Chance Me? (Yale SCEA, Michigan EA, Penn, McGill, etc...)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi, I'm a white, Jewish, male from Ohio.</p>

<p>I go to the 65th best school in the country per US News and 66th per Newsweek.</p>

<p>I'm looking at applying to:</p>

<p>Yale SCEA
Michigan EA</p>

<p>Penn (Legacy)
McGill
UC Berkley
Columbia
Princeton
Williams College
Swarthmore</p>

<p>I am currently undecided on my major but I'll likely be applying to liberal arts programs at each school.</p>

<p>Class Rank: 14/379
Unweighted GPA: 3.9
Weighted GPA (6.0 scale): 5.1
SAT: 2330 Reading: 800, Writing: 770, Math: 760
ACT: 35
PSAT: 240</p>

<p>SAT subject tests
US History: 800
French: 800
Chemistry: 740
Math 2: 750</p>

<p>Perfect grades from 10th grade onwards.</p>

<p>I have received a 5 in every AP exam I have taken:
Calculus BC
Calculus BC: AB Subscore
Chemistry
English Lang
French
Micro
Macro
US History</p>

<p>This year I am taking:
AP Euro
AP Physics C
AP Computer Science
AP English Lit
AP Art History
Multivariable Calculus</p>

<p>National Merit Semi-Finalist (likely will be Finalist)
AP Scholar with Distinction
Williams College Book Award</p>

<p>Employment:</p>

<p>YMCA Camp Counselor for 3 years</p>

<p>Athletics:</p>

<p>Varsity Track Team for 3 years
Also participated in track and field outside of school during the winter and summer
Participated in Junior Olympics meets
Won my event at an Indoor National Championship Meet</p>

<p>Arts:</p>

<p>School Choirs since 7th grade</p>

<p>Participated in almost every school theater production since 8th grade
Had leading roles in most of them</p>

<p>Private voice lessons</p>

<p>Top score in OMEA Vocal Competition</p>

<p>Part of gold medal winning spiritual and gospel choir at the 2012 World Choir Games</p>

<p>Extra-Curriculars:</p>

<p>Founder and President of Ping Pong Club</p>

<p>Founding member of a capella charity vocal ensemble that holds concert fundraisers</p>

<p>Member of Community Action Team (community events and tutoring at local elementary school)</p>

<p>Member of Modern Abolitionist Movement (club that raises awareness for human trafficking and sex slavery)</p>

<p>4-Year participant and current organizer of St. Baldricks Shaving event (I have had my head shaved to raise money for research and to support children with cancer.)</p>

<p>Leading member of student cheering section</p>

<p>Mascot for certain sporting events</p>

<p>Campaign volunteer for national and local political campaigns</p>

<p>Student Ambassador (helped new students transition to my high school)</p>

<p>I have native-level fluency in French (I grew up there) and am fairly proficient in German.</p>

<p>Please let me know what you think of my chances at getting accepted to these schools. I know its a little silly to do this, but I appreciate the feedback anyway. Thanks for the advice.</p>

2

<p>buuuuuuuuuuuump</p>

3

<p>Bumpbumpbump?</p>

4

<p>Yale: Reach
UPenn: Reach
UMI: Match
Berkeley: Match
McGill: Safety (regardless of major)
Columbia: Reach
Princeton: Reach
Williams: Reach
Swarthmore: Reach</p>

5

<p>What about UPenn ED with legacy?</p>

6

<p>Yale SCEA (Reach)
Michigan EA (Target, depends on essays, interest, personality)</p>

<p>Penn (Legacy) (Reach)
McGill (target, they’re relatively numbers based)
UC Berkley (Reach, you should probably spell it correctly)
Columbia (Reach)
Princeton (Reach)
Williams College (Reach)
Swarthmore (Potentially a target if you show the fit!)
UPenn ED with legacy (Reach)</p>

<p>The kind of kid who decides to do either Yale SCEA or Penn ED usually doesn’t get in to either school because he is completely focused on the wrong things. Decide Yale ECEA or Penn ED based on YOUR fit with the school, not your perceived chances of acceptance. If a school does not see that you are a good match, they won’t take you. </p>

<p>If you stop worrying about trying to be impressive and start thinking about how schools match up with your interests, you’ll have a better shot everywhere you apply. Trust me.</p>

<p>Find some target schools and stop orienting your search around prestige.</p>

7

<p>Remember: as far as McGill is concerned, majors matter, but ECs don’t. Also, as I said to pretty much everyone who wanted to attend that school for undergrad, once the proper attention has been paid to the major, and one is even somewhat above the published admission standards, one can consider that department a safety. </p>

<p>With Canadian universities not called UBC, one only really needs to reason in terms of minimum stats required, hence why one feels like acceptance to that sort of schools is just a checklist away. </p>

<p>Liberal arts is under Arts jurisdiction. Arts asks for 3.3/28; even a 3.5/29 student (as long as all subscores are 24 or higher) can consider Arts a safety, let alone a 3.9/35 student.</p>

8

In case anyone cares.
Attending: Penn (Integrated Studies Program)
Accepted: Penn, Cornell, UMich, Ohio State, University of Cincinnati
Waitlisted: Swarthmore, Colorado School of Mines
Rejected: Yale (Deferred EA), Brown, Amherst

9

@snapsnapsnap I am quite happy you made it into there, as well as some other good places. If you didn’t get in with ED, legacy and those grades/scores, in addition to the ECs, that would mean I would have almost no chance at all for regular decision anywhere!