Chance me at my reach schools please!

<p>Hey everyone, I'm a junior who goes to a pretty big high school in NJ. I know I'm only a junior, but based on what Ii already have, i want to know what to improve upon so I can make the best of the year i have left. My Reach schools are Cornell, Dartmouth, and Vanderbilt. Some of what i think are my matches are, RPI, Stevens institute of technology, and University of Rochester. Please share any concerns you have with me, I'd rather hear them now then a year from now, thanks.</p>

<p>Male
Latino (technically)
First generation college student, i think, this only applies to your immediate relatives right, as in mom, dad, grandparents, if so then i am. If it counts aunts and uncles and cousins, then i am not :(
UW GPA: 3.9-4 (All A's and A+'s)
Weighted GPA 4.8125 ish (sophomore year)
5/440 I would be higher, but our weighted system penalized my rank when i took comp sci II, a non honors class, so i can take AP comp sci next year, where the other's took an honors course, but im going to be about 1 of 5 people in my school who take AP comp sci, is that good?</p>

<p>I took all honors courses available.
Junior AP: AB Calc, AP Language(english), APUSH
Senior AP: BC Calc, AP Lit, AP Physics, AP Comp Sci, one or two more, i haven't decided because our school has block scheduling, and some classes, like AP Chem, are year round, and it is hard to plan ahead before knowing the next year's class periods. I am expecting 4's and 5's on everything. Depending on what my parents and my guidance counselor say, I might take a chem course at my community college so i can take an extra AP class next year, is that a good idea?</p>

<p>ACT: To be determined, I'm taking them for the first time December 10th
SAT: 1920 720 Math, 660 CR, 540 writing</p>

<p>I know, I know, pretty atrocious SAT scores, but that was my first time taking them, and it was with 0 prep. I am taking an SAT prep course and have gotten myself an SAT prep book, so I am confident that i can raise my score, hopefully 200 points at least. I plan on taking SAT II tests in Math II, American History, and Physics. Math comes easy to me, so that should be a good score, and my APUSH class is very rigorous, and my teacher assured my that if everyone took the history SAT, we would all get 700's at least, several kids in her class over the years scored 800's too, she is a very good teacher. </p>

<p>EC's
Tae Kwon Do since kindergarten. I was also the first minor to get a his third degree black belt in our organization's history</p>

<p>NHS 11-12 (hopefully an officer next year)</p>

<p>National Science Honor Society 11-12 (possibly an adviser next year)</p>

<p>Interact Club 10-12, was on the executive board 11-12</p>

<p>Math league 9-12 (again, hopefully an officer next year)</p>

<p>Eco-Action club 9-12, president 10-12</p>

<p>Student Ocean Advocates, a county-wide program that gathers students from schools across the county to coordinate environmental campaigns across the county. It is also a leadership development program and we learn about government policy and advocacy. (hopefully a Co-Chair this or next year)</p>

<p>Student liaison to the township's environmental committee. 11-12</p>

<p>Summer tutoring program at the county library 10-12</p>

<p>Summer camp counselor job 10</p>

<p>All of these activities ad up to hundreds of hours of community service.</p>

<p>I want to major in engineering physics, physics, applied physics, or something along those lines. I know most of what i posted is speculation, but, if you could, just chance me on getting in, that would be great.</p>

<p>Did you make Nationl Hispanic Scholar?</p>

<p>Uhh, i have no idea, like i said i think im technically Latino, 25% and i have an Hispanic last name. Does it count? (college board says it does, lol [National</a> Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP)](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Scholarships and Recognition with PSAT/NMSQT - SAT Suite)) . What is National Hispanic Scholar anyway?</p>

<p>Anyone else have an opinion?</p>

<p>Very weak ECs</p>

<p>rbethell76, i just happened to stumble upon your “chance me” post and noticed you have some stellar EC’s, incredibly stellar in fact. While i do want your opinion, some constructive criticism would be nice, like what i could do, and not just “that’s bad”. Anyone else have an opinion on my EC’s, this is the first time I’ve been told that they are “weak”, and i don’t want a biased review, whether it be this one or the other ones I have had people tell me.</p>

<p>With current stats I’d say no chance at Dartmouth and Cornell and Vandy is a reach.</p>

<p>Ouch, harsh, but a good wakeup call. I am confident I can get my scores up, i didn’t try at all last time, and now I want to work my butt off for it. How much more would i need to get my scores up to have a more competitive chance. I read on Cornell’s admissions page that they don’t count writing, currently my worst score, so doesn’t that help me?</p>

<p>A 2200 is the median for D and C. So at least there. The ECs will also need to come to life somehow.</p>

<p>Thanks Waverly, I’ll try to get that up to par regarding SAT scores, but, out of curiosity, where are you getting your numbers for scores, Cornell’s admissions page only has the average of the middle 50%, and those scores are slightly lower than your score. And do you have any suggestion for my EC’s? Any other input from anyone else is appreciated too.</p>

<p>I was thinking of some things I could do, but i dont know if they would be any help. One idea would be to enroll in a few classes at a local community college over the summer, just to show commitment to my education. Another thing i thought of would be to look for an internship over the summer i could do. The thing is, I dont know of any internships around me. I plan on talking to my guidance councilor about all of this, and to she if she can help me out.</p>

<p>Anyone else? Bump</p>

<p>Hey bud, sorry for the harsh comment yesterday. Thanks for the kind words…</p>

<p>Anyway, when I said very weak, I used the wrong phrase…kind of.</p>

<p>You have a lot of good EC’s, and Im sure they all are very time consuming.</p>

<p>But lets be honest, everyone who is applying to these really prestigious schools, like ivys and top 20s, has a list like yours.</p>

<p>I am in no way trying to diminish your ECs, but they just seem “ivy” typical to me.Not that they are bad - but if I were to look at 100 top school applicants, then Im sure I would see a list similar to yours.</p>

<p>When I said “very weak”, I just meant , “pretty typical” which for top schools could be synonymous with weak.</p>

<p>Yea, and that’s what i took it as. I know that i come off, as you said “ivy” typical, which i why i am desperately trying to find something to make me stand out a little. Even with a year left, it’s still a short amount of time to find something that would really wow the ivy admissions office. With your great EC’s, do you have any recommendations on what i should do, and would what i said 2 or 3 posts up help me stand out a little, or should i be looking in a completely opposite direction? </p>

<p>Side note, What about my matches? I feel like I’m good there right? Especially when i increase my scores.</p>

<p>bump10char</p>

<p>Yes, get those SAT’s up. For RP,I the mean SAT this year was 1366/1600 and about 2000/2400 so as it stands now your scores are average to below average. Also the acceptance rate there is 38% and has been steadily falling. A lot of people think RPI is some sort of safety school and get a rude awaking on decision day. </p>

<p>If you get 2150+ I think you will be OK. UR is also very competitive and the higher scores will help there too.</p>