Chances at Top-ish Schools (YAY SAT results)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Howdy. I'm a current Junior who just received his second set of SAT test results and saw pretty huge improvement. As a result, I'm not only asking for chances, but for reccomendations as well. Before I start, I just want to say that I'm typing this out on my phone so there are bound to be spelling errors.</p>

<p>I'm a resident of western Wisconsin, about an hour north of Milwaukee. White, two parents, and an income of >200k. Nothing too remarkable there. My parents went to undergrad at ASU and Colgate, and one got his masters\doctorate at Rochester, then taught there for a few years. There's a plus.</p>

<p>My UW GPA is a 3.85/4 due to a freshman year of solid B's. Weighted is a ~4.4.Maybe some College would see this as academic growth?
ACT: Tried to take it once but forgot 15 problems so I cancelled it. Probably won't reattempt, unless you guys think I should. I like the SAT a bit more.
SAT: 2370! (800R,780M,790W). NO idea how that happened. Up from a 2140 my first time.
My school (A great public one for WI) doesn't do ranking, but I'd guess I'm in the top 3%.</p>

<p>I've taken all Honors/AP classes except for math sophomore and junior year, plus the courses that don't have an honor track like required arts, etc.</p>

<p>So far, the AP courses I've taken are AP US (4), AP Micro (4-5?), AP Macro (4-5?), and AP Gov(5?). For next year I've got slotted AP Calc AB, AP English lit, and AP physics.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars in a random order (damn you phone) with senior year extrapolation :
3 years Varsity Swimming, poss Team Captain Senior year
3 years Latin club, 1 year Latin club secretary
3 years WI Junior Classical league, 1 year treasurer
3 years National junior classical league
2 years "Beyond Impressions" club (Community service)
NHS "executive board" position junior year
Rotary Club Service above Self award
Silver Congressional Award
Philosophy club 3 years
Club swimming 3 years
Worked at Allen Edmonds shoe store for two summers
200+ hours service
Badger Boy's State
Humanitarian club 2 years
No research opportunities :(
I'm sure I'll think of one or two others and add them once I figure out how to work these forums.</p>

<p>SAT II:
US History 780
Will probably take MATHII early next year.</p>

<p>Schools I WAS thinking about:
UW Madison
Georgetown
WashU in STL (Brother goes there. Awesome place.)
Stanford? (Super reach crapshoot)
Johns Hopkins?
Boston College
Any other ideas? Ideally I'd like to apply to nine or so, just because half of these are seemingly random selection.</p>

<p>Thanks a bunch. I'll definitely do my best to chance you all back.</p>

2

<p>I want to add Rochester on that college list quick.
also that should be Eastern WI, not that it matters.
Also I’m a dude.</p>

3

<p>Bump bump?</p>

4

<p>Obviously for top schools there’s no such thing as a safe bet, but I don’t really see any weaknesses. You’re also not from an overrepresented area. I’d say you have a good shot at all your choices, and Stanford wouldn’t be a SUPER reach. Good luck</p>

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<p>Are you a competitive swimmer - ranked in your state? Have no idea what a Classical League is btw. </p>

<p>Nice job on that SAT - guessing you put in some work to raise it 200 points. If not, that’s still cool… don’t need to worry about standarized testing anymore. :)</p>

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<p>These ECs and SAT scores make you very competitive for these colleges. Stanford is a attainable reach, but don’t be surprised if you get rejected. Everything else shouldn’t be too hard.</p>

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<p>I think you have a good shot at Wash U with those SAT scores and your grades are not that bad. Writing an essay that talks about something you are really passionate about will increase your chance of admittance. Stanford, I think is a little out of reach. but you never know!</p>

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<p>Shameless recommendation that you should apply to Duke (similar to Stanford, but slightly easier to get into haha). You should get into BC and UW maybe add one more similar school that you should get into just in case, but your definitely on track for the top schools.</p>

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<p>You have great stats but I’d add a couple of safeties you’d be happy attending–just in case. Also, if you are interested in classics/philosophy, you might consider some smaller liberal arts colleges. You would have a great shot at many of them, and might even get some decent merit aid (not that you necessarily need it). Good luck.</p>

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<p>Second this. Stanford is a possibility.</p>

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<p>@Russ I’m a state level swimmer, but frankly Wisconsin is terrible poopoo at swimming. Not good enough to swim for these schools, I’d think.</p>

<p>Thanks to everyone else for those answers!</p>