Chance me?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey guys, every so often I like to make updates on my chances for top colleges to see if I’m on track and to find areas to improve on. Also I am using the mobile app right now so I don’t know exactly how to get to a chance me specific forum page. I don’t even remember if there’s one. Anyway…

My dream school is Columbia University while my other choices are NYU, Middlebury, Williams, Louronborough, Oxford, some UC’s (No Berkeley), USC, Soka, John Hopkins, University of Boston, King’s College, Swathmore, and Cornell University.

These among a multitude of safety state schools and other universities.

So my questions are these. How good do my chances look? What more should I do? Is there anything I shouldn’t do?

Grades:

Right now I’m currently a sophomore.
I have a 4.42 weighted and a 3.9 unweighted (my school considers -A’s to be 4’s)

I am rank 1 out of 272 other kids.

Freshman Classes (4.0 overall)

Geometry
PE
Spanish 3
Health/CCR
English 10
STEM Program (Physics) (Double period)

Sophomore Classes (w 4.42, uw 3.9)

Algebra 2
AP Human Geography
Spanish 4
AP European History
English 11
STEM Program (Biology) (Double Period)

Junior Classes (Scared out of my mind for this upcoming year’s schedule as I was forced to take comp sci while in the stem Program)

Pre Calc
Student Government
AP Spanish
AP US History
AP Language and Composition
AP Computer Science
STEM Program (Chemistry) (single period)

Senior (honestly don’t really know exactly yet so take everything below with a grain of salt)

AP Government
AP Calculus AB
Student Government
Art (maybe AP Art cause why not?)
STEM Program (we legit build an airplane all day)
Community College Russian Course
AP Literature

SAT:

I’ve been studying for the SAT since freshman year. I will be taking a practice test soon but have yet to truly see how well I do. Instead of laying down a hypothetical score, I’d like to know what kind of SAT I would need with my grades and extracurriculars.

Extracurriculars

Writing and Literature:

-Have been writing and hope to publish a novel or get it sold by college aps (will self publish if nothing works out, but I feel good because I’ve gotten great responses to it so far.)
-Attending the Master Class in Fiction at Columbia University this summer
-Became a finalist for short stories on Glimmer Train contest
-I’ve been in regular touch with a Pulitzer Prize winning author who enjoys my work
-publishing stuff in the school paper
-I’m the founder of a writing club at my school and I’ve been running it all year
-I went to county for poetry out loud
-I’m also the Literature main on a Quizbowl team that my friend and I started. Although we only compete in JV, I have an average of 43 points per game and will be going Varsity to have a chance at nationals next season

World Languages and Public Citizenship

-I am an Eagle Scout with a single palm and have been nominated for scout of the year
-I have an upper B2, lower C1 level in Spanish
-I’ve studied abroad over the summer at a school in Barcelona and have received a glowing recommendation from them
-I’m going to be attending an international program called Amigos next summer where I do service projects and live with a family in a small town in a Latin American country
-I am teaching myself Russian from square one even though I am the son of a Russian immigrant. After 6 months, I’m at an upper A2, lower B1 level.

Sports

-I’ve been on Varsity tennis since freshman year
-In Spain I trained with locals in tennis
-Quizbowl?

Other:

-Legacy to Columbia, USC, and double Legacy for UCLA
-CSF member for the entirety of high school
-Mock Trial for a year and will be continuing
-Climbed Mt. Whitney

To those who got through everything and will comment, thank you very much for the help!

2

A few things. It’s still early to give chances without test scores. Here is a results post someone put up yesterday, to give you a sense on your Columbia legacy odds: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/22232664/#Comment_22232664

Your ECs seem somewhat stronger than hers. For the SAT, go ahead and start test prep on Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/sat Try to finish all eight of the full-length practice tests before taking the PSAT.

3

Starting with the UK universities:

  1. What subject do you plan to apply to study? all your ECs suggest English, but do you know what the English course is like at Oxford? vs Kings? vs Loughborough?? (am assuming that Louronborough = Loughborough). If you want creative writing as an emphasis, you need to look elsewhere (Warwick, Aberystwyth, Reading, etc) to get much in the way of Creative Writing.

  2. Good news is that, except for Oxford you can pretty much chance yourself. For English, 5s on Lit & Lang and one other essay based AP and a credible SAT will see you right (you will need at least 3 relevant APs for any UK uni) For Oxford you have to sit the ELAT (https://www.admissionstesting.org/for-test-takers/elat/about-elat/), which will be a big part of evaluating whether you get invited to interview. FYI, any EC not related to English won’t be interesting to admissions.

As for the US universities:

  1. Columbia University, Middlebury, Williams, John Hopkins, Swarthmore, Cornell: there is no SAT score that will be high enough to make you confident of admission.

  2. Your list of colleges contains some strikingly different schools, and w/o more information about why they are on your list it is impossible to even talk about the variables. For most of them it is going to be about how they see you fitting in to the class they are building.

If you are thinking along the lines of 'Columbia b/c Core + NYC! / Middlebury b/c they are famous for languages! / Kings College London b/c English + London! (and I can’t even take a guess at the rest)- that’s the headline. Work your way in a little deeper: some of those schools are more ‘fit’ schools than others. Every single element of life at Middlebury will be wildly different than at KCL.- from teaching approach to coursework to living circumstances to college community- which one is likely to be happier for you? Soka or Cornell- do you know enough about theme to know which is likely to suit you?

Since you are a sophomore, you don’t need to know the answers- and in fact, if the answers don’t change a LOT in the next 15 months you probably aren’t doing it right! that’s because: you will be changing a lot over the next 15 months. So keep researching, trying out different places, but don’t fall in love- stay open to new ideas.

Finally:

saying this kindly, but fyi this is not an EC, and to the casual reader will look like trying to use somebody else’s fame to your advantage.

4

The reason why I mentioned that is that I hope to get a recommendation from the author (I should’ve said that outright in the post). I feel like that recommendation would be very helpful to legitimize my writing even if I end up self-publishing or not publish the novel at all.

Also, due to the low acceptance for Columbia, I’ve been trying to find a slew of other universities that I may want to attend to build a kind of “net” to fall into if I don’t get accepted. At this point, I really just need to look further at each university.

5

That’s fine, as far as it goes, but it’s not a substitute for the traditional “match” and “safety” school applications. The latter also need to be schools that you can afford and that you would be happy to attend. And if you do choose to apply somewhere ED, makes sure that it’s to your actual first choice, regardless of odds. (So long as they are not zero.)

6

@Stophin_

Eh. You seem mostly on the right track. I commend you for being proactive in this process.

You should be more confident about your courseload next year: what do you think is harder–several APs, or courses at Columbia?

In terms of SAT scores, you should be shooting for mid-1500s for the top scores on your list. I would also recommend NOT (I REPEAT: NOT!) doing all 8 official SATs before testing for the first time. Do 4 at most. You can also do some practice ACTs if you like or old format SATs if you want more similar practice. There are also 3rd party tests from sources like Ivy Global which are decent. I say this because I have had students who have done all or almost all the official practice tests before testing and before coming to me. Then, they don’t do as well on the SAT as they were hoping and they don’t have any official SATs they can practice with anymore because they have used them all already. This puts them in a tough place.

With regards to the SAT I will also say this. Because you are only taking Algebra 2 right now, there is probably math on the SAT that you have not learned yet. I would make sure to learn this math–perhaps this summer. You should learn all this math in precalc, but that won’t be for a bit.

Keep on writing. Write constantly. Get as good as it as you can. Read plenty too–seeming literary/intellectual can help in admissions (so long as you don’t come across as arrogant or pedantic). A novel may or may not be a good idea. I imagine you are still developing a lot as a writer. If so, by the time you are done the novel, you will be a very different writer than you were when you started the novel. This may make your work seem uneven.

It may be good to have a blog or something (nothing fancy) where people (such as admissions officers) can see your work. Starting it now would be a good idea, because then they can see it is a serious enduring interest of yours.

Also, seeing as you have an interest in both literature and languages, have you thought about doing literary translations? Might be an interesting way to combine interests. Also looks good on apps. You can attempt translations of various lesser known works. Your translations don’t have to be anything great–so long as you put effort into them, colleges will respect you for trying.

You don’t have to worry about your list of colleges yet.

Try to get 5s on all your APs (Spanish isn’t quite as important in this regard as language APs are viewed a bit differently).

Some of your ECs are more impressive than the others. Focus on the more impressive things, or the things that take up most of your time.

If you have any questions, let me know.

7

You are going about this all wrong. First decide what you want your major to be. Then look at your strengths and weaknesses, what you want from a college, and what you want to do after college. THAT will determine what your college list should look like.

All I see is “I wants prestigious schools, here is a list”. As a HS sophomore, you really do not know what college is like, or what it will be like for you. All you have, it seems, is a list of names, chosen by their rankings on USANews or another system. Well, except the colleges to which you are legacy.

Is Columbia your dream school because you are legacy, and is it based on actual understanding and experience with the university?

You’re a very bright kid. Use the same skills that you use for doing well in class to figure out what colleges are the best FOR YOU, not the colleges that are ranked “the best” by other people.

You know what is far worse than ending up only being accepted to your safety? Ending up at your dream schools and discovering that you don’t like it.

The best thing that you could do is have a dream school in every category. A Dream Safety, a Dream Match (or three), and a Dream Reach.

8

While most of the schools listed above have been chosen because I did just honestly look at name and rank, Columbia to me is one of the few schools that I’ve researched and visited enough to the point where I feel very comfortable and very passionate about going. Firstly, its situation in New York is very attractive to me not just because of the opportunities presented with the city itself, but also because NYC has held so much weight to the Russian side of my family. The city and the area surrounding it have been something of a second home to me as I’d spend most of my summers there and so I hold a very personal connection to the location. Also the legacy.
Also, I find the fact that CU is kinda split into two colleges with one focusing much more on liberal arts and offering a more humanities oriented program to undergrads is very attractive to me. Then there are class sizes, facilities, and many other things that I really like about CU that I could go on with but at this point, I feel like I’ve written too much. Anyway, I guess the purpose of my reply is to show you my viewpoint on my reach school and why it’s very significant to me.

9

What do you mean by 8 official SAT’s before testing for the first time?

10

The College Board has released eight official full-length practice tests. Practice tests 5-8 were actual SAT exams. You should take at least two from this group before sitting for any SAT exam that matters.

11

@Stophin_

I wouldn’t worry too much about your list of schools right now. Pace what another commenter said, I wouldn’t worry too much about your major either. Many (if not most students) end up changing their majors during their time in college. To presume that you can know now…

My philosophy is roughly the following. You should choose a college that is stimulating 1) where you are surrounded by plenty of bright, curious, thoughtful people (professors and students), and 2) there are enough academic options that you are not boxed into a particular field. If you do this, you will be well off.

Most very selective colleges aren’t really as different as people make them out to be. They are far more similar than they are different. And, if you enjoy one of them, you would probably enjoy most of them.