Hello all! I am currently a high school sophomore and would like insight to my chances at attending top schools in my future. Here are my current stats:
9th Grade- AP Bio (3 on Exam)
Global History 1H
Algebra I CC (87 on regents)
French II H
English 9H CC
Also took the SAT II in Biology M my freshman year and received a 710. I also received all A’s in the listed courses and finished the year with a 97.50 unweighted GPA.
10th Grade- AP Chem (predicting a 3/4 on exam)
AP World History (predicting a 3 on exam)
Geometry H Independent Study
French IIIH
Health
American Justice System
English 10 H CC
So far this year I’ve taken the SAT II in Chemistry and in World History. I also took the PSAT, and received a 1050, which I’m not too happy with considering I learned I would be taking the exam a mere two days beforehand.
My extracurricular’s consist of:
International Thespian Society Member
Science Honor Society Member
National Honor Society Member
Boy’s Varsity Tennis (1 year so far) League Champions
Dominican College Phage and Biodiversity Workshop 3 Week Program
Research in Science and Ecology Summer Program at Dominican College (This summer)
Also a 3 time recipient of the Rockland Community College Black Achievement Award for having a GPA at or higher than mastery, and I’ve been on the principals list for the entirety of my high school career thus far.
I am also currently third in class rank and I am an African American Male. I’m aware that it’s rather early to be thinking of this but I just want a general idea of how I’m doing thus far. Thanks in advance :).
Even considering URM status, you’ll need to do much, much better than a 1050 on the SAT to have a shot at any Ivy. Luckily, you have time to work on it. 700’s on your SATII indicate you probably have the talent to do better on the SAT. Your GPA is good, but 3’s on AP exams are not helpful at any Ivy.
You have obviously worked very hard and accomplished a lot in school and in your EC’s. Do you have any thoughts so far about what your interests are, major and career-wise? Something environmental, as your summer programs would suggest?
Re: UCLA, be aware that the UC schools are very expensive for out-of-state students and do not meet financial need for these students. So unless you have upwards of $50K/year to throw at UCLA, it’s probably not a good school to fall in love with. The good news is that there are many, many equally great schools out there!
Speaking of costs, do you know whether you will qualify for financial aid, and whether your family will be able to pay the Expected Family Contribution that the financial aid formulas generate based on your family income and other info? As your parents to run the Net Price Calculator on a couple of example schools (Ivies are fine for the sake of argument - here’s Brown’s: https://npc.collegeboard.org/student/app/brown ) and see what your costs would look like there, and whether those costs would be manageable. This will help to clarify what financial categories of schools will work for you.
It seems as if standardized testing tends to be your weakest area. Hopefully you can do well on the SAT or ACT with some prep, but if it turns out that there’s a significant gap between your real-world performance and your test scores, you can always include some of the excellent test-optional colleges, such as Bowdoin, Bates, Wesleyan, Wake Forest, and Pitzer, in your list.
You’re doing great. Ivies may be an option, but don’t have tunnel vision about them - they are only a handful of the many top-notch colleges and universities.
