Chance Me? Top Schools... Suggestions?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I am applying to colleges this year, and as I put together applications, I am wondering if y'all would be willing to give me an honest assessment of what looks good and what doesn't. Is there anything I could improve (specifically, essay topics and the sorts) before January deadlines? Thanks for the help!</p>

<p>These are the schools I'm looking at:
U. of Virginia
U. of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
U. of Chicago
Duke University
Georgetown
Harvard
Yale
Princeton
Stanford
U. of Southern California
U. of Pennsylvania
Columbia University
Swarthmore</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2250 (730 CR, 800 M, 720 W (69 Subscore, 10 Essay))
[</em>] ACT: 36 (36 M, 36 E, 36 R, 36 S, 10 Essay)
[<em>] SAT II: 800 U.S. History, 800 Biology (Molecular), 790 Math II
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 (4.65 Weighted; Honors and AP courses given +1 points)
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A (Top 2% out of class of 336)
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5's on AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP English Language, AP U.S. History, AP U.S. Government
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Environmental Science, AP European History, AP English Literature, AP Physics C: Mechanics, Calculus II and III at college, 400-level Political Philosophy class at college, Independent Studies in Philosophy and in Leadership in Debate
[</em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMSF, Samsung American Legion Scholarship National Winner ($20,000; 9 National Winners selected from 100 State Winners selected from students participating in Boys and Girls State); some extracurricular awards (see below)
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Colorado Youth Advisory Council (11 and 12; Chair and former Vice-Chair; the council is the official youth advisory board to the state government; I coauthored legislation on teen suicide prevention with some of the other members of the council that the state passed; I've gotten quite involved in the suicide prevention work and am one of the lead members of the State Teen Sucide Prevention Task Force); Irish Dance (10 years; 20th in World, 5th in nation, solo dancing; World Champion, team dancing); Debate (9 to 12; Congressional Debate - Two-time National Semifinalist; Semifinalist Presiding Officer (only 8 in nation); Debate Captain); Student Council (9 to 12; Student Body President; Executive Treasurer; Class VP); Band/French Horn (9 to 11; State Marching Band Champions; Conductor in Teacher's Absence, 9 and 11; 1st Chair; a few honor bands).
[</em>] Summer Activities: Experimental Economics Research (Research Design, 40 hrs/wk for 4 weeks; only high schooler amongst college students and professors at Chapman University's Economic Science Institute; my experiment deals with economics, linguistics, and anthropology; paper to be published next year)
[<em>] Essays: Pretty decent, but I need thoughts... I have two 500-word ones... 1st is about my twin brother, how we've always been in tune with each other, how he is a sounding board for my ideas, how our discussions range from spontaneous singing of Also Sprach Zarathustra to enlightened political discussions... 2nd is about a leadership experience in teen suicide prevention; I was requested for testimony on a bill in front of a politically divided committee, and after my testimony, the committee voted unanimously to pass the bill; it reveals part of the motivation for my suicide prevention work as the depression my brother went through...
[</em>] Teacher Recommendations: I think they will be very good, though teachers from my school tend to not understand quite the caliber of recommendations needed for Ivy League schools, so I have my fingers crossed.
[<em>] Counselor Rec: We've connected a ton, so should be really good.
[</em>] Additional Rec: From my Youth Council facilitator; she thinks of me as a "centered and effective leader", so hopefully good.
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): CO
[</em>] Country (if international applicant): USA
[<em>] School Type: Middle-sized Public Suburban
[</em>] Ethnicity: White
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: Between 100,000 and 150,000[/ul]</p>

<p>Thank you all so, so much!</p>

2

<p>First suggestion is don’t fret. You are very unique, perfect ACT, Perfect GPA, tons of great leadership positions. You will get in anywhere you apply as far as I’m concerned.
Secondly, I like your second essay idea better, but it’s really up to you. I probably don’t even need to say this, but good luck!</p>

<p>Chance me back?</p>

3

<p>You have a decent shot at all of these schools.</p>

<p>HYPS = reach (10 to 30%)</p>

<p>Penn, Chicago, Columbia = low reach (30 to 50%)</p>

<p>Duke, G’town, UNC OOS, UVA OOS, SWAT = low match (50 to 70%) </p>

<p>USC = match (70 to 90%)</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the thoughts on the essay, Captain… I feel like the 500 word limit is the only stickler in this whole piece, but hopefully all will turn out well.</p>

<p>And thanks muckdogs07 for the thoughts… Hopefully all turns out well!</p>

5

<p>Bump? I can chance back, if you want, though my knowledge is limited (otherwise I would know my own chances better)…</p>

6

<p>Bump? (Sorry for all the bumping!)</p>

7

<p>You are a very competitive applicant so you match all the schools easily. Harvard, Stanford, and Yale however are never gimmes but you look like you will get into those schools. Good Luck!</p>

8

<p>Thanks! I guess we’ll see: it’s all a crapshoot. Just trying to do the best I can with applications.</p>

9

<p>Bump? (Sorry for the bumping…)</p>

10

<p>completely agreed with all the other posters: the super-reach schools are difficult for anyone, but you have an awesome chance! and you’ll be in at the other schools on your list :)</p>

11

<p>It’s really hard to say for places like Harvard, Stanford, or Yale, but it looks good for Duke, USC, and georgetown.</p>

12

<p>Even with your stats, you should apply to a few more safeties. UNC is extremely difficult to get accepted to OOS and the same is true for UVA. I’d suggest applying to U Michigan, U Illinois, UCLA, and/or Georgia Tech. You are an amazing applicant but your list doesn’t have enough lower tier schools.</p>

13

<p>I already applied to University of Alabama and got accepted–a financial safety as well as academic one… And I’ve got some in-state schools in Colorado as well as Chapman University in Southern California (where I did my research). I’m hoping these work out okay…</p>

14

<p>In that case, you’re fine. Also, can you chance back?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1407315-chances-carnegie-mellon-mcs-ed.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1407315-chances-carnegie-mellon-mcs-ed.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

15

<p>One last bump…</p>

16

<p>I think you have decent chances. I mean, really good ECs, perfect ACT, STELLAR GPA… feel a bit confident. You might even slam-dunk since your leadership really stands out, it seems.</p>