Chance Me (Rochester U, Boston, NYU, etc)?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I’m just curious about whether I’m on the right track from schools I’m interested in (I’m currently a junior).

Schools I’m Interested In
-U of Rochester
-Boston
-NYU
-Rutgers
-Syracuse University
-University of Pittsburgh

Planned Major: Biology or Pre-Med

Ranking: 38/319 Top 11%
Ethnicity: Asian (Chinese)
Gender: Female
State: NJ

WGPA: Last year it was 4.01. Right now, I think I’ll have a 4.1 or 4.2 by the end of this year
UGPA: I don’t know, but I have a B+ average

SAT: 1310
SAT Essay: 6-6-6

ACT: Will take in June

*Unfortunately I didnt finish my sat on time, but I’m hoping to achieve at least a 1380 when I retake it in the Fall.

Honors:
Freshman year: History, English, Bio
Sophmore year: Math, history, English, Chem
Junior/Current: Physics

Independent Study/Summer classes
Junior year:
-String Orchestra (Dropped the class due to scheduling conflicts, but I still wanted to play in concerts)
-Principles of Investing over the summer to complete requirement

Current APs: AP Bio, AP Lang, APUSH
Senior APs: AP Calc AB, AP Chem, AP Euro, AP Lit

Extracurriculars
-STEM club (3 years)
-Pit Orchestra: 1st violin for one year, keyboard 2 one year, keyboard 1 this year (3 years)
-Science Olympiad (1 year)
-Literary Club (1 year)
-Women in STEM (1 year)
-Tri-M Music Member
-Violin for 7 years (1st chair in 9th grade)
-Piano for 8 years

Sports
-Took tennis lessons for 7-8 years butI took a break for 2 years
-JV Tennis (2 years)
-Varsity Tennis (1 year)
-Played Lacrosse for 2 years
-JV Lacrosse (1 year)

Volunteering
-I volunteer at Rehab Center over the summer (1 year)
-Interact Volunteering Club (2 years)
-Volunteer at Science Fair/Science Night (2 years)
-Girl Scouts for 5 years…Does this count as volunteering?
-Volunteered about 18 hours for a service project Sophomore year

*I can’t do much volunteering over the summer because I’m on vacation for a while

Awards
-Made it to NHD Junior States
-I don’t know if this is relevant but…Science fair winner 7th grade- Honorary Mention and 8th- 2nd place

Concerns

  1. Do I have enough EC’s to balance my low-ish GPA?
  2. I have a C+ in Physics Honors. Will that hurt my chances? I’m trying my hardest to boost my grade up, but I just can’t understand Physics…
  3. I took Latin for two years, but had to drop it this year due to scheduling conflicts. I’m not planning on taking it senior year, so will colleges reject me for taking only 2 years of a foreign language?

Any suggestions on how to boost my app?

Thanks!

2

I think Rutgers/Syracuse are a match. Your UW GPA is low (if B+ is 3.33) and the SAT is really low for your demographic (Chinese female). The fact that you’re from New Jersey makes things worse just because New Jersey students score high on all standardized tests.

Right now BU/UPitt are a low reach and Rochester/NYU a high reach because of the SAT. If you get 32+ on the ACT/1400+ on the SAT if you retake your chances are better.

Most competitive schools require that you reach level 4 in a foreign language so 2 years of Latin is not enough if you didn’t reach level 4.

A C+ in Physics wouldn’t hurt for Rutgers/Syracuse but for the other schools it would not help at all.

ECs are OK-they demonstrate your community service. Don’t mention ECs from middle school since colleges don’t care about those. Try to find another science related EC if you are declaring as a biology major.

3

Thanks!