Chances.. Advice... Help me to narrow it all down...

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>GPA
100.3 (w) after my junior year</p>

<p>RANK
3/460 (fairly competitive class)</p>

<p>SATs
History: 700
Literature: 660 << Retaking</p>

<p>Math: 610
Verbal: 640
Writing: 630
<<< First time... no prep... no calculator... an overall ::bomb::</p>

<p>I took the hardest course load at my school... All honors/APs</p>

<p>AP USH I/II
AP Bio
AP American Lit</p>

<p>Senior Year</p>

<p>Spanish IV
Chem II-H (taking two sciences next year)
Physics H
AP Brit Lit
AP Calc
AP World History
Phys Ed.</p>

<p>NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY INVOLVEMENT
Vice President</p>

<p>I am VERY active in NHS, and organized a fundraiser that raised $3000 for American Cancer Society.</p>

<p>COMMUNITY SERVICE
- Library Summer Volunteer Program
Student Volunteer
"Reading Buddy"
- Anti-Drug day at school... annual event
Returning Senior Ambassador: one of two in my school
- Hospital Junior Volunteer Program once a week
Emergency Department
Patient Information</p>

<p>It all adds up to a lot, but I haven't really counted in a while as it is all on an hours/per week basis... do I even have to bother to find out how many hours total for applications, or do people just post total hours here as another factor to consider?</p>

<p>ACTIVITIES
- Student Government Association
- Freshman Transition Program
- PALS Club (working with mentally challenged students... very active)
- Library Teen Advisory Board (very active)
- My school's girls' book club (monthly)
- Young Authors and Young Artists Workshop
- The Art Student's League in N.Y.C << will be starting this summer once a week (I live in Jersey so its all I can do cuz I have to take a train and such)
- Art Students' Union (Next Year)
President</p>

<p>JOB EXPERIENCE
- I work for my doctor (December 2005 - Present)
Secretarial Assistant
- ShopRite (July 2005 - Present)
Cashier (roughly 12 hours a week)</p>

<p>AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
- Distinguished Honor Roll (all through high school)
- Prentice Hall National Essay Contest; 1st Place (September 2003)
- Published in American Heritage Magazine (October 2003)
- New Jersey Governor's School of the Arts for Creative Writing; Nominee (2005)
- HOBY Leadership Conference; Nominee (2005)
- American Legion Jersey Girls State; Delegate (2006)
City Chairperson
County Vice Chairperson
Assembly Woman (Do these even matter?)
- Ocean County Teen Arts Festival School Representative (2006)
- New Jersey State Teen Arts Festival; Finalist (2006)</p>

<p>I'm asian, but not the insanely competitive kind... HYP is just not realistic for me... As shown, my main passion is art. Clearly I'm retaking SATs... I'm working all summer to bring that up because I know with prep, I could do 10 times better because considering the rest of my stats, it's probably the thing that could really really hurt me. I just took it too lightly this year and didn't give it the focus I should have... But anyways, that aside, I need help narrowing down the field, granted I retake SATs and greatly improve.</p>

<p>Cornell
UPenn
NYU CAS
Boston University
Johns Hopkins</p>

<p>These are the schools I'm looking into this summer to see what I like best... Could you tell me my chances at getting in, specifically if I apply ED to Cornell or NYU, as well as possible match/safety schools I should be looking at?</p>

<p>Thank you thank you thank you.</p>

2

<p>no chance for cornell and upenn. sorry bud, your scores are simply too mediocre (which is itself a euphemism). even if you retake, it is unlikely you will be able to get 2250+ (which is what you want, since you don't have hooks or spectacular ECs).</p>

3

<p>Gah really? Crap. Oh well, anymore advice, anyone?</p>

4

<p>Your current AI is 206.5--meaning that you fall into category 4 of 9 of applicants--which means 55% to 67% of applicants to the Ivies will have better grades and test scores than you and 33% to 45% will have worse scores. Since Penn accepted about 21% of their applicants and Cornell accepted 29% of their applicants, and since the normal cutoff for acceptance is around an AI of 211, you are not too likely to get into these schools unless you improve you test scores.</p>

<p>Basically you need about a 180 point improvement in your SAT I score to have any kind of shot at Penn or Cornell--so work hard if you are interested in these schools.</p>

<p>I rank you as a match at NYU and Boston College, however</p>

<p>You are a reach for John Hopkins--which is actually harder to get into than Cornell per USNW.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

5

<p>I'd say the same except USNW rankings are not all that accurate</p>

6

<p>The ranking I'm referring to is USNW's selectivity rankings--not the overall rankings. The selectivity rankings tell you which colleges are the toughest to get into--and these tend to be quite accurate. </p>

<p>P.S. The Princeton Review also ranks John Hopkins (98) as tougher to get into than Cornell (97).</p>

7

<p>In all honesty, is it just those SAT scores that are holding me back? Considering the rest of my stats, and a prettier score were just attached along with it... are my chances still that crappy? I mean... those scores are just definitely not reflective of what I can do with some prep.</p>

8

<p>sorry calcruzer no offense intended!
didn't know you were referring to selectivity rankings.</p>

9

<p>more chances comments?</p>

10

<p>Don't let these ppl get you down, although their words do have a lot of merit behind them. You can be a competitive applicant, but you must get your SAT above 700+ per section to have a slight chance, 750+ to be in the running. Your ECs are decent for the kind of kids you'll be going up against and your GPA is strong. I'd say retake SATs b/c they currently make you look bad, but for now:</p>

<p>Cornell: reach
UPenn: reach
NYU: match
Boston: safe match
JHU: reach</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

11

<p>Thank you so much for your response!
Yes I do know painfully that so far those schools are majorly reaches.
That's why I'm gonna take it again in Oct. after some prep. But I'm afraid that since the SAT test is Oct, I might have no time to kinda polish up during the gap b/w summer and school (sept.) </p>

<p>I'm considering taking ACT which is in Sept. therefore I can just prep until late Aug. and take the test and get it over with.</p>

<p>any advise on that?</p>

12

<p>You should take both and send in your best score...for me ACT was easier reading/english, math was same as SAT, science was what got me as well as the time limits. </p>

<p>I recommend buying prep books. I used the CollegeBoard SAT book and raised my score 150 points to a 1500 (old scale). I don't really know yet on the ACT since I only got my score to a 32 from a 29...which isn't what I'm wanting. Science is the bigun for me, but it's different for everyone. Just make sure you take some timed practice tests...God I wish I had...I'll be back to finish those bastards off.</p>

<p>:)</p>

13

<p>brand would you mind taking a look at my stat?
I have one in what are my chances.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

14

<p>wowser:</p>

<p>you already know this, but retake your SATs and get above 2200+...your SAT IIs are good enough that you can afford a bit lower SAT, I think. You have pretty good ECs, but man, I'm sorry to tell you this. You're ASIAN! lol. I think Princeton Review says they automaticalyl knock off 50 points at many colleges when they look at your SATs if you're Asian. There's Affirmative Action for ya. So you wanna know what I think your chances are for Ivies? I think you should look at a ton of schools, not just ivies. I had a list of 7 ivies to apply to, but once I looked at everything more and studied those schools along with others, I only have 3 now. There are non-ivies that are incredible...but here goes:</p>

<p>Harvard: big reach
Yale: big reach
Princeton: big reach
Dartmouth: reach
Columbia: reach
Brown: reach
Cornell: reach...but the least of all of these reaches
UPenn: reach</p>

<p>Remember, the ivies are reaches for everyone pretty much, and the only time they're not reaches for ppl are when they have nearly perfect SATs and SAT IIS (like 750+ for each section) along with a high GPA. After that, it all comes down to ECs, recs, and essays!!! Essays are your time to shine, so good luck. You've got a great GPA, but for the ivies, it's only decent. If an ivy education is what you really want, you had better dedicate yourself to those essays.</p>

<p>But honestly, just b/c it's an ivy doesn't mean it's right for you (not gradewise, atmosphere). Check out the other schools that ppl looking at ivies usually apply to:
Calis, Chicago, Northwestern, Emory, UVA, etc.</p>

<p>The acceptance rate to these schools is MUCH better and you definitely want some matches/safeties or you'll be really ****ed off when you're sitting in class at that community college.</p>

15

<p>lol Thank you SO much brand!
Yes of course I have other colleges in mind.
Just b/c I'm thinking of applyint to an Ivy ED I wanted to know my chances! Yes I do know that Ivies are reaches for everybody not even when s/he has perfect SAT and GPA! (maybe if they ran away from a dictator and crossed the ocean to the U.S. with a single parent. Living in a sewer of LA studying SAT with prep books frustrated rich CA kids threw away and attending public HS. Has incredible charisma and has leadership role in a few clubs s/he's really passionate about mean while having perfect GPA and valedictorian status with perfect SAT! this kind of students are guaranteed to get accepted)</p>

<p>brand, what do you think my chances will be if I raise my GPA and SAT?
If I work my ass off senior year I'll have 3.9 GPA weighted out of the prob. the highest GPA in my class, 4.1 weighted.
Also topped with 2250 SAT?</p>

<p>Also, with my current stat, what is my chance at JHU?</p>

16

<p>lol i like that idea of crossing he ocean and living in a sewer...do that and you're in. :)</p>

<p>Well that's awesome you have another year. If you get your GPA up and SATs up, for JHU I think you have a good shot. Your ECs are competitive (not too standout but remember who you're competing with) and if you could become Valedictorian then things would change up quite a bit. With your current stats, I'd say your chances at JHU are a decent reach. If you can get your SATs up, which it sounds like you can, you could make JHU closer to a match. </p>

<p>Man you're picking some tough schools! But so have I, so I know that when you want something you just have to give it your all. Seriously though, JHU's acceptance rate is like...low...just like Cornell. lol.</p>

<p>Check out NW (28%) Emory (34% I think) those kinda schools are badass (just a notch below the ivies) and easier to get into. Good luck wowser.</p>

17

<p>thanks brand!!!
I kinda feel bad for talking about me on someone else's thread...
I apologize.</p>

<p>Thank you Brand!
what schools are you applying to then?</p>

18

<p>haha i'm sure they don't mind too much...</p>

<p>i had a list of a/b 20 freakin schools!!! but then i narrowed it down pretty good:</p>

<p>Amherst
Brown
Columbia
Swarthmore
Wesleyan
Emory
University of Chicago
Northwestern
UT - Austin
Cornell
Georgetown
NYU</p>

<p>Yeah, I'm still working on it trying to get down to 10. There are many more reaches than anything, but UT is my main safety (in state, way high GPA and test scores). </p>

<p>I'll be transferring so the competition is a tad bit easier, but the transfer rates for most schools are lower.</p>

19

<p>wow! those are some GOOD schools! I know that you won't put those competitive colleges on the list if you didn't feel confident! "(in state, way high GPA and test scores)." you have THAT high GPA and SAT? wow... </p>

<p>of course, I haven't seen your stats, but I'm sure you'll do great!
Going into IR field?</p>

20

<p>lmao no what i meant was </p>

<p>for in state, my GPA and test scores are WAY HIGH! As in for the ppl applying to UT, it's in the bag. For the rest of them, it's anybody's game.</p>

<p>I've got a 4.0 with honors courses and 2220 SAT but will take once more and SATIIs 2 are 740s and 1 is 750...will probably retake one of those. Good ECs and should be good recs...so we'll see how it goes.</p>

<p>Depending on my college, I'm either going into business school or econ major.</p>