Chance me for Duke ED, Northwestern, Dartmouth, Cornell...

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I am planning to ED to Duke A&S, but am also looking at schools like Northwestern, Dartmouth, Cornell, UChicago, Michigan, and Notre Dame. I know these are reaches and I do have other backups, but I want to see if there are any suggestions for these schools in particular.

School: Public NJ
WGPA: 4.62/5.0 even though highest possible is 4.875 because of required class
GPA: prob around 3.9/4.0
Class Rank: 8/280

SAT I: 1520/1600
SAT II US History: 740/800
SAT II Math II: will take in August, expecting 700-800
AP Statistics: 5
APUSH: 5

Ethnicity: Asian
Income Bracket: High

Intended Major: Econ, finance

Senior Course Load: AP Econ, AP Calc, AP Chem, AP Lit, AP Spanish, some other classes I am required to take

EC’s:
-Organized three successful fundraisers(backpacks to kids) in three years, raising nearly $15,000 from writing to companies
-Captain of Varsity Basketball team, varsity starter since sophomore, second team all conference
-Consulting Intern at firm(paid) this summer
-Pres of Peer Leaders
-VP of JSA
-VP of DECA, 1st in state for virtual marketing event, 2nd for regional HRM test event
-took Mandarin Chinese for three years, passed HSK 2 standardized test in 2014
-FBLA member, top 15 in nation and 4th in state for management decision making event
-AAU basketball in spring and fall
-basketball camp counselor for two summers
-some other volunteer work

Honors/Awards:
-National Honor Society, National Business Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society(if these go here)
-the event ones from FBLA and DECA

Hook:
-was thinking about writing about sibling in prison, not sure if this is a hook though but I’m Asian and not poor so that goes against me lol

Please be honest. I am welcome to all feedback and suggestions.

2

Teacher Recs will be from Regular English(took regular this year but AP next year idk) teacher and AP Stats teacher. both know me well, should be pretty good

3

Your stats are very nice. Maybe higher your SAT score to at least a 1530-1560 and maybe get a high act score. You seem pretty set to me. Hook is good, just make sure your essays are amazing as well as your recs

4

Also went to two SIG enrichment programs and took intro to business management at cornell summer college–I think that goes in extra edu

5

@TN034154 Is it worth it to take my SAT again? I just took it last month and got a 1520 and I took it last June as a sophomore and got a 1480-I am not sure how much higher I can get. I also tried my ACT as a sophomore but scored significantly lower(I found it much harder than the SAT), so I do not plan on submitting ACT.

6

Your stats are great! You just need to find a facet to stand out, which is what most qualified applicants have the biggest problem with. Having lived in Ithaca for several years, I can certainly tell you that many people who attend Cornell are brilliant, but also interesting and real people. Be sure to convey that and exactly what makes you so interesting and most importantly who you are as a person. Cornell has no reason to pick you because of your GPA/scores because everyone from Adam applying to Cornell likely has similar. You certainly have a solid foundation, but make sure you can stand out!

Best of luck!
-J

7

I really think you should focus more on you essays. You’re clearly in the spectrum statistically, so find a way to be memorable!

8

Thanks for the input! @esuhla

9

Honestly a 1520 is very high, if you can not score any higher that PERFECTLY okay since you are in the v high range. Now its all on your essays (you want to stand out, not to tell them but SHOW them why the SHOULD admit you) and you need AMAZING teacher recs to show them that you’re a great student. Good Luck !!!

10

Your EC’s are awesome. I think that you will definitely stand out due to a great combination of EC and a strong academic profile. Your SAT is definitely good enough for those schools, but is not going to be the strongest or most compelling part of your application. You will definitely be fine if your essay is as strong as it sounds.

11

Thanks guys. Hopefully I can make my essays strong.

12

Duke alum here. Your stats and grades are very strong. No need to retake SAT. Duke recommends two SAT II scores. As long as you score > 700 on the second one you should be fine.

I like the idea of writing about your brother in prison. However note that would not be a ‘hook’.

Good luck

13

Just curious, what kind of companies did you email? I’m thinking of fundraising for a local charity, but not sure what companies to contact.

14

Thanks! @sgopal2 How did you like Duke?

@lilia3 I contacted mostly local businesses, but some companies like Macy’s have foundations that give money. You can apply to those online, and sometimes you can get lucky.