chance please. I will chance back!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Rising Senior
White, Male.
Wealthy Income Bracket, Both parents went to U of Wisconsin-Madison
From East Lansing, Michigan; Moved here during summer 2010, lived in Newtown, Connecticut for ten years before that
Newtown High School-CT(pretty highly rated public high school) 9th-10th Grades
Lansing Catholic High School-MI- 11th-12th Grades
ACT: 34 (35-science, 34-math, 34-reading, 31-english, 8-writing(idk how this happened) I only have taken the ACT once, I might retake in the fall, although I don't think I could raise the composite, I could probably raise math, english, and the writing score at least a little)</p>

<p>i took the SAT subject tests in Biology and Math 1 and im awaiting my results, Math 1 im expecting low to mid 700s and bio im expecting high 700s, but i could be completely wrong haha just estimates.)
GPA-4.0 (on a 4.0 scale) My school doesnt give A+'s, every single class I received an A
Class Rank-1st out of about 120. (at my old high school i was about 4th out of 400)</p>

<p>Here are my classes/grades:
Note: My school doesn't give A+'s, but my average percentile score in all classes for the past three years is about a 97%</p>

<p>Freshman Year
Honors Western Studies 1&2 (A)
Honors Geometry (A)(I took Algebra 1 in 8th grade and also got an A)
Honors French 2 (A)(took french 1 in middle school and also got an A)
Honors Biology (A)
Business Education 1&2 (A)
PE/Health 9th (A)
Honors English 1 (A)
Honors Asian Studies (A)</p>

<p>Sophomore Year
Honors Algebra 2 (A)
Honors English 2 (A)
Honors Chemistry (A)
Honors Physics (A)
PE/Health 10th (A)
Weight Training (A)
Honors French 3 (A)
Honors Sociology (A)</p>

<p>Then I switched schools and there were alot of complications. My old school had about 20 AP's, i was going to take around 11 over junior and senior year(there were no sophomore AP's), but my new school only has 6 AP's total. and only 1 is offered to juniors. Also they don't have honors world language courses at my new school and now I have to take theology as well.</p>

<p>Junior Year
AP Biology-(A, still awaiting test results, I am fairly confident I got a 4/5)
French 3(A-I was forced to retake this because the new school doesnt have french 5 or AP french, and I wanted to take french every year in high school)
Church History(A)
Christian Justice (A)
Honors US History(A)
Speech (A-a required freshman level course I had to take)
Honors British Literature (A)
Honors Trigonometry/Precalculus(A)</p>

<p>Senior Year Schedule
AP Calc (AB, all that's offered)
AP Gov
AP English Lit
Honors Philosophy and Theology
French 4
Intro to Art and Digital Photography(I had to take an art credit)</p>

<p>So out of the 6 AP's my school offers, one is Spanish which I don't have the option of taking, and the only one that I didn't take that I could have was AP Environmental. Science is my strongest interest and subject, even though I will not be able to take it senior year. I still have 4 full year science credits because sophomore year I doubled up.</p>

<p>EC's:
Volunteerism: 106 total volunteer hours during high school(so far), including helping at nursing homes, food drives, Relay for Life fundraising, and helping at school-sponsored events such as freshman orientation and at the school store.</p>

<p>Jobs: Paid tutoring, Server at a Restaurant, Unpaid Internship at the Michigan House of Representatives(this summer)</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities List:
• Freshman Class Vice President
• Freshman Boys Soccer Team
• Indoor Track Team (9th-10th Grades)
• High School Tennis Team (9th Grade)
• USTA tennis team and private tennis lessons (9th-10th Grades)
• School Store Employee at Newtown High School (10th Grade)
• Cross Country Team (11th-12th Grades)
• Winter Running Club (11th-12th Grades)
• Outdoor Track Team (11th-12th Grades)
• French Club (11th-12th Grades)
• Relay For Life Committee and Team Member (9th-12th Grades)
• Summer Running (9th-12th Grades)
• Babysitting (9th-12th Grades)
Student Senate President (12th Grade)
Special Awards:
Highest Grade in AP Biology, Theology, and Honors Precalc(all during 11th grade)
A bunch of academic all conference awards for track, xc, and tennis</p>

<p>I know my EC's are average at best, they are scattered, but one of the reasons for this, which I can talk about in my essay, is moving halfway through high school and I was wondering if my strong academic background will make up for it.</p>

<p>The schools I am Considering, the first three are my top three choices and after that its in no particular order:
Duke
U of Michigan(I'm instate)
Northwestern
Georgetown
Upenn(maybe)
Brown(maybe)
John Hopkins and a bunch of other safe schools (purdue, etc, mostly state schools), the schools I listed, and that I care about chancing haha are my reaches and (hopefully) a few matches.</p>

<p>Thanks so much! I will chance back!</p>

2

<p>I think u have a solid shot at all of those schools. Of course, Penn and Brown are gonna be a bit tough, but ur ACT scores are awesome! Good luck! And I am in the same situation as u. My ECs seem a bit scattered but it was because I moved in the middle of sophomore year =/…
Chance me? (<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1162189-chance-me-ivys-will-chance-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1162189-chance-me-ivys-will-chance-back.html&lt;/a&gt;)</p>

3

<p>thanks! I just chanced you. do you think that I should retake the ACT? Would it be worth it?</p>

4

<p>Don’t retake it, those schools prefer SAT scores so worry about that.</p>

5

<p>I dont think u should retake the ACT. At a point, the ACT scores become really similar.
@ Hefelts- That isnt true. They look at both the SAT and the ACT equally</p>

6

<p>But will getting an 8 on the writing section hurt me??? I know I can get better. I got a 10 on the SAT and on the ACT practice tests I took.</p>

7

<p>In at UM. Everything else excluding the ivies are low reaches/high matches. The ivies are…well…ivies. Look at your school’s naviance if you have it as well, that can be very helpful</p>

8

<p>do you mean low match/high reach? haha and thanks. I know I’m not a fantastic Ivy candidate. This goes for Myname2 and anyone else, are there any other schools that are slightly less competitive, you think would be high matches/safeties for me?</p>

9

<p>Does anyone else have any comments? please. I really need to know if its worth investing my time(college visits, etc.) and applying to some of these schools.</p>

10

<p>Are you looking to get recruited for any sports? Also, do you play USTA tournaments?
Besides that, I wouldn’t fret so much about the writing on the ACT, you have solid grades and that counts more.
Btw, what do you think of tufts? Or UVA?</p>

<p>Chance back? :slight_smile:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/1162622-i-love-brown-3-chances-some-scattered-ecs.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/1162622-i-love-brown-3-chances-some-scattered-ecs.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>No haha i wouldn’t get recruited. I used to play USTA tourneys, a while back, now im a runner full year and i love it(again another shuffling around of ECs that looks bad). I don’t really think UVA is for me. If I’m going to go to a public ivy i will go to Michigan because im instate and UNC, U of M, and UVA are all pretty similar in their prestige. Tufts is nice to haha, I havn’t really looked into it that much. Do you think I’d stand a good chance there?</p>

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<p>Yeah I’ve had a lot of friends go to tufts, and your stats are definitely comparable if not better! Plus tufts is d3, so maybe you could run there. Oh and have you looked at Rochester?</p>

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<p>No not really, although I have heard good things about it. thank you so much for the suggestions haha. I feel like my biggest personal struggle with the college thing is not being able to think of enough places to apply to and that I could see myself at.</p>

14

<p>I will def look into both of these. Thank you! and I did chance you on your thread btw.</p>

15

<p>Yupp I saw, thanks a bunch! :slight_smile: And I completely know what you mean, so far all I have are wicked reaches and safeties I don’t want to go to at all. I guess I’ll have to do some thinking over the summer!</p>

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<p>Yeah exactly! I can think of reaches and I can think of schools I can get scholarships to, but I cant think of any matches! If you ever want to message me to talk or whatever its cool haha. Thanks for your help and good luck!</p>

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<p>Haha yeah it’s always good to get another perspective on all the college stuff! It’s really crazy but we’ll be ok :). Thanks to you too and message me anytime!</p>

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<p>Strength(s): academic rigor, GPA, transcript, rank (bonus), ACT score (though you can probably do better on the writing section, as you’ve said), SAT Subject Tests (bonus)</p>

<p>Weakness(es): essay [topic] at the present moment (there’s nothing wrong with it, but it could turn out to be generic and uninspired). I don’t know about your recommendations, either, but they should be good. </p>

<p>Now on to the subjective part.</p>

<p>Extra-curricular activities / awards / honors that I like:

  • all of the Special Awards, of course!
  • the jobs</p>

<p>Extra-curricular activities that I’m indifferent to (and why): just about all of them.
You’re a strong student, so your “average” ECs won’t be too much of a hindrance.
There’s just a lack of description. They’re a bunch of teams and organizations you’ve participated in, and sure, they’re awesome. You also have many titles that should be highly acclaimed. Okay. Great. But I don’t know about you as a person, other than the fact that you’re one of the 30,000+ diligent students out there vying for the same 40 schools. Don’t take this as a personal blow; it isn’t meant to be. I want to know about you, and your ECs don’t show me that very well. Your essay is the window to your soul! :slight_smile: And don’t get me started on passion…</p>

<p>I don’t hate your activities. I’ve already said they’re great, but yes, they are a little “scattered” and don’t provide me much of a compelling reason to get to know you. If I were an officer, I would most closely look at that essay (or those essays).</p>

<p>Here are the comments (drum roll):</p>

<p>Your academic accolades will make you stand out just about every applicant pool you’re going to be swimming in.</p>

<p>Duke: you’ll be one of the stronger applicants, but the officer might label you as a “BWRK.” Bright well-rounded kid. That’s not a bad thing, per se, but it’s not something to jump for joy for.</p>

<p>U of Michigan: likely, given your excellent academics.</p>

<p>Northwestern: This is a reach school, but you’ll be one of the more stellar applicants. Possible school for you.</p>

<p>Georgetown: a reach along with Duke, but you are in the ball park.</p>

<p>UPenn (maybe): You have a good shot if you apply for ED. However, this is not one of your top schools, and I do not want to force anything upon you.</p>

<p>Brown (maybe): Same as UPenn. ED might help.</p>

<p>John Hopkins: On the same level as Duke, but I think it’s a “possible” school along with NW.</p>

<p>Purdue: Likely.</p>

<p>State schools: Likely.</p>

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<p>Thank you violistchan! As for my recs, the teacher ones should be really good(especially for U of M, my lit teacher is a wacky genius and an alum) and if I need an outside of school one I should be able to get a good one from the Michigan House of Reps too. I’m worried about my counselor rec however, because I have only been at this school for one year and we barely know each other, she knows that I’m nice and smart but I have a feeling she will just write a very generic rec. </p>

<p>Also, do you think it’s worth retaking the ACT?</p>

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<p>Establish a better relationship with your counselor. I am not saying you should brownnose her!</p>

<p>I don’t think it’s worth retaking the ACT, but that writing score of yours leaves a little to be desired. Only take it if you don’t have a busy weekend.</p>