Chance me and all your dreams will come true!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hoping you guys could tell me what you think!</p>

<p>White male
Large and decidedly uncompetitive public school in PA
Looking to major in biology or related field</p>

<p>Rank: 2/450ish last I knew
GPA: around 96/100 (out of 4.0, I think it'd be near 3.8 or 3.9)
All honors/AP classes throughout high school
Will have taken all APs (7 of them) that my school offers</p>

<p>SAT I: 2150 (760 CR/730 W/660 M)--retaking in Oct. to get math up
SAT II: 740 (US History), 690 (Math)--taking bio to get rid of that math!
APs: 5 (US History), 4 (Biology), 3 (Chemistry)</p>

<p>ECs
--United States Senate page for Sen. Arlen Specter
--interned two summers at an international aerobics/hip hop world championship in Los Angeles for about two/three weeks each year (the hip hop championships will actually be featured on the upcoming NBC show World Moves)
--greatly involved in my church for about my entire life; done everything possible, altar serving, bible school teacher, etc. This in itself is worth about 1000 volunteer hours and I can get a fantastic recommendation from my priest.
--at least National Merit Commended Scholar, still up for semifinalist consideration, but doubt I'll get it
--NHS
--bowling team (9,10,12)
--golf team (10,11)
--Spanish club (9,10,11,12)</p>

<p>Work Experience
--dietary aide at a local hospital; around 15 hrs a week (job throughout 10th and 11th grades)
--dietary aide at a nursing home; same amount of time as above (holding this through 12th grade)</p>

<p>Schools
--UVA (OOS)
--W&M (OOS)
--Rice
--UNC (OOS)
--Duke
--Notre Dame
--Pepperdine (any chance for a merit scholarship here?)
--PSU (in state)</p>

<p>I figure Duke is probably clearly a reach, but hopefully my unique ECs can set me apart! Regardless, UVA is easily my top choice. And if you could recommend any more schools that would be a good fit for me, I'd love to look into them.</p>

<p>Thanks for taking the time to read!</p>

2

<p>Why did you post that twice?</p>

<p>I'd actually say that UVA, W&M, UNC, and Duke were ALL reaches. With Duke being the biggest one.</p>

<p>Pepperdine MIGHT MIGHT MIGHT give you merit aid. But a lot of that is probably reserved for California students, of which you're not one.</p>

<p>Find some middle ground here.</p>

<p>UPitt? Any of the Quaker colleges? Or other, less competitive, out of state schools like UFlorida or UMiami for instance.</p>

3

<p>The second post wasn't me...I'm not sure why he did it, but I did report it as a problem.</p>

<p>May I just ask why UVA/W&M/UNC are reaches? Because I've really researched my scores--all of which are basically in line or above average (my SAT I math is purely average) with those schools. Is it simply because I'm OOS and there's tons of extremely well-qualified people trying for those spots as well? Just asking to see if there's anything you think I can improve in the year I have left!</p>

<p>And also, why would Pepperdine's scholarships be reserved for CA students? They're a smaller private school, so they shouldn't base their scholarships on location, am I correct?</p>

4

<p>^The overall scores are deceptive because it is MUCH easier to get into these institutions in-state. Out of state admissions are considerably more competitive. And PA is a competitive state, so other kids applying with similar profiles will have better scores, conceivably, and get in over you as the same individual will probably read his/her application and yours. Now they're not HUGE reaches, but they are sort of goal schools rather than places you have a really solid chance at.</p>

<p>A lot of Pepperdine's scholarship stuff are grants from the CA government for CA students. It's not a really diverse college geographically, about half of the kids are in-state.</p>

<p>There are plenty of private and college funded scholarships, though.</p>

5

<p>Same person who did it to me the first time. I made sure to report them again.</p>

<p>But just wanted to thank you for the input, ses. I'm really hoping to pull myself over 2200 on the SATs in October, as I've been working really hard on the math. Hopefully that and some really well-written essays can set me ahead. </p>

<p>Anyone else want to throw in their opinion?</p>

6

<p>Also, just wanted to throw two more schools in that I neglected the first time:</p>

<p>Georgetown
Fordham</p>

7

<p>--UVA: high match/low reach
--W&M high match
--Rice: low reach
--UNC low reach
--Duke: reach
--Notre Dame: low reach
--Pepperdine: not really sure
--PSU (in state): safety</p>

8

<p>Quick bump!</p>

9

<p>maybe add a couple more middle of the road schools. vandy perhaps if ur from the south</p>

10

<p>You will most likely get a scholarship to Pepperdine. Your stats are great, and since you are involved with your church that pretty much guarantees you admission and a scholarship.</p>

<p>Good Luck.</p>

11

<p>Token, thanks for the Vanderbilt recommendation. Someone also PMed me about it and I think I might have to add it to my list. Looks really great and I hadn't considered it before.</p>