
Trinity College:^
Rochester:^

Best of luck!