Chances at an Ivie or other top tier school

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>(I'm a junior and I'm not sure exactly where I want to go, but I'm extremely interested in the Ivies, Stanford, and Johns Hopkins
I want to major in international relations and am looking for a strong program.
I also want to fence in college, preferably NCAA.
Most of the schools that fit these requirements are very selective, so I was wondering about my chances.
Below are my academic grades (I didn't include electives)
Freshman Year
Geometry Honors- A
Earth Science A Honors- A+
Earth Science B Honors- A
World Civilizations- A
English Honors- A
French Intermediate I Honors-A
Health- A+</p>

<p>Sophmore Year
Algerbra II Honors-A
Biology Honors-A
US History Honors- A
English- A
French Intermediate II Honors- A
Latin Novice Honors-A</p>

<p>Junior Year (so far, my school operates on a trimester schedule so we're on our second term)
AP BC Calculus- A- (for first half of the course)
AP European History- A- (for first half of the course)
Chemistry Honors- A+ (for first half of the course)
AP World Literature- A (for first half of the course)
French Advanced I Honors- A (for first half of the course)
Chinese Novice Honors- A (for first half of the course)</p>

<p>EC: Fencing (I just qualified for the Junior Olympics), Model United Nations, School Newspaper, Treasurer on the Board of Directors of Non-profit arts school, Internship at local college radio station, National Honors Society</p>

<p>Tests
PSATs 74 critical reading, 77 math, 80 writing
SATs 760 math, 760 reading, 720 writing
SAT IIs 710 Biology</p>

<p>So assuming my essay isn't horrible and I can present myself reasonably well in an interview, what are my chances at being accepted at a school like Brown, Princeton or Yale?
Thanks for your feedback</p>

2

<p>Your chances are excellent. Your GPA is competitive. Your SATs are Ivy quality. Your PSAT score qualifies you for National Merit semi-finalist status. But, most importantly, you're a nationally ranked fencer and that will make you irresistable to any Ivy with a fencing team - and that's all of them. </p>

<p>An example: I have a friend who has stats similar to yours (actually, a bit better. 800s everywhere). He applied to Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, etc. Are these schools interested in him because of his academic abilities? Somewhat, I'm sure. But what's more important to them is that he's a national ranked fencer, so he's being recruited by the fencing coach at every school he's applied to. </p>

<p>So, all I can say is make sure the fencing coaches at every school you apply to know you're applying. Contact them this spring. See if they have some sort of formal recruiting process. Let them know how good you are. When you visit the schools, set up an appointment with the fencing coach and talk to them about fencing, etc. You've got a great hook here. Use it.</p>

<p>By the way, you can usually find recruiting info on the Athletic Dep't. websites. Here, for example, is the link for the Princeton website:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.princeton.edu/%7Etigerfen/recruitpage.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.princeton.edu/~tigerfen/recruitpage.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>All the other Ivies and most other top schools have similar websites. You may have to dig a bit for them, but they are there.</p>

3

<p>wow... you have awesome stats even if it weren't for the fencing, but fencing is def. a hook that can get you into lots of these colleges</p>

4

<p>I'm actually not technically on the national points lists so I'm not nationally ranked, but I hope that will change this season. Thanks for the feedback.</p>

5

<p>Congratulations on qualifying for the Junior Olympics. I'd say you have a decent shot.</p>

6

<p>Johns Hopkins, Cornell, and Dartmouth you shouldn't have a problem with. Stanford and the rest of the Ivies you never know.</p>

7

<p>Thanks for the feedback. Any suggestions on what I can do to improve my chances?</p>

8

<p>I'd say w/o fencing JHU and Cornell are pretty solid (60%), Brown/Dartmouth/Penn/ Columbia are 50%, HYPS are 25% (Not sure how Chocloateluvr lumped Dartmouth with Cornell and JHU, its as or more difficult than Brown and Penn). With fencing odds are clearly higher.</p>

9

<p>if you can get recruited for fencing then you have a strong chance anywhere</p>

10

<p>Slipper- it could be that my school just does well at Dartmouth, but it's a lot easier from my school to get into Dartmouth then Columbia for example.</p>

<p>Here are some numbers (RD only, ED not included) for acceptance rates from my school. I'm too lazy to look up US News so it's possible Dartmouth should move to the category with the other Ivies. Based on my school's numbers Dartmouth falls between Cornell and other Ivies but closer to the other Ivies.
Johns Hopkins- 19%
Cornell- 17%
Dartmouth- 11%
Brown- 10%
Penn- 7%
Columbia- 7%</p>

11

<p>Have you considered Tufts (if you're female)? Division III, but still...</p>

12

<p>I have been thinking about Tufts. Do you know anyone who fences there? I haven't had a chance to talk to anyone who does to find out about the coach etc. I have directed a couple of college tournaments and I have to say I wasn't that impressed with the women's epee (that's my weapon).</p>

13

<p>Stanford isn't an Ivy League.</p>

14

<p>I know that, that's why I listed it seperately. I said the Ivies, Stanford, and Johns Hopkins. I also realize that I said Ivie instead of Ivy in the title, but I couldn't change it.</p>

15

<p>Dartmouth is easier than penn and brown</p>

16

<p>only 1 sats 2? hmmmmm. some colleges call for three</p>

17

<p>fencer9- I have a cousin who's considering fencing at Tufts and BU, but I don't know much more than that.</p>

<p>DianeR has a daughter who fences at Brown, though, so you could PM her for info about their program.</p>

18

<p>I actually haven't finished taking them. I just took the Math IIC but haven't gotten my scores yet. i'll be taking french and chemistry soon too. I'm also considering english literature.</p>