Chance me for good schools! Please help

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

GPA: 3.86 on 4 scale
ACT: 28 (TERRIBLE test taker) retaking it in December hoping for a 30
GPA has shown big upward trend (4.2 junior year)
I will graduate with 4 APs (solid grades in all of them)
Rank: My school does decile I don’t know my exact one but definitely in top 40%

ECs
-Volunteer at Interfaith Food Pantry (once a week for an hour, 45 weeks a year)
-Eucharistic Minister and Usher at my church (one hour a week, all year)
-CCD Teacher at my parish. For two hours after mass I teach CCD to sophomores
-Future Business Leaders of America member (all four years, participated in events for business)
-Habitat for Humanity Volunteer (spent a week in West Virginia two summers in a row to help build houses. Won Rookie of the year which is hardest worker, total of 72 hours)
-I row crew for a competitive club for my sport (20 hours a week, 16 weeks a year)
-Board member for Special Needs Athletic Program (twice a week for an hour I help kids with disabilities play sports. 18 weeks a year)
-Work at an ice cream shop/cafe. (9 hours per week, all year except summer)
-Work as a director summer camp counselor in my town. (20 hours per week, played sports with kids. Some days I lifeguard at the town pool)
-Class of 2016 representative (includes planning events for our grade, fundraising, etc. meetings are pretty frequent and I put a good amount of effort into it)
-I work at an after school program everyday for three hours, tutor kids for homework.

English is my strong subject so I am confident in my essay and editors have said it’s excellent.
I have strong recommendations, one from the youth minister leader at my church.

I want to go to the best college possible. Any ideas? The best academic school I’ve looked at is Holy Cross.

2

Looks good for Holy Cross. Could you tell me what other schools you’d like to go to?

3

@fulofsteel my dream school is Notre Dame but I am realistic with myself. An alum is writing me a rec for ND but I still understand my chances are low. I just want to go to the best academic school possible. I have also looked at Villanova. If you know of any other schools that fit my caliber I would appreciate it!

4

So here are some schools that I think have a very underrated education and that I think you would excel at

  • Penn State Main
  • Boston University
  • Lehigh University
  • Villanova
  • University of Wisconson

All of theses schools have a great alumni network and would propel you into a great job post college. What else do you like in a school? Location? Size? Sports? Religion?

5

@fulofsteel thanks for the suggestions. I like sports and school spirit, preferably football. I would like a school with a prestigious reputation. Do I have a chance at Cornell or any top tier schools? Thanks!

6

No chance at Cornell or other top 20’s. Being a bad test taker is not an excuse.

If you mean top 20 prestige, your stats simply are not of that caliber.

7

I wouldn’t advise submitting the 28 to Holy Cross, but if you get a 30 in December send that.
Lafayette, Providence, Fordham could be good choices for you

8

What is the breakdown in your ACT?
Do you have any subject test scores? And what is the caliber of your high school?

9

GPA is good, just got to get that ACT way up!
I really don’t believe there is any such thing as a “bad test taker”. Prepare enough and you should be confident enough to get a 33+ (especially with your GPA)
If you have to submit that ACT score to a school early action/early decision (like ND or some other top 20ish) school you run the risk of getting rejected. Get that ACT score up to around a 33 and i think you have a pretty good chance at ND