chances at reaches/matches/safeties?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>-Ethnicity:1/4 Hispanic (Is this enough to only say Hispanic? I think I look somewhat Hispanic, but mostly Asian. Would it be best to just say I'm mixed Filipino and Spanish?)
-UW GPA: 3.94ish
-Weighted GPA: 4.14
-school doesn't rank, but I got an award for being the junior with the highest weighted GPA, meaning I'm a would-be valedictorian.</p>

<p>SAT I's (I'm retaking this October or November. I will aim for getting as close to perfect as possible.)</p>

<p>Math: 800
CR: 730
Writing:710</p>

<p>SAT II's
Math II: 800
U.S. History: 710
Chemistry: 690
(we weren't quite done with the AP Chem and APUSH curriculums by the time I took the May subject tests, so I took them again on June 5. I expect a 730ish in U.S. and a 750+ in chemistry.)</p>

<p>Past AP's: US Gov and Politics-5
Projected AP scores for this year:
APUSH: 5
AP Chem: 4/5
AP Eng. Lang: 4/5</p>

<p>Senior Load
1. AP Calculus BC
2. AP Statistics (is it true stats is not really math, but is more like reading?)
3. AP Biology
4. AP Physics C
5. AP Literature
6. Economics
7. (maybe) Band (if I can fit it in my schedule)</p>

<p>-school doesn't offer honors classes, but mentions "due to the rigorous curriculum of the school, no classes are designated as honors" in school description.</p>

<p>My only B's have been graphic design freshman year and AP Gov last year(will a 5 on the exam atone for this)? I got straight A's junior year. </p>

<p>-will mention Math, Economics, and Chemistry respectively as my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice majors. I want to be an investment banker or hedge fund manager when I grow up.</p>

<p>EC's:</p>

<p>Boy Scouts
-Eagle Scout (just did my board of review). My project was building benches, pressure-washing old ones, and putting sealant.
-Senior Patrol Leader during 10th grade, Patrol Leader during 9th
-broke a national record for hiking. I hiked the Bartram Trail (100 miles/5 days, has a lot of elevation): honored by Governor Sonny Purdue and national head of boy scouts for this feat
-LOTS of community service projects
-raised money for inner-city kids to buy scout uniforms</p>

<p>Tennis (all 4 years)
-private lesons
-varsity tennis</p>

<p>Academic Quiz Bowl team (10-12)</p>

<p>I founded and am president of our school's food critic club. We go to restaurants about once a month and write critiques about them, which are published in the school newspaper.</p>

<p>Trumpet
-private lessons
-Superior Rating (9,10,11) at Solo Ensemble Festival
-Community Jazz Band (9-12)
-GISA all-select band member (11th grade) (top band members of private schools in GA)
-played for church on Sundays
-invited to play at school's open house 10th grade</p>

<p>Piano
-lessons
-invited to play at several concerts</p>

<p>Young Republicans (should i say this? i know prestigious colleges, more so the Ivy League, are very liberal?)
-helped a bake sale to fund troops in Iraq and Afghanistan
-helped campaign for John Mccain and senator Saxby Chambliss</p>

<p>Duke TIP summer program (summers after 9th and 10th grade, I respectively studied macroecon. and robotics)</p>

<p>Academic Awards:
-Georgia Certificate of Merit
-Phi Beta Kappa Award (given to Junior with the highest weighted GPA in class)</p>

<p>Hobbies:
-food-trying at restaurants (and even cooking some by myself)
-camping/backpacking</p>

<p>Miscellaneous:
I also volunteer at the library during the summer.
-I'm almost certain my PSAT score will qualify me for semifinalist standing in the NMS search. I didn't fill out Hispanic in the ethnicity section, so I wont get National Hispanic Recognition Program Honors. </p>

<p>Recommendations: I know several teachers at my school who like me and will probably write well about me.
Essay: 1) talk about perseverance, about how I thought I could accomplish anything after my national record hike (would this sound too trite?)
2) talk about how certain adversity in a trumpet competition didn't kill my trumpet passions.</p>

<p>Schools I'm applying to:
Yale
Princeton
Stanford
MIT
Harvard
UPenn
Brown
Dartmouth
UChicago
Northwestern
WashUSTL-someone with a 1750 SAT, 29 ACT at my school got in, but had a very high GPA. She was not a URM, and as far as I know wasn't a legacy or big donor. Based on what I know about her, her EC's seemed of about the same quality as mine.
UVA
Georgia Tech (safety)
I'm thinking about Columbia too; based on my EC's, do u think I would be a good fit there, even if I were accepted. What are some more good safeties/matches for me? I've heard Carnegie Mellon is pretty good.</p>

2

<p>Your ECs seem to be quite spread out among music, politics, academics, and community service, so they wouldn’t stand out as much as they should. If I were you, I’d pick the one you like to do best and stick to it. I don’t think being a Republican will hurt you much, if at all, since admissions officers are professionals, and there’s always a considerable portion of any college that’s Republican/conservative.</p>

<p>As with anyone, despite your stellar GPA, HYPSM and Dartmouth are reaches, and with a little more focus on ECs and, if I may suggest, a somewhat more original essay topic, UPenn, Brown, WashUSTL, and Northwestern should be fine. UChicago is unpredictable, so I can’t say. If you decide to go in a math/science direction, Cal Tech should be a school to apply to.</p>

<p>All that said, pending your other standardized test results and final grades, things may change. Best of luck!</p>

3

<p>First off: 25% Hispanic is enough to be considered Hispanic, but you probably won’t get the perks of being a URM because it’s only 1/4 and because you’re also Asian. It could help you slightly, though, but don’t bank on it, because URM is something quite unpredictable in college admissions.</p>

<p>Safety: GA Tech
Good Match: UVA
Low Reach: WUSTL, Northwestern, Carnegie Mellon
Mid Reach: UChicago, Brown, Dartmouth, Columbia
Mid-to-high Reach: HYPSM</p>

<p>If you want a good shot at HYPSM, you’re going to need great essays. Your current topics don’t seem interesting enough… write essays that show your passion, curiosity, and make you seem human rather than just another applicant all tied up nicely in an app folder. Really. Great essays.</p>

<p>That said, you’ve probably got a shot at all schools listed. UVA and GA Tech you’ll be admitted to for sure. I think WUSTL, Northwestern, and Carnegie Mellon will accept you, but you could get rejected: nothings for sure. For the mid-to-high reaches, you’re going to need to show real academic spark.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

4

<p>For Dartmouth, would it help if somebody on the admissions committee knew me? He knows me as a strong trumpet player, piano player, and also an eagle scout.
@ decrescendo. Even for absolutely stellar, yet unhooked applicants who have even much better resumes than I do, is it ever possible for chances HYPSM + Wharton@Penn to be better than a mid-reach? I THINK my essays show my passions. What would be more original essay topics?
Also, I should have more under Academic Team because next year, our varsity team will have more people and will be able to compete more often.</p>

5

<p>^ yes that helps a great deal, i would keep in contact with that person throughout the admissions process</p>

6

<p>% wise, what would constitute safety, good match, low reach, mid reach, and high reach?</p>

7

<p>I think you will definitely be able to get into a few of your higher end reach schools contingent upon a very well written essay + good recs</p>

8

<p>I don’t put percentages because you simply can’t put a percentage chance for top schools. The process is often unpredictable, so it might be false hope.
To give you a beter idea: safety, you’re in for sure. Good match, you’re probably in. Low reach, you’ll get in with good essays/recs and a little luck. Mid-reach - you’ve got a shot, but it’ll take a great app and some luck to get in. High reach - you’re probably not getting in.</p>

<p>Hope this helped!</p>

9

<p>I agree with the above poster who said your ECs are a little too spread out. Everything else looks fine, though; you might want to take another SAT II if you have the time, and you will need to increase your SAT I to have a better shot at HYPSM. Write really good essays and make sure you pick the best teachers for your LORs, and you’ll be fine.</p>

<p>Also, I saw the bit about Young Republicans, and I definitely think you should mention it. These colleges, after all, are looking for diversity.</p>