Chances at some great schools

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>GPA: 4.0 UW; 4.78 W
Class rank:2/350
SAT: CR 660, M 680, W 690
ACT: 29
School type: Not very competitive, no programs for SAT prep (the average SAT is like a 1500 totaled from all 3 sections), about 1200 kids total</p>

<p>APs: World-4, Lang-3, Econ-4, Psychology-4, Lit-3, US-3. Currently in AP Chem, Calc AB, Computer Science, Physics B, and Government.</p>

<p>ECs/Awards/Leadership:
Marching & Concert band (9-12)
1st chair in wind ensemble (11th, 12th)
Saxophone section leader (12th)
National Honor Society
Origami Club (It's so awesome)
3 District-level superiors at Solo & Ensemble
1 State-level superior at Solo & Ensemble
Mayor's award for Academic Excellence
AP Scholar with Distinction</p>

<p>Schools I'm applying to: Stanford (I know, it's a stretch), WashU in St. Louis (even bigger stretch), UF, Emory, Vanderbilt, USC (California), Rice</p>

<p>Thank you very much for your time</p>

2

<p>Stanford very high reach
WashU in St. Louis high reach
UF university of florida? in
Emory high match
Vanderbilt high match
USC (California) low/mid reach
Rice high reach</p>

<p>How do you have 4.0 UW with that average of SAT’s? That looks bad on your school and you. I recomend taking the SAT’s or ACT’s again.</p>

<p>TBH go and get some safety schools sub 2100 makes these schools difficult to get into.</p>

3

<p>Standardized testing is not necessarily the end-all be-all of intelligence, bballplaya</p>

4

<p>keep saying that to yourself, but that’s not what colleges think.</p>

5

<p>hate to admit it but that line won’t work when applying to schools like Stanford</p>

<p>SAT’s are extremely important</p>

6

<p>I’m at the 25th percentile for their SAT’s. I’m not at a horrible disadvantage, but I did recognize in the OP that it’s quite the reach. I accept that.</p>

7

<p>BCell2011,</p>

<p>don’t listen to the nay-sayers. Most of the people on here really (really) don’t know what goes on behind admissions doors. So you have a “lower” sat score, your GPA is great! Is it your fault that you don’t go the best school? NO</p>

<p>The thing I hear repeated by admissions officers over and over and over again, is that they look at applicants within the context of your school and it looks like you’ve done well in your school.</p>

<p>SATs are used as a check, I wouldn’t call them extremely important.</p>

<p>The things you should be worrying about is your essays and displaying your passions well.
If those are in order, then you’ll be fine.</p>

<p>IMO, some people on here have a skewed perception of reality.</p>

8

<p>Thank you very much, xdancingatdiscos. I do know that my SAT scores aren’t the best, especially compared to some CCers, but I’ve done everything I can to remain somewhat competitive. I live on a 3x4 mile island and I’ve had a bunch of family problems (changed guardians several times), and I discussed this in my essay. Not in the sense of “poor me,” but in terms of it being a learning experience and a chance for personal growth. I’m hoping my essays save me</p>

9

<p>yea not too many people have had to overcome your struggles and still manage to do well in school.</p>

<p>Sure CCers have some amazing stats but there is a voluntary response bias.</p>

<p>People are only going to post their stats on here if they think that their scores are something to show off and/or somewhat competitive.</p>

<p>It’s really not representative of the students applying and getting into college</p>

10

<p>I appreciate your response. I just hope that they factor in some personal circumstances</p>

11

<p>@xdancingatdiscos</p>

<p>not true at all</p>

<p>I posted my stats, and I have a 3.8 GPA (weighted) and I have a 1560 SAT (took it beginning of freshmen year, so it doesnt really count)</p>

<p>Some people legitimately want to know what chances they have for different schools</p>

<p>We were just simply saying that for Stanford a lower SAT means you HAVE to make up for it in some other way, albeit EC’s or awards</p>

12

<p>Standford high reach
Wash U in St. Louis reach
UF match
Emory match
Vanderbilt match
USC reach
Rice reach</p>

<p>I agree with you BCell that the SAT actually means nothing. My HS was worse than yours. My SAT score was in the top 1% at my school and I only got a 1500, but I did have a 4.0gpa in HS and I also have a 4.0 gpa in college. I’m not the fastest test taker so the 25 minutes a section wasn’t exactly enough time for me.</p>

<p>Like bballplaya said though, they mean a lot to colleges. It’s just one of the many flaws with the educational system, but there has to be some kind of common assessment since every school is different. The SAT didn’t have much of a negative effect on me so don’t worry about it. Of course it wouldn’t have gotten me in an Ivy league or Standford, but I never wanted to go to those schools anyway.</p>

<p>Goodluck</p>

13

<p>

</p>

<p>You can go on and offer as much useless anecdotal advice as you want, but the fact of the matter is that metrics play a huge role in college admissions. Artificially inflating someone’s hopes will only make it harder to deal with rejection.</p>

<p>That aside, I agree with bballplayer and zigg90’s predictions.</p>

14

<p>So UF, Vanderbilt and Emory are good chances, Rice and USC are maybes, and WashU and Stanford are strokes of luck?</p>

15

<p>Sorry, I guess I did not read properly. I don’t know how anyone can put USC higher than Vandy. </p>

<p>Stanford - Out of reach
Wash U - Reach
Vanderbilt - Reach
Emory - Low Reach
Rice - Low Reach
USC - Match
UF - Match</p>

16

<p>Out of reach? Well that’s a bit uncalled for</p>

17

<p>Your chances at any school will approach 0 asymptotically, but at Stanford you are going to need much, much more than a “stroke of luck”.</p>

18

<p>Just make sure you have good essays and hope for the best. The only thing I’ll tell you to do is make sure you do as best as you can on your application, even if you have no chance in hell. If you want to go to Stanford that bad, then just be realistic while still trying as hard as you can on the Essays. Not that that will get you in per say, but if the admissions guy is lenient that day and he is really captivated by your essay, maybe he’ll give you a chance</p>

19

<p>Take what Billabong said and make Stanford a high reach for your chances though. and i know some stupid kids at Vandy so make that low reach</p>

20

<p>Stanford - High Reach
Wash U St. Louis - Reach
Vanderbilt - Low Reach
Emory - Low Reach
Rice - Low Reach
USC - Match
UF - Match</p>