<p>Hey guys, I'm having a hard time coming up with safeties and would really appreciate any help or advice. I'd also liked to be chanced for the Ivies and Stanford (Stanford and Princeton especially).</p>
<p>ACADEMICS
Basics: Public school, Junior, male, caucasian
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.25
Rank: first in class of about 400
SATs: 1830 (Freshmen year. Will retake in spring, but will use ACTs if it turns out poorly)
SATII: 800 math II (will probably take Chem and Spanish in the spring)
ACT: 34 (will also retake in spring)
APs: 5-AP Calculus BC, 4-AP Physics B, 5-AP Spanish
Hardest Classes in or finished:
AP: Statistics, Calculus, Spanish Language, Physics, Psychology, Gov. and Pol.
IB : World Literature, Genre Study, Theory of Knowledge, Chemistry, 20th Cent. History
University of Oregon & COCC: Vector Calculus, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations
Will also take Abstract Algebra at UO next year and more AP, IB, or college classes</p>
<p>ECs
National Honor Society
-lettered every year possible
Interact- A Rotary-sponsored high school club
- Club Vice-president
- Club President (Next year. It's successive for V.P.)
- Interact District Governor (Next year. Head of ~40 Interact clubs across OR and N. CA)
FIRST Robotics Club
- Placed second at Salt Lake Regional competition and third at Portland Regional
- Hope to do at least as well this year too
Intel Science Fair
- Will show project in spring. Hope to have a patent by senior year
IB CAS volunteer service
- It won't actually be IB official though because I can't get the diploma...</p>
<p>Letters of Rec.
I want to ask about this because the math department at my school has offered to write me a joint letter, and I'm not sure how these schools would view this... I think my letters will be pretty good though based on my teachers right now</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your help everyone! This is my first post here, so if you need any other details, I'd be happy to provide them. Also, I noticed a lot of people offering to chance back, so if someone were to tell me how to do that, I would be happy to give my opinion!</p>
<p>You come off as the typical excellent and well-rounded student - excellent grades and test scores and great ECs. For this, you’re in a pool of thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of similar applicants, unless you have something VERY different about you, something that makes Stanford or Princeton see you as a standout amongst the other excellent and well-rounded students.</p>
<p>Harvard
Stanford
Princeton
Yale</p>
<p>The above 4 are all reaches. With your stats and ECs, and based on statistics on some of the schools’ websites, I’d say you have around 20% chance of getting into each and you should be able to get into at least one.</p>
<p>As for UPenn and Columbia, I’m not too familiar with their admissions although I’d say you’re at low reach for both. Dartmouth, Cornell and Brown are hard as well and probably not that much easier than UPenn and Columbia. They are, after all, Ivies and Stanford. They’re the reason thousands of students cry after being rejected and partly why admissions these days are so goddamn screwed up.</p>
<p>As for matches and safeties, I don’t know what kind of school you’re into. If you’re only looking at their prestige, then with your stats, I’d try Johns Hopkins or WUSTL as matches. Really, though, what are you looking for in a school?</p>
<p>Regarding recs, if you already have 3, then it’s best not to get any more. I hear some schools frown upon too many recs and a few don’t even want recs/</p>
<p>Wow, great reply. Thanks! As for safeties, I’d would like to attend a private, liberal arts school with a really strong math program. I’m looking mostly at California and the mid to northern east coast, though I would be willing to look elsewhere. I’ve heard that some good ones might be Tufts, UChicago, or Carnegie Mellon, but I’m not sure beyond that… Also, it sound like you know admissions fairly well, so what do you think does make an applicant really stand out?</p>
<p>Again, thanks for the reply!</p>
<p>First, Penn, other than Wharton, is among the easiest ivies to get into (easier except all but a few schools at Cornell) yet people on CC somehow miss that. It’s still a great ED option for those without exceptional credentials.</p>
<p>Once you have the stats, top college admission is about exceptional activities outside if the classroom. Admits have typically accomplished something that sets them apart. It could be sports related, community service, academic…but they’ve done something unusual, even among the best and brightest.</p>
<p>Where you live can help. If you’re from Utah or Oregon, you have a better chance than if you’re from CA as they are underrepresented at top colleges.</p>
<p>For matches and safeties look at schools like Vassar, trinity, Conn College, Bowdoin, Bates, Colby.</p>