ChanceMe Elite Schools (UPenn first choice)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I plan to apply at UChicago, Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Penn, WashU, Stanford, Rice, Vanderbilt, Amherst, Davidson, UMich, Swarthmore, Caltech, Dartmouth, and Brown.</p>

<p>Financial aid is important to me, but I am considering UPenn ED.</p>

<p>Numbers
ACT: 32 (33Eng 32M 31Reading 33Science essay:10)
SAT: 2210 Superscore, I've taken it twice. (750Math 690R 770Writing)
SAT Subject Tests: 800Chem and 800Math1
AP's: 5 on Chem, CalcAB, and English Lang&Comp
I've taken 3 AP's and currently taking one, but my school only offers four. I'm from rural IA
3.949UW GPA (my school doesn't do GPA weighting)
1/56 class rank</p>

<p>ECs
Track: varsity all four years
XC: joined junior year, first year my school had a team. Varsity. Rookie of the Year Junior year
Speech: 9 state Performances. Elected president of Speech leadership
Drama: Two supporting roles with lead this year
Silver Cord: Volunteer group at my school.</p>

<p>Non-paid work:
Internship at Law office (my father's)
Committed volunteer at VA Medical Center and accompanying research lab (200+HRs)
Hosted a 5K fundraiser through the wheelchair foundation</p>

<p>Paid work:
Legislative page at IA House of Representatives (40hrs/Week) during spring semester
Nike Athlete: 20hrs/week</p>

<p>Other:
I am a NMSC semi finalist
I have gotten various awards in sciences at my school
I was a HOBY delegate
I was elected Attorney General at Boys State
I could potentially run for some of these schools
I have taken many classes from community college since I've maxed my school's AP
I was recognized regionally for my academics through a rising scholar program</p>

<p>So, in conclusion, what are my chances at these schools? Should I apply ED to Penn? How should I approach schools about potentially being an athlete? Are there any schools not up there that you recommend I apply to? Mostly, what schools do I have a good shot at acceptance?</p>

2

<p>You have great stats and I’d definitely apply ED to Penn if you are sure you want to go there. While I do think you’re an excellent applicant overall, the schools you have listed are very competitive. I would definitely add a couple of safety/match schools to your list. Especially if you are banking on financial aid—a less competitive school would probably give you a lot more money than the ivy-leagues and big name schools. As far as being an athlete, I’m pretty sure recruiters would just come to your school and recruit/talk to you if they were interested. I’m not 100% sure about that but I’m just you could ask your guidance counselor or coach.</p>

3

<p>What is your intended major and where is your home state?
If financial aid is important for you, check the cost calculator for UPenn and look up their % need met before applying ED.
Your credential is good, but most of the schools on the list are very competitive and have applicants with average credential like you. So your chance would be close to their acceptance rate. You do need to find a couple safety including your home state flagship.</p>

4

<p>You’re applying to some very highly selective schools. As you’re probably aware, many of the schools are considered reach schools. You seem to have a lot of your bases covered. All you have left now to differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack are your LOR and essays.</p>

5

<p>Might apply to a school like Holy Cross-top25 LAC with great campus 1 hour from Boston.HC-don’t have to be religious is one of the few schools like Ivies that is need-blin d for admissions-meets 100% of demonstrated financial aid. HC offers great alumni network and its alums earn high salaries in 2013-14 Payscale salary report. HC website is informative.</p>

6

<p>Do you think applying to UPenn would hurt my financial aid? And as far as home state and whatnot, my home state is iowa and my intended major is chemistry. I thought those might help a little bit, I do have UIowa as my safety.
What I was trying to do was go down the selectivity range so there are some schools that are still great schools that I have a great shot at.</p>

7

<p>Not that applying to UPenn may hurt your financial aid, but you will not be able to compare financial aid package with other school if you apply ED and got accepted. If you are looking for merit aid, you will need to aim a lot lower that those on your list. Those top private schools do have good need based aids though.</p>

8

<p>Out of curiosity, with financial aid being a priority, that’s a long list of schools. Each will have app fees and you’ll have to pay to send your scores to each school, not to mention the CSS where there is again a fee for each school.
More on topic, my daughter’s friend was admitted to Harvard this past cycle with a similar profile as yours and geographic area. He was an incredible writer so make sure your essays shine. Best of luck.</p>

9

<p>UChicago- high reach
YPH- high reaches
Penn- reach
WashU- low reach
Stanford- reach
Rice, Vanderbilt, Amherst- low reaches
Brown- low reach / high match</p>

<p>Not sure about the others. I think you have just as good a shot as anyone to get into an ivy, esp with that Washington DC internship under your belt. </p>

<p>Just wondering, do you have any tips on the writing section of the SAT? I’m considered a “strong” writer (5 on AP Eng exam, a few publications, etc.) but for some reason I can’t get more than a 9 on the essay. Do you have any advice?</p>

10

<p>^ That is a good point. Particularly for a long list of reach schools, it is not very cost efficient. However, most of those top private school have very good need based aids. If one is accepted, the saving could be many times of the cost of applications. Nevertheless, one would need a better credential to have a better chance for those schools.</p>

11

<p>I am happy to read these responses. It helps all of us.</p>

12

<p>About the SAT writing, ariistocrat I got a 9 when I got the 770. I have had people claim they have foolproof methods of getting a 12, but I just don’t buy it. I thought my 9 was flawless. But, who knows. I got a 9 on the essay and got every MC question right and ended with a 770. I feel fortunate that I did that well.</p>

13

<p>TVenee that is a very good point, Financial Aid is a major priority because of the immense cost of those colleges without amazing financial aid. My parents make a reasonable amount of money, I just mentioned the priority of financial aid because I wanted to know how financial aid would impact UPenn admissions.</p>