<p>Hey potential chancers! :) It's my first time venturing into the "Chance Me" section of CC, so hopefully I'm following the proper etiquette for one of these posts.</p>
<p>Anyway, the reason I'm asking for chances now is so I can decide whether to apply SCEA to Yale, or if it's not worth it ($75 is a large sum of money). With the deadline coming up within a month, I need to decide sooner rather than later. Yale is not my number one school, but it is the only one which offers an Early Action program, so I figured it couldn't hurt to apply early. Having looked at all these other chance posts, however, I am beginning to wonder if it is even worth applying to Yale/other Ivies at this point.</p>
<p>So please, if you would be so kind, chance me at the following schools:
Yale SCEA
Princeton
Brown
Dartmouth
Middlebury
Washington & Lee
Swarthmore
Tufts
Duke
Penn State Honors College
University of Pittsburgh Honors College</p>
<p>Academics</p>
<pre><code>* All honors courses throughout high school; definitely most rigorous courseload available. Senior year schedule: AP Bio, AP US Gov, AP Spanish, AP Physics C, AP English Lit, Advanced Topics in Calculus.
*AP scores from junior year: Calc BC (and AB subscore) - 5, English Language - 5, Psychology - 5
* 3.94 unweighted GPA, 4.125 weighted (this will go up by the time I apply to my RD schools, just not Yale)
* 36 ACT
* SATII: Math II 790, taking Spanish/Lit/Bio next weekend
* Top 10% (my school only ranks by decile)
</code></pre>
<p>ECs</p>
<pre><code>* 4 yrs Cross Country (1 freshman, 1 JV, 2 Varsity)
* 3 yrs Debate Team
* 2 yrs NHS
* 3 yrs school newspaper (have won statewide and local student press awards)
* 2 yrs Quiz Bowl
* 1 yr Political Club
* Have gone on a weeklong mission trip each summer since 7th grade, so I have a lot of service hours (assuming mission trips count)
* Was elected by my congregation (of over 450 members) to represent them for two years in a row at the national conference of the denomination. One of, if not the, only teenage delegate at the conferences. (out of 700 voting delegates)
* Food service job from the summer after 10th grade until now. 35-40 hrs/week in the Summer, 3-8 hrs/week during the school year
* Co-organized a charity/awareness event/exhibit to raise money to fight modern-day slavery and human trafficking, while promoting awareness in the community.
</code></pre>
<p>Honors</p>
<pre><code>* First Honor Roll (9, 10, 11, 12)
* Local newspaper honorable mention for journalism
* Statewide gold (1st place) in state journalism awards
* AP Scholar
* NHS
* National Merit Semifinalist
</code></pre>
<p>Other</p>
<pre><code>*White, middle-class, male
* My recs are really good, I believe. One came from my World History teacher who presented one of my projects at a national geography teachers conference, while the other was my calc teacher who I have again for Adv. Topics in Calc. My guidance counselor knows and likes me.
* Essays should be good, but not amazing. Writing about the charity event for one and my mother's battle with cancer and death, and how that has affected me.
</code></pre>
<p>Thanks in advance to anyone who helps. I'm really worried that my mediocre performance during freshman and sophomore year will come back to haunt me during the admissions process. Though my grades are good now, they were definitely lacking in those 2 years. I also admit that I do not have as many ECs/leadership positions as many other applicants, which is one of my biggest concerns.</p>