Chance me @ Duke, Brown, Princeton, UNC Chapel Hill, NYU, Wellesley, Tulane

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Junior from Florida, currently doing an exchange year in Germany

Unweighted GPA: 3.97
Weighted GPA: 4.72
SAT Score: 1950 (re-taking 2 more times when I’m back in the U.S. this summer, current diagnostics predict me at a 2060)
Planning on taking the ACT plus two SAT Subject Tests (probably German and Math 1)
Top 1% of my class (13 out of 761)

Freshman and Sophomore Year course load:
AP World History, 4 AICE classes (AICE is a program from the university of Cambridge, considered harder than honors but not as difficult as AP’s), 7 honors classes, and yearbook

My junior year information is still up in the air, I am still waiting on my guidance counselor in the U.S. to tell me how my German credits will transfer and how they will be weighted. Here in Germany, I go to a Waldorf School, which is an alternative type of school with big focus on hands-on education and stuff such as art, music, and crafts (for example I take a class in shoe-making and have just finished classes in painting and sculpting).

Senior course load:
AP European History
AP Biology
AP Calculus AB
AP Micro/Macro Economics and Government
AP English Literature
Yearbook (with an editor position)
Chemistry and Physics at the local community college

Extracurriculars:
2 years of yearbook, one year as the Student Life Editor
2 years of varsity Swimming
National Honor Society member
Spanish Honor Society member
Lifeguard at a regional water park
100+ volunteer hours
Chorus here in Germany
Working on starting a Women’s Empowerment Club next year with focus on fundraising to relevant charities

My exchange year:
I was selected as one of 250 finalists for the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange, which is a merit-based State Department program that sends American high schoolers to spend a year in Germany living with a host family and German high schoolers to live in America. The program is funded equally by the U.S. Congress and the German Bundestag (Parliament) and as participants, we are expected to be youth ambassadors to our country, which includes doing an Ambassador Project to share our culture with our new community, and meeting both our Congress Representatives and our Bundestag Representatives. I am also one of four official bloggers for my program, in charge of documenting my year in order to advertise it to potential applicants and their parents.

Miscellaneous:
Did a land-survey and map-making internship while here in Germany
Participated in a bilingual Economics Camp while in Germany
Volunteer every summer at a pre-school for children with Disabilities
Participate in several yearbook and journalism workshops at home every year
Fluent in English, Portuguese, Spanish, and German

Hook:
Brazilian-American, first generation American and first generation college student, unorthodox learning path, passionate about writing, learning languages, and using communication in order to connect with people and build more relationships, and hope to pursue a career in international relations in order to combine those passions into a career that will make an impact on our global community.

Financial Status:
My parents make $39k a year combined, and my brother is heading to college this fall

Please chance me at the following schools:

  1. Brown
  2. Duke
  3. Princeton
  4. NYU
  5. University of Florida
  6. Tulane
  7. UNC Chapel Hill
  8. Wellesley
  9. Barnard
  10. University of Miami
  11. University of Southern California

Thanks a ton!!!

2

Just as a technical point, you are not in the top 1% of your class; that is reserved for the top 7 persons in your class of 761 (you are in the top 2%, however).

My estimates of your chances are based on your GPA and test scores, not considering ECs (although you probably need to demonstrate more leadership, and not just membership, capabilities in your ECs):

Brown/Princeton – very low chance; even with a 2060 SAT, that’s probably still too low
Duke – low chance for direct admission, slightly better chance for waitlist; even with a 2060, it’s still a low chance
NYU – good chance
University of Florida – very good chance (probably an admissions safety school)
Tulane – low chance for direct admission, good chance for waitlist; Tulane is big on “demonstrated interest”
UNC – low to moderate chance; a little better if you get your SAT to 2060+
Wellesley – hard for me to estimate, but your SAT scores are towards the low end of the median 50% of admitted freshmen
Barnard – hard for me to estimate, but your SAT scores are towards the low end of the median 50% of admitted freshmen
University of Miami – very good chance
University of Southern California – low chance; a little better if you get your SAT to 2060+

3

right, of course, my mistake on the class rank. Thanks for your input!

4

I don’t know much about the other schools, but as a resident of Wake County (I live about a 30 min drive from Duke and UNC CH) I can give you a little bit of info about the two schools I live near. For Duke, you have slim chances with the scores, but if you bring those up I think you’ll look pretty good! For UNC your SAT could use a little work but I think that if you show them that you’re passionate about the school and your language/German interests you’ll have a solid chance there! Both schools, however, are a little different than the rest. They love seeing that you’re passionate about something so keep that in mind as you write your application essays this fall! I hope this helps!

5

That really does help, thanks a ton!

6
  1. Brown - no chance
  2. Duke - no chance
  3. Princeton - no chance
  4. NYU - low reach
  5. University of Florida - match
  6. Tulane - idk
  7. UNC Chapel Hill - match or low reach
  8. Wellesley - idk
  9. Barnard - idk
  10. University of Miami - match
  11. University of Southern California - low reach
7

Your chances for all these schools will increase if you can get those SAT scores in the 2100-2400 range…if you get a 2200, you will be a very competitive applicant.

8

OK guys, YES the SAT score is low but REMEMBER this is a JUNIOR. You have time. I definitely agree that the SAT needs to be much higher, but based on your other academic credentials, it’s definitely within your grasp if you work hard at it. It seems like that’s the main thing holding you back right now, your extracurriculars are really interesting, but what would really be nice is if you could garnish them with an accomplishment that the admissions committee can easily measure. Since you still have two years and seem to be really into social sciences, I recommend taking a shot at essay contests like Ayn Rand or AFSA. If you want to do the latter and need some pointers from me I can provide them. Chance back? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1898624-chances-for-top-colleges.html#latest

9

One thing that everyone needs to understand is that competitive colleges don’t look merely at test scores, they judge the applicant as a whole. The hooks and financial situation are very strong and the fact that you are an exchange student is fairly impressive. I think you have a decent chance which can get even better if you improve test scores at the top schools in your list (I can’t say good chance because at that level it is difficult to see patterns of acceptance).