Chance me (a junior) to UC Berkley, Princeton, and Stanford

I just want advice as to what I can do to improve my chances at these schools. I am very aware of the selectivity. Any advice will help. :slight_smile:

Anyways, here are my “stats”:

Intended Major: Mathematics and/or Economics

SAT I (based on practice tests): 1500-1540 (taking next summer)
(Practice Test Range) ACT: 32-35 (taking February)
SAT II: Haven’t taken. Are these necessary??? Do they help at all? Most people in my school don’t even know what these are!
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
AP: AP Psych & Euro (both 4s)

I’m currently taking
AP US History
AP Lang and Composition
AP Calculus BC
AP Stat
French 4
AP Physics 1 (meh)
Computer Science

Race/ Ethinc Background: African American
Gender: Female

No major awards so far. I can bend my pinkie to my wrist but I’m sure that doesn’t count.

Extracurriculars: Model UN, Math Team, Key Club, French Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, Piano Teacher, Student Council, FBLA, and track. Also involved in poetry-related things (slam poetry).

It would be glad to receive input!

Without test scores it is pointless to try and chance you. Continue to work hard and when you have your test scores, update this thread.

Now is still too early to say, but I won’t call it unrealistic. Berkeley is pretty much yours as long as you can get the GPA and ACT, but Princeton and Stanford are tough to get in without something outstanding-- I guess you may want to get a few good and significant awards, which would be quite helpful. For the other aspects, Leadership would help as well; it doesn’t hurt to be the leader of something.

Hi! I think your course load and ECs are quite good. Do you have any leadership positions there? Also, if you are interested in becoming a mathematics major, I would suggest that you take the Math II SAT II, since I know a lot of math/science heavy schools like to see that. For high ranking and competitive colleges, 2 SAT II subject tests are usually preferred. You might want to look up the requirements for the specific schools you are interested in.

An SAT II is just a multiple choice test in a particular subject (math, chemistry, US history, etc.) it’s graded out of 800 points (kind of like a singular SAT I section, just for a different subject). They are also more in-depth than the questions you might answer on the SAT I, which are general knowledge/skills based questions, mostly (at least in my experience).

I hope this helps!

Your SAT scores (judging on practices) seem very good. Also, (I’m not saying that this is the reason why you are have a good chance, you are obviously very capable), but your ethnicity might help you a bit as well since you are a minority. I would definitely say to take SAT IIs. Not many high schools emphasize it, but to apply to top schools, it is “highly recommended.” Also, I would look up what courses these colleges like to see students taking (Usually, the highest level courses available, and 4 years of world language, 4 years of humanities, 4 years of english, 4 years of math, 4 years of science). They usually also like to see you take academic electives. You should also try and take as many aps as possible. Although the schools don’t really look at the score, they do look at your grades in the class. Lastly, I would try and get some leadership roles, maybe in the clubs you participate in .Goodluck! Please chance me back!