Objective:
SAT I superscore (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 2300 (770/740/800/8) first and only sitting
SAT II (subject, score): Math 2 (750), Lit (770)
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: 3.9 ish UW
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5%
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): APUSH (4), AP Lang (4).
Currently taking:
AP Gov/Comp
AP Calc AB
AP Environmental
Next year:
AP Calc BC
AP Euro
AP Lit
AP Econ
Awards:
AP Scholar with Distinction*
National Merit Semifinalist*
High school award in math and science
High School essay contest 1st place
Yale essay contest 1st place
Two other, smaller online essay contests - 1st place
second place in We The People state competition
High honor roll, NHS, etc.
Extracurriculars:
Writer for the Huffington Post
I've written many blogs/articles that have been published on the website.
School newspaper (co-editor in chief)
10 hours a week, competitive to become the EIC
Editor for a national high school literary magazine
I read, edit, revise and comment on many submissions. I was promoted to a higher level editing position. 10 hours a week
Contribute to my town's newspaper
I write advice about college, my town, and youth life.
Published in town's literary magazine
Published author of a novel
75 page fantasy novel published in 9th-10th grade.
-Published in several anthologies and websites
-I have my own blog where I write about anything and everything that interests me!
-Beginning to work on another novel, hopefully it’ll be good enough for me to send as a supplement next fall!
Class Treasurer
DECA (co-president)
President of a public speaking club
Black Belt in Karate
2nd and 3rd place in town film festival
JV Crew and JV Lacrosse
Work/volunteer/summer experience:
manager/editor/reporter at a startup financial literacy website for young adults (5 hours/week)
manager/marketer/blogger at a startup educational company (5 hours/week)
internship at a local hedgefund or at a congressman's office (haven't decided yet)
paid private tutor (5-10 hours/week)
waiter at an inn
Yale Young Global Scholars program
volunteer tutor for struggling students in middle and high school
Recommendations:
Already have 2 teachers who I know will write great recs!
Other:
U.S. State/Territory or Country: competitive state
School Type: Very large public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket Range: No financial aid
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): nope
*please assume I won these awards. I know they haven’t come out yet.
What do you guys think? Any advice/suggestions? I think I have a clearly defined interest in writing (I’m not a “well-rounded” candidate) so that definitely makes me a bit more unique! I plan to major in either economics, business, or journalism, or some mixture of the three! Thanks for your time.
Hey suzy, thanks for responding! I’ve actually read a lot of ivy results threads, but I still am not sure what kind of chance I have. So I wanted to make this post! Do you have any advice?
@doorrealthe On paper you look good, with a few weaker areas. Given the schools you listed, the SAT MATH II scores and the 3.9 GPA could be considered weaknesses. I think I saw a video where the Dean of Duke admissions said that they typically admit kids in the top 3% to top 5% of the class. So you are on the border there as well.
Yeah, I know ridiculous right? but I think I saw somewhere that in some selective schools less than 5% of applicants who have GPA in the 3.7 to 3.9 range get admitted, while the percentage for perfect GPA is over 20%. So there is actually a big difference in that 3.9 vs 4.0
The point is, you will never find out unless you apply. If your heart is sent on those schools, apply!! That is the only way you can be sure. Good luck! You have an amazing background. Congrats on working so hard.
Wow. I’m a junior hoping that I might be accepted into an ivy, but I feel like I have 0 chance right now! You may not be a “well-rounded” candidate, but you have a big spike in the fact that you have done so much with your writing, which I find incredible!
Thanks 165! I’ve certainly developed some sort of spike. But I just checked your thread out and yours look very impressive! You def do not have 0 chance haha
Your chances seem great. Maybe aim for more Ivys who are all into the brand name and showy type of experience (Huff Post) because you would probably be a shoe in there. My brother goes to UChicago and I know they value academic achievement more than professional achievement. But with your essay writing experience and competitions you seem like you’d have a relatively easy time getting in where you want.
All of those schools are a reach for pretty much anyone. The SAT IIs are a bit low considering the curve that they have. Seems like you have a decent chance, as you’ve said, your profile definitely doesn’t make you look like a well-rounded candidate, which might hurt you, however some schools enjoy a certain amount of “spikey-ness” in certain fields.
Yeah, the math 2 was a bit tough for me but I think based off my math grades and courses, I wouldn’t say I’m terrible at math, just not the best compared to like kids who take multivariable calc as a junior (my friend)
Hello - I’m a Duke alum. Let me give you my thoughts about your chances to Duke.
Duke rates along 5 dimensions (score range 1-5): curriculum, achievement, recommendations, essays, extracurriculars, plus one for your standardized test score. The test score is not rated but simply which quintile you fall into based upon all those who apply. Based upon the info you provided, here is where I would rate you:
For trinity the scores from both readers are summed. So my guess is that you’ll have a score of between 48 - 52. This is a competitive score, but your fate will probably be decided in committee. Once your application goes to committee, alot of other factors can come into play: which part of the country you are from, how many other students from your school apply, etc.
No your admissions score. The maximum score possible for Trinity would be a 5 in all categories. The scores from both readers are summed for a max score of 60.