<p>I'd like to know how much of a chance I stand if I apply to Top 15 schools (Brown, Cornell, WashU, Northwestern etc.)
Indian
Junior
ACT: 30 (I'm retaking, hoping for 32)
-Math: 30
-Reading: 30
-English: 33
-Science: 27 (meh...)
GPA (UW): 3.9
Courses: Only APs @ my school are in eng and hist. I switch from IB to AP school (moved across country)
-AP Eng 11th
-AP Eur. Hist
-From 9-10th I took highest course rigor
-Because my schedule got messed up in my new school I'm taking lower rigor courses, but making up for it senior year:
-During summer taking Calc 1 @ college (so its like AP I guess..)
Senior Year
-Calc 2 1st semester Calc 3 2nd
-Orgo (hnrs.)
-Physics (hnrs.)
-AP Eng 12
-Gov. and Econ.
-AP Music Theory
ECs:
-play guitar, bass, piano, drums, saxophone
-I have several awards in guitar/jazz:
-2 City jazz fest solo awards
-Solo Award at Elitch Gardens music in the parks festival
-Guitar Ensemble placed 2nd at Cavalcade of Music (national comp.)
- Guitar Ensemble placed 1st in string ensemble category on Elitch Gardens music in the parks fest.
- Got solo award in Powell (Northwestern college jazzfest)
Have several others, can't list all of them.
-At my new high school, I started the jazz band, we now play at school concerts and gatherings
-Helped organize Make A Wish benefit concerts at old high school, grossed over $5000
-Volunteer at hospital (aiming for 300+hrs)
-Am writing pieces for the concert band @ my new school
I have family who attended WashU, Northwestern, and Cornell (postdoctoral research @ cornell) if helps </p>
<p>Thanks in advance for all of the replies!</p>
<p>Your ECs are decent, but I don’t think they would impress anyone at Harvard or Yale. (I’m assuming by top 15, you mean 1-15, not schools ranked around 15) Your GPA is good and I assume your school doesn’t rank, but coming from what sounds like a relatively uncompetitive high school will hurt you. </p>
<p>Raise your test scores, and your chances increase tremendously. However, you definitely need to broaden your scope on what schools to apply to. Somewhere like Emory will be much more attainable than a school like Harvard.</p>
<p>So honestly I’d say all top 15 schools are high to mid reaches.</p>
<p>Also, what state do you live in? If you live in a state like Texas or Virginia, make sure and not rule out UT or UVA or other high caliber state universities.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response, I live in alabama. When I say top 15, I mean 11/12-15. Probably should’ve been more specific. I know the act score is on the lower end for those schools, but do you think I could get into places like WashU, Cornell, Northwestern, Brown? I wanna apply to one at least big name that I’d like but only if I have a chance of getting in. Thanks again!
Btw, do you think being @ calc 3 by the time I graduate will make me stand out?</p>
<p>Could I get around the uncompetitive high school by showing that I took a hard senior courseload? I had to teach myself trig and pre cal so I guess that could be something I can say in my essay.</p>
<p>Bu-uh-uh-uhmp. Bumpsickle. Bumpilicious. Bump…</p>
<p>Raise your ACT.
what’s your intended major? music?</p>
<p>Biological sciences or engineering. I know I have no chance for top 10, but for 12-15 am I even in the ball park with a 30? I started looking at top 15 because I saw that the lower ones had ACT averages of 29-33 (25/75%).</p>
<p>concern is in the fact that you don’t show interest in biological science or engineering. Most kids who apply to brown/cornell with interest in engineering, are in science/robotics clubs, tutoring, have tried to obtain some sort of research experience. </p>
<p>your in the ball park with with scores/gpa right now, but raising your ACT couldn’t hurt. </p>
<p>If i were you I wouldn’t write my essay about “teaching myself trig and pre cal”, mention it - but don’t write a whole essay about it. As impressive as it is, i doubt it will make an original, creative essay topic.</p>
<p>Ok, thanks. As far as interest goes, I haven’t done anything formal, but I have been building things like footswitches and guitar pedals for most of my childhood and am getting into programming. I can explain in my essay that music was a doorway to science for me and I’ve been able to apply music to math and vice versa. For biology, I don’t have many ways to show evidence lf interest. I doing a pre college medicine thing this summer and maybe a research/enrichment program but I don’t have much else. Considering that engineering colleges have more competitive scores, which would I have a better chance at: biology/arts and sciences colleges, or engineering colleges?</p>
<p>And by colleges I mean the specific place I should apply to in a university, not institutions centered around a certain field.</p>
<p>“I have been building things like footswitches and guitar pedals for most of my childhood and am getting into programming.” </p>
<p>That’s awesome. Make sure you inform them of that, it’s a cool way of conveying your passion in both science and music.
Taking SAT IIs for math or science and scoring high wouldn’t hurt. </p>
<p>"I doing a pre college medicine thing this summer and maybe a research/enrichment "
Also, really awesome. </p>
<p>“Considering that engineering colleges have more competitive scores, which would I have a better chance at: biology/arts and sciences colleges, or engineering colleges?”
Stick to your gut, apply to places you want to be.</p>
<p>Alright, thank you. This boosted my confidence. So you think I have a chance at a place like Cornell?</p>
<p>Thanks. you guys think I’ll have a chance at Duke (with a higher act)?</p>
<p>Oh, and will a low science score hurt me at all (since I’m going for pre med and science related stuff)?</p>
<p>Damn. It seems that my gpa is not 3.9. I’ll find out what it exactly is tomorow, but am I still in good standing with a 3.7/8? Hopefully it wont make much of a difference</p>