Chances at top schools (bear with me, I'll be detailed)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi everyone,
I wanted to try out making one of these posts. I’m aiming for the following schools, in order:
Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Columbia, Cornell, MIT, UChicago, Northwestern (also chance me for MITES:D )

I would like to apply early to Harvard College. In all honesty, I really like the school. The name is a side-benefit ;). I’m a rising junior. Here are my stats. Please let me know what you think! Thanks guys.

FRESHMAN YEAR

AP Spanish Language A+ 5
AP Human Geography B+ 4 (this B+ has me depressed)
English Honors A+
Precalc Honors A-
Chemistry Honors A+
Advanced Debate Honors A+
PE/Fitness Regulars A+
Took BIO H online (97, A)

SOPHOMORE YEAR (just finished)

AP Chemistry A+ 4
AP World History A 4
AP Calculus AB A+ 5
AP Spanish Literature A+ 4
AP Physics 1 A+ 3 (Scared about the 3)
English Honors A+

NEXT YEAR JUNIOR SCHEDULE (I predict all A+s, maybe a few A’s_

AP Calc BC/(maybe multivariable)
AP Physics 2
AP USH
AP English Lang
AP Bio
AP Stats
(Self studying AP Comp Sci, expect a 5)

SENIOR YR expect all A+s,
Multi or Diff Eq at local college
AP Physics C
AP Macro/Micro
AP Enviro
AP Art History
AP English lit
AP Psych
AP Euro

SAT II
Spanish w/ Listening 790
Will take MATH II, expect 800 lol

I got a 216 on soph psat but really didn’t try. I 34-36 practice ACTs.

Ok, a few comments on the courses:
First freshman to ever take two APs. First Sophomore to ever take 5 APs, previous record was 3 APs. Bio and Chem are double periods. School doesn’t rank, but I am almost 100% sure I am number one because of number of APs. Administration consistently tells me schedule is “crazy”. (Not bragging, trying to give context to schedule). One of two people to do my math track. Other competitive students (approx. 40) do calc AB junior yr and BC senior yr. I am a hispanic male, so that explains Spanish. I was born in Buenos Aires.

General questions --> How will the B+ in APHG affect me? Teacher hated me. I did everything I could. Also, how will 3 on physics 1 impact me? A+ vs A vs A-?? impact of that <—?

EXTRACURRICULARS
PRESIDENT Spanish Honor Society 10th -12th, treasurer freshman yr
PRESIDENT and Founder Computer Science Club 9th-12th grade
PRESIDENT (Next year) Stock/Investment club (founder) 11th-12th
VICE PRESIDENT and co founder of politics club
TREASURER sophomore year for grade, not reelected :frowning:
FOUNDER and PRESIDENT of local nonprofit that teaches kids to code for free
Member of Speech & debate teach

AWARDS (here’s where I’m lacking)
A bunch of national debate awards (I do very well in debate)
Will likely get national merit
Will get national AP Scholar next year
Might get a few school awards
Spanish Conference Awards

WORK/INTERNSHIPS
I worked as a TA/Course developer at a top 20 private college over my freshman summer, incredible experience. Won’t say school, similar to northwestern. Very good relationship with the professor there.
I worked at Salesforce, lead application developer/programmer for a project
I worked this summer with my local congresswoman. Chosen from a huge group.
Worked at a local software company, created an application
Attended an Ivy League College diversity program w/ 5% acceptance rate (not MITES lol)

Side Notes:

Born in Buenos Aires, hispanic male
200k+ Income bracket
Private school has a bad relationship w/ ivies. Haven’t gotten HYPSM in years. I don’t think EVER for Harvard.
Jewish? Does that matter?

If you’re still with me, thanks! Much appreciated. So, yeah, how do I stand for chances @ these schools? Will the B+ weigh heavily/the A- freshman yr?

You guys are the bomb.com

2

You have made an impressive start. Congratulations. Being hispanic will also help. Being Jewish doesn’t matter.

My biggest question mark is about your school and potential grade inflation. I’ve never seen that many “A+” grades on a transcript, and in many cases you have 4’s on APs (and one 3) to go along with them. That could suggest that there is signficant grade inflation at your private school, and if they don’t have a good track record of placing students into Ivies, that could be a reason. I’m just speculating, but it’s something that caught my attention.

What do you want to do with your life?

3

Quite inquisitive. Intelligent observation. Yes, that’s correct. I guess there is some sort of grade inflation. And it really worries me. But what was I to do ;), not get the A+? The only thing I could think of displacing the grade inflation is just that I am “the best student” my school would have sent. How could I deal with this? Furthermore, where would you say this places me in terms of “chances”?

4

Of course you couldn’t do anything other than give your best effort. But that transcript combined with those APs stood out, especially in the context you stated about your private school not doing well with placing students at the Ivies. I’m guessing that your GPA will be downgraded a tad due to this effect, but it’s still impressive.

What you have going for you is your curricular rigor, your ethnicity, and to some extent your ECs. Work hard on getting strong standardized scores to try and offset any doubts about grade inflation. Get a supplemental letter when it comes time to apply from someone who knows you well, and make sure that your recs and essays are top notch.

You have some strong work/internship experience. Other than those and debate, plus schools, what do you do with your time? I see no mention of any sports, music, or art. You don’t have to be “well rounded”, but it would be nice to offset your activities with something altogether different, so that you don’t risk coming across as one-dimensional.

I still don’t particular have a good picture of who you are as a person, and what you want to do with your life. What matters to you, and what are your priorities?

5

Let me start off with saying that it is a little overambitious to think that you’ll be a National Merit Scholar considering your sophomore score wasn’t near the minimum for NMS. And I agree with the above person that there definitely has to be some grade inflation, but you obviously still do well in school. As of right now, without an official ACT/SAT score, it’s tough to predict your chances. Your EC’s are good, but I don’t see your passion. Is it politics? Computer code? Colleges want to see the variety in EC’s, but they also want to see a focus in your certain passion. If it’s politics, then volunteer for a campaign. Volunteer at a voting center. See if you can become the School Board Student Rep. There’s so many ways to show your passions. If I had to give chances now, I would say an average of a low reach on most Ivies, with a medium reach for HYPSM.

6

Thanks for the reply. I said that because I’m taking new SATs and getting good scores. Anyway, could you explain the scale? What’s low/medium reach? Is anyone a match for these ivies? Can i focus on politics and comp sci?

7

To be a NMS, you have to ace that PSAT. Everyone has a bad day occasionally. You can never assume you’re going to get something that only the 99th percentile that takes the test gets. A low reach means that you have anywhere from a 20-30% chance. A medium reach is about a 15% chance. Apart from about 0.5% of the high school population, no one is a match for Ivies. And as far as the passions go… those are two very different passions, but you can definitely focus on both. You seem to be doing well in the political part (student council, politics club, etc.), but there is much more to do. As I said before, look into School Board possibilities. In my town, for instance, I approached the superintendent about being the Student Rep, but he said that they abandoned that and decided to put students on committees with the district where they can actually make a difference. Last year, I was on the committee that wrote the county handbook, and I played a major role in getting the very old-fashioned dress code changed. It’s the small things like that that show you care about the city and the community around you (a very important part about politics). I am also volunteering for Rubio’s campaign and will be volunteering on election day at a poll center next year. There are SOOOOO many ways to show your passion. Just find the ones that work for you. Also, if you have the time, then get involved with Comp Sci as it seems like you have somewhat. Stay as the President of that club and continue that good nonprofit volunteering deal. As I said before, there are hundreds of ways to get involved. Find the best ones that fit your schedule.

8

Ok. That makes sense. I kind of just wanted to get a feel for where I stand among my peers.

9

What was the Ivy League diversity summer prog. you did? Just curious

10

The key for you to stand out among your peers is to show that you care about something strongly and that you care for the community. Politics is the easiest way to do this, because you can easily do both at the same time! Follow the tips I mentioned above and you will improve your chances greatly.

11

DaAfrican, it was a special program with 30 kids at Brown. Tigerrocks13; yeah. My main passion really is coding. Politics is a side-passion. In terms of coming across as one dimensional, I could see how that’s the case. With my ecs, (read: debate, computer programming, etc.) I come across as a super nerd. Thing is, I’m the opposite :D. I’m social, and good at talking to people. That’ll probably be shown in interview? But yeah, I don’t want to come across as a “nerd”. (No offense to those that do fill that stereotype :wink: )

12

I have a side question; how do ap scores work in terms of sending them? Do I have to send all or just some? Would I be better off sending them or not (assuming junior yr I get 4s and 5s) to ivies? Also any other chance reply would be much appreciated.

13

bump for more replies :confused:

14

bump :confused:

15

Are you a US Citizen? You might get some additional scholarship money if you pass your state’s NMSF threshold from your junior PSAT. Your work experience is super impressive, especially for a 16-17 yr old. If you are looking at coding look at the best CS schools. Add Berkeley, GT, Umich, CMU to your list.

Nerd is fine. A nerd with communication skills is exceptional. Just reflect that in your essays.

16

@TooOld4School Yes. Scholarship money isn’t really an issue right now. Lucky enough to be able to choose just based on what I like w/o regard to cost. I’ve visited each of those schools and didn’t really like any (esp. Berkeley). How would you rate my chances for HYPSM and other top 20s? I get lots of wows from work experience, people are very impressed. I hope that can be a big help.

17

As previously mentioned, until you have an official test score, it is difficult to make any kind of prognostication…except that you are on the right path–which is certainly still the case, for HYPSM.

18

I had a 180 sophmore year. Didn’t do any studying except for the night and two nights before and got a 227. If he is getting a 216 sophmore year I’m going to guess that it wouldn’t take much at all to be able to qualify in any state.