Chance me please???

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I’m a white female in 11th grade and I want to prepare for next year before it is too late… If you do not think my chances are very high, please help suggest things I could do. Columbia has been my dream school since I first saw it in 7th grade.

Columbia
Harvard
Yale
Princeton
UPenn (my dad is a graduate and played football there class of 1984)
Cornell (my brother is currently a law student and was selected as a member of law review)

SAT I (breakdown): 2240 (R740,M720,W780)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: signed up to take math I, lit, and bio in May.
GPA: 4.26 Weighted (4.0 unweighted)

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 of 256
AP (place score in parenthesis): Literature (n/a). Calculus AB (n/a). US History (n/a). Will take Psychology and Chemistry
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Spanish IV honors, Calculus BC AP, AP Chemistry, AP Literature, English IV honors, Journalism Honors

Major Awards:
Gold Medal winner Science Olympiad
FBLA regional winner in business communications

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Varsity swimming (9, 10, 11,- district qualifier, letter winner)
Varsity volleyball (10, 11)
National Honor Society (10, 11 - junior representative, president-elect)
Key Club (9,10, 11- treasurer, distinguished treasurer)
Sophomore Class Office (10 -president)
Junior Class Office (11- president)
Senior Class Office (12- president-elect)
ICE club (9, 10, 11)
Zero Conflict Club (9,10,11)
Communications Club (9, 10, 11)
Art Club (9, 10, 11)

Job/Work Experience: Lifeguard. Cashier at KMART.
Volunteer/Community service: Teen Volunteer at Hospital, Relay For Life Committee Fundraising chair, Meals on Wheels, + many joint Kiwanis activities.
Summer Activities: Lifeguarding. Dual enrollment classes in speech and sociology at local college.
Essays: Hopefully will be good!
Teacher Recommendation: Planning on asking my chemistry, calculus, and literature teachers at the end of this year.
Counselor Rec: My counselor is the moderator of my communications club and I speak with her every morning.
Additional Rec:?
Interview: My job interviews went well so I hope it will go well.
Other: I run a blog and consider myself a very adept writer.

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Journalism or English Lit.
State (if domestic applicant): Pennsylvania
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: >$100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): U Penn legacy. (I don’t know if having a sibling at Cornell has any bearing)

2

You are a strong candidate, but so is everyone who realistically applies to an Ivy League school. The Ivies are a reach for everyone. You should apply, but be prepared for some rejections. if you REALLY want to go to Columbia, you should apply Early Decision there so that it is clear you really want to go there and not just ANY Ivy League school. Your SAT scores are great, but if you could get it over 2300, that would make them look more carefully. Mostly though, you’re doing all you can do…it’s just very very difficult to get into those colleges. BUT, you definitely have a shot.

3

@stepay do you think it would be smart for me to try to take the ACT or should I just retake the SAT?

4

I think either is fine.

5

You stand about as much a chance as all the other very well qualified students. There are people who apply to those schools with 4.0s and near perfect SATs and get denied, while others get in. Hard to tell, admissions are quirky. I’d agree with stepay though, apply ED.

6

@kmm2016 I think it would be beneficial to take the ACT’s but don’t put too much pressure on yourself, considering what you are doing as of right now. I think you stand out, but if you have any unique things that help your case, include them. Publish some of your work for English literature. AND to answer your statement about having a sibling there, IT DOES HELP. It shows that you have a legacy of getting into ivy league schools. Make sure that you keep up that leadership role in your class and stay valedictorian. As far as AP’s take one more if you can, if not, you still will look very competitive. Make sure that you show that you excel in your clubs, or maybe start a club of your own. That would show initiative and leadership. Don’t over extend yourself though, if you aren’t interested, don’t take it. OH and I would choose either Chemistry/Calculus (one of those two) and Literature as recommendations because usually a 3rd recommendation doesn’t help your situation…just reiterates what the college can see from your transcript. AND finally, your blog seems unique to who you are. You should emphasize that more, and excel with the amount of readers/subscribers you have on that blog. Maybe give the colleges a link to what you are blogging about so they can see what you have done.

Good luck

You look like you are qualified, so keep it up!