Chance my D for MIT, Princeton, Harvard, UPenn, Dartmouth pleaaaaase!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

My D opted for no EA bcs she wanted to audition for a music thing which was this past weekend.
anyway her choice schools are:
MIT, Princeton, Harvard, UPenn, Dartmouth
safety Stevens Tech. and Rutgers

Major - undecided but Math/Science based

SAT - 1530 (800 Math, 730 R/W, essay 23)
ACT - Comp 36 (Engl 35, Math 36, Read 36, Science 35, ELA 34, STEM 36

SAT Sub taken 12/3 -
Chem she said was easy
Math she said she got 1 wrong

Unweighted GPA 4.4 rank 2/621
Weighted GPA 5.25 rank 5/621 (participation in band pulls rank down bcs it is a CP class -she was 8th grade valedictorian)

11th grade
AP Chem 5
AP English Lang Comp 5
AP US Hist 4
Community College Physics I - A

12th grade
AP Bio - TBD
AP Calc - TBD
AP Statistics - TBD
AP English Lit - TBD
Community College Physics II - TBD

this is what I can think of - I don’t have her resume

Science League (9,10) school cancelled program
Jazz Band (10,11,12) first chair all years
Marching Band (9,10,11,12) Section leader 11, 12 First Place TOB Champions (10,11,12)
Writing Center Volunteer (11,12)
Baby sitting and tutoring (9,10)
Municipal Band (12) 2nd trumpet (youngest player to date)
High Honor Roll (9,10,11,12)
Academic Letter and pins (9,10,11, n/a)
Student of the Month September (12)
National Merit Commended Student (12) she missed a section and scrambled last minute - smh
NJGS - Drew University
Authentic Science Research Program (10,11,12)
NJ Society of Women Engineers Award for Excellence in Science and Math (11)
Girl Scout Regional Delegate (12)
Girl Scout Bronze Award, Silver Award, Completing Gold Award
Girl Scout Top Regional Cookie Salesperson (9,10,11, n/a)
Commander in Advanced Space Camp, Huntsville, AL (10,11)
Teton Science Schools, Jackson, WY (11)
South Jersey Symphonic Band (12)
STEM - Energy Solutions in Germany tour (12)

I’d love to see some feedback and thank you so much in advance - this is nerve-racking!

2

Ivy+ schools are always tricky to chance, because the only guarantee for acceptance is to be top in the country at something, a recruited athlete, or having parents donate lots of $$$. That being said, she checks all of the boxes (grades, test scores, class rank, extracurriculars, etc.) that will make her at the very least a competitive applicant at her target schools. AO’s have to sift through a lot of profiles that are great all-around, so my advice for her would be to focus on her essays and supplementals; having something that differentiates her and makes her stand out from the other applicants is very important. 50% of the applicants to the school are going to be just like her from a resume standpoint: her job is to convince the schools that they should take her instead of those other students.

3

“50% of the applicants to the school are going to be just like her from a resume standpoint: her job is to convince the schools that they should take her instead of those other students.”

Exactly. No one can “chance” you for these schools. She has as good a chance as anyone else.

4

As @CP3333 she is a credible candidate- it will be how she weaves together her narrative arc that differentiates her from an awful lot of other candidates with similar profiles. After that nobody can really say. Have you both seen this or [this](http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/thereisnoformula) post from MIT admissions?

Not the question you asked, but that is a really big jump between reaches and safeties- is she definitely happy with the idea of Stevens or Rutgers, or are there other schools in the mix that just weren’t relevant to this question? Also also, if in the spring engineering at Dartmouth is a choice she is seriously interested in, I recommend making very sure that she spends some time in that group (sitting in on a class or a lab would be ideal) before she commits.

5

@ Collegemom3717 - we visited MIT twice and she does peruse their newsletter. However, I don’t know what this or this posts are but hopefully she does.
I recognize that it’s a huge jump but these are her selections. If she doesn’t get accepted to the reaches she’d prefer to stay close to home, focus on research, perhaps find her path, then reapply for graduate school.
So the Dartmouth engineering program is not one of your favorites? please tell

6

Great test scores and strong academics. Only three APs through junior year is a function of her school not offering many or not allowing her to take any before junior year, I take it. Not applying early somewhere was a mistake. If you have other younger children, strongly consider this option in the future. The acceptance rates for most top schools really drops significantly RD. For example, Harvard accepted only 3.1% of applicants last year RD. No matter how strong an applicant, being the 1 out of 33 selected entails a fair amount of luck and serendipity, imo.

Your daughter looks like a solid applicant but she really needs to look at adding other good colleges to her list. There are so many terrific schools that are in between the schools you mentioned and her safeties. She really doesn’t belong at either of the two schools you listed as her safeties but she has a strong chance of ending up at either due to getting shut out of the very top schools because of the ultra low acceptance rates I mentioned.

She does have a good shot at Dartmouth, but I agree that she needs to look into their engineering program before she commits . If I remember correctly, it is a five-year program which is why I didn’t apply. I could be wrong though. Good luck!

7

Tks @Multiverse7 . The APs are limited due to her class schedule - the ASR program is firm and band is firm so she has to dance around that - but she did go to a CC to take Physics jr year. I have one more to go so I’ll push for the EA with him.
What other schools in the North/East would be a fit for Chemical Engineering/Math - and would prefer the smaller side. -

8

ASR is the Authentic Science Research program which is 3 years long - she’s doing something with a robotic fish I think

9

@MomEof3, if you click on the blue [url= <a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/there_is_no_formula%5Dthis%5B/url”>http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/there_is_no_formula]this[/url] it will take you to an article :slight_smile:

10

Columbia, Swarthmore, RPI, just off the top of my head but there’s a college match program on this site which should give you a better list. Good luck! I’ve got to get back to studying :slight_smile:

11

Update - SAT subjects Math I 800 Chemistry 800. She’s registered already for 2 subject tests in January. D is considering taking Math II bcs it’s paid for and possibly English. Do you think she should or don’t even bother since they’re not really necessary. Originally she had CalTech on her list but no longer due to the distance.

12

@MomEof3 if she’s looking into STEM schools like MIT, I’d say Math 2 is an absolute must!

13

Does your daughter truly love all these schools or do you just love the idea of your daughter going to one? The fact that she auditioned for a “music thing” over EAing is pretty telling… but I think it’s great that your daughter is pursuing her passions! It’s rare that someone will fit in at all of those colleges due to their major differences in student body, location, etc. Make sure both you and your daughter have done your research.

14

@doorrealthe MIT only requires Math 1 so I don’t get that comment.

15

@ap012199 my D spent a lot of time researching and visiting campuses in our area. CalTech had originally been on her list but when she considered all of the travel she no longer loved the school. The “music thing” was a state competition which ties to her hardship essay. It was a tremendous growth experience these past few months so she felt that it was important to focus more and get a better understanding of her goals etc. while handling a heavy school load, science research program and a competitive marching band which played until November 19th. She definitely has her favorite school and I must admit I have my favorite school for her and they are not the same. Bottom line is my opinion doesn’t matter to her and I know how to stay in my lane - this is her life and these are her choices. Do you think she should take Math II subject test in January?

16

@MomEof3 that’s true. But what is left unsaid is that you would be VERY hard pressed to find a successful MIT applicant (who isn’t a legacy/URM/athlete) who took Math 1 instead of Math 2. Math 1 basically a joke - I believe the math only goes up to basic geometry. Math 2 is way more legitimate.

17

@MomEof3 My D has similar stats and she is a National Merit Semi-Finalist (NJ). Does your daughter have any hook ? Otherwise, it’s a “Mega Lottery” to get in to one of the most selective schools. My D has been accepted into State Flagship school.

18

How is music a hardship?

19

agree with grtd2010, reach schools are reaches for everyone. too bad she didn’t apply SCEA or ED I where her chances would have been magnified significantly. Good Luck to her. You’ll have to let us know where she ends up.

20

Subject tests carry a very small weight in admissions, hence many colleges switching them from required or recommended to optional. I don’t think it’ll make a difference. At school like that, a 770+ is expected.