Chance Me, Minions.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hello there!</p>

<p>So, I know this will affect nothing, but I'd like an opinion from someone who doesn't know me. It's tiresome to hear my friends (as much as I love them) blindly insist that I'll get in to a given school when their reassurance is based on no real college knowledge. Also, I thought this'd be fun. </p>

<p>So anyways, all the schools I'm applying to are: UC Berkeley (Engineering), UC Davis, UCLA, UCSB, Duke (Trinity), Stanford, and HYP.</p>

<p>Here are my stats (I know my scores are all over the place):</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2080 (660 CR, 720 M, 700 W)
SAT II: 670 Math II, 710 Bio E
GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9/4.148 Weighted (Not including first semester Senior year where I got a 4.0/4.66)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): (Before including this semester) 3%, 12/425
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc AB (4), English Language (2) (<em>sigh</em> There's an explanation though I won't trouble you with), Computer Science(4), Physics C(3)</p>

<p>Senior Year Courseload:
AP Computer Science (Independent Study)
AP Calc BC
AP English Lit.
AP Biology
Spanish IV
Economics/US Govt.
Student Clerk for AP English Lang. (Doubt that matters)</p>

<p>Major Awards: QuestBridge Finalist, AP Scholar, UC Berkeley IAP Scholarship Nominee</p>

<p>ECs:</p>

<p>Varsity Lacrosse (9th-12th)
Summer and Fall Club Lacrosse (10th-12th)
Debate Club (VP, 10th-12h, on the verge of making it into a legitimate school program)
Octagon Community Service Club (Secretary, 9th-12th) It's the largest club on our campus that connects students with community service opportunities.
Star Of David Club (Secretary, 10th-12th) Jewish Culture Club, though I'm not Jewish.
Students Offering Support Peer Leader (10th-12th) Program where we eased freshman into highschool
Volunteer tutor at my local elementary school (11th-12th)</p>

<p>I don't know if family responsibility goes under ECs or not, so I'll make another category.</p>

<p>Responsibility/External Circumstance:</p>

<p>My mother is legally blind so I have to take care of her, this includes driving her around everywhere frequently.</p>

<p>I've endured considerable domestic problems and violence (with police intervention, so don't worry) as an indirect consequence of being exceptionally poor. We almost lost our house towards the end of my junior year. I had to get a job at a record store and I worked 25 hours a week (during lacrosse season) and 35 during the summer. But hey, I saved us from going homeless, so that's a plus.</p>

<p>I'd like to think my SAT scores are justified considering I was juggling 4 AP courses, a varsity sport, and a job simultaneously.</p>

<p>Other:
Intended Major: Bio-medical Engineering (With the exception of at Princeton and Duke where I'm applying for Physics)
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White (Middle Eastern)
Gender: M
Income Bracket: <$15,000
State: CA (Bay Area)</p>

<p>Let me know if you want to read any of my essays for a better understanding.</p>

<p>If you actually read through all this, thank you! Let me know what you think my chances are to any of the previously mentioned colleges.</p>

2

<p>Are those the only schools you applied to because most of them are reaches and I could possibly see you get shut out. Your chances for the UC schools are good but the rest are pretty low.</p>

3

<p>I’m well aware they’re mostly all reaches. My brother goes to UC Davis and I’d be perfectly happy going there, so there isn’t much for me to lose by aiming really high.</p>

4

<p>Na, OP is applying through Questbridge. You have very decent chances at all the colleges you mentioned. Good luck!</p>

5

<p>@Iamthegoat Does QB regular decision actually increase my chances? And thank you very much!</p>

6

<p>UC Berkeley (Engineering), - Score-wise and GPA-wise, it looks to me like you’re looking at a really solid chance to at least get into the school. I must admit that I don’t know how applying to the Engineering program affects it, though. I know a guy who got in OOS with slightly better stats than you (Computer Science). And your scholarship nominee thing has to be helping you at least somewhat. Your GPA is solid. I say accepted.
UC Davis - Accepted
UCLA - Honestly, it might not be by much, but accepted. All of your scores land you into at least the 50th percentile, and some of which higher. Your writing score is around the 70th percentile.
UCSB - Accepted
Duke (Trinity), I lean on the side of rejection, here. Your scores are either just barely in 25th to 75th percentile. Maybe a waitlist.
Stanford - Rejected
HYP - waitlist/rejected</p>

<p>I say if your essays are the highest caliber, you’re in to Berkeley and UCLA. Go for it, and good luck! Not everyone can say that they stand a good chance at Berkeley.</p>

<p>I must ask, this, though: have you calculated your UC GPA? I think that will also give us a much better understanding.</p>

<p>Would you please chance me back? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1722473-my-final-chance-thread-chances-at-uva-w-m-wake-forest-vcu-and-fordham.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1722473-my-final-chance-thread-chances-at-uva-w-m-wake-forest-vcu-and-fordham.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

7

<p>@JuniorBengal My UC GPA (not including this semester I just finished) is about 4.23 I think. Also, any particular reason Stanford is a “rejected” without thought of a waitlist?</p>

<p>Oh, and I went on your chance me post, but quite honestly don’t know enough about those schools to give you any worthwhile or helpful thoughts.</p>

8

<p>I agree with @JuniorBengal on your chances except I wouldn’t necessarily say you’re getting into Berkeley. Unless there’s something I don’t know about Questbridge, I don’t see you getting into Stanford or HYP. Have you considered Lafayette? That seems to be a better fit from what you’ve told us. You do have a compelling story though, so who really knows. Good luck!</p>

9

<p>@stepay I agree, I feel like Berkeley Engineering is more about the numbers. And QuestBridge is only an advantage for Stanford, Yale, and Princeton. The other schools aren’t involved with it, so other than knowing I became a finalist, it’s not much help.</p>

<p>I haven’t. Mostly because the way my odd mind works (whether good or not) is that I would want to stay local unless it’s really a notably amazing school.</p>

<p>Yeah, I’m hoping my personal statement carries me onto campuses my numbers otherwise wouldn’t take me to. And thanks!</p>

10

<p>@SadOnion That GPA makes me feel more confident about everything I said. I feel you’re into every lower UC school, with a relatively strong chance at UCLA and a pretty decent shot at Berkeley.</p>

<p>Stanford has the lowest acceptance rate in the country. I’ve seen a few videos of people on YouTube talking about their Harvard acceptances and Stanford rejections. It’s just a hard school to get into if you haven’t cured cancer or aren’t a major world icon. </p>

11

<p>@‌sadonion Btw, thank you for at least taking a look at my thread. </p>

12

<p>@JuniorBengal Thanks! And fair enough, I’ll still hope for it even though I know it’s heartbreakingly unlikely.</p>

13

All UC’s: Accepted, I think you have the stats and the story to make a full sweep
Stanford: Rejected, they’re notorious for rejecting valedictorians left and right with way better stats than both of us combined
Harvard: Reach/Rejection
Yale:Rejection
Princeton: Wait list

14

@Homeless2Harvard‌ I can easily live with the UCs, so that’s fine. Thanks for taking a look.

15

OP, you need to apply to safeties. You could very well get rejected by every school you apply to. All of these schools are getting more and more competitive. It would be unfortunate to see someone as bright as you go 0/9 when it comes to acceptances. Being a QB scholar is fine, but it won’t guarantee admissions anywhere. Apply to some CSU’s and some less selective private schools.

16

I think you have a pretty good chance at getting into at least 1 UC. Not all of them want straight A+ valedictorians, the backgrounds of the students and a diverse group are what many of them want. And kudos for saving your family from becoming homeless. (my cousins are refugees from the middle east and they went through similar situations, so I know how hard it can be)

17

@SadOnion‌: Specifically regarding Duke '19 RD:
a) 48 percent of the class has already been filled with ED admits.
b) The RD acceptance rate will approximate 8 percent.
c) At least 15,000 (perhaps more than 20,000) RD candidates will have some/many equal or superior qualifications (critically, both your SAT I and SAT II results are, candidly, really poor in comparison to your competition).

18

@CaliCash Don’t worry, I’m in the ELC program. I get guaranteed admission to at least one UC. That’s acted as my saftey. But do you really think UCD wouldn’t take me? I mean, I’m well above its score/GPA/etc. ranges.

@safireonfire Well, good news is I am a valedictorian haha. Regarding the UC’s I think I would have had a fair shot at all of them, but since I applied for engineering, I’m only confident in UCD and UCSB. And thank you! I hope your cousins are safer and happier overall now.

@toptier Yeah, I know, it’s reach in every definition of the word. My scores are quite poor compared to the applicant pool. I figured it was at least worth a shot though.

19

Honestly, I really doubt UC Davis would reject you. Your scores and story look good. Good luck!

20

@slights32 Thanks!