Chance me for Cornell, Penn, Northwestern, and Rice

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi, this is my first time posting on here, but I thought I'd give it a shot before sending out applications in the coming days to see if I have a realistic chance or not.</p>

<p>Here goes:
GPA: 4.25, weighted (I know this is low, and is definitely the weakest part of my application), class rank = 10/222 (also seems a little too low)
SAT I: 2290 - 800 M, 690 CR (also a weak spot - tell me if it will kill me), 800 W
SAT II: 800 Math I, 800 Math II, 760 US History
Extra-curriculars: Debate team (4 years, President this year, League champion last year), Math team (3 years), Model UN (3 years), Band/Jazz Band/Orchestra/Voice (4 years)
Awards, etc: AP Scholar, Nat'l Merit (Commended), All-States (music) last two years - Recommended for All-Eastern last year, Dartmouth Book Award/various unimportant school awards, Boys' State MA last year, winner of regional American Legion speech contest last year
APs: last year, US History (5), Chemistry (4), and Microeconomics (4 - independent study)
Senior year courseload: AP Psychology, BC Calculus, AP Statistics, AP Language, AP Latin, AP Physics (outside of school - includes both Mechanics and E&M as school only teaches Mechanics), also planning to take both Micro & Macroeconomics tests
Recommendations: Very good from both academic teachers in subjects I did very well in, letter from Principal that was unreal and two pages long
Miscellaneous: sending in a music supplement that should be pretty high-level to the schools that accept it
Gender: M
School profile: boring white suburban, very mediocre, sends 1-2 kids to top 30 colleges per year w/ a typical class size around 220 or so</p>

<p>My application is far from spectacular so I'd be ecstatic if I got into even one of these. So please respond if I have a realistic shot at any of these or if I'm wasting my time. Thanks</p>

2

<p>Also, for extra-curriculars I’ve done work with a couple charity organizations, including School on Wheels (tutors homeless kids), and was a co-founder of my school’s mock trial club, and worked on the handbook committee (a join student-faculty committee that makes changes to the school yearbook each year - my work in which was mentioned in the Principal’s rec.). Hope this added info helps</p>

3

<p>Penn: Reach
Cornell: Low Reach
NW & Rice: Match/High Match (I’m sure one of these colleges will end up taking you)</p>

<p>If your grades improved on an upward trend and you a good amount of honors/AP, your “below average” GPA won’t be much of a problem.</p>

4

<p>penn- low reach
northwestern- high match
rice- high match
cornell- high match</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1435334-final-college-list-chance-me-bunch-colleges-will-chance-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1435334-final-college-list-chance-me-bunch-colleges-will-chance-back.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>I think you will get into one of them unless you are very unlucky.</p>

<p>Are you Asian American?</p>

6

<p>No, I’m white. In an almost exclusively white middle class MA community. Does that increase or decrease my chances lol?</p>

7

<p>Your standardized test scores are extremely impressive and definitely carry more weight than GPA/rank. That being said, I would try my best to pull up that GPA and rank in the mean time (which I’m sure you are). You are definitely a competitive candidate to Northwestern and Rice. Cornell and Penn are definitely reaches. I’d be sure to stress what makes you unique. Anytime you encounter low admit rates, many many students have great scores and take the same classes, be sure to show what it is about the specific school that you’re passionate about. I’d say your race would help you in a sense (since you’re not competing with some of the intense Asian competition), but it’s not a significant factor. Your application isn’t weak at all though, just work hard and I’m sure you’ll pull through. Good luck!</p>

8

<p>UPenn-Reach
Northwestern- high match
Rice- high match
Cornell- Reach</p>

<p>Comes down to the essays.</p>

9

<p>Penn- High Reach (I say this b/c penn has been particularly brutal this year)
NW- Low reach/High Match
Rice- Match
Cornell- Low reach</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1435520-chance-me-rd-schools-will-chance-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1435520-chance-me-rd-schools-will-chance-back.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

10

<p>Cornell: High Match
Penn: Reach
Northwestern: High Match
Rice: Match</p>

11

<p>Cornell: High Match
Penn: Reach
Northwestern: High Match/Low Reach
Rice: Match</p>

<p>You have the best chances at Rice, but the Ivies are notoriously unpredictable, as you probably know, so it could go either way. Your class rank is not low at all! Top 5%! The only weakness I see is that you seem like a typical applicant, and the difference between getting accepted or rejected will be how you present yourself. The music supp can help with that, but you should make sure that your essays portray you as unique. Good luck! :)</p>

12

<p>Your Achilles heel is you AP. Not enough and not good enough scores for IVYs, but you will be good for other two. Need atleast 5 AP scores of 5s, for IVYs.</p>

13

<p>penn- reach
northwestern- reach
rice- high reach
cornell- reach
I’m laughing at all of these people that think Rice is a high match - it is probably the hardest school to get into on your list.</p>

14

<p>I wouldn’t say Rice is a match. Last year they kicked up standards and tried pulling pseudo-ivy admits. Hearing from a couple friends there, they like strange applicants so keep that in mind. The rest seem like reaches for ANYONE as well, but best of luck! It really comes down to that sometimes</p>