Chance Me ED, I'm dying to know

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
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<p>First off I'm set on Dartmouth, enough so for ED. I'm also a junior and couldn't resist doing one of these anyway, I would love some constructive criticism. I come from a lacking public school that I've gotten the full potential out of.</p>

<p>state: NH
ethnicity: white
School: Public, not the greatest one either
Rank: 1st of 207(I've held spot all high school, no one else in my class have ever been #1)
GPA: 3.916 of 4.0 (4.0 being 100% in every class ever taken at honors level) 3.916 is both weighted and unweighted, seeing as honors classes grant you full "gpa credit"
this is around a 98% average
SAT: haven't taken yet, this spring though
SAT 2: planning on Math 1 and 2, and Bio
PSAT: Soph: around a 180 (didn't finish a bunch)
Jn: waiting on results, fingers crossed for NMS, felt like I killed it</p>

<p>Classes: Taken the most rigorous courses possible. All honors, and doubled up in science and math whenever possible thanks to my schools block scheduling. This puts me currently in AP Bio and AP Calc as a junior, in my school these are the hardest courses and are extremely rarely/never taken by juniors. My school doesn't have very many AP courses, I will be taking the rest next year. I also have stuck to a curriculum focused more on math and science, as well as some computer/tech classes.</p>

<p>ECs: I have tried pretty hard to keep myself busy with EC's ALL of highschool, not just Jn and Sr yr.
Sports:
Varsity Alpine Skiing(9-12) top skiier(10-12) captain next year
Mount Washing Valley Ski Team(7-12) Sort of all star ski racing league on weekends
Varsity Lacrosse(9) Championship team, lost in OT
Varsity Tennis(10-12) decided to pick it up soph yr, made varsity, captain next yr
One-Design Sailboat racing all over New England during the summer, becoming pretty competitive. Will be in contact with Dartmouth coach
School ECs:
Math Team(9-12) captain next yr, A team state team (9-12)
Student Council(10-12) ran for pres. freshman yr, lost.
-Student Council Advisory(10-12)
Youth and Government(10-12) school doesn't allow freshman
NHS(10-12) possibly running for leadership role next year
Jn/Sr Honors(11) invite only program that meets throughout the year, then creates in depth presentations for the community about hot topics and competes for a scholarship
QuizBowl(11-12) Alot like Jeopardy, considering not even putting on app
Got into hiking recently, will try to start a hiking club at my school and ask gear companies for some small sponsorships for basic gear for the club
Volunteering: (10-12)
Have been volunteering at local hospitals my entire life, I do this during the fall instead of a sport. It's just part of what I do, usually about 100 hours each fall. I go down after school for a few hours all fall. Considering the medical field.</p>

<p>Work Experience:country club (10-12)
Bellman at a local country club, basically I run errands for the club. As well as serve cocktails/take orders, escort member via club car, drive into town for club, greet members, front desk clerk, basically anything and everything. I work during the summer and a little into the fall.</p>

<p>Overall I feel like I have a solid package, I just need to get the SAT scores to match. But after reading some of the other Chance Me's and seeing some horror stories of perfect students not getting into to choice colleges it got me worried. Thanks for reading.</p>

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<p>160 views 0 responses, come on guys i’m sure most of you have had your “chance me’s” answered</p>

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<p>As you say, your SATs will be important. At this point, you seem to have no idea what they might be.</p>

<p>My advice: DO NOT take both Math 1 and Math 2. Waste of time. And Math 1 has a notoriously bad curve: I’d take Math 2. If you want to take a third SATII, which I think is a good idea, pick another subject. I’d suggest some subject you took last year and did well in. (The reason for last year will become evident below…) Make sure you get the prep book and review what is covered in time to learn new material if necessary, and brush up on what you did learn in class. Not all Chem classes, for example, even good ones, cover the precise material on the SATII. AP curricula don’t necessarily match SATIIs either.</p>

<p>If you want to take some pressure off yourself during this spring’s busy testing cycle, when you will be taking AP exams and SATs and probably 2 SAT IIs, I would suggest taking the third SATII before then. Don’t know what dates are available, or whether it is too late for November, but this would give you time to put one in the bank and not have to push for 3 at one sitting in the spring, which is generally considered to be a bad idea.</p>

<p>If your third subject is a language, scratch the idea of taking it early. The more time in class the better.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the response, as for SATs I plan on studying extensively, I have set my sights on nothing less than a 2150, and I will be super happy with 2200+. And quick question, as for SATIIs if I was too retake a section over again because I didn’t like my score, will the college be able to tell that I took it more than once? Also I was just planning on taking Math 1 and 2, because I would just send in the one with the better score.</p>

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<p>I really don’t know the answer to your question. Look at the College Board web site for info.</p>

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<p>alright, so if i acheived a solid SAT score like 2150 and SAT2’s to match do you think I would have a decent shot at dartmouth?</p>

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<p>Dartmouth receives many applications from students as qualified as you appear to be. It’s a crap shoot, at best. My friend’s daughter, a triple alum (mother, uncle, grandfather) had similar stats and involvement and was deferred to RD. She got in.</p>

<p>If you know an alum, connect. It won’t hurt. Keep up the good work! Look into other schools such as Wash U, Vassar, Wesleyan, Oberlin, Reed, etc. </p>

<p>I wish you the best! I’m sure whichever school you matriculate, will be very lucky, indeed!</p>

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<p>thanks a bunch, my aunt and uncle went to dartmouth but idk if that helps? and yeah about it being a crap shoot i feel like today top college admissions are a toss up. I think you can do as much as possible to prepare yourself but there is a bit of luck involved. For instance you may have great everything but what if the three applications they read before yours were even better and they let all of them in. Or some similar situations.</p>

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<p>As far as I know, D only counts parents when defining legacy, and a double legacy doesn’t “count” more than a single legacy. So your aunt and uncle won’t help you much. (Unless they are huge donors.)</p>

<p>2150, while certainly a solid score, is not great for an unhooked applicant to D. Go to their website and look up the acceptance rates for applicants at various score levels. They are one of the few schools that makes this information available. If you are serious about studying for the SATs, I suggest that you search CC for the Xiggi method.</p>

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<p>Yeah i figured my uncle/aunt wouldn’t really help me. Now when you say “hooked” applicant, does that mean have something totally different about themselves that really sets them apart? Because I have something sort of like that that I forgot to post in original post. Living in NH I’ve recently gotten into hiking now that I have my license. I have got quite a few hikes under my belt and am pretty experienced. I’m gonna do some volunteer work for AMC (Applachion Mountain Club), then try to start a hiking club at my high school. And I plan on asking for a small sponsorship from some hiking companies/stores, for like a handful of backpacks or intro hiking stuff for the hiking club. I’m not sure if this is really a strong “hook” so to say but I feel like it’d at least be a great essay topic or a great thing to bring up in an interview.</p>

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<p>That is not a hook. A hook is being an URM, a recruited athlete, a famous child actor, a successful novelist or established concert performer (think Jody Foster and Yo Yo Ma), the child of a president or famous and/or wealthy people who will give serious money to a school, and so forth. </p>

<p>BTW, I personally do not find the idea of turning your interest in hiking into a “club” and begging businesses for equipment to be particularly attractive. It sounds as if you may be trying to manufacture a leadership credential. Lots of kids seem to think that starting a club at their HS is the be-all and end-all of ECs. I don’t think that it is. On the other hand, if being outdoors in that way has become personally important to you and you really want companions on your hiking expeditions and really have a desire to encourage others to get out into the woods, that’s another matter. Volunteering for AMC is a good thing to do. Just devoting yourself to hiking and backpacking because you love it–and writing about it eloquently–is good too. But I’m not an adcom. :)</p>

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<p>Well as im sure you know and understand everyone has their own opinions and way of tackling problems, but thanks for the advice. I almost regret stumbling across CC, it has led to more “anxiety” about applying to college. I see all these “chance mes” with applicants far more qualified than me that aren’t getting into the colleges I thought I would be able to go to. CC is a gift/curse.</p>

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<p>Your 180 PSAT Soph year is not a good sign. I doubt there are many students accepted to Dartmouth (without a hook) scored 180. The PSAT is much easier than the SAT.</p>

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<p>jonezi, my goal is to give kids realistic advice based on what I’ve seen. I attempt to tell kids what I think they can do to strengthen their applications, based on my experience and on what they tell us here. You would seem to me to have a strong application, with the caveat that your SATIs and IIs are as yet an unknown quantity.</p>

<p>I’d suggest to you that realistic advice is a lot more valuable than “chance me, I’ll chance you back” BS from 18 yr olds. If you are realizing that despite your stellar performance at your school, the competition for the elite schools is fierce and you shouldn’t take anything for granted, that’s a good thing. I have no doubt that you will get into good schools, but it is ESSENTIAL to cast a wide net.</p>

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<p>thanks consolation, hopefully sometime next year i can post in the dartmouth thread again under much better circumstances. Also “onecot59”, soph year I walked into that test not knowing what to expect and didnt finish quite a bit. My sophmore PSAT isn’t going to reflect my SATs whatsoever. Since I will be studying for SATs It will be a completely different story.</p>

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<p>CC is indeed a gift of realism, a curse of bubble bursting. As long as you understand the randomness of non-hooked ivy admissions, you’ll be fine. So plan on being rejected, and delighted if accepted. If you apply to 10 schools where you have a 50% chance of admission (though there’s no way to know this for sure) you have a 0.1% chance of being rejected by all. Because of the way yields work, the 67th %ile gives roughly a 50% chance of admission if only stats were considered (they’re not); this is just a broad general non-realistic rule of thumb. Just apply to a handful of schools where you’re in the upper middle of the pack. :)</p>