chance me for (upenn, nyu, northwestern, and others)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

hello everyone. i’m currently a senior in high school and i’m panicking about college admissions. could you let me know what you think? here are my stats

objective

  • gpa: 95.47/100 (school doesn’t specify they just give a gpa)
  • sat: 1210
  • ap: u.s. history (4) english language and comp (3)
  • class rank: top 10%
  • national awards: national speech and debate special distinction degree, other small finalist awards at tournaments, state qualifier in debate
  • about 13 ap classes by the time i graduate - really hope to do well the one’s i’m taking this year
  • intended major: international relations/studies and global health (minor in african studies or women and gender studies) another language or maybe take summer classes in spanish or french
  • senior course load: ap gov, ap euro, ap seminar, ap macroeconomics, ap english literature, and ap calculus ab
  • race: black (african/nigerian) - first generation american
  • gender: female
  • income: my mother is unemployed so we get government assistance (currently employed)

essays:

  • common app: my father’s store was a victim in the ferguson riots and i was there to witness it- how it shaped me
  • “why” essays - talking about my strong desire to learn more about africa and the diseases that plague women there specifically; schools are also in amazing cities (opportunities there are endless)

subjective

speech and debate team

  • debate captain
  • congressional debater and domestic extemp speaker (smaller awards)
  • uil state qualifier
  • didn’t really do much because our team was one of the poorer schools so no tournaments :confused:
  • i hope to do really well at the national qualifying tournament this year
  • national honors society; president - lot's of local projects and community engagement. go to speak a lot as an nhs president
  • girl up; created united nation's foundation chapter at my own school - we've had amazing achievements with this club (super passionate about) i've put in everything into this club and i think that it's something that is extremely close to my heart. i started it from scratch at my school and have gotten so much support and recognition for it - i think it's a great thing to add to my application
  • started school's hygiene annual drive
  • founder and president
  • created summer and fall conference/camp called confidence and cupcakes
  • raised over 100 dollars on gofundme
  • calling our local senators and engaging in different campaigns
  • created our own website
  • recognized by the united nations for a grant
  • group volunteer projects
  • featured in school's yearbook
  • church (another major important thing in my life that i'm really passionate about, i'm VERY active in church like i'm always there lol); pianist, youth community leader, started clothing drive at my church open to the needy; volunteer at food monthly food distribution
  • academic world quest team; yearly quizbowl with a team (we do okay lol nothing major)
  • freshman fish camp leader (purple team); helping out the fish camp for freshmen to get used to the school
  • junior volunteer program at local hospital (116 hours)
  • lawyer mentorship senior year (health lawyer at a local firm)
  • toastmasters youth leadership club (the sergeant in arms)
  • school's orchestra; violinist, led orchestra to highest ranking at competition (first chair), solo and ensemble uil orchestra received the highest ranking

job experience

  • worked at my dad’s beauty supply every summer (no pay)
  • volunteered at the local hospital and library
  • volunteered at church and more
  • working at movie theatre

schools i’m applying to

  • nyu - cas (double major)
  • northwestern - cas (adjunct major)
  • upenn (please don’t laugh at me) - cas
  • spelman (
  • emory

scholarships
jackie robinson
ronald reagan
other smaller scholarships

2

@heyooo123
The only bad thing I see about your application is your SAT scores.
Your essay topic is interesting, and your EC’s are good as well. Is it possible you can take the December test?
NYU- Match
NW- High Reach
UPENN- HIGH Reach
Spelman- Safety
Emory- Low Reach/ Reach

3

subject tests???

4

Agree with emorynavy. There are several very good test optional schools out there as well (such as Bates). Maybe consider a few of them?

5

The school might not necessarily appeal to you since you’re from the area, but would you consider WashU? It has been trying to diversify enrollment especially among African American students and has been trying to reach out to the greater St. Louis community.

6

For test optional, the University of Chicago might be worth looking into since you have Northwestern and Penn as your reaches. If you can write solid essays and figure out the infamous Chicago essays, it might be worth a shot. It would still be a reach, but you have several reach schools on your list anyways and who knows what could happen?

7

Your experiences and URM should help, so I wouldn’t worry too much, though I know that’s easy to say. The suggestion to add test optional schools like Chicago is a good one. Penn and NW are going to be tough, the 25% SAT is in the 1400s, Emory is 1390, again pretty tough, NYU you have a better chance, their average is 1360-ish so it’s not too far below other test takers. Spelman you should get in. Do you have Naviance where you can see how you hs applicants have done with these schools? That would be a good starting guide. Good luck!

8

@heyooo123
Also , ask yourself why you want to go to such highly regarded schools. Are you clout chasing? If so you may be in trouble as you would be entering a school in which you near the bottom of the class academically. That may not be worth the hard work.