Chances at Harvard, Cornell, Columbia

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I’m looking into some schools in the Ivy League, especially Harvard. I’ve also taken interest in the UC’s, especially USC and UC Berkeley. My father went to USC and my grandmother also taught there. I’m currently a junior, here’s what I got:

9th grade:
Honors Algebra 1
Honors Biology
Honors History 1
Honors English 1
Mandarin 1
Religious Studies 1

First semester: 3.7 unweighted, 4.3 weighted
Second semester: 3.6 unweighted, 4.2 weighted

I took Honors Geometry over the summer and got an A- in that, allowing me to move up a grade in math.

10th grade:
Honors Algebra 2 &Trigonometry
Honors Chemistry
Honors English 2
Honors History 2
Mandarin 2
PE
Religious Studies 2

First semester: 3.58 unweighted, 4.2 weighted
Second semester: 3.9 unweighted, 4.6 weighted

Took a C++ programming class over the summer.

11th grade:
AP US History
AP Physics 1
AP English
Honors Precalculus
Mandarin 3
Religious Studies 3
First semester: 4.0 unweighted, 4.78 weighted
Second semester: most likely 4.0
I’m also self-studying AP Environmental Science and taking the AP exam in May by myself.

Senior year classes:
AP Government/Politics
AP Physics 2
AP English
AP Calc BC
AP Comp Sci
Mandarin 4
Religious Studies 4

I go to a private Catholic school, so it’s required that we take religious studies. I was really lazy freshman/sophomore year, but towards 2nd semester of sophomore year I got to my senses and made a comeback grade-wise :confused:

SAT: 2220
SAT II Math 2: 710
SAT II US History: 740
SAT II Physics: 740

ACT: Didn’t take

EC’s:
-Mock Trial all 4 years
-Rowing freshman year
-Eagle Scout (for my project I refurbished old computers and set up a computer lab for an underprivileged school in my community, so the students have access to programs like google docs, the internet, etc.)
-Boy Scouts Order of the Arrow Honors Society
-Student-run volunteering organization Webmaster (Our old website was a crappy wordpress site, so I programmed a new one from scratch, and it looks pretty good) (I have over 300+ hours volunteering in this organization, and I’m gonna be the President of it next year)
-CEO/founder of small nonprofit, raised over 10K+ to build schools in Kenya (takes up most of my time)
-Local church Youth Ministry Leadership Council
-NHS
-I don’t play a sport, but I have a deep passion for bodybuilding. I read up about it online around early Sophomore year, and really got serious during the summer of Sophomore year. I take bodybuilding very seriously, and I have a decent, aesthetic physique. I’m considering competing in local teen bodybuilding contests, not sure yet.

I don’t really have many awards, and my grades seem really weak. What are my chances?

2

Oh, and i’m also in the process of turning that student-run organization I’m in into a legit, government certified nonprofit too. It should be done before summer starts.

I’m mixed racially if that means anything, but I could pass as white if I wanted to.

3

I was also in student council freshman year.

4

Class ranking is around top 3%ish.

5

“I go to a private Catholic school, so it’s required that we take religious studies. I was really lazy freshman/sophomore year, but towards 2nd semester of sophomore year I got to my senses and made a comeback grade-wise”

It’s good that you matured a bit and started paying attention to your schoolwork. Whether you did so in time is an open question. A friend of my sons’ just graduated from our private Catholic high school this year. Like you, he is very high achieving. In fact, he is a National Merit Finalist. Like you, he kind of slacked through freshman and sophomore years, but really picked it up junior and senior years. He also became very active in several extracurricular activities, and has also written and published several successful phone apps.

Unfortunately, the efforts of his junior and senior years were insufficient to rescue him from low grades and accomplishments from his freshman and sophomore years. Although he was a Cornell legacy, he was rejected outright, even though he applied early decision. He was shut out of all the Ivies to which he applied, as well as MIT. He will be attending our state flagship in the fall.

Perhaps you rescued your grades in time. It’s hard to say. Good luck to you.

6

You don’t say what mixed race you are, but it makes me wonder if your non-white race is an ORM or URM? I am not trying to read into anything by the fact you took Mandarin. This may be a hook, maybe not.

The passion you show for your bodybuilding might make you stand out and be more than just interesting to an adcom - perhaps you can write about this in your essay to truly stand out. Some like to say that essays are not the time to be humble, but the best advice I saw about this was that essays are supposed to be about who you really are.

Congrats on turning things around academically.

You will be competetive at the schools you listed, but you are clearly smart enough to tell that lots and lots of competitive kids also get rejected.

7

The problem is that your GPA is low for those schools. Pretty good (but not out of this world) SAT. Ivy League school are a reach for everyone, even a student with a 4.0 and 2400 on the SAT, so they are definitely a reach for you. Taken individually, I think you would be denied at all of them. I think though you might have a SLIGHT chance to be accepted to one, and if I had to pick that one, it would be Cornell. My best guess though is rejection at all of them. Get a 4.0 unweighted in your AP classes first semester of your senior year, then you might have a better chance.

You just have to realize that there are a TON of students out there who graduate with a 4.0 unweighted and also take AP classes. There are about 10-15 each year who graduate with a 4.0 unweighted at the high school my kids go to…not all of them load up on AP classes, but many of them do. And that’s just ONE high school. Good luck.

8

You seem to be very devoted to your ECs, something extremely important to the Ivys as of late. Should also be a good asset to essays. Good SAT score; mediocre SAT IIs.
Cpurseload is below average for Ivys, since you noticed to late that APs were important.
I think you have a solid chance at UCs and Cornell; all other Ivys are reaches.

Chance me at http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1770436-chance-a-junior.html#latest