Chance me for Ivies?

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>[fair warning - I'm copy/pasting this from the multiple degrees program forum]</p>

<p>Well, I promised myself I'd never make one of these threads, but reading everyone else's chance threads has been rather discouraging, so I'm curious to know what you all think of me.
I'm applying to HYP, Brown (PLME), Dartmouth, and Columbia.
Also applying to Northwestern, UChicago, NYU, Barnard, BU, and possibly Tufts and Wesleyan. I don't want to aim too high and get shot down, so I don't really know what to do here...</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0 UW/4.23 W
Class Rank: currently #8. unfortunately, this will go down when semester grades come out as I'm only taking 2 APs this year.
Class Size: 314 (I'm currently in top 5%)</p>

<p>SAT I: 2350 (800CR, 760M, 790W)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 760 Chem, 770 US History
PSAT: 225 (NMSF)</p>

<p>APs: 5 US History, 5 Calc AB, 5 Lang + Comp (all taken last year). I'll be taking Physics B, Bio, and hopefully Lit + Comp, Calc BC, and Psych this spring (I'm self-studying those last three).</p>

<p>Course load: this year's is AP Bio, AP Physics B, Futures (a sci-fi based English class), gov/econ, and two choir classes.
I was originally signed up to take 5 APs this year, but there were ridiculous scheduling issues, so I ended up with this. My physics class is actually an independent study, but I don't believe my transcript will reflect that.
I've also taken community college classes (3 years of Italian, and a semester of college algebra).
I spent my sophomore year in an independent study program in order to take a monthlong trip to Italy. Unfortunately, no honors classes were available.</p>

<p>ECs:
Volunteer in local ER - since spring 2012. Only ~50 hours so far.
Music - I sing in several choirs, including a select 12-voice jazz ensemble at school and a select 15-voice early music choir through Sonoma Bach Society (I'm by far the youngest member of the group). I also play piano and guitar.
Photography - I was invited to partner with Getty Images and am currently selling several photos through their website. Best in Show at county fair (as if this means anything... haha). I'm considering sending in an arts supplement to Brown and Harvard. I can post the link to my online portfolio if anyone wants to see it :)
Interact Club - member for 2 years, president 2012-13. Organized a service trip to Mexico. All the usual Interact Club stuff.
Athletics - I'm a self-taught weightlifter (random, I suppose, but I'm writing my short answer on this). I did ballet for a few years and have danced with the Moscow Ballet in their Nutcracker production for the last two years.
Church - I've taught the preschool church school class/provided childcare for the last three years, but I can't get community service hours for this as it's a religious activity.
Math tutor - off-and-on for the past few years. I've tutored junior high kids and my friends in classes from Alg I to Calculus. This is paid work, not volunteer.</p>

<p>Recs: I've waived my rights to see these, but I know my English teacher's will be fabulous - she loves me. Not sure about my chem teacher's writing ability, but he likes me very much as well. Counselor... well, this is a crapshoot. He likes me but doesn't know me too well, so I'm not sure what to predict.</p>

<p>No hooks... I'm white, female, upper middle class. We'll see how that serves me! I go to a magnet arts high school.
Dad went to Harvard for UG and received a PhD from Yale. Mom has a BS in mechanical engineering from University of Michigan.
It might be worth it to note that Princeton has sent me a fair bit of mail (presumably because of National Merit).</p>

<p>I'm a little bit peeved about my class rank - like I said, I wasn't able to take any honors or AP classes sophomore year, and that's what's pushing it down (it's determined by weighted GPA). I was the only NMSF at my school and, as far as I know, have the highest SAT score of anyone in my class. </p>

<p>Wow, I never meant for this post to get so long. No wonder my first draft for my common app essay was 200 words too long... Anyway, thanks very much in advance, and props if you read the whole thing :)</p>

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<p>Good chances all around, especially H and Y with the legacy.</p>

<p>Sent from my DROID X2 using CC</p>

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<p>I’m hoping the legacy bit will help at least a little, but who knows? Thanks, though! I appreciate it. :)</p>

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<p>I would say you have a great chance at all your schools. Your ec are great, scores are up to par, and though you didnt get an 800 in math on the regular sats, the 800 on math 2 definitely makes up for it.
Good luck! </p>

<p>Chance me back please?</p>

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<p>i think you have a very good chance!!!</p>

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<p>Weighted gpa is low but other than that stats are great. Good luck</p>

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<p>If you don’t get shot down somewhere you never tried for the very best – it’s the nature of the admissions process these days. Just make sure you apply to a laddered range of schools with acceptance rates up to around 30-35% plus a safety like the state flagship.</p>

<p>You will get multiple acceptances, even if you don’t get into your first choice. Photo awards at the county fair? Female weight lifter and ballet dancer? These things go well beyond excellent stats to make you stand out and make you interesting in a sea of excellent but cookie-cutter competitors.</p>

<p>Does the county fair bit mean you live in a rural area? That could be a big plus; most candidates come from wealthier suburbs or large urban areas.</p>

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<p>Why don’t you apply to Johns Hopkins or Duke? They have great research opportunities for premeds and might be good fits.</p>

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<p>Thanks, guys, y’all are making me smile. All these apps are getting kind of stressful, but I’m glad to see there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and all that jazz :)</p>

<p>LoremIpsum, I live in what used to be a farm town about an hour north of SF. I’m pretty close to Marin County, which is incredibly wealthy (Wiki says it has the 3rd highest per capita income in the country!), so I’m not too sure what that means for me. I definitely am applying to a few UCs, where I have guaranteed admission. They’re all excellent schools, so I’ll probably be happy wherever I end up.</p>

<p>goldenboy, I’ve been looking into JHU. I have a friend there who loves it… I may well apply. We’ll see!</p>

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<p>It will now all depend on your essay and how you present yourself. Everything else looks great. I wouldn’t be surprised if you made it to many ivies.</p>

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<p>You’ve got wonderful stats, unique ec’s, and even a legacy hook. Is your SAT superscored or from a single sitting? You should definitely explain the lack of APs you’re taking this year; many adcoms will sympathize with your scheduling issues, which is very common. </p>

<p>I think you’ll get in at non-Ivies you wrote in your post as well as at least one Ivy, if not multiple. Great work!</p>

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<p>Farm girl just outside of Silicon Valley? Sounds like a curiously interesting combination definitely worth a mention within a essay question (clash/merging of cultures?). Let’s take a moment to consider the actual process of getting accepted to an elite college.</p>

<p>Here’s what has to happen before you get accepted: your regional advocate will need to see you as a “real person” not just a statistic and be willing to go to bat for you in front of the committee (over other choices). At that point, your advocate will only have a few seconds to summarize you and to make a case why you stand out:</p>

<p>“And here I’ve got a ballet-dancing weightlifting farm girl from just outside Silicon Valley with top stats and some photography awards. Very unique!”</p>

<p>Your goal is now is marketing – you are the product. Make it easy in your essays and other materials for your advocate to know you and your highlights, to make those few seconds count.</p>

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<p>Thank you so much, LoremIpsum. I’ll do the best I can!</p>

<p>feedback411, my SAT score is from a single sitting, my first and only, with no prep… I was kind of proud of that. Then of course I wondered whether I could have gotten a 2400 if I’d tried. (But a larger part of me wanted very much not to be <em>that girl</em>, so I forgot about it, haha.) I am including a short paragraph in the additional information section explaining my independent study and this year’s schedule.</p>

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<p>Good for you! Retaking the test and getting the 2400 might have actually worked against you: adcoms see too many applicants who become distracted and obsessed with perfection on a trivial matter rather than using that time to pursue other interests.</p>

<p>For what it’s worth, my son got a perfect score on the ACT at his first sitting and it didn’t matter all that much. He got a few rejections, 5 acceptances and 3 customized letters from his advocates explaining what the committee found particularly outstanding. They mentioned his self-designed community service project and his willingness to stick his neck out, taking 8 AP exams sophomore year, 4 of them self-taught. No one mentioned his stats; after a point it just doesn’t matter – it’s the extras you bring to the table that do.</p>

<p>By the way, I love your screen name; I hope your essays are full of similar irreverent humor.</p>