Chance me

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Intended major: biology, ecology, ecology and evolutionary biology, environmental biology, etc

Schools:
Penn (first choice, ED)
Yale
Duke
Brown
Dartmouth
Columbia
UChicago
Emory
Northeastern
Tufts
Tulane
Pomona
Barnard
Bowdoin
Rutgers
Ohio State
Pitt
Fordham
UMinnesota

Demographics: White female from Southern NJ, near Philadelphia, non competitive high school

Scores: 34 ACT, 750 Math II, 780 Biology M
AP scores: 5s on APUSH and AP Lang, 4s on bio and stat

Junior year courseload: AP Bio, AP Stats, AP Lang, APUSH, Honors french III
Senior year courseload: AP Physics, AP Psychology, AP Computer Science, AP Lit, AP calculus AB, online French 4

Precalc online over summer, also took French 2 and French 4 online

Rank: 3/226
GPA: 95.52 UW, 105.36 W

ECS:

  • Working at a wildlife refuge & hospital, interacting with & caring for animals (4hrs/week, 11 weeks/year and continuing, 1 year)
  • Biology internship/shadowing (not completely organized yet but guaranteed, 1 year)
  • STEM club founder and president, organized despite difficulties with funding efforts and obstacles with school. I am organizing and leading study sessions for the Brain Bee, also organizing activities such as STEM activities with younger kids and possibly also facilitating a Girls Who Code club through the club, somewhat separate but connected to the club (haven’t computed hours yet, 1.5years)
  • Biology journalism on 2 separate websites, one for neuroscience and the other for science in general (haven’t computed hours yet, 1 year)
  • Biology YouTube channel where I post claymation explanations on how different functions work
  • Key Club VP 2 years, Editor 1, take part in planning yearly $3k fundraiser, planning a fundraiser for DIGP childhood brain cancer, distinguished VP (1.5hrs/week, 30 weeks/year)
  • DECA President, national qualifier, 1st place in New Jersey for HLM testing, 3rd place overall for HLM, also qualified for states my first year, organizing study sessions for kids who want to make it to states because we don’t get very many (2hrs/week, 25 weeks/year?)
  • 4 year Varsity cheerleader, scholar athlete award (highest GPA on team) (12hrs/week, 20 weeks/year)
  • Giving tours at a historical house and working on their garden (4hrs/week, 12 weeks/year, 1 year)
  • 3 year member of school musical (10hrs/week, 11weeks/year)
  • 4 year concert choir member, national performances in Canada and California (2.5hrs/week, 40 weeks/year)
  • Action Team Captain through Volunteers of America
  • Gifted and Talented 4x
  • NHS 2x
  • World Language Honor Society and Club 2x
  • LIU Summer Honors Institute in UN and Global Affairs, discussions on global environmental issues and meeting with United Nations officials (5 day camp)

Awards: DECA ones I mentioned ^ (1st in state for test, 3rd in state overall, state finalist, international competitor, certifications, a regional finalist my first year, also a Johnson and Wales scholarship), scholar athlete cheerleading award, student of the month for business education, principals list 12x (straight As)

Hooks: Dad works at Penn Medicine (?), female in stem (not premed I want to be a researcher)

Hope I got everything and be honest lolll

2

Penn (first choice, ED) - Match
Yale - Reach
Duke - Match
Brown - High Match
Dartmouth - High Match
Columbia - Match
UChicago - Match
Emory - Low Match
Northeastern - Low Match
Tufts - Reach (unless you show interest)
Tulane - Reach (unless you show interest)
Pomona - Match
Barnard - Low Match
Bowdoin- Match
Rutgers - Safety
Ohio State - Safety
Pitt - Safety
Fordham - Safety
UMinnesota - Safety

3

@katnissjul
I think you’re applying to too many schools, but he e a great resume. Also I wouldn’t trust the advice of a person who thinks Tulane and Tufts are more difficult to get into than Emory, Bowdoin, Barnard, Pomona, Brown, and Dartmouth. Most of these are pushing Reach.

4

@emorynavy Yeah, I don’t think that Columbia would be considered a match for anyone. I probably am applying to too many schools - I will be adjusting my list throughout the application process most likely.

5

Congratulations on your achievements! Just keep in mind that UPenn, Yale, Duke, Brown, Dartmouth, Columbia, UChi, Pomona, and Bowdoin all reject more than 90% of their applicants; Emory,Tufts, Tulane, and Barnard all reject more than 80%. That means they’re likely rejecting at least as many candidates with your stats as they are admitting - probably making them reaches for just about anybody. Nothing wrong with having some reaches like those on your list (and not saying you won’t get into a couple), just make sure you also include a safety or two that you love!

6

@otisp Yup - I have lots of safeties (UMN, Pitt, Rutgers, Ohio State). Definitely not sure I will get into most of these colleges and if I do if the money will work out. Thanks!

7

I am going to be very honest with you:

You have some damn good chances. If UPenn doesn’t take you, they lose out on something very significant, and I think an admissions officer would realize that.

8

Have you considered Johns Hopkins?

9

I think you only need to apply to 2 safeties.

I would encourage you to apply to Harvard as well—they have a compelling OEB concentration. For a hardcore math nerd like myself, I was tempted to secondary in OEB after taking a few classes.

10

@Anonymous546 I did consider JHU - toured and everything - but I notice that their biology department is structured around molecular biology and has a large pre-med focus. They don’t offer much for ecology and evolutionary bio kids.

11

@hgrad2010 How competitive is it? Compared to the other majors of course