CHANCE ME: Will my Ivy aspiration become a reality or remain an unattainable dream?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I am interested in applying to competitive schools for a math/ science related major- probably biomedical or chemical engineering this fall. Do I have a chance for the Ivies / Duke / Stanford / etc.?</p>

<p>GPA- Unweighted- approx. 3.9
Weighted- approx- 4.3
Class Rank- top 1%- #2 or 3 out of 400+</p>

<p>APs:
Bio AP (A)
US Hist AP (B+)
(Poor AP Scores- not submitting)</p>

<p>Nexy year:
AP Environmental
AP Physics
AP Psych OR AP English
AP Calc AB</p>

<p>SAT Scores:
Math 780
Writing 790
CR 570 (very bad, but retaking)
Total: 2140</p>

<p>ACT Scores: (retaking)
Composite: 30
Combined English/ Writing: 31</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Peer Leadership- (a selective club within the high school that promotes various community service projects such as light up a life, peace takes practice, etc. We also help the freshmen have a smooth transition into high school)- Soph, Junior, Senior</p>

<p>Peer Mediation- established by a small group of students this year, we help students come up with solutions to various problems- Junior, Senior</p>

<p>NHS- will lead some community service projects next year</p>

<p>JV Lacrosse- Freshman, Soph, Junior (Captain)
Varsity Lacrosse- Senior</p>

<p>Part time job @ local grocery store since end of freshman year- 15-16 hrs/ week, more during summer</p>

<p>Awards: Harvard Book Award, Community Service Award</p>

<p>Community Service-
Member of Junior Volunteer Program @ Local Hospital- 200+ Hours, the experience has been a great way to observe possible careers in the hospital setting- would love to have a medical-related career in the future.</p>

<p>***For every 20 hours I have volunteered, I have been able to grant $500 to the hospital's department of my choice. Because I am hearing impaired & was born with several congenital disorders, I am donating the $ to these specific areas.</p>

<p>Have volunteered @ local preschool several times per year, have worked & interacted with autistic children</p>

<p>Hook? - I have suffered with several physical, learning, & hearing disabilities throughout my life & my doctors are amazed that I have been doing this well. I have donated over 2000 dollars to the speech pathology unit in Norwood hospital b/c this unit is close to my heart.</p>

<p>Essay- I will write about the obstacles I have overcome and how they made me a better person.</p>

<p>Any recommendations for colleges that are strong in the medical sciences and math? Are the Ivies / Stanford / UChicago / Duke / JHU / USC / Northwestern way beyond my reach, or do I have a shot?</p>

<p>Should I even bother applying to these schools, or should I focus on schools such as Tufts, NYU, etc.? Should I apply early action (non-binding)? Will that help my chances?</p>

<p><strong>Basically, my flaws are my low AP scores, low CR SAT score (which I will most likely not be able to bring up over 650), and my lack of leadership. Does my hearing impairment / physical dissabilities provide me with a hook, or will my flaws ruin my chances?</strong></p>

<p>Thanks!!! Post a link and I will chance you back.</p>

2

<p>Don’t submit the ACT and study grammatix for CR.</p>

3

<p>You will not be competitive at an ivy league school or Stanford with that SAT score, even though I love the fact you donate both time AND money to your charities and you have two nice awards. Duke is a mid-reach as well, imo. Although you are to be commended for your successes while having to cope with a learning disability, this will not adequately offset your SAT or ACT scores.</p>

4

<p>^ What? His SAT’s are great and well within average of the Universities. Though that doesn’t make him competitive, it doesn’t hurt him either.</p>

<p>But if you are applying to Cornell, then you will get hurt. Your CR score is bad. Cornell rates from a 1600 scale (M & CR) rather then a 2400 scale (M & CR & W)</p>

5

<p>^ With small admit rates, average doesn’t cut it.</p>

<p>Your scores are weak for the Ivies. If you get the SAT up to about 2250+, your chances will be greatly improved; however, improved is not guaranteed admission.</p>

6

<p>^ As I said, he isn’t competitive either. Why should someone waste and spend there time trying to (Hypothetically) score higher then the average SAT score of the University, if most of the people getting in are the average SAT score range type of people? I am not trying to say that he shouldn’t retake it, since I think he should, so he has a better chance of getting in, but your SAT’s aren’t fully important to your admission. Your whole application is great, and I doubt you would improve greatly if you do retake it (Average increase is 20-50 points, as the CB points out) so retaking it isn’t really going to do much if your whole application is great. </p>

<p>I am not saying he shouldn’t retake it, and get a better score, I am just saying his scores are good, and shouldn’t be called bad, or stated that his score “doesn’t cut it”. Yes his admission isn’t guarenteed though.</p>

7

<p>do you recommend focusing on improving my ACT scores, since I find the reading section much easier on that test, and scoring hopefully a 33? Or should I just try and improve my SAT CR score as much as possible? </p>

<p>Also- I do lack in leadership positions… does raising $ for hospital units that relate to my disabilities count as being a leader… or am i screwed?</p>

8

<p>I understand what you are saying, and I didn’t say his scores are bad- bad and not good enough are two different things. What I implied is that with those SAT scores all of the Ivies are reaches, with Brown and maybe Dartmouth being low reaches. I do think that the OP can focus on his CR and greatly improve it, which will greatly benefit his chances.</p>

9

<p>Colleges will love that you donated all that money to the hospital. Make sure you mention that in your essays somewhere!</p>

<p>Just get those CR and ACT scores up and you’ll have a decent shot at most selective schools, maybe not Ivies though since your ECs are still kind of weak.</p>

10

<p>AP scores show how well you have learned the subject and how if you can prove it. Poor AP Scores probably will alert the colleges of possible grade inflation- be careful with AP exams. With that said, great GPA/class rank. CR is just out of the range of the Ivy’s/Stanford. ACT is too low. whats your subject scores? standardized testing needs improvement. </p>

<p>ec’s are nothing spectacular although the donations looks pretty good. write about your difficulties. lack of leadership will hurt you.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

11

<p>It seems to me with a writing score that high you should be able to raise CR at least a 100 (?) points relatively easily…570 is absurdly low for someone who got a 780 and 790 on the other two sections.</p>

12

<p>I’m afraid it’ll most likely remain as an “unattainable dream.”</p>

13

<p>Your chances are virtually zero unless you raise your CR score by at least 100 points. 700+ is good, 750+ is ideal.</p>

14

<p>@ Analgin. Sorry to be rude, but are you challenged? How does having the same scores as the average for an Ivy not cut it? That means, that most of the students that get in are around that range, so he’s in good shape.</p>

<p>That being said I would get that CR score up, CR and Math generally are more important than Writing.</p>

15

<p>^^^^^^^First, a 570 CR is not average for an ivy. Second, the “average” SAT range reported by Ivies include athletes, development cases, and URMs- admitted unhooked applicants have higher than the mid-range. </p>

<p>CW11, OTOH,you are in the top 1-2% of your class, and you seem to have overcome some real challenges, so that could be your hook. You are going to need some math and science SAT 2s. And schools may wonder why no AP scores for completed AP classes.</p>

16

<p>Nothigto is seriouly misguided, those getting into top schools are not all hovering around average. Half the class is comprised of those with real hooks-recruited athlete, URMs, legacies, development. The other half is well above average.</p>

<p>What you get on each section is important, not ust the overall number. A weak CR score is especially troublesome because while you can avoid heavy math at many colleges, you will need strong reading comprehension.</p>

<p>OP, raise the CR to 650 and the top schools are worth a try.</p>

17

<p>His chances are not “virtually zero” - that’s absurd to say. Class rank is good, and your M + W SAT scores are awesome. Boost your CR score up and you should be in good shape. Your volunteering with the hospital and donation of $2k is pretty impressive and commendable.</p>

18

<p>What a nice view of Tufts you imply.</p>

<p>You may want to consider whether such a rigourous academic environment like you would find at the Ivies is a good thing for you. Those places are extremely tough for everyone, and if you struggle with significant learning disabilities, an Ivy could be a very bad place for you.</p>

<p>The only representation of what exactly your 3.9 means is your ‘poor’ AP scores in classes in which you got good grades. This leads me to believe that the Ivies are much, much tougher than anything you have ever faced.</p>