Chance me?? UNC, UVA, Duke, UC Berkeley, Stanford

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

What are my chances of getting into: UNC, UVA, Duke, UC Berkeley, and Stanford? (I live in VA, so I’m OOS for each of these except UVA)

  • I know acceptances aren’t always set on a particular type of student but I would just like your evaluation & opinions. Thanks so much!

Keep in mind I’m only a junior and still have one more year left in high school.

ACADEMICS:

  • Rank: #5 out of 487
  • GPA (weighted): 4.7
  • So far have taken 7 APs, and taking 5 next year (12 in total).
  • SAT: “super-score” = 2100, best regular score = 2070 (I’ve taken it twice, my other score was a 2060).
  • On my transcript it has my best individual scores (Math=690, Writing=750, Reading=660)
  • SAT II: Chemistry 680 (planning to retake, and take two others)
  • Involved in an in-state gifted governor’s school program (planned completion for all four years, in-school, core classes)
  • Received an award for Information Technology and AP U.S. History

E/C:

  • Varsity tennis team (2+ years)
  • President of Health Occupation Students of America (1 yr)
  • Secretary of Chamber Sinfonia Orchestra (1 yr)
  • Member of Nat’l Honor Society (2+ years)
  • President of Mu Alpha Theta (1 yr)
  • Member of Environmental Club (1 yr)
  • Member of Music Honor Society (2 yrs)
  • Historian and co-secretary of church youth group (1 yr for each position)
  • Red Cross volunteer (80+ hours)
  • Accepted into a medical mentorship (summer of '14)
  • Hospital volunteer (3 yrs)
  • TSA team won 2nd in regionals (music production category)
  • Play 3 instruments: piano (11 years), violin (4 yrs), guitar (3 yrs)
  • Advisory board student member for the gifted program I’m in.
  • I’ve written and published a book regarding living with Multiple Sclerosis.
  • All-county orchestra (2 yrs)
  • Planning to make a Red Cross club at my school next year
  • Planning to become a Red Cross first aid/cpr instructor over the summer
  • Will become a certified Emergency Medical Technician next year (I’m taking a class in school for the certification)
2

UNC - High Match
UVA - Accepted
Duke- High Match
Berkeley - Low Reach (Reach if EECS program)
Stanford - Reach

Boost up that SAT score and you’ll be a great candidate for any of these schools. I’d consider taking the ACT, some find it much easier to comprehend vs the SAT. Your EC’s seem a bit all around the place, i’d only limit them to the career/major you want to pursue when you apply. You also have the MS angle to play (I’m assuming since you wrote a book about it, you were diagnosed with it) and you could easily embody yourself in an essay. Good luck man!

Chance me?
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1787582-chances-ill-chance-back.html#latest

3

Duke - Reach
Berkeley - Reach
Stanford - High Reach
UNC (OOS) - Match
UVA (OOS) - Match

700 in each SAT I is going to help your chances immensely. You should look at the Common Data Set for the schools you’re considering. For Stanford, your writing score is the only one above the 25th percentile. Likewise for Duke, your SAT I scores are just treading water aside from writing, which is generally given the least weight. On the other hand, Berkeley’s scores are more in line with yours. However, Berkeley has competition just as stiff as Duke, so it’s not a sure thing, especially since they get a tide of 4.0/2400 students each year.

You published a book. Congratulations - that stands out to me, and will probably impress a lot of adcoms paired with your interest in medicine, which usually attracts more STEM-oriented people. You should try to focus your application more. Right now I’m seeing a lot of 1 year clubs that seem to suggest you join clubs without devoting a lot of attention to them. This is generally a red flag for adcoms.

In addition, it seems a bit overwhelming - you only have ten slots in the Common Application. Try to demonstrate that oft-spammed word, “passion”. It seems to me that you’re very much interested in medicine, so play that up. You want to be a person, not “4.7/2100 student 8 from State X”. If you hone your application, you should demonstrate a focus that shows who you are going to be on campus, whether that be a musician or a future doctor. If I were you, I’d want to focus on the music, the medical stuff, and then prune everything other than a leadership position.

If you are Asian, you have much lower chances than I am estimating, because it plays very heavily against you to be an Asian pre-med applicant, and the instruments push you even closer to the stereotype. I can guarantee you that there are a LOT of Asian pre-meds posting similar if not better stats, especially for Berkeley, so you really have to differentiate yourself with the essay. As trite as it sounds, you really do have to show how unique you are, or else you’ll just get passed over for another candidate with higher stats or one with similar stats and a more compelling story.

Of course, don’t forget that highly selective schools are a bit of a crapshoot, and in today’s increasingly competitive admissions environment, even state schools can become extremely picky. Whatever happens, make sure that you have a good set of safety schools that you’ll love, because nothing is guaranteed.

Good luck!

4

A 2100 is a bit low for some of those schools, but I bet you could raise that a little by focusing on your math and reading. You have a lot of extracurriculars, which is good since most relate to either medical or instrumental aspects. If I were you, I would take a Biology SAT II, and raise your SAT I. Chance back?

5

Duke and Stanford are reaches in my opinion.

6

UVA, UNC and UCB: Very good chances

Duke: Reach
Stanford: Very high reach

7

Duke & Stanford- reach
UCB/UNC/UVA- low reach
predict results- http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1787321-predict-results.html#latest

8

The UC’s will be full fee for OOS students. But with that SAT, you need some safeties.