Chance me for Cornell ED, UCB, Tufts, and more! 2300 SAT, but terrible GPA and rank

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>My college selection is mainly based on their location (CA, East Coast, and Great Lakes) and the fact that they have an Astronomy / Astrophysics major.</p>

<p>Schools
Cornell U CAS (ED)
UC Berkeley
UCLA
Tufts U
Carnegie Mellon U
UC San Diego
Colgate U
U Michigan
Boston U
UC Santa Cruz <--- is this a safety?
U Wisconsin - Madison
U Mass - Amherst <--- is this a safety?
U Minn - Twin Cities <--- should I even apply to this school given my other choices?</p>

<p>Applicant
Asian Male immigrant from China. Lived in NY for 7 years then moved to CA.
Hooks: First Generation College Student. Special Circumstances (see below).</p>

<p>Intended Majors: Astronomy/Astrophysics and Political Science.</p>

<p>Academics
I go to a fairly competitive high school.</p>

<p>UW 9-12 GPA: 3.55
W 9-12 GPA: 3.69</p>

<p>I have a significant upward trend:
Freshman GPA (no honor/AP): 2.58
Sophomore GPA (no honor/AP): 3.83
Junior GPA (3 honor/AP): 4.42</p>

<p>Senior courseload (currently all A's):
AP Statistics
French 3 (I am practically taking the AP class. My French teacher mentioned this in her recommendation)
AP Calculus BC
AP Physics B
AP Microeconomics / Honors Government
AP English Literature
Currently dual enrolled in Biology
Plans to dual enroll in Astronomy in spring</p>

<p>As you can see, freshman year screwed me up:
Rank - not even in top 25%</p>

<p>Tests Scores
SAT:
Attempt 1 - 2100 (660 CR, 740 M, 700 W)
Attempt 2 - 2090 (680 CR, 740 M, 670 W)
Attempt 3 - 2300 (750 CR, 800 M, 750 W)</p>

<p>ACT:
31 Composite - 32 English, 34 Math, 31 Reading, 26 Science, 29 Reading+Writing (8)</p>

<p>SAT Subjects:
Math Level 2 - 800
Chemistry - 740 (retaking - expected between 700 and 800)
US History - 740
French w/ Listening - did horrible; probably between 500 and 550 - should I cancel this and the retaken Chem scores?</p>

<p>During Junior year, I went bananas, taking 10 AP tests even though the only AP class I was taking at school was Art History. AP Results:
Art History - 4
Biology - 5
Calculus AB - 5
Chemistry - 5
Comparative Government - 5
English Language - 5
Human Geography - 4
Macroeconomics - 3
Psychology - 4
US History - 5</p>

<p>I addition to the AP classes I'm taking at school, I will also be taking AP US Government and the 2 AP Physics C tests. I mentioned this on my app.</p>

<p>Special programs and awards
Math Institute for Young Scholars at UCLA this summer. It is a [sadistically] difficult math enrichment course. A certificate of completion was given.</p>

<p>Awards (lol):
National AP Scholar and AP Scholar with Distinction</p>

<p>The Subjective
Similar to my academics, my extracurriculars also took a big blow during my first two years in high school. I didn't really participate in any, aside from volunteer work, until Junior year.</p>

<p>Activities Director for Math Club - I organize weekly activities and competitions and handles the tutoring system. Member during 11th grade and officer for this year.</p>

<p>Activities Director for Astronomy Club - Co-founded the club: this is the first year our school has it. I organize activities and events and share my knowledge, etc.</p>

<p>I attend monthly and weekly Astronomy lectures and I use my telescope frequently.</p>

<p>Secretary for French Club - record stuff and tell faculty sponsor about stuff. Member during 11th grade and officer for this year.</p>

<p>Member of Physics Club (this year only) - signed up for Science competitions and will be part of the Science Bowl and Olympiad team for my school.</p>

<p>Member of JSA (11th and 12th) - participated in debates and whatnot.</p>

<p>Over 100 hours of volunteer work in assisting teachers and library and tutoring peers. Official academic mentor at my school.</p>

<p>Worked as an intern (paperwork, cleaning, etc.) at an educational institute. I now work there as a tutor on Saturdays.</p>

<p>Recommendations
French teacher - knew me for a long time and really like mes
Calculus teacher - offered to write me a recommendation. Self-explanatory.
Physics teacher - didn't know me for too long, but wrote a good rec for sure. Also Physics teacher is good for an Astronomy major applicant.
Counselor rec should be good.</p>

<p>Persona Info / Special Circumstances
Depression dominated most of my life and I also had many other issues. For my essay I wrote about how I handled my depressed and became motivated. An UCLA admissions officer gave me input so I feel somewhat confident.</p>

<p>...</p>

<p>Chance away!</p>

2

<p>BumBumBump</p>

3

<p>Cornell U CAS (ED)-- Reach
UC Berkeley-- Reach or high reach
Carnegie Mellon U-- In/Match
Colgate U-- Match
Boston U-- In
U Mass - Amherst-- Yes, I think this is a safety
U Minn - Twin Cities-- Yes, you should still apply here I think. Better safe than sorry you know?</p>

<p>Your improvement really is amazing, and I almost wish you were applying to smaller, LAC schools that take a close look at GPA improvement and such, because I think you would get into a better school. But I understand if that’s not the environment for you, and a lot of LACs have **** for astronomy/astrophysics. Good luck!</p>

<p>Chance me back mayyybe? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1028143-please-chance-nervous-smith-college-ed-applicant-will-chance-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1028143-please-chance-nervous-smith-college-ed-applicant-will-chance-back.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>Thanks. I prefer to go to a research university. Colgate, though a LAC, has decent research opportunities according to its website.</p>

<p>Anyone else?</p>

5

<p>GPA too low for Berkeley. Berkeley weighs HS GPA more than they do SATs. So a 3.69 would have a very, very hard time getting a slot at Berkeley even with a near-perfect SATs. However, if you can write a really good essay, chances are you might get lucky. Apply. You wouldn’t know.</p>

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<p>My UC GPA is 4.17</p>

<p>Anyone else?</p>

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<p>^ Still not high enough for Berkeley, tbh. The average UC GPA for Berkeley last year was 4.39.
<a href=“http://students.berkeley.edu/admissions/freshmen.asp[/url]”>http://students.berkeley.edu/admissions/freshmen.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Your SATs, however, are quite impressive. That should be able to help somehow. Apply.</p>

8

<p>Oh course I’m apply lol</p>

<p>Yeah my GPA is probably around the 25th percentile. =( But my scores are above the 75th percentile so I hope that along with my upward trend overshadow my GPA. My biggest worry is my class rank although I’ve heard from the UCLA admission counselor that the ranks the UCs use are other ranks.</p>

<p>Anyone else?</p>

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<p>Cubumpers.</p>

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<p>I’m very impressed with your turn around! Going from 0 APs to 10?? Wow! Honestly, that GPA does hurt but your upward trend will definitely help you out. One thing, be careful about writing about depression. That can often come off poorly. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you improve from a 2090 to a 2300? I’m just curious how/what you studied (I took the SATs for the first time yesterday). PM me :)?</p>

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<p>Again, I’m not too worried about my essay since an UCLA admission officer gave me advice. Thanks though.</p>

<p>Anyone else?</p>

12

<p>Cornell U CAS (ED)-- Reach
UC Berkeley-- Reach
Carnegie Mellon U-- In/Match
Colgate U-- Match
Boston U-- In
U Mass - Amherst-- idk much abbout it
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1023853-help-me-out-pleaseeeeee-ill-chance-back-anyone-who-chances-me-2.html#post1065862281[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1023853-help-me-out-pleaseeeeee-ill-chance-back-anyone-who-chances-me-2.html#post1065862281&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Thanks and I already chanced you before…</p>

<p>Anyone else?</p>

14

<p>With Horrible rank and low GPA, </p>

<p>Cornell U CAS (ED) - High Reach
UC Berkeley - High Reach
UCLA - Mid Reach
Tufts U - High Reach
Carnegie Mellon U - Mid Reach
UC San Diego - Low Reach
Colgate U - High Match
U Michigan - High Match
Boston U - Match
UC Santa Cruz - Match
U Wisconsin - Madison - Safety
U Mass - Amherst - Safety
U Minn - Twin Cities - Safety</p>

15

<p>Thanks, but please note my UC GPA (4.17) when chancing me for UCs.</p>

<p>Anyone else?</p>

16

<p>I think that the fact that you are an AP scholar with distinction and your impressive SAT scores really compensate for your class rank, but a moving essay would truly put you over the top. You have a very fair chance at each school you listed, save perhaps Berkeley and Tufts (slight reaches).</p>

<p>On a side note, how did you manage 4s and 5s on the 9 other AP tests without preparation in class? How long did you study for?</p>

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<p>Actually I got the National AP Scholar award as well. ^_^</p>

<p>Well, I took AP Art History (4) at school. I could have gotten a 5 if I studied before the AP test. </p>

<p>I received tutoring for Biology and Chemistry (there were really the ones the I could not have self-studied for) though what got me those scores was mainly intense reading. I just needed someone to clarify certain points. I took an outside class for U.S. History but that wasn’t particularly helpful. I only took the class so I could be forced to read and do practice tests lol. </p>

<p>I just took some [rather difficult] practice exams for AP Lang.</p>

<p>I self-studied Calculus AB though some parts were painful to understand, but I consider myself a math person so it wasn’t impossible for me. I also self-studied Human Geo, Psychology, Macroeconomics, and Comparative Government. Those weren’t difficult, but as you can see, spending three days on Macroeconomics didn’t yield desirable results (3). Psychology and Human Geo (4’s) could have been 5’s if I had spent more time on them. Comparative Government was interesting to me and I spent quite a bit of time on it so naturally I received a 5.</p>

<p>I prepared for all these tests from December to AP test week.</p>

<p>K, anyone else?</p>

18

<p>The SAT is very good but that low act score is definitely going to hurt your chances t the upper tier schools. Michigan also puts a lot of emphasis on your unweighted gpa</p>

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<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>Bump</p>

20

<p>Bump .</p>