Chance Me: Will I Get in UT Austin, Duke, Rice, or Stanford?

I’m an American Citizen who lives in Houston and is a Texas Resident. I’m part Caucasian and part Asian and am a Male. I intend to major in philosophy and business. I’m homeschooled, however, I take most of my classes at a local community college.

Stats:
GPA: 4.0
SAT: 1420 (Should I retake?)
Classes at the community college:
Business Principles
Calculus
Precalculus
Honors* Principles of Sociology
Introduction to Formal Logic
Composition and Rhetoric I
Trigonometry
Honors* Introduction to Ethics
General Psychology
Honors* US History to 1877
College Algebra Microeconomics
Macroeconomics
Honors* Art History
US Government

*Honors classes at the community class are part of an honors program that has standardized testing requirements and all honor classes culminate with a research project.

Courses taken elsewhere:
Latin
Geometry
Algebra
Biology

Extracurriculars:
Team Captain of Soccer Team (4 years)
Swim Competitively (9 Years)
Volunteered at a library (3 years)
Ran an Ebay business where I buy and sell sneakers (3 years)

Also, I skipped three grades so I could wait another year and a half and make my application stronger. Basically, I kind of wanted to know if I can get into top tier schools with my current application or I should wait?

If that is unweighted GPA, I think you UT Austin should be a safety, given the top 6% guaranteed admission criteria, but you should check the details.

The rest are unlikely due to your SAT score being below the 25th percentile of all the colleges you are applying to. Most of the spots below the 25th percentile are for “hooked” students, such as athletes, legacy, and URM. Your activities list is also light compared to other applicants.

You can try the ACT. and schools like Rice and Chicago you can apply test optional.

But yes you need to have match schools like Rochester, Brandeis, Wake Forest, SMU (safety).

I’m planning to take the SAT again in August, so I’m hoping I can improve my score.

I’m confused. Can we assume you’ve taken all your science, history, English and Foreign Language classes?

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If you skipped three grade levels and are homeschooled, what’s the rush for college? Plus your SAT score is low for your demographic. Take another year to expand on your EC’s and also read more on your own, engage in stuff like Great Courses etc… You will also have more maturity when you start college. The CC classes you’re taking may not necessarily be the same level of rigor you will encounter at selective universities. This is especially true of the intro level humanities courses.

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This student is homeschooled. There is no auto admission for the OP.

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Are you intending to apply to universities this fall, with the intention of starting university in the fall of 2022? If so, how old would you be when you start university?

I personally started university the week after my 17th birthday. In retrospect I think that taking a gap year probably would have been a better plan for me. However, this will vary from student to student.

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Why are you interested in these 4 universities in particular?

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Your previous posts indicate that you plan on graduating from high school at age 15/16.

I am also confused about your coursework. I see a lack of English courses and foreign language, as noted by @Lindagaf. Has your guidance counselor, in your homeschool program, delineated HS graduation requirements?

What is the rush?

Also, have you investigated the schools you are targeting as to how they would handle minors on campus? You may have to bring a parent for your housing options.

Being underage, by a couple of years, will limit what you can legally sign. Most students entering college are 18 or within a year of becoming an adult and can sign their leases, and other legal documents. Will you have a driver’s license?

Duke: because I was part of Duke Tip got in the grand regonition ceremony and visited there and really like what I saw.
UT Austin: good business school, I like the campus, and I want at least one affordable option
Rice: My parents live their and the community college I go is affilated with them somewhat
Stanford: great school (I know it’s hard to get in) and it’s near my grandparents

In answer to the questions regarding how you can be sure I completed highschool class requirements, here are my answers.

  1. All non college classes have been taken externally or through reputable online programs and are thus well documented.
  2. My college classes are taken through an accredited community college very well known in Texas; I have an official transcript through them.
  3. I have two seperate advisors, one through the community college honors program and one through the Davidson Young Scholars Program, who are advising through this process.
  4. Any requirements I have to fulfill, I can do so easily this year as college classes are semester long. And for dual credit one semester long college class is equivelant to one year long high school class. Thus, in one year of college I can easily fulfill any remaning requirements.

I would be 15 when I start at a 4 year college. I would be entering with enough college credits to enter as either a sophmore or junior depending on my major.

Really? You need to check that this is true. Can you easily take two years of foreign language, three years of English, and three years of science in one year?

Here is what Duke requires:
Duke requires at least 4 years of high school English, and 3 years each of Math, Science, Social Studies, and a foreign language. For students interested in the Pratt School of Engineering, calculus is required, and physics is strongly recommended.

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Agree.

The tough schools want students who can communicate effectively. Part of that skill is practicing written language skills via essays and language exercises that are peer-reviewed over the course of several English classes.

It’s four years of reading classic novels, current books, and reviewing controversial topics for essays and discussions. I’ve noticed several errors in the manner of your presentation of writing and spelling skills. Yes, I realize that this is a public website without regard for spelling errors, but the language production should be automatic if you are serious about admission.

Having multiple errors in a paragraph will affect and skew the admissions’ committees interpretation of your communication skills.

Again, what is the rush?
What have you researched, at those schools, with regard to housing of a minor student?

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Are you sure you would be applying first year and not as a transfer ??

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Why would you skip even more? This is just my opinion, but it’s like you’re running a race like it’s a sprint when it’s actually a marathon.

I don’t know if this is exactly legal (sales tax, trademark issues). It’s definitely not legal if it’s large name brand shoes like Nike or Adidas. You can deal with all that legal stuff on your own, just be careful putting it on your college application.

You should probably retake your SAT, you could get a strong superscore.

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Agree with @Dunshire^.

As a minor, you would most likely need to live with one of your parents for your housing.
Would your parents be financially able to pay for the housing needs of both of you? Some schools have “family housing” for graduate students. Many don’t, so you and your parent might have to live in off-campus housing. Not cheap to finance an apartment with furniture, utilities, and daily need supplies.

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Sorry - I meant, would they accept you as a first year student - I’m thinking since you take so many classes at college and they are not dual enrollment, would you be considered a transfer student and not even admitted as a first year? If so, that would change the dynamic.

OP, some colleges do not accept dual enrollment credits as a way to “skip” classes, ex: Stanford. You might want to double check the colleges on your list.

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