Chance Me- Ivy League

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey everyone! I’m a rising senior from Iowa. I was hoping to apply to some elite schools in the fall, and I was wondering what my chances are. Please be honest, and I would really appreciate any advice to improve my profile before I apply.

Gender: Female
Race: Caucasian
GPA weighted: 4.4 Unweighted: 3.98
ACT composite: 34 (I had Influenza A when I received this score, and I am retaking it in July with hopes to get to a 35 or 36)
I am taking the SAT subject tests for Math 2, Literature, and US History in August

I’ve taken 8 AP classes, including 5 my junior year. I’m still waiting on those scores, but the scores for the other tests are in parenthesis. Calculus AB (5), Statistics (5), European History (4), Psychology, Calculus BC, US History, Physics 1, English Language and Composition.

ECs:
4 years of varsity tennis with 3 years at the #1 singles spot, 2 years at #1 doubles, and 3 years (hopefully 4) as a singles state tournament qualifier. Various coaches awards. I have been the team captain for 2 years

3 years of marching band, 1 year as section captain

4 years of mock trial, 3 years as head attorney, 1 year as team captain, 1 year as team state qualifier, and I have outstanding attorney and witness awards

4 years of concert band, 1 year as 1st chair in district honor band, 2 years as an All-State orchestra member (3rd and 4th chair in the state) and hoping to audition again. I’ve received 1st place awards at various solo contests and many 1+ ratings

President of NHS

Mathnasium instructor for 1 year

Waitress at a local pizza place for 4 years, and I received a promotion to a closer which includes the responsibility of closing the store and managing the finances

Business internship with a local startup company for 1 summer

Model UN for 1 year

Tennis instructor for elementary children for 1 summer

Around 200+ Volunteer hours including packaging food for the needy, running tennis tournaments for the USTA (United States Tennis Association), and helping special needs children at my church.

My essays and recommendations should be pretty solid. Thoughts?

2

50/50 chance

3

Any advice for improvement?

4

I would never say 50/50 on an ivy league. Your chances are around 5% of getting in. After stats reach a certain point, they pretty much look identical as every one else’s. The only thing that makes you stand out is subjective. That would be a killer essay and interview. That’s assuming, of course, you’re one of the lucky “chosen ones” selected for an interview. It’s worth an application, but don’t put your hopes and dreams on it.

On the other hand, I can name at least 4 schools that would offer a tuition scholarship for your stats: Alabama, Auburn, TCU, and Baylor. Those are guaranteed university scholarships that you have a 100% chance of walking out of high school with.

5

Being from Iowa may help you. Your stats are there so definitely apply to a few but focus on your match and safety schools. Ivies are a reach for everyone.

6

@coolguy40 thanks for the reply and insight! I have actually been considering TCU fairly seriously, and I have been looking into their scholarships. Would you mind checking out my TCU thread if you are familiar with the school?

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6% for regular decision and up to 20% for ED at Cornell as an example. Keep in mind everyone getting into the Ivies have great stats. Don’t let that discourage you. Apply and see what happens.

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@FinalFor as far as Restrictive Early Action goes, does that improve admission chances at all from your experience? I know that ED is much better about improving chances, but is REA helpful for admissions for schools like Yale?

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There are 8 Ivy League schools as well as several comparable schools (MIT, Stanford, …), and they are not all the same. As such I think that you should at least read about them and look at on-line information to think about which ones make the most sense for you. If you for example decide that Stanford is your first choice, then you should be able to answer “why Stanford rather than Dartmouth or Harvard or MIT”.

I would also recommend that you think hard about what you want in a university, and find a couple of good solid safeties and some matches. With your stats you should be able to find safeties which are very good schools.

Also, find out what your budget is and run the NPC unless you are okay with full pay.

That being said, if you want to go to a very top school such as an Ivy League school, then I think that you should apply to 1 or 2 or 3 of them. Your grades are great. 34 is a very good ACT particularly for someone who was ill and considering that you might do better when you take it again. I like the fact that you have a few ECs that you have shown commitment to for multiple years. Also, being from Iowa might help you based on geographic diversity.

Putting this all together, I think that you have a chance at the top schools. Ivy League schools and equivalent are a reach for every student, many excellent students fail to get in, but I think that your chances to get in are just as good as most students who apply to top schools.

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You are a competitive applicant. Your stats and ECs are good. A 34 on the ACT is great. You don’t really need to take it again unless you think you can get a 35 or 36. If you are good enough to be recruited for tennis, you should reach out to coaches at schools you are interested in. Even if they are full with recruits already, you could mention trying to walk on and some coaches may be able to help your application. Write amazing essays and you could get accepted to any of these schools

11

@LibbyJane it really depends on the school. It can help your chances if you identify a first choice school and apply EA or ED. However, schools like Harvard or Georgetown and others don’t give that much weight to ED. Honestly, the best choice school is the best fit for you. That may be an ivy, an LAC or a state school. The thing that always stands out when a student says they want to go to an ivy is that they may not have considered fit first. I like @DadTwoGirls advice. Research, consider fit, consider cost and visit several schools. My son had great stats 35 ACT, 1/450, valedictorian, good ECs, 16 AP, 5s on AP etc. He ultimately chose a small LAC because it was a great fit. We visited Cornell, Princeton, etc but it came down to fit. Good luck on your search. It is fun and stressful all at the same time.