Before you mark me off as some arrogant kid who wants to get into these schools just because they are Ivy leagues, there’s more to it. It’s just the atmosphere and the honor that comes with being with some of the brightest students and scholars of the world.
Anyways,
I took the SAT and got 2180 (Plan on retaking it for a superscore Dec.)
Took SAT II World History got 790 (Plan on taking a few more junior and senior year)
AP World Score: 5
Taking 6 AP classes Junior Year ( AP U.S. , AP Physics 1, AP English, AP Bio, AP Euro, AP Calc )
Our school does averages based on a 100 point scale so its weird and Im not sure how to convert to a 4.0 but all classes have grades above 90 (lowest being a 90 for AP Euro; middle being 95 in AP Physics and AP U.S.; highest being 99 for AP Calc)
EC: President of Math Club and head mechanic for Robotics club (been in the clubs from 9th - present grade)
Mock Trial Head Attorney (10th grade - club got canceled this year due to lack of funding )
Member of 2 volunteer clubs from school. We go to NYC and serve soup kitchens and help the needy. (member from 10th - present grade for one of them and 1st year doing the other club).
Achievements: A few plaques for mastery in state exams
Bronze certificate for placing top 30% in country math competition
Math Honor Society
Moody’s Mega Math Challenge
Plan on getting my school to enter in the AMC Math Competitions
Work experience: Worked at school over the Summer cleaning furniture and rooms with a few other students earning wages.
BTW I’m a junior
Also, I’m African American (actually African because I was born in Africa- came to USA when I was 5 yrs old) and in a relatively poor economic situation (Parent both have sub high school graduate educations and dad works as a cashier for poor wages- mom does most of the efforts).
I know I don’t have 500+ hours of volunteer work and research or 20 leadership positions and a spot at varsity football and basketball but I was hoping I could get some information from other individuals on my chances Thanks!
If you were not an underrepresented minority w/ a poor socioeconomic background, you would have very low chances: Weak SAT (hopefully you can bump this up) and fairly weak ECs for this tier of schools. Now your circumstances will be understood and certainly improve your chances - hard to say how much though. It may/may not be enough.
OP, you have far better chances than most other applicants, but admission is still far from a safe bet. You still need to apply to colleges that are definite matches and safeties though.
edit: I can’t read, maybe I should work on more than three hours of sleep.
Odds are you are not getting into HYPS. So instead of dreaming for a school, plan what your dream career is. Research which schools provide the best chance to land into that dream career.
@ClarinetDad16 What makes you say that? xD @dblazer What is hindering me in your opinion? I plan on volunteering at a local Church this year and well into senior year. Also gonna help around my math teacher after school in terms of tutoring since I like math and her room is usually packed especially right before a big test.
You may not be arrogant, but the reasons you give for ‘why H/Y/P’ are simply prestige- because they are Ivy Leagues. There’s nothing wrong with that, so own it. But they are surprisingly different places, and except for the handful of people who apply to all of them to simply say ‘I got into all the Ivie’s’, for most people you will increase your odds substantially by learning enough about them to figure out which one you actually want because it is the best fit for you.
Also, I think you misunderstand the EC thing. It’s not an arms race, where whoever has the most wins. They actually do consider what you have done in terms of depth, growth over time, showing something about who you are and what you bring to the community. Picking up new stuff now won’t help you as much as focusing more on one or two in which you can show some commitment and leadership.
And, you mention that you worked one summer- what have you done your other summers? I heard the dean of admissions at Princeton say ‘we don’t care what you do with your summers, but we do care that you do something- and what you do with what you did’. So you (and a ton of other kids) had a summer job- no big deal. But- did you learn anything from the experience? (no, ‘I learned that I want an education so I don’t have to do that crummy job again’ doesn’t count). Did you learn anything about yourself- who you are, how you work- over the summer- and if so, what have you done with that self-knowledge?
@collegemom3717 I never said I was gonna stockpile new ECs just for the heck of it. Volunteer work at a church is community service and has no connection to my commitment with certain skills and/or trades (math and tech being my main trades). If you think about it, my main EC are math and robotics and ive dedicated significant time in both and participated at a competition at a local college (scored top 30%) and aim to ask my principal if the school could fund the AMC (another math competition :P). Im also into tech. and coding - hope to create a few apps just to get a feel for the world of coding and the satisfaction that comes with bringing ideas to reality. And yea I guess you could say my reasons for getting into Ivy league are prestige based- probabily me being conciencious.
@ClarinetDad16 Ok? You gave me the acceptance rate. That doesn’t mean I can’t get in…I’m sure its a “safe bet” that nobody can get in, but 5% of applicants still do so a “safe bet” can apply to anyone
You’ve got great grades, rigorous course schedule and a pretty good SAT score. The missing piece is your class rank. How do you place among your peers at your school?
Your family story of poverty and immigrating from Africa will be a moving story, so it will definitely help you. As others point out, there is no such thing as a guarantee when it comes to HYP. Apply to some safeties and backups. Best of luck
@sgopal2 I’m pretty sure I’m class rank 1 (possibly 2) out of 120ish. The reason I know this is that the Superintendent told me when I was in sophomore year that I wasn’t eligible for Valedictorian or Salutatorian despite my rank because I transferred into the school mid freshman year (again due to my family having to move from place to place-moved 4 times over the past decade from living in an attic to sharing a house with my aunt to an apartment to a basement and back to an apartment :P) And yea I have a few safties that interest me. Thanks.
If you’ve got your safeties, then go for it! You’re already prepared for the worst. The worst that can happen is you’ll be rejected, and it will have cost you whatever application fees you lay out. But Harvard admits about 1665 freshmen each year, and SOMEONE has to fill those beds. Might as well be you in one of them.
@SAT4Breakfast, you miss @ClarinetDad16’s point (as you missed mine), and in your defensiveness you miss an opportunity to help yourself. The point of both our posts was to help you think through and sharpen your application. Clarinet’s question is a good one: faced with 100 equally qualified applicants, what sets you apart?
It often surprises applicants how many other students there are who are like them. I have heard a Harvard AdComm member talk about how many application essays he has read in which the student describes a time when they have objectively, legitimately, clearly and definitely saved a person’s life- and that is just ONE reader.
The maturity that comes with thinking this through now will come through in your essays.
Understand what their target schools are looking for
If they are mature enough to take those simple, powerful steps and connect the dots they can greatly increase their chances of admission.
Think of how many kids write in response to “why xyz school” - because it is a great highly ranked school I have dreamed of attending my whole life. AND???
Thanks!