<p>Hi. I just completed my sophomore year in high school and am interested in attending either Northwestern or Cornell. I am concerned about whether I will be well qualified for these schools by the start of my senior year and wish to seek some guidance regarding where I stand and areas in which I may need improvement. My information is as follows:</p>
<p>Ethnicity: Asian American</p>
<p>First Language: English</p>
<p>PSAT: 210
77 math
73 writing
60 reading</p>
<p>SAT II:
Biology 700</p>
<p>Unweighted GPA: 3.667
Weighted: 4.0
(with 4 honors classes)
I intend to take AP classes in US History and Physics B next year.</p>
<p>Extra Curriculars: Track, Paddling, Co-President of one community service club, Science Bowl Team, school orchestra, volunteer at a local hospital, vice president of "young democrats" club. </p>
<p>I am an active participant in class. All of my mentors write postive comments in my report cards which range in quality from "good student" to "best in years."</p>
<p>I would appreciate any advice and tips that you have to offer!
Much thanks!
Brenton</p>
<p>You would probably get better feedback in the "What are my chances?" forum, not really the Test Preparation one...</p>
<p>It's sorta early to tell if you can get into those schools, but I think you have a pretty good shot at it. Your ECs are nondescript, nothing like a national award or anything, but should be fine for acceptance. Your class rank and test scores are going to be important as well - I'm not sure where a 3.67 puts you in your class, but if its like the top 5-10%, that's good. You did pretty well on your PSAT, and if you got those same results or better on the SAT, I think you're safe there.</p>
<p>Just work on your CR, try to find some activity that you really enjoy (from your list of ECs, its tough for me to find any general area that you're interested in - it'd be even better if your ECs match up with what you plan to do in your life/which major you're pursuing), and keep it up :)</p>
<p>Not to scare or discourage you but I had
a 2200 SAT (780 M, 710 cr, 710 W), a 4.00 gpa UW, maximum AP's taken and honors classes, too many groups from freshman too senior year, salutatorian, from a state and from a school that probably sends 1 to an IV league school every 3 or 4 years (most just end up going to west virginia u.). </p>
<p>I got deferred at both northwestern and cornell. I was pretty sure it was going to happen at cornell but i was shocked at NW...</p>
<p>my essays were pretty darn bad i guess. </p>
<p>anyhow you're only in ur junior year now so don't worry.</p>
<p>^^^well did u hve lack of ECs or bad recs???</p>
<p>^no no lol. I mean I know i shouldn't compare colleges like this but I did get accepted at princeton but not at NW..</p>
<p>EC's = pretty darn good</p>
<p>Recs may have been bad... i go to a school with 1600 kids public that has a grad rate of probably 70% (from freshman to senior). It may be closer to 60%. Counselors don't even really know too much about IV league schools. They probably could identify the top few (harvard, yale, princeton) according to their standards.</p>
<p>But no I had EC's. But ya i probably had bad recs.</p>
<p>Thank you for you guidance! I am taking a summer SAT prep class- I hope it will raise my CR score. It's the only section that is preventing me from being qualified for the National Merit Scholarship. (I think the cut off in these parts is 220 or so). </p>
<p>Just a couple questions remain, however:
About how much harder is SAT than PSAT in your opinion? I heard some upperclassmen speaking of scores that fell 40 points in each section- is that typical?</p>
<p>Also, do you think that colleges would prefer an UW gpa of 3.667 with 4 honors classes, or an UW 4.0 gpa w/o any honors classes? </p>
<p>Lastly, will they take into consideration that I attend a highly competitive private school when they look at my gpa? Would it even matter at all? </p>
<p>I appreciate your assistance!</p>
<p>I don't think the SAT is that much harder than the PSAT. I got a 223 (78 CR, 80 M, 65 W) on the PSAT, then 2310 on the recent June SAT (770 CR, 800 M, 740 W). But I think the major boost to my writing score came from my essay...writing MC was 70. Anyway, my case may not be representative of the general level of difficulty, but I'm pretty sure you can get the same score as your PSAT on your SAT without any studying - or higher.</p>
<p>Definitely honors classes. There are many mysteries as to what adcoms like to see, but I dont think this is one of them. Bs in honors classes are always preferable to As in regular classes, but an A in an honors class is the best :P</p>
<p>They will see what type of school you attend and take that into account when viewing your application. I know my school sends a "school report" with transcripts, which basically outlines the hardest possible courseload, average grades, ranks, percentiles, etc. This can give colleges an idea of what your grade really means, more than just that number.</p>
<p>Wow. Thanks for the info! You seem to know a lot about college applications material. I think you're right. Getting As in honors classes would be best. Frankly, I think I slipped in my sophomore year. I earned an UW gpa of 4.0 in my freshman year with three honors classes. Perhaps it was the teacher's fault- my Alg2H teacher didn't teach very effectively. Her students averaged Ds on the semester exams while the other Alg2H teacher's students averaged Bs and low As. </p>
<p>Anyway, thanks for your input! I would appreciate any additional info that anybody has to offer.
Much thanks!</p>