<p>9th: 4.0 UW 5.0 W
10th: 4.0 UW 4.8 W
11th: 4.0 UW 4.8 W
12th: 4.0 UW 5.0 W</p>
<p>All honors courses except French I and II in 10th and 11th grade. Also, I'm at a private school that doesn't rank.</p>
<p>ACT:</p>
<p>Composite: 29
Reading: 33
English: 29
Science: 29
Math: 26 (real bummer)
Writing: Yet to be announced</p>
<p>SAT Subjects (only submitted to UC's):
Bad test day... Really bad test day...</p>
<p>English Lit: 490
Math I: 500
Math II: 470</p>
<p>EC's:</p>
<p>Volunteer math tutoring to grades 3-9: 3 hours a week 40 weeks a year 9th-12th
Drumming with a position of bandleader: 7 hours a week 52 weeks a year 9th-12th
Judaism: 1 hour a week 52 weeks a year 9th-12th
Alto and tenor saxophone: 2 hours a week 52 weeks a year 9th-10th
Freemasonry: 2 hours a week 52 weeks a year 12th
Piano: 2 hours a week 52 weeks a year 12th</p>
<p>I'm a Los Angeles CA native and wrote some pretty good essays. What are my chances for Yale, Brown, Stanford, UCLA, UCB, and Vassar? I messed up on the math sub test and had I got a 29 like the other scores would have scored a 30, but since I have another shot for Yale I can see myself raising all four sub test scores in a month. If I do need to raise them, how high do I need to score?</p>
<p>Sorry to say your chances arent looking good. Yale, Stanford are 0% IMO. Brown, UCB and UCLA are all moderate reaches. Never heard of Vassar… Sorry.</p>
<p>Did either of you read the end of the post? What lowers my chances? I have a killer GPA, so I’m assuming it’s my ACT. What ACT score do I need? If it’s something else, what is missing?</p>
<p>Bad test day? The SAT and ACT are offered myriad times between your junior and senior years. Is this serious?</p>
<p>We have no idea how ‘killer’ your GPA is. It would really depend on the school and colleges will know where you rank. I’d have to assume your school is not a highly competitive one or the necessary scores would have been made clear to you freshmen year.</p>
<p>With no hook or stand out ECs, even a 36 would make Yale tough.</p>
<p>I think the 29 on the ACT will hurt your chances, but won’t kill you. As long as you don’t submit your SAT 2 scores, I think you’re all right. ACT Composite for middle 50% at Yale is 30-34, so you’re not too far off. </p>
<p>I think your test scores will hurt you greatly for the UC’s. I think Berkley you have a good chance at because they are very holistic with there approach, unlike the other UC’s.</p>
<p>Honestly, I’m not really one to speak I have a 28 on my ACT and applying to the same schools ;).</p>
<p>"Bad test day? The SAT and ACT are offered myriad times between your junior and senior years. Is this serious?</p>
<p>We have no idea how ‘killer’ your GPA is. It would really depend on the school and colleges will know where you rank. I’d have to assume your school is not a highly competitive one or the necessary scores would have been made clear to you freshmen year.</p>
<p>With no hook or stand out ECs, even a 36 would make Yale tough."</p>
<p>I was set on going to a JC until a few months ago, so I had only one shot at each test for the UC’s. It’s a small private school and the majority of them get into Ivy Leagues, prestigious private schools, and the good UC’s.</p>
<p>How important are test scores to Ivy’s and the good UC’s compared to GPA? Not many have a 4.0 UW 5.0 W in any year of school, so I can’t imagine why something like a bad test would completely tank an application. I understand subjects are being eliminated from the UC’s. For 2010 admissions, how much importance does UCLA, my dream school, place on subject scores?</p>
<p>So does it make me look like a cheater or does it make me look like my school inflated grades like the Ivy’s do? I worked my *** off to get those grades. Do I at least have a chance for UCLA or UCB? UCSB, although barely respected, is a definite in and its physics program is actually better than the other UC’s, sending more physics majors on to graduate school, so I’d be okay with going there. I’d much rather go to UCLA though.</p>
<p>Philosophical question: Why would a school put faith in a student that knows how to cram limited knowledge before a test more than once that spent four years studying constantly, but has trouble with standardized tests?</p>
<p>I think you have a chance. I don’t understand why people are shooting you down. Colleges aren’t looking for people who have the highest test scores. Yes it does play a large role in admissions, but if you can write a stellar essay, I feel you do have a chance. Look up the test scores for top schools. The average ACT for the middle 50% at Brown is 28-31. Not to mention 8% of students who applied with scores between 29-32 were accepted, and 7% with 26-28. Only 36% with a perfect 36 were admitted to Brown. They aren’t just looking for high test scores but rather a certain type of person. Don’t give up, but I wouldn’t say you have a high chance.</p>
<p>That’s what I’ve been thinking. There’s no such thing as a guaranteed match for an Ivy. Students of every type have been turned down. 8% is worth the application fee. The worst that could happen is that I go to a public university for a physics major, do just as much research, and go to medical school. I’m hoping for UCLA, but if not, UCSB has better labs and turns out more research in physics than ANY school, including the Ivy’s. Any UC would get me into UCLA medical school if I did research and had a high GPA, which I’ll have no problem keeping up.</p>
<p>I’ve been thinking about it. Screw the Ivy’s. The people that “think” they’re going to get into it with their high test scores are not the down to earth people you find at UC’s. This website proves it. I’d much rather like the kind people around me at a UC than despise the ego-inflated jerks that seem to get into Ivy’s. Ivy League schools are overrated and graduate a bunch of idiots with inflated grades and less knowledge than someone who actually worked for their grades at a real university. Unlike a Harvard student, I plan on showing up to every class, not a handful of them so I can get other peoples’ notes to cram for a test that will do nothing for my B+ average that everybody else gets. I’m still going to apply to see if I get in, but if I get into a good UC I’ll take it over any Ivy.</p>
<p>I’ll be a great doctor with or without an Ivy acceptance letter. The only difference is that I’ll have gone to a school with good weather and will come out of the experience a person without a superiority complex.</p>
<p>Good luck to all you Ivy hopefuls. If they look at personality in the admission process, I hope your essays don’t show them.</p>
<p>I have a felt the same vibe as you have. I have been scared to go to an ivy-league because I’m afraid of pretentious egotistical students, but honestly you can’t base ivy leagues on CC.
Most of the people on CC are a certain type of people. I know a wide variety of students at my school who are intelligent, high tests scores, GPA, and are truly good people. I am sure many of them will be attending both the UC’s and the ivy leagues in the coming year. The UCs are great college options, and I hope to also get into UCLA. You can’t beat California weather! The best of luck to you! </p>
<p>Btw, I just want to be honest with you with your UCSB goal. My teacher has been teaching the past 30+ years. Very familiar with the college application process, helps us with our essays, etc. She told me that this year it is going to be the hardest for all the UC’s. They are very impacted and unless you are ELC no UC will be a guarantee (granted excluding UCR UCMerced etc). I was counting on UCSB as a fall back also, but she said don’t count on it. Although she did say I had a good chance at Berkley with my background and everything.</p>
<p>Basically what I’m saying, cover your bases and maybe apply to a fall back like LMU.</p>
<p>I will still apply to those schools, but the grade inflation thing bugs me. It’s kind of depressing that with all I’ve done, I’d go to a school that doesn’t challenge me. From what I’ve been told by UC employees, since there are 5% less applicants this year it will be easier to get in than last year.</p>
your test scores are just wayy too low for them.</p>