CHANCE ME! Stanford, Dartmouth, Northwestern

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

HELLOOOO
I am an asian female from california with the following stats:

rising senior btw
GPA -3.9 unweighted, 4.6 weighted
Top 6% in my class
SAT 1540
SAT II Bio 690 (probably won’t send in this score, will take more subject tests soon)
APs - LANG- 4 BIO-4 Human Geography-5 CALC AB-4 APUSH- 4

Senior year coursework:
AP Spanish Lang, AP STATS, AP GOV, AP ECON, AP CHEM, AP LITERATURE, Choir
EC:
Eco Club Vice President:
our school issued chromebooks to students so I started a project in partnership with the school’s engineering program to build solar powered charging kiosks so students can charge their devices through eco-friendly means

American Cancer Society President:
We volunteer with the local ACS chapter to plan and fundraise for the annual Relay For Life event each year

Choir President
I’ve been in choir since elementary school, even though I’ve bounced around 6 schools since 4th grade choir has been my constant

Student Senator

Work experience;
babysit/housesit
dental sterilization tech.

I have a good relationship with all of my teachers from junior year, so I have my pick of recommendations

I’m planning to apply to
Stanford, Dartmouth, Northwestern, UChicago, every UC school (some UCs are safety)

I realize my stats might not be stellar or anything extraordinary compared to the other Asian people who apply to these amazing schools but I am planning to write my Common App and Questbridge essays about my family situation: Divorced parents since infancy, never knew my father, mom remarried a terrible guy in middle school, she died in 9th grade, have lived a tough life with my aunt, uncle, and sister since then, life is looking up now, as older cousins are helping pay for a nice house for us to live in so I can go to a decent school
I’m planning on majoring in Biology or Chemistry to become an oncologist you can guess why
If you have any other college suggestions pls comment!

2

I think you have an accurate picture of what you are up against. The schools you aspire to demand near perfect stats before they look at the personal narrative. Your GPA is great but at the low end. You have some great ECs but need to standout in a crowded field.

Write amazing essays, find some safer schools you are happy with, maybe take up badminton (I saw your earlier reply) and make sure you can pay for any and all schools you are applying to.

You sound like a solid person mature for their age that will come through in your application. Good luck.

3

If you are applying via Questbridge, then I predict that you will match to Dartmouth or Northwestern. Good luck!

4

Your essay idea seems great, and you can really use that to your advantage by making yourself stand out. You’ll obviously need above a 750 on subject tests for Stanford. Other than that your stats look pretty good, and it seems as though you’ll be good for Dartmouth and NW easily. Good luck!

5

I cannot handicap your odds of admission, but you are well qualified, have a compelling story & I hope that you are admitted to all of your top choices.

6

Good chances for UCLA and maybe Berkeley. If you want to apply to private colleges,a little down from those in the title you may have chances.

7

As a QuestBridge applicant, I think that you have a solid shot at Northwestern University.

8

What is QuestBridge? How does it help?

9

I don’t understand about QuestBridge either. I would say UCLA is a match,and it is good to apply to other UCs. You have a shot at Berkeley. I would apply to a few schools about the level of Northwestern and a bit lower. The stats and ECs are not at the level of Stanford, and probably not Ivies. Would have a better idea with SAT IIs.

10

Questbridge has its own thread here. Check it out. Low income students can compete to be part of their college match program and also a special rising senior summer work shop at many schools. If you are selected and participate you will get an extra special consideration at the schools you selected. No guarantees and in some cases you may have to attend the choice. But there’s a lot to it. If you get selected it’s really helpful.

11

Oh gosh! I hope your family situation with your aunt and cousins have gotten better!

12

Find a solid way to weave in your ECs with your personal story, and I think you have a solid shot at the schools you listed, especially Dartmouth.

13

In terms of other suggestions, you’d be an excellent academic fit for Pomona, Reed, Swarthmore, Haverford, Hamilton, Bowdoin, Colby, Mount Holyoke and Carleton.

Wishing you the best of luck!

14

Barnard might also suit your interests.

15

can anyone chance me : http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/international-students/2095363-looking-for-colleges-with-need-based-fa-full-ride-scholarship.html#latest

16

Idk much about Questbridge so Imma make my chance exclusive of it:
I think Stanford and Dartmouth are going to be high reaches as you don’t have any big hooks. I think you have an amazing story that you could weave into your application but your realistic chances are at the acceptance rate or below.

17

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/2095312-generic-chance-answer-for-super-selective-colleges.html

But also, with divorced parents, the private schools will want both parents’ finances for financial aid. (UCs only require the parent you live with.)

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/2083835-faq-divorced-parents-financial-aid-and-net-price-calculators.html