Prospective Schools: Harvard (Top pick, will apply EA), Yale, UPenn, Johns Hopkins, UMichigan, Vanderbilt, Duke
Intended Major: Pre-Med (If offered) or Chemistry
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Weighted: 5.37
Class Rank: Top 10%
Ethnicity: Hispanic (Cuban) - *First-Gen College Student
ACT: 34 (31M/33W/35S/36R - 30E+W)
SAT: 1890 (640M/630R/620W) - [Got a nosebleed during the test and didn’t know i could cancel]
No SAT II’s
In a full-time dual enrollment program which is geared to get me my AA by the time i graduate high school (Spring 2016)
EC’s (Grade Level):
Youth Group Co-Founder/Leader (11-12)
Church Technician/Audio Manager (9-12)
Key Club Officer (11-12)
Intramural Basketball (10)
Mentor Club (11-12)
Volunteering at Local Hospital (11-12)
Yearbook Committee (12)
Work Experience (11-12)
I attended a National Security Seminar (PINSS - it’s similar to Model UN, but i’m not sure where i would put that)
I also have about 600 hours in and i plan on hopefully having about 800 or more by the time applications roll around.
Awards:
5x Principal’s Honor Roll
Academic ‘B’ Letter: 3.75+ GPA, A in Conduct, 1 in Effort (School-Wide Award)
I’m really hoping to apply to all of the schools i mentioned above and i just want to know if it would be worth a shot at this point, even though i know that my application isn’t one of the strongest. Also, my EC’s were kinda towards the end of my HS run but thats only because i didn’t really have opportunities at my school until i switched over to the dual enrollment program my junior year. Thanks all for reading! Feedback would be awesome.
I also forgot to mention that I’ve taken 3 AP’s, 7 college courses, and 2 AS-Level course thus far. As for my senior year, my course load is shaping up to look like this:
4 AP’S (Government, Macroeconomics, Calculus AB, English Literature)
6-7 College Courses
Your definitely need to take your SAT again and get at least a 2000+ but preferably a 2200+. Also, a nosebleed doesn’t really explain your test scores as all of your scores are within 20 points of eachother… And unless it was a long nosebleed, it shouldn’t have effected the whole test. Sorry to get caught up on that lol
I wouldn’t bother to retake SATs. Your ACT scores are strong enough. You may want to have your GC letter explain the issue about the nosebleed affecitng your scores. You have a strong chance at all of these schools. However whether or not you get in depends on how you present yourself in the application. Good luck
Your test scores and ECs look favorable for top schools, and the fact that you’re Hispanic will help you. It all depends on whether you can write a compelling essay that catches the attention of an admissions officer.
May I ask how you have a 5.37 W gpa? I don’t know what scale you’re basing this off of, but the max even for having all AP classes is just a straight up 5.
Those are VERY different ACT vs. SAT scores. Definitely don’t bother taking the SAT again…that 34 on the ACT is pretty solid and makes you a reasonable candidate to any of those colleges. You have a nice hook being Hispanic, but all of those colleges are tough to get into. You could be denied at all or get into some…likely won’t get into all of them.
If going the pre-med or Chemistry path, my only advice to you is to make sure your math skills are up to par. The 640 on the SAT for math is good but not great, and on the ACT the math portion was your lowest score. I say this because my wife is a Chemistry professor, and she sees otherwise very smart students have trouble with the math and therefore can’t realize their dream of becoming a doctor or going on further with Chemistry.
One final thing just for you to consider – the schools on your list are very cutthroat. Students are generally pretty competitive with each other, etc. Some people love that, so perhaps you would thrive in that environment. There are other schools though that still get top-notch students and still put a lot of students in Medical School that have a more laid-back atmosphere. Vassar College and Brown University come immediately to mind. I’m sure there are others out there too. Anyway…good luck.
In my school, AP counts as 6 and plus all of my dual enrollment classes also count as 6. Since this year I took 9 total dual enrollment/AP classes, it helped raise my GPA
And also stepay, thank you for the feedback! I’m honestly not sure what is up with my math because I’m usually very strong in the subject and so it’s something I will definitely be brushing up on.
What is in your favor: Stats, ethnicity, and first-gen status.
Against you: Pretty much no strong ECs. Most of them are Junior and Senior years only, which make them very weak. The only ones that really count is the club you found and the activity you did for 4 years.
The school awards are pretty much useless next to your top grades.
It’s too late to do much about the ECs. Your stats are at the top. You have hooks. It’s now all down to the essays, so spend some time on those.
No sane GC will let you apply to all those schools. Make sure you choose some matches that you really like and, of course, a safety.
@xWadee - I do agree that you should choose at least one and maybe two safeties, but even though ALL Ivy League schools are a reach for EVERYONE, you are a legitimate candidate to those Ivies on your list and then also to the others. No guarantee, but anyone with a 4.0 unweighted GPA and a 34 on the ACT is a strong candidate. Harvard’s (the toughest to get in one you have on there) 25-75 range for the ACT is 32-35. 50% line for Harvard is a combination of 34 ACT and 3.9 GPA. You are right there with the ACT and slightly above with the GPA. Keep getting As…you will very likely get into at least one of those schools on your list, and you are a solid candidate to all of them, including Harvard. And your ECs aren’t even bad…some have better ones than you, but your GPA and ACT are great. Hispanic hook is great. You are NOT over reaching here. Good luck!
@stepay thank you for the moral support, it really lifts my spirits. I’m just overall worried because even though I do have some impressive factors, I want to be realistic about my admission chances.
@xWadee - The school of your choice is always a great thing, but dude, you are a very high achieving student with the grades and test scores to prove it. If for some reason Harvard rejects you (no shame in that as Harvard rejects some of the best every year), you WILL go to a great college. Could be one of those other Ivies on your list or one of those other top non-ivies on your list or any of a whole host of great colleges in this country. Some people come on here asking to be chanced to Ivy League colleges when they have a 3.4 GPA or some other major limiting factor. You do not have that. So, for those other students someone will give them a pep talk about all the good colleges out there when what they really mean are the flagship state colleges and equivalents. For you, if you don’t get into any of those colleges on your list (I think you will be accepted to some), then your other reasonable choices are still top colleges…Northwestern, Carnegie Mellon, Williams, Emory, Washington University in St. Louis, and about another 10-15 possibles of the same great caliber. A 34 on the ACT is at the 75% mark for UPenn, and a combination of 34 on the ACT and 3.84 GPA is at the 50% mark…you have the ACT and a BETTER GPA. Yale is similar at the 50% mark with 34 ACT and 3.89 GPA. Just pick a safety or two that you KNOW you will get into for sure just to be safe, and then go after those top schools. You are worthy. I tell people when they aren’t. No guarantee of course, but you’ve done so far just about as well as you can. Keep the focus. Get into one of those great schools and then make the world a better place.
@stepay well you have by far been the most helpful and supportive of the bunch. I have been thinking over the past few days whether applying EA is worth my while or if I should use the EA/ED choice on a more obtainable goal. Do you have any suggestions?
If you’re applying as pre-med to Johns Hopkins, it will be a rejection because of the lack of medicine oriented ECs. If not, you’ll probably be accepted.
Your ECs aren’t great but you have the stats and you’ll do really well if you have a strong essay. Stand out, and as always,
@xWadee - There isn’t really any magic to Early Decision. The numbers are always higher because they involve recruited athletes and great students that have a greater than average chance of being accepted. It DOES help a tiny bit because it shows how much you want to go there, but if RD at a certain school is 9% acceptance rate but ED is 16%, that doesn’t mean you have a 7% better change of being accepted if you apply ED. You should apply ED (or EA) if that school really is your top choice, you know you can afford it, and the second choice is pretty far down from that top choice. You would likely feel like you missed out on Harvard if you didn’t apply EA there, so make sure it really is your top choice, and if so (and you can afford whatever their financial aid offer will be), why not do EA?
@stepay I always thought EA would give a meaningful edge but regardless of whether it helps my chances or not, I rather know if i’m going to be accepted into my #1 pick ahead of time anyways.