Chance me? I need realistic expectations.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi, my dream school is MIT. Beyond that, I’m not sure how high or low to aim- what would be my safeties/targets? Any help is appreciated.

Race/gender: Asian female
School type: public, in Ohio
Major: chemE

SAT: 800 math, 780 reading, 790 writing (2370)
SAT II: 800 math, 800 chem

Weighted GPA: 4.31
Unweighted: 4.0

AP: AP Calc BC (5), AP physics 1 (5), AP Spanish (5), AP Lang (5), AP Gov (4), APUSH (4), AP chem (4)
Taking AP bio, lit, and physics 2 my senior year, along with calculus classes and chem classes at OSU (post-secondary option)

ECs:
Mock trial 4 years, captain
science olympiad 4 years, captain
Literary magazine 2 years
Concert master/Principal clarinetist of wind symphony 4 years (section leader)
Youth orchestra 2 years
Math team 4 years
Fencing (outside of school, we don’t have a school team)
Piano 14 years
Clarinet 6 years
NHS 2 years
Spanish m
Volunteering:
Founder of an international english/western culture teaching group (taught english in another country) -160 hrs
Translator at food pantry -120 hrs
Music performer at nursing homes with an internationally recognized Buddhist foundation -80 hrs
International Choral Fesitval volunteer -30 hrs
Mentor in school program for elementary students -20 hrs
Spanish tutor -10 hrs

Research: nanoparticle tethering biochip for diagnosis and surveillance of cancer cells (with OSU grad professors)

Work experience: babysitting/pet-sitting

Awards:
National merit semifinalist
State level science olympiad medals (lots at regionals)
Outstanding attorney awards at regionals and district levels for mock trial
Award of excellence in math club (1st place)
Finalist in Columbus Symphony Young Musicians Concerto Competition
Scholastic Silver Key for writing
Presidential award for service

Other things:
Student of the month
Featured solo pianist in Rhapsody in Blue concert
Senior concerto soloist for clarinet

2

Please help! How would my chances be for Princeton, UPenn, Columbia, Northwestern, and Johns Hopkins? Should I apply to all these places?

3

You may apply to them all. Just make sure you have at least a safety school. You are very similar to my D academically but you have a bit stronger EC. My D was accepted by Northwestern engineering RD last year. She did not apply to other schools on your list though. She is now attending UMich ChemE with scholarships.

4

You seem like a solid applicant, but MIT is a reach for anyone. It can go either way, but I say apply and go for it.

5

Great, thank you both for replying! I’ll definitely try my luck.

6

Oh yeah, I think you’re definitely going to get accepted by some of those schools. Just a suggestion, maybe look into NYU Poly and Cornell

7

You are bound to get into at least one of those prestigious schools. I feel like most likely would be UPenn or Johns Hopkins. But I agree its always best to have safe schools, since you have a great resume your safetys can still be great schools-NYU, Tulane, U of Michigan, William & Mary, Northeastern…

(chance me back? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/1794627/chance-me-gwu-emory-binghamton-etc )

8

@laughandlearn23 ^ UMich cannot be a safety for anyone particularly from OOS. Plenty of high stat students got rejected in recent years.

9

What is your class rank? And I think National Merit Semifinalists do not get announced for a few months.

10

@ClarinetDad16 my class rank is 1. You’re right that semifinalists are not announced yet- but my PSAT score was a lot higher than recent cutoffs for Ohio, so I’m relatively certain that I am.

11

As a few here shared, MIT is a reach for everyone. They accept one in say 15 applicants most of which have extraordinary qualifications. Why don’t you add in some schools where you will qualify for Merit aid? That way you will have some solid options that are perhaps more affordable and you could also be in an honors program with smaller classes and have special opportunities that you might not have at the ivies / MIT. You want to leave yourself with great choices so you can select the school that is the best fit for you.