CHANCE ME: Harvard SCEA, Yale, Amherst, etc.

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Hello, fellow CCers!
I'm a rising senior who, after answering dozens of chance threads on CC this summer so far, finally is trying her hand at her own chance thread gasp! :D</p>

<p>After reading all my info, please chance me for Harvard SCEA, Yale, Amherst, Brown, Tufts, Wellesley, and BC (don't worry, I have safeties, too).</p>

<p>So without further ado...</p>

<p>SAT I: 2360 (760 CR, 800 M, 800 W, 11 essay), first try
SAT II: 770 US History, 760 Lit, 720 Math 2 (might retake); plan on taking Spanish with Listening this fall
Unweighted GPA: 3.97 out of 4.0
Rank: No official rank, but I estimate at least top 20 out of roughly 450 kids in my grade
AP: 5 Lit (self-studied), 5 APUSH
Besides a couple AP classes, my school doesn't let you take AP classes until senior year (unless you are somehow ahead of everyone else, like if you have taken outside courses or have moved from a different school). It's rare for someone at my school to take many AP classes, just because honors classes tend to be just as rigorous as AP, and most students are busy with extracurriculars.</p>

<p>Senior Year Course Load:[ul]
[<em>] AP BC Calc
[</em>] AP Chem
[<em>] AP Spanish
[</em>] Honors Euro Lit (hardest English class at my school; there's no AP English class)
[<em>] Unleveled alternative math class (just an interesting elective I wanted to try; you learn about math and how it applies to the real world, music, art, etc; taught my junior year math teacher who I LOVE)
[</em>] Advanced Modern/Jazz Dance
[/ul]
Major Awards:[ul]
[<em>] Princeton Book Award (only recipient in my school)
[</em>] National Spanish Exam medalist (grade 8: gold, grade 9: silver, grade 10: silver, grade 11: bronze)
[<em>] Likely National Merit Semifinalist/Finalist (PSAT score was 234)
[</em>] Likely National Honors Society inductee
[/ul]
Extracurriculars:[ul]
[<em>] Dance (since grade 9)
[</em>] Member of Legislature and Student Council (elected by students, grades 9-11), probably will get elected next year too; co-chair of Student Council (elected by students, grades 10-11)
[<em>] Trumpet (since 4th grade)
[</em>] Concert band (grades 10-12); member of the band board (appointed by the band conductor, grade 12)
[/ul]
Volunteer/Community service:[ul]
[<em>] Coach at school's writing center (appointed by English teacher, very selective program, grade 12)
[</em>] Math tutor at local elementary school (grades 10-12)
[li] Mentor in advisory program for underclassmen (selective program, grades 11-12)[/li][/ul]</p>

<p>Summer Activities:[ul]
[<em>] Acting program at film academy (before grade 10)
[</em>] Lead roles in schools' summer musicals (before grades 10 and 11)
[li] Creative writing class at top university (before grade 12)[/li][/ul]</p>

<p>I know these lists don't look very long, but most kids at my school only do a few extracurriculars and really dedicate themselves to them. We don't have any honor society clubs (NHS, Mu Alpha Theta, etc.), and I don't know anybody in my school who got any national awards like Intel.</p>

<p>Essays: I'm very confident in my writing abilities, and I have a pretty kickass idea for my essay, if I do say so myself ;)
Teacher Recommendation: My teacher recs are from my junior year English and Math classes, the two classes in which I participated the most and was always a leader in class discussions, and I have great relationships with both teachers. Because I got all A's junior year except an A- in math, my math teacher can explain that even though I struggled a bit in the middle of the year in her class, I'm still an extremely hard worker, a strong mathematician, etc.
Counselor Rec: My counselor has a bunch of students, so we don't have a super personal relationship, but he definitely likes me.</p>

<p>Applying for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Not 100% sure, but since I want to go into law, it might be philosophy, psychology, or English, or maybe a double major/major-minor
State: MA
School Type: Public, top-10 public high school in MA
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Hooks: Kind of a legacy at some schools (mom got Master's at Tufts and PhD at Harvard, dad got Master's at BC)
Supplemental Materials: I'm going to submit a short fiction sample that I wrote this summer in my creative writing class and that my professor and fellow students really loved.</p>

<p>Also, it may be useful to see the number of kids accepted last year from my school to the colleges I'm interested in:[ul]
[<em>] Harvard: 7
[</em>] Yale: 4
[<em>] Amherst: 3
[</em>] Brown: 3
[<em>] Tufts: 9
[</em>] Wellesley: 2
[li] BC: 12[/li][/ul]</p>

<p>Thanks for reading this long post everyone! Please chance me and I'll chance back ASAP! :)</p>

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<p>Chance me as well? :)</p>

<p>If your essays are good and passionate, I can definitely see you in at Boston College, Tufts, and Wellesley. That being said, I come from a school that isn’t so great so I don’t know how competitive your school is and the admitted profiles so I am just using my own heuristics from personal experience.
Harvard is a reach for anyone. The best I can say is that your stats will get you past the regional admission’s officer and you will get looked into. At this point, your essays and extra-curricular activities will have to do the trick. Same with Yale, Amherst, and Brown. I think Amherst might work out though. My suggestion is to research those schools deeply and see how their programs make you “tick”. Then focus on that in the school specific essays.</p>

<p>Hope that helps!</p>

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<p>For what it’s worth, I think you have as much a chance as anyone else. My school sounds similar to yours. Students are limited in the number of APs they can take. I could only fit in 2. I’m also at a school where it is hard to have a long list of ECs. There is only one honors society. If you are passionate about your activities, you should be fine. If you are very good at dancing, maybe you should submit an arts supplement, but only if you are very talented.</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

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<p>Thanks guys!
Timberwolf4Life: I chanced you :)</p>

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<p>Bump10char</p>

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<p>your set buddy! Watch out that entomom freak might delete this because of the word kickas*. ik she is annoying.</p>

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<p>Yikes ok I’ll edit the post–thanks for the heads up!</p>

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<p>SAT score is well in the Harvard accepted bell curve… however, two AP classes is a joke for the ivies… Your extracurricular activities aren’t anything extraordinary. Nothing here is impressive to admissions officers. Don’t expect to get into Harvard or Yale. Brown is a reach, but its a possibility. The other schools should be matches.</p>

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<p>I can take max 2 APs before senior year so…yeah. Not really my fault.</p>

<p>But thanks for your honesty!</p>

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<p>Oh no I understand that. It’s a horrible policy on your schools part though…
I took 3 AP’s freshman year.</p>

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<p>Lots of schools actually have that policy. It’ll be in the school report sent to colleges by my counselor, so it won’t be detrimental to me :)</p>

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<p>I mean 24 people got accepted to Ivies from my school last year, and none of them took more than 2 APs junior year.</p>

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<p>What high school are you currently at?</p>

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<p>I’m not going to name it; I would prefer not to be identified, if you don’t mind…</p>

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<p>Well your numbers seem a little high. Unless your at one of the best schools in the country, having 7 kids get into Harvard from one class and 24 into ivies seems a little…</p>

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<p>You can choose to believe me or not, but either way, I’m not lying… It’s actually not that uncommon for good public schools in eastern MA to send that many students to Harvard (it seems they’re quite biased towards local kids!)</p>

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<p>Bumpedy bump</p>

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<p>Bump :slight_smile: :)</p>

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<p>Bump guyssss</p>

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<p>your very close to the perfect applicant and i really cant see any schools denying you but you never know with the ivies. IMHO your in Harvard SCEA. good luck!</p>