Chances at LACs

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm currently a junior looking primarily at LACs, and was hoping y'all could help give me an idea of whether I'm looking at schools that might be matches, or if I'm looking too high up. I'd also appreciate some ideas for a safety LAC, preferably one without much greek life.</p>

<p>Colleges
• Princeton (1 Alumni)
• Stanford (7 Alumni)
• Haverford
• Amherst
• Grinnell
• Claremont McKenna
• Vassar
• Gettysburg
• UVA
• University of Arizona (State school)</p>

<p>About Me
• White Male
• Interested in English (especially Creative Writing and Journalism), Architecture, Business, Sociology, Urban Studies, Communications Studies</p>

<p>Classes</a> taken and grades received
• AP Euro 5
Projecting 4 or 5 for this years APs
For senior year, I signed up for:
• AP Calc BC
• AP Language
• AP Chemistry
• AP US Government
• AP Environmental Science
• Journalism
• Band
And as backups, Creative Writing and Theatre Productions II</p>

<p>GPA & School Stats
• 4.39 Weighted
• 3.90 Unweighted
• 4.57 Weighted Academic
• 3.86 Unweighted Academic
Not sure if I did that right, my school calculates GPA on a completely different scale.
• No class rank given, but I do know I fall somewhere in the top 10% of around 500 seniors.</p>

<p>SAT
Only taken the test once in March, and I'm signed up to take it again in June.
• 660 CR
• 700 M
• 740 W, 8 on essay
• 2100 total
I mainly studied for the writing multiple choice and vocab, which clearly paid off (1 wrong for writing MC, and 2 wrong for sentence completion!). I'm using silverturtle's guide to try to improve my passage reading, math, and essay, which I didn't prepare very well for before.
• Taking Math II, US History, and Literature subject tests in May</p>

<p>ECs
This is the section I'm most worried about — I don't have any momentous ECs, just a few clubs and groups. Not really any volunteering (although I am working on a community project with a friend which will hopefully have a lasting impact on our town :) ), and very few awards. Most start in either Sophmore year (when I transferred to a school with more ECs) or junior year (when I'd learned of more of them). Here's what I've got:
• Marching Band from sophomore year, senior year I'm going to be a section leader
• DECA (marketing club/competition) from sophomore year, treasurer this year, 1st place in regional testing/role play, recognized at States for testing
• Science Olympiad from junior year, on the JV team, no personal awards but JV got 3rd at state and Varsity got 1st
• Engineering Club from junior year, treasurer. This one I didn't want, but my teacher was building the club and we have joint fundraisers between DECA/Engineering. I don't really care much for the club, and will pass this on to one of our other members next year.
• I've played the saxophone for 7 years with private lessons
• Youth leadership team at my church since sophomore year, member since I moved here in 2006
• Co-Founder of web-design business, bringing in ~$3,000 a year. Not much, I know, but I do enjoy web design.
• Starting senior year I'll be media chief of the student newspaper (I've been helping them during my free period this year, but I don't have official membership/title)
• My friend's convinced me to try debate next year, which I think I'll enjoy, even if it won't help my ECs look any better.
• NHS member starting senior year (only allowed
That's all that comes to mind for my ECs — I know they aren't stellar, and certainly aren't going to get me into places like Princeton or Stanford, but I'm passionate about them (minus the engineering club...) and that seems more important than racking up an ideal list — right?</p>

<p>Misc. Information
Freshman year I took French I and greatly enjoyed the language. However, upon transferring to a public school, there was no French program. I opted to take French II online to fulfill the graduation requirement, but found the course so awful that I couldn't bear to take a third year of it. My schedule with the local community college interferes with Marching Band, so I've been unable to do that. I know CMC and possibly Gettysburg require three years of foreign language, but do you think that, on the condition that I continue the study of a language, I could still be at least considered for admission?</p>

<p>Financial Information
My financial background is a little weird. My dad was earning ~$130k a year, and my parents had told me not to worry about where I went to school, as they knew that they could afford it. Unfortunately, my dad was informed that he was to be laid off at the end of this year (working part time for the second half of the year) — after all financial aid has been filed. My mom is looking for work as a teacher, and my dad will be working as a biotech consultant, but money will still be tight and I don't want to drive my parents into debt or take out vast quantities in student loans. Is there a way to explain this to financial aid offices, or will I be given very little aid assuming that I'm a well-off student?</p>

<p>Thank you all in advanced for any input you have on my chances, and any recommendations on safety LACs! Not that I honestly feel like I know how to chance people, but I'd be more than willing to look at anyone else's stats in return :)</p>

2

<p>Polite bump :)</p>

<p>Also, for those wondering, IED is Intro to Engineering Design, and PoE is Principal of Engineering. We’re not learning how to make Improvised Explosive Devices :p</p>

<p>I’ll chance anyone back — I realize I have a rather long post!</p>

3

<p>I’d say you have a very good chance at all of those except Princeton/Stanford, just because they’re so unpredictable. However, if you can raise your SAT scores, you’ll have a much better chance at those. Grades look very good, and EC’s aren’t bad, either. You do Science Olympiad yay!! :slight_smile: Yeah, if you score well on AP tests, your SAT II’s, and keep your grades up, I’d say you have a solid chance!</p>

4

<p>Out of curiosity, why is Swarthmore off your list?</p>

5

<p>@dukeguy
Thanks for your take! It’s quite encouraging to hear such positive comments :)</p>

<p>@Swattiechick
I am considering Swarthmore — an excellent LAC — but I feel as though it might not be as good a fit for me. It reminds me too much of the school I was at freshman year, where I was rather unhappy (the admissions officer compared the school to that one, which turned me off a bit). Since I assume you either go there, graduated from there, or aspire to go someday, I would love to hear your take on my chances there/elsewhere! Thank you :)</p>

6

<p>Another polite bump :)</p>

7

<p>might look at Holy Cross(don’t have to be religious) very good LAC 1 hour from Boston. HC has a great campus and tremendous alumni network.</p>

8

<p>@par72
HC looks nice, and I like that it lacks Greek Life, but I don’t think I’d call that a safety for me… I’ll definitely consider it, though! Any idea on chances there/the other places I mentioned?</p>

9

<p>Bump? I’d really like to hear an idea of how well suited I am for the colleges listed, and maybe some safety LACs. Thanks!</p>

10

<p>Anyone? I would really appreciate it — I’ll chance you in return! :)</p>

11

<p>Anyone? Please?</p>

12

<p>I think another college you might like is College of Wooster. It’s a small LAC in Ohio. I’m pretty sure it lacks greek life, and you could definitely get in (it admits about 70% of its applicants). However, I think you should should definitely be fine for some of those on your list (Gettysburg, Vassar) anyway.</p>

13

<p>Thanks, StoryQurl! Looking at Wooster, it seems like a good LAC to look at as a safety — while there is some Greek Life, it is very minimal. :slight_smile: Gettysburg was one of my safer options, but I wasn’t wild about how popular Greek Life is on campus. You think I have a good chance at Vassar? It’s not my top pick (I think realistically my top picks are Haverford and Grinnell), but that would be nice :slight_smile:
Thank you for your input!</p>

14

<p>I think you have a really good shot at most of these schools! If you can raise your SAT a little bit you’d look better for Princeton/Stanford but I’d say you are a match for the others. Your ECs are fine, by the way, they’re actually pretty good in combination with your excellent grades. I’d second the suggestion of Holy Cross, it’s a really good school that I looked at for a while, and you can definitely get in! Good luck!</p>

15

<p>• Haverford
• Amherst
• Grinnell
• Claremont McKenna
• Vassar
Just in case you don’t know, be careful, all of these LAC’s are didficult to get into, particularly CMC and Amherst even with great stats like yours. Grinnell and Vassar are probably low reaches/high matches but even then they are looking for fit. Good luck! (I was happily admitted to Vassar, it is an amazing school! And I was waitlisted at Amherst as well) For a safety how about Union, Denison or Whitman/Puget Sound if Northwest is okay.</p>

16

<p>Ooh Bard, Willamette, and Lewis & Clark (most beautiful campus apparently) too!</p>

17

<p>@MrOverweight
Thanks for the optimistic comments, always encouraging to hear!</p>

<p>@PAGRok
I know those schools are difficult to gain admission to, and I hardly was expecting any sure bets! My top two are Haverford and Grinnell — am I on the right track/is there anything I can do to increase my chances at those schools? Thanks!</p>

18

<p>You have an ok chance at some of the schools like U of A and Vassar. Right now you really need to bring up your SAT score. You shouldn’t have a single section under 700 if you want to get into some of the better schools out there. Your ECs are spread out and well rounded to some extent, which is good, however; your ECs are nothing beyond average. I would say that you should focus your energy into bringing in more money for the web club and really highlight how much money you brought in and how hard it was (It will be really impressive if you can get $10,000). Also, you need more state/regional leadership positions, ones at school clubs don’t impress as much as those at higher levels. </p>

<p>Still, you are on the right track if you have a really good Sr. year. </p>

<p>Chance me back please
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1320549-chance-junior-dream-schools-will-chance-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1320549-chance-junior-dream-schools-will-chance-back.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

19

<p>@quitamonious
Guaranteed admission at UofA, so I wasn’t too worried about that :stuck_out_tongue:
Good to know that I’m on track for Vassar, though! I’m working on studying for taking the SAT again in June, and I expect to bring up my CR to at worst a 700 (I’ve already improved for practice tests). Math should be mid-700s, and hopefully I can pull up writing for the essay scores. That said, I don’t believe that SATs are too important for most LACs, so I’m not panicking as much as I would be if I felt I had to get into HYP and the like.
Web isn’t really a club, but I can definitely strive to achieve this! Thanks for the advice on this :slight_smile: As for state/regional leadership positions — what types of things would you suggest looking at at this point in junior year? </p>

<p>Thanks for the feedback!</p>

20

<p>Just curious, with my stated financial situation and the pointlessness of applying to Princeton/Stanford, would my best bet be to apply ED to either Haverford/Grinnell? If I were to do this, would I be accepted at either of them if I did that? If I can narrow it down, I’d be more than happy to attend either, but I’m worried with my weird financial situation… Thanks!</p>