Chance me: what tier of college should I be looking at?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm a rising junior, and my parents are asking if I'd like to go visit any colleges in august.</p>

<p>I'd like to know what tier I should be looking at (what I'm qualified to get into), whether it be the cream of the crop (ivy league), or something a little safer.</p>

<p>My stats:</p>

<p>SAT - have not taken it, but from practice tests I predict 2250+
GPA - 3.9 UW, 4.04 W
SAT IIs - 780 US History
APs - US History (5), Comp Sci (5)</p>

<p>Projected Senior Year Schedule:
IB English HL
IB Math HL
IB History HL
IB Physics HL
IB Econ HL
Differential Equations</p>

<p>Junior year schedule:
Physics honors (will take ap physics b)
AB / BC Calculus
IB History
IB English
AP / IB French
IB Computer Science</p>

<p>Sophomore year schedule:
Chem honors - A-
Alg 2 Trig Honors - A
English - A
French 3 honors - B+
Comp Sci - A
AP US History - A-</p>

<p>Freshman year schedule:
Geometry Honors - A-
Bio - A
English - A
French 2 Honors - A-
History - A-
Ceramics - B (ikr)</p>

<p>Clubs:
President of the Young Democrats Club
Executive officer of MUN
Member of Model Congress
Executive officer of Robotics and Engineering Club
Executive officer of Kiva
VP of amnesty international</p>

<p>ECs:
-Ice hockey (year-round, very involved, club hockey, but not good enough to play at college or anything)
-Track and field (spring sport at my school, sophomore year only, plan to continue)</p>

<p>College programs:
-Accepted at Columbia Science Honors Program for Junior & Senior years... heard its prestigious?
-Accepted at Yale Global Leadership Program for next summer</p>

<p>Internships:
-Interned at a small quantitative hedge fund sophomore year.</p>

<p>Volunteering:
Definitely one of my weaknesses. My school's requirement is 10 hrs / year, and that is pretty much what I have been doing. Random volunteerism, no single organization that I could talk about working for year after year.</p>

<p>Demographics:
White, income > 150k.</p>

<p>Be brutal but honest, because I need to know what tier of schools I should be looking at. What are my reaches, probables, and safeties? Thanks!</p>

2

<p>What is your class rank or estimated percentile? Can’t really say for sure though without an actual sat score also.</p>

3

<p>Our school only releases quartiles, and I will be in the top 25%. I go to private school in NJ</p>

4

<p>for the SAT it can be assumed I got a 2250 as that is in the low range of what I believe I will get. I generally do well on standardized tests… not that that is the best skill to have, but it helps with this kind of thing</p>

5

<p>bump :D</p>

<p>Come on guys, any help would be appreciated</p>

6

<p>Assuming you actually get a 2500 then you can look at a lot of top 20 schools but make sure to have a few that are safer.</p>

<p>Have you actually taken a practice test? Or are you just guessing you can get that. Because even most “good test takers” can’t just get a 2500.</p>

7

<p>I don’t think I’ll get a 2500, but I can try my best for a 2400 :P</p>

<p>I’ve taken a few practice tests (but not as many as I should), and I’ll prep a lot in august. I think I’ll end up with something between a 2300 and a 2400. If I achieve this, is it way out of the question to say that I could start looking at Harvard / Yale tier schools as my reach, or is that a possibility?</p>

8

<p>bump… :D</p>

9

<p>bump… :D</p>

10

<p>I don’t know about Ivies, maybe some of the lower ones (Cornell or something, maybe Dartmouth)
There’s a kid from my school going to Dartmouth with similar stats but he was also a legacy there. Anything on the tier lower than ivy league seems like you’d be able to get in with ivies as a reach.</p>

11

<p>Thanks! I appreciate that. Going to an ivy would be a dream come true haha so I’m happy that you think they’re on the radar as a reach</p>

12

<p>It’s a little hard to say right now without a definite SAT score but with about a 2250 I think you’ll be sitting pretty! Upper Ivies are a reach for everyone but I think if you work hard on those essays come senior year and really personalize them, you’ll have a good shot at getting in!</p>

13

<p>Thank you so much! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that.</p>

<p>To anyone else viewing the thread, as much as I would love for everyone to say “You’re in”, I want people to give me their honest criticisms so I know where to improve my application, where to focus my college visits, and how much to get my hopes up. I hope that noone is holding back negative criticisms.</p>

14

<p>Your class rank is going to kill your application for most top tier schools. Unless your schools regularly sends about 30% or more of the class to ivies and peer schools, you won’t stand really any chance at those schools. </p>

<p>Also will financial aid be a big issue for you? You will get little, if any, need based aid.</p>

15

<p>@cortana431:
I’m sorry, I must have worded something wrong earlier.</p>

<p>My school only submits quartiles, meaning that I am in the top range that they submit. In reality, I am probably #10 or 11 out of 100 students in my class. However, all colleges will know is that I am in the top 25%, or the top quartile.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t say that my school regularly sends 30%, but I would say that a healthy percentage get in.</p>

16

<p>Also, no, financial aid will not be a big issue for me. While we are not “loaded”, my parents have told me that they feel comfortable paying for 4 years of undergrad.</p>

17

<p>bumpbumpbump</p>

18

<p>I think Top 20 schools are in your range, assuming that you get 2200+ on the SAT. Obviously places like Harvard are reaches for everyone, but its worth a shot.</p>

<p>The only place that is slightly weak (and I do mean slightly) is your clubs. While the leadership is great, they seem kind of cookie-cutter if you know what I mean. But nonetheless, you look like a strong applicant. Good luck! </p>

<p>Chance me back? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pennsylvania/1371864-chances-upenn-cas-ed.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pennsylvania/1371864-chances-upenn-cas-ed.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

19

<p>Oh ok that changes everything haha. Most of the ivies will still very unlikely but you should have solid chances at Cornell and similar schools like Carnegie Mellon, Vanderbilt, etc.</p>

20

<p>@pixels I agree with you there, any advice as to how I can fix that?</p>

<p>@cortana431 Thanks man! Any advice on how to improve my application, or would you say its too late to do too much?</p>