Chance me ED please!!

<p>A little bit of background: I go to a small private school in CT and applied ED to Tufts...intended economics major...also, my middle school went to 9th grade (fairly common in this area), which was normal 9th grade course work, but switched to an actual high school for 10th, which is why a lot of activities end/start between those years...</p>

<p>Transcript:
Senior year courses:
AP Calc AB
AP 2D Design
Honors Shakespeare
Honors Stats
Honors Physics (the course is taught to AP Physics B, but not officially an AP)
Anthro/Econ (1 semester each)</p>

<p>(mostly interested in math and science, and the only math APs offered are Calc AB and BC, and the AP sciences are Chem, Bio and Physics)</p>

<p>GPA 9/10/11: 89uw
have only had one quarter of senior year grades but avg is 94uw (96w)</p>

<p>took a macro economics class at Fordham over the summer (regular college level) and earned a 4.0</p>

<p>Test Scores
single sitting ACT: C(33) E(33) M(35) R(33) S(32)
superscored ACT: C(34) E(34) M(35) R(33) S(32)</p>

<p>Math I subject test: 730
Lit subject test: 680 (counselor said this should be sent because was not in an AP English or anything so is pretty good all things considered...)</p>

<p>AP Chem: 4</p>

<p>Extra Curriculars:
Intern at a non profit: 200+hrs 10/11/12
community service org. 10/11/12
China Care 10/11/12
Dean's Council 11/12 (they only started it my junior year)
Photo editor for school paper 12 (editor of online school paper 9)
Varsity XC 10/11/12, letters all years (was Captain of track and field team in 9th grade)</p>

<p>AMC Math test 9/11
National Spanish Exam Bronze 9/10/11
(these are the only two academic "contests" my school participates in)</p>

<p>Application:
Essays:
Common App essay was about how i decide what type of toppings i want on my pizza and then I related that to my decision making process in general and how I'm interested/want so many things
Extracurricular essay was about my internship
Why tufts was good and specific, especially for 100 words; about how i have vast academic and social interests and tufts can accommodate that (ex. about sledding down presidents lawn and then going to cheer on sports teams and how that represents both quirkiness and school spirit, ect.)
Quaker saying essay was about my move from MI to CT and the differences and how that influenced me
3rd essay was about how i hate Glee and how stereotypical it is and how it portrays my generation in a horrible light and kind of about my humanist side and how i don't like to be labeled, ect. since i don't fit any molds and because having a particular quality doesn't mean you have a specific set of others
Optional essay was the one about being nerdy and about how that nerdy encompasses so much more than the traditional definition, and simply having a passion and all encompassing knowledge for any one thing makes you a nerd for it (like theater nerd, chemistry nerd, ect.) and how I'm a photography nerd.....</p>

<p>I have my interview next week, but it should go pretty well (fingers crossed!!!)</p>

<p>I haven't been able to read my recs but I have great rapports with both teachers and did very well in their classes, and I've spoken to them both since they were written and have been assured they're excellent! Guidance counselor rec is great as well.</p>

<p>I'm really nervous because I feel like it's going to be quite a reach and Tufts is my absolute dream school....</p>

<p>phew that was a lot!!...any help and thoughts would be greatly appreciated! thanks so much!</p>

<p>Well your ECs look very good and your essays sound creative, and your ACT is about average (so it won’t really hurt you or help you much) so your downfall will be in your SAT IIs and transcript. I don’t think that anyone can tell you your chances without more information about your school. An 89 uw will hurt you if you’re at a school like mine (I’m also from CT), but could help you if you’re in the top 5% of your class (how competitive is your school?).</p>

<p>Assuming you attend a school with a normal distribution of averages, i would say you have about a 35-40% chance of getting into Tufts. It would be lower, but applying ED will definitely give you just a little bit of a boost. Hope this helps, and good luck!</p>

<p>jim miller (dean of admissions at brown) said that essays can “heal the sick, but can’t raise the dead.” your essays sound awesome, and if they are well executed on top of that your low gpa could get a big boost.</p>

<p>Thanks for taking the time to respond!</p>

<p>@AsianGinger: The school doesn’t report class rank or GPA so all they see are the actual grades (and according to my counselor they interpret the GPA as higher than it actually is…but I take that with a grain of salt). The school is fairly competitive but certainly doesn’t believe in grade deflation but the bottom line is I have no idea where I fall in comparison to the rest of my class (and neither will Tufts).</p>

<p>You’ve got a pretty fair shot.
You’ll know very soon.
Good luck!</p>