Chance me for UPenn, Dartmouth, WUSTL, CMU, Vanderbilt

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Right now, I intend on applying to UPenn, Dartmouth, WUSTL, CMU, Vanderbilt, JHU. I'm kind of considering Stanford or Swarthmore. Any suggestions? Comments?</p>

<p>I'll be applying for the 2012-13 school year. I intend to apply for the engineering programs.</p>

<p>Here's all my stats and stuff:
[ *] SAT Verbal: 710 (meh, I KNOW I could do better. Worth retaking?)
[ *] SAT Math: 790
[ *] SAT Writing: 780
[ *] SAT Total: 2280
[ *] SAT II: Chem 800, Physics 780, Math II 800, Lit 750
[ *] ACT: 36 (35 in English)
[ *] AP taken/scores: Calc BC (expect 5), Language (expect 4), Physics (expect 5). Will take next year: Chem, Literature, German, Statistics, Psychology
[ *] GPA weighted: 4.62/4.83
[ *] GPA unweighted: 4.0
[ *] Rank or % estimate: 2/450</p>

<p>[ *] Essays: Still thinking of ideas
[ *] Teacher Recs: Should be good
[ *] Counselor Rec: Probably will be generic
[ *] Hook (if any): In my school's 50 year history, nobody has gone to an Ivy League. Neither of my parents have college degrees.</p>

<p>[ *] State or Country: IL
[ *] School Type: Public
[ *] Ethnicity: White
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] Legacy Yes/No: No
[ *] Recruited Yes/No: No
[ *] Important ECs: Drum major in the marching band for 2 years, tutor at a tutoring center, 8 years playing the clarinet, 4 years of math team, 4 years of Scholastic Bowl, 1 year of speech team, 2 years of NHS, 2 years of Link Crew (freshman support/leadership group), National Merit Semi-Finalist (hopefully Finalist eventually).</p>

<p>Basically my school sucks at preparing kids for Ivy Leagues, but I've succeeded there well beyond the school's standards. Hopefully I'll be the first to get in to an Ivy League.</p>

<p>I like my test scores, but my lack of awards (and opportunities) sucks.</p>

2

<p>I would retake the Verbal section.
Your school’s track record is not good, and you’re not an URM. However, you do get a hook in being a first generation college student, and your ECs are not phenomenal, but they’re good enough.
You can explain your lack of opportunities a bit, and that might help a bit. However, I have to say currently:</p>

<p>UPenn: possible, but still unlikely. Your school’s ranking and your skewed SAT score won’t aid you. Try to get the scores rather even. 40%
Dartmouth - pretty unlikely; 25%
WUSTL: likely enough; high match 55%
CMU: likely enough; high match 55%
Vanderbilt: pretty likely; match 60%</p>

<p>Chance me back?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1168046-thread-has-interesting-title-ill-chance-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1168046-thread-has-interesting-title-ill-chance-back.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>Your ACT score is as good as it gets :wink: I would submit just the ACT score rather than sending in both the SAT and ACT scores. You are qualified, but getting in to the top schools is pretty much a crapshoot for anyone. Try to write great essays and get the best recommendations possible. Definetly stress the fact that neither of your parents has a college degree; that could be a hook of some sort. Good luck :)</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1169076-please-chance-me-ivy-league-stanford-duke.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1169076-please-chance-me-ivy-league-stanford-duke.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>ONLY SUBMIT THE ACT SCORE AND YOUR 2 BEST SUBJECT TESTS WHICH ARE EACH 800!!! YOU LITERALLY HAVE PERFECT STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES!!!</p>

<p>however… your ECs suck majorly. This is why you should apply to Penn early decision, and you will likely get in. you’ve got a good chance anywhere you apply ED to. however the ivies + stanford are going to be REALLY tough w/o any good ECs, unless you’re a clarinet prodigy. in that case send in a recording of your music as a supplement. first gen college is fabulous for your odds. GOOD LUCK!</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1168613-chances-congressional-page-columbia-ed-will-chance-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1168613-chances-congressional-page-columbia-ed-will-chance-back.html&lt;/a&gt;
chance back!!!</p>

5

<p>Great stats, but having no prior ivy students in your school is not a hook… It looks bad</p>

6

<p>I disagree with AnonymousStudent. I would send all SAT 2 scores</p>

7

<p>I don’t believe you have a very good chance at Ivies, but if you come up with a great essay you could apply anyway if you want. If you get rejected, you’re in company with 90% of the other applicants (and myself :P). There’s no harm in trying, except maybe a little ego deflation along the way (which isn’t the worst thing for us arrogant teenagers lol).</p>

<p>I think you definitely have a chance at WUSTL, CMU, JHU and Vanderbilt. Also maybe try schools slightly “lower” like Tufts, BC, GWU, etc… I’m sure you’ll get into a school that’s right for you :)</p>

<p>If you’re into the LAC thing (you have Swarthmore there), you should consider Amherst, Williams and Middlebury and maybe Wesleyan for an easier school. At Wesleyan specifically I didn’t get AS much of an LAC feel as I did at Williams since it’s a little bit bigger and in more of an area that’s well… not in the middle of nowhere. </p>

<p>I also see that you’re from Illinois and didn’t ask about UChicago or Northwestern. I didn’t apply to any schools in NY (the state where I’m from) either :P. Mostly because I didn’t like any of them though. I’m not a large city person and Cornell didn’t seem right either.</p>

<p>I would also send all SAT IIs since they’re all 750+ and it shows you have a wide breadth of knowledge. I don’t think the SAT is worth retaking since your ACT is so good and all of your scores are above 700.</p>

8

<p>Urgh. I hate my school.</p>

<p>I’m still definitely going to apply to UPenn. I figure there’s no harm in trying.</p>

9

<p>I think you definitely have a shot at Dartmouth, Stanford, and Penn, its worth applying. I wouldn’t be dissuaded by the comments above, I think they’re ignoring your 36 ACT. I’d add Cornell, Northwestern, Duke, and maybe Rice to your list as they all have great undergrad engineering programs and are very strong overall. You might even want to throw Princeton into the mix.</p>

<p>You should be a shoe-in for CMU, Vandy and should be very strong for WashU and JHU.</p>

10

<p>Forget the ACT- Just submit your ACT and the Subject Tests- thats literally perfect standardized test scores.
Unless you know you can write a killer essay about it, dont mention your school’s track record (although theyll probably find it anyway)</p>

<p>UPenn: Worth a shot for ED- decent chance too, probably around 50/50
Dartmouth - I doubt it, 20%
WUSTL: Good chance, 55%
CMU: high match, 70%ish
Vanderbilt: high match, 60-65%</p>

<p>Chance me? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1170175-another-chance-thread-chances-cornell-penn-duke-johns-hopkins.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1170175-another-chance-thread-chances-cornell-penn-duke-johns-hopkins.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

11

<p>Okay, thanks everyone!</p>

12

<p>I dont know much about the other schools, but I know CMU very well from being around the campus for many summer camps and receiving the “how to get into CMU” speech.</p>

<p>CMU requires 2 science SAT IIs and SAT II Math. If you want to make your test scores perfect, you could retake the Physics. Seeing as your EC’s kinda… suck (for lack of a better word) it might be a good idea. </p>

<p>I wanted to ask what school you plan on applying to for CMU. If you plan on getting into the computer science school, I’d say REACH only because you dont have any awards and CMU likes to see lots of good useful extracurriculars. </p>

<p>Otherwise, I’d say you have a high match for CMU.</p>

<p>Good luck and help me back please?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1171010-chance-me-help-safety-match-schools.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1171010-chance-me-help-safety-match-schools.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

13

<p>just focus on your essay. you are just like every applicant with a very impressive resume. colleges really want passionate people in their schools and having these impressive items wont really cut it unless the administrators really get to know who you are. i personally think that having these things is just the preliminary round to ensure that you fit the persona of the students at their school. your personality will get you in. </p>

<p>chance back please :slight_smile:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1170620-chance-me-these-colleges-i-will-chance-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1170620-chance-me-these-colleges-i-will-chance-back.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

14

<p>I think that it’s potentially to your advantage that your school hasn’t had a history of acceptances at top schools, as it makes you seem to have succeeded in a disadvantaged situation. </p>

<p>I agree with slipper1234 regarding your choice of colleges, given your intended major. You’ve definitely selected a batch of strong schools, but they aren’t what I’d expect for a prospective engineer.</p>

<p>Your test scores are very strong, and I wouldn’t exactly call your extracurriculars “weak” either. Stanford will be a reach for everyone, but your stats are definitely those of the kind of student that Stanford accepts, and it does have a superb engineering program.</p>

15

<p>Okay thanks! Which other schools should I consider for engineering?</p>

16

<p>Another excellent private school for engineering would be the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. It’s a peer school to Carnegie Mellon.</p>