Chance me; decent gpa, sats, ecs (relatively solid)

<p>So I'm new here and I kind of have to decide what type of schools I should apply to in fall, don't really have any idea. I've been told by high school admins that I have a shot wherever, but no specific information was given. As far as I can tell, my ECs and my freshmen year grades are really the big negatives. People in my high school have had disparate results in colleges; we send a couple to top 20 schools every year but a majority go to the local community college or work. I will probably write in my essays about growing up in a diverse area (my school is plurality black, but many Koreans and whites)</p>

<p>--------General Information
-Male
-White/Other (Portuguese/Brazilian, I've been told to write this by gc, apparently it helps)
-Pennsylvania Public School (borders Philadelphia) (above average school)
-Rank 9/378
- GPA: 3.85 (school doesn't weight)
-SAT I: CR 770, M 730, W 740 (only attempt)</p>

<p>---------Course Load
Freshmen Year: H Algebra 2 B, C+ // H Biology A-, A- // Spanish II A-, B+ // H English A-, A- // H World Cultures A, A // Arch Drafting A-, B // Comp Programming A, B-</p>

<pre><code> Sophomore Year: H Precalculus, AP World History, AP European History, H English, H Chemistry, Spanish III (all As)

  Junior Year: AP US History, AP Chemistry, AP English Language, AP Calculus BC, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, Spanish IV H, Journalism (all As)

  Senior Year(Planned): AP Physics C Magnetism, AP Physics C Mechanics, AP English Lit, AP Psychology, AP Statistics (should I take this course?), AP Spanish

</code></pre>

<p>---------Testing</p>

<pre><code> -SAT I: CR 770, M 730, W 740 (only attempt) (should i try and up this?)
-SAT II: World History 800, Mathematics II 740, Spanish w Listening (planned) 650?
-AP Tests: Euro (5), World (5), US(4-5, no less for sure), Comparitive Gov(same as US), US Gov (same as US), BC Calc (4-5, probably 4), Chemistry(Probably 5), Macro/Micro(would be shocked if not 5), Eng Lang (probably 4), Human Geography (4-5), Environmental Science (4, maybe 3?)
-Note; many of the AP test scores are predictions, but i have not gotten below a five on any practice, so pretty confident.
</code></pre>

<p>---------ECs</p>

<p>ECs (at school) (when predicted noted)
- 2 years JV tennis (team captain soph year)(quit for track)
- 4 years V XC, captain senior year
- 2 years V Track
- 1 year V Wrestling (our team sucked and we all quit)
- 3 years Brain Bee competitor (4th in Philadelphia soph, 3rd Junior, hopefully win it next)
- 3 years Problem Solving team (went to states sophomore year, again junior)
- 3 years Mathletes (never anything serious)
- 3 Years National Honors society (maybe treasurer next year?)
- 3 Years Newspaper Writer, 2 Years editing, Senior year editor in chief (definite)
- 2 years constitutional scholars
- HOBY representative for school
-3 years Model UN Delegate</p>

<p>ECS (not school related)</p>

<p>-1 Year Self studied for 4 APs: Human Geog, Comparative/US gov, Environmental Sci
-3 Years Self studied Italian and Russian; conversational in both (maybe 3/4 college semesters worth)
-3 Years Chemistry, Math and History Tutor (maybe 5 hours per week on average, 3 years)
-3 Years Lifeguard in the summer -(400 hours per summer)
-3 Years Tennis Coach (for young children)- maybe 3 hours per week, not in winter
-3 week Summer volunteer Trip -Italian Archealogical site, 100+ hours
-3 Years Twin Lakes Water Tester (maybe 20 hours per summer) </p>

<p>--------Additional</p>

<p>I took a Russian Language and Culture course at local college, got A
I don't really know if its a good idea to call myself "other" in ethnicity, any ideas?
Any suggestions for schools that are in "match" range are appreciated.
Oh, and I'm leaning on History major, but really still undecided.</p>

<p>===========Schools==================
Princeton
U Penn
Columbia
U Chicago
Rice
Wake Forest
University of Maryland
University of Miami
Pomona
Boston College
UC Berkeley
Bowdoin
Penn State Honors College
UNC
NYU </p>

<p>Oh, and thanks for any comments and suggestions, all are much appreciated.</p>

<p>“Decent” isn’t the word. A 2240 is amazing coupled with those ECs. Odd list of colleges though with LACs like Pomona and Bowdoin thrown in with schools like NYU…</p>

<p>The only schools I think you’d possibly have to worry about are Princeton and Columbia and not because of anything bad about your resume…just because they are so extremely selective that you never truly know what they’re looking for (although you are clearly on the right path and have a well above average shot at every school you’ve listed)
Please chance back
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/924680-chance-colgate-will-chance-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/924680-chance-colgate-will-chance-back.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Very solid! I’d say:
Princeton-reach
U Penn-low reach
Columbia-low reach
U Chicago-match
Rice-match
Wake Forest-safety
University of Maryland-in
University of Miami-in
Pomona-match/high-match
Boston College-safety
UC Berkeley-out of state admissions can be very weird, maybe low-reach?
Bowdoin-safety
Penn State Honors College-in
UNC-match
NYU-safety</p>

<p>I agree with your GC, writing other for race can only help. It shouldn’t be a problem to tie this in to your essay, and then the adcoms will remember your URM status. Your ECs are a bit spread out, but the only school on your list where I think this will have a significant impact on your chances is Princeton. More match-ish schools w/ good history programs are Notre Dame, Georgetown, Northwestern (just off the top of my head)</p>

<p>Perhaps consider tailoring your list of ECs a bit when you send off applications. It’s a fairly impressive list, but it also seems to cover just about everything out there. Having a smaller list with a more narrow focus (one that might give a clearer idea of your personality other than “overachieving supermotivated all-around kid”) might help.</p>

<p>I appreciate your comments, and i should have made something more clear. I am only HALF Portuguese/Brazilian. Thats why i was somewhat skeptical; i don’t know if that really qualifies me as URM in all honesty. I might write it on App, but I still feel that doing so is a bit… dishonest. I am not poor or underprivileged, and I feel that trying to play up the URM side may be unethical. What are your thoughts? Does being 1/2 something really count? Or would I just get in trouble for hyperbole?</p>