Chance Me for the Ivy League

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey guys. I applied RD to all 8 ivies in January, and rather than asking my chances for a particular school (which is basically impossible to predict), what are the chances I will get into ONE of these schools.

SAT: 1560 [760 English, 800 Math]
ACT: 34 [35 Reading, 35 Writing, 36 Science, 31 Math BRUH ****]
SAT II: 800 Physics, 800 Math Level 2
Weighted GPA: 4.30
Class Rank: Top 10% (school doesn’t rank)

APs (we can’t take APs until Junior year):
AP Economics
AP US History
AP English Language & Composition
AP Calculus AB
AP Physics 1
AP Physics 2
AP Physics C: Mechanics
AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism

AP Scores (one of the bad parts tp my application): AP Calc AB - 5; AP Physics I - 4; AP Lang - 3

Major(s) Applying For: Political Science & Physics

ECs:
JSA State Conference Coordinator (I organize the debate conferences held at a prestigious university that 550+ attend and the bi-weekly conferences at high schools that 150+ attend)
School Student Council President
Senior Class President
JSA Chapter President
Consumer Bowl Team Captain
National Economic Challenge Team Co-Founder & Co-Captain
Peer Tutor (with 92 Community Service Hours)
Peer Leader
Physics Club/Robotics
Class Rep (Freshman - Junior)
Intern for my Sophomore US History I teacher (Junior - Senior)

Awards:
15x JSA Best Speaker Awards
Consumer Bowl County Semi-Finalists (while I was captain)
Consumer Bowl County Champions (while I was captain)
AP Scholar Award (lol)

Summer Activities:
Took Pre-Calculus (a year-long course) during my 2017 summer, 6 hours a day, through LEAP program
Scheduled and planned my school’s Senior Prom
Attended a JSA State Cabinet Convention to essentially plan out the year for the organization

My letters of rec were all between an (8/10) to a (10/10). I received one from my Principal praising my work at our school, one from my JSA advisor, one from the History teacher who I intern for, and one from my AP Physics teacher of 3 years

Aside from this, I am first generation, disabled with gross motor skills, and have Aspergers syndrome (which is a unique story because it is typically associated with social awkwardness and the inability to communicate effectively, yet I have overcome this disadvantage placed on me at birth and risen to the top through my involvement with debate and public speaking).

Please let me know some opinions. I’m super nervous for March 28th!!!

2

5-8%

You know this.

The VERY best thing that you can do for yourself right now is to put all that nervous energy into something else.

Ideally, that will be something where you are doing something truly useful to somebody else. Second choice would be something that is fully engrossing to you.

In the meantime, log out of CC and don’t come back until after 5/7pm ET on Ivy Day.

Seriously.

3

https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/apply/what-we-look/valuing-creative-reflective

4

@slushymods first off good luck. You have impressive stats that will get you considered. I am always concerned when someone says “I applied to all 8 Ivies” because they are all such unique school’s sharing little but a sports conference and prestige.

So what are your chances… Did you differentiate what you liked and could contribute to each school in your applications? Are your ECs, LORs and academics consistent with how you portray yourself. Your ability to express such things in a nuanced and insightful manner will dictate your results.

Sorry to answer a question with questions but that is the reality. Your only fear should be if you went generic for all. If you were honest, specific, detailed and forthright throughout you should get into a few.

I know the waiting sucks… hang in there.

FYI did you visit any? Taking prestige off the table which one do you think suits your personality best?

5

I agree with post 1. You are just torturing yourself by staying on CC after applications are submitted. There is nothing you can do now but wait. Go enjoy your life in the meantime.

6

Hey guys just wanna say thanks for the truthful advice, I prolly shouldn’t even be asking but the anxiety truly hits me late at night and I start freaking out.

7

@Nocreativity1 Thanks for that. And yeah, I understand what you mean about each having its own “personality” or “flavor”, and after having an interview with each of them and REALLY RESEARCHING EACH, these become apparent.

But yes, I think I differentiated myself well and really proved how much of a valuable contributor I would be to the campus environment (especially with my essays incorporating ECs and my additional LORs). The only essay I’m personally worried about is my Penn essay, but with that, I still described what PARTICULARLY was unique about the campus that appealed to me, just more worried about how it was constructed.

I think I would be best suited at either Princeton (I’ve been to their campus 8 times and organized events there twice, and the overall campus environment, societies, and programs are most appealing to me) or UPenn (because of the SUPER UNIQUE programs, especially PPE, and the extracurriculars they offer). Dartmouth probably trails right behind them because of the campus environment (similar to Princeton) and also the career opportunities with D-Plan and the Rockefeller Center. From there, I would probably go Columbia, Yale, Cornell, Harvard, Brown. All super good schools with their own flavors, and I’d be happy to go to any of them, but I have my preferences.

8

Sounds like you have done everything right. My fingers are crossed for a solid update in a few weeks.

9

@Nocreativity1 Thanks for the support! I’m praying.

10

Do you have any any hooks - URM, athlete, legacy, first gen etc.? That would make a big difference.

11

@theloniusmonk As I said in the post, I am first generation, am partially disabled with my gross motor skills, and have Aspergers Syndrome.

Aspergers Syndrome is stereotypically associated with being anti-social and bad at communication, and for most of my life, I fit that mold perfectly. Given that I am disabled, I couldn’t play musical instruments or sports like the other kids when I was younger, and I really questioned my identity.

However, I joined a debate/political involvement club called the Junior State of America during my Sophomore year, and after debating dozens upon dozens of times, I developed great speaking and debating abilities, which by birth, was inherently difficult for me. I went from reading off a piece of paper, to memorizing my speeches, to practicing a little bit the night before, to speaking completely extemporaneously. In my CommonApp essay, I detailed this journey in its entirety, starting from my first debate.

I eventually ascended to win 15 awards over my tenure in the club (more than any other member in the region) and I now actually organize the whole conferences. Through my new passion, I went on to also went on to run for (and win) Class President, School President, etc. and a bunch of other elections.

I mean, I would assume the disabilities themselves are hooks, but I think the story I told really adds onto it.