Chances at top schools for an Eastern European ex-refugee? Please help!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I am a rising senior. Quite frankly, I'm very much afraid that I'm a below average applicant at the top colleges.</p>

<p>About me:
-Eastern European female—American citizen
[Originally Bosnian refugee…first in Germany (immigrated when she was 3), then in US (immigrated when she was 7). She has had 3 major moves in her lifetime (from Bosnia to Germany, from Germany to NYC, and from NYC to another part of NY state). Her first official language was German (which she also took in high school—switched from Spanish in grade 8—so as not to forget it, since it is not spoken at home). She started learning Sebo-Croatian (unofficially, from family) before she learned German and that is the language spoken at home. Sadly, she can only read and write it in the Latin alphabet, but she has plans to continue learning the Cyrillic.]
-Attends a competitive public school in New York
-will study psychology [but philosophy, biology, and international affairs/relations are also interests]</p>

<p>Stats:
GPA 3.88 UW [school doesn't weight]
Class rank: school doesn't rank
PSAT: I forgot, but I was in 97th percentile or so…maybe 208 --> offered College Plans Reporting Service [but stupidly I forgot to use this] --> will probably be commended or something like that
SAT I: 2180 (700 CR/720 M/760 W/11 essay) [I’m planning to retake this exam in the fall.]
SAT IIs: 740 US History [I have to take at least two more of those.]</p>

<p>APs:</p>

<p>Sophomore year:
Physics B - 3
World History - 5</p>

<p>Junior year:
German - 5
Lang & Comp - 5
Chem - 4
US History - 4
Physics C: Mech - 2
Physics C: E&M - 1
Calc BC - 4 AB subscore - 5</p>

<p>Senior Schedule:
AP Gov/Pol
AP Lit
AP Bio
Calc 3
SUPA Economics [will end up taking both Economics AP exams at the end of the year]
German Independent Study
Choir
Orchestra
Health
Ceramics I
PE</p>

<p>ECs:
-Has written articles for school newspaper all four years in high school.
-School newspaper editor for 2 years [Feature section editor and In-depth section editor]
-Science Olympiad for 4 years [5th in Forensics sophomore year regionally. 3rd in Forensics Junior year regionally. 6th in Food Science Junior year regionally. Did not attend state meet with team because she was a chair at Model UN conference.]
-Model UN for 4 years [has won Best Delegate, Outstanding Delegate, and Honorable Mention awards at several conferences. Has also chaired, or run, several committees at Model UN conferences.]
-School Orchestra for 4 years
-Chamber Strings for 3 years
-School Choir for 2 years [Sophomore and Senior because it wouldn’t fit in for Junior year.]
-Sang in All-County Choir Sophomore year [You have to be in the general school choir to be eligible for all-county, so I couldn’t do it Junior year.]
-Select Women’s Choir for hopefully 3 years [if I get selected this upcoming year], but for at least two years
-Private violin lessons since 5th grade
-Private voice lessons since sophomore year
-Has been involved in theater as an actress and as part of stage crew for 3 years of high school [didn’t have time Junior year]. I’ll try to make it to pit for the musical next year if I don’t get a part.
-Volunteered 6 hours a week at an inner-city school for half of sophomore year, but didn’t go back because my friend forgot to call them back [I regret that now].
-Randomly writes poetry on her own when inspired [I guess I could give them a sample or two if I think any of it is good enough].
-Started an a capella singing group/band with 3 other friends, but that accidentally died. We have been meaning to regroup [Is this even worth mentioning?].
-Will begin helping a psychology graduate student with research for her dissertation starting in September of next [Senior] year probably about twice a week if possible [typing, copying, and sitting in on interviews—everyone has to start somewhere].</p>

<p>Tentative ECs:
-Senior year, I plan to start a club devoted to Slavic Culture in my school [for having fun with my friends purposes, not just so that I can start a club].
-Is looking into getting a job senior year at her mother’s insistence [basically because I might have to buy my own laptop, but I don’t think I’ll be able to fit it into my schedule].</p>

<p>Summers:
-Traveled Europe after freshman year of high school.
-Attended CTY for one summer [after sophomore year, which was the last year I was eligible to go because of my age—I just wanted the experience.] and took a course in Ethics.
-Took a course at the University of Rochester [Course # 396: Existential and Humanistic Psychology] and received a grade of A.</p>

<p>Random Awards:
-Science Olympiad: 5th at county meet sophomore year. 3rd and 6th at county meet Junior year.
-Did well on AATG for 2 years [most of the AP class wasn’t taking it when I was a Junior and the teacher forgot to mention it to me, so I did not end up participating in it]. I was the only person in the school to receive a dictionary for AATG achievement both years [I’m pretty sure that signifies that I had a perfect score each time].
-Freshman year I did an enrichment project in English where I had to read Sir Thomas Moore’s Utopia, write a paper that was to be evaluated by a committee, and make a presentation to the class about it. I was one of a few people who completed the project successfully.
-Finalist in the Cornell Essay competition [34th place, I believe].</p>

<p>Random, but important:
-I screwed up my junior year because I let the personal problems I was having have an effect on my grades [overall averages Junior year were: 2 B’s, 2 B+’s, and 2 A’s in the 6 AP classes that I took, an A in orchestra, an A in PE first semester, and a B+ in PE second semester—this one was because I missed PE for AP exams and the teacher didn’t have time for me to make it up], but I have grown as a result of these experiences. I can give you more details about that if you ask. I’m not going to screw around next year and will hopefully end up with straight A’s like I have been used to getting every year but Junior year.</p>

<p>What are my chances at these schools? Please classify them as reaches, matches, and safeties if you can and give me some comments and advice about what you think my overall standing is. Any advice would be appreciated.</p>

<p>Yale SCEA
Harvard SCEA [if I don't do Yale SCEA]
Stanford SCEA [if I don't do Yale or Harvard SCEA]
Wellesley
Dartmouth
Duke
UPenn
Princeton
Columbia
Cornell
Northwestern
WashingtonU in St. Louis
UMichigan
Rochester
UChicago
Johns Hopkins
Tufts
I was also thinking of applying to Oxford and/or Cambridge in England, but I think that I’m too late to apply for those.</p>

<p>I'm afraid that my junior year grades and my AP scores aren't an indication of my capapbilities, but raw talent, so I'm really afraid of applying. Do you think that I should bother applying early admission to any of the schools I listed or would my application be strengthened by solid mid year grades and a regular decision application?</p>

<p>What schools, other than the ones that I listed, should I consider applying to? I’m thinking of applying to 15, because I am afraid of not getting in. My mother has threatened to send me to college in Germany if I do not get into a good enough school and I certainly would not be able to survive college there. My German is good, but not that good.</p>

2

<p>Bump!</p>

<p>I would really love feedback!</p>

3

<p>You're not a below-average applicant, but you aren't an amazing applicant either. HYPS are all reaches, though you certainly have a good shot.
Yale SCEA: Reach
Harvard SCEA [if I don't do Yale SCEA]: Reach
Stanford SCEA [if I don't do Yale or Harvard SCEA]: Reach
Wellesley: Match
Dartmouth: Slight Reach
Duke: Slight Reach
UPenn: Slight Reach
Princeton: Reach
Columbia: Reach
Cornell: Slight Reach
Northwestern: Match to slight reach
WashingtonU in St. Louis: match to slight reach
UChicago: slight reach
Johns Hopkins: slight reach
Tufts: match to slight reach
not sure about michigan or rochester</p>

4

<p>I"m agreeing with svalbard on most of those decisions except:
u mich is a match if you hand the app like november</p>

<p>i could see you try for barnard?</p>

5

<p>Thanks to both of you. I guess I was worried that I was below-average since I haven't done anything amazing in my life yet. I wish there was some way I could make myself stand out, but with applications due soon, it isn't going to happen.</p>

<p>Any other opinions would be greatly appreciated.</p>

6

<p>It's always good to have some safety schools, like your state school that gives good financial aid.</p>

7

<p>I don't think your refugee status makes a bit of difference because you were only 3 when you moved. Aside from this, you look like a rather bland applicant; your grades test scores are average for most of these places and you only have three EC's that show real commitment (Model UN, Orchestra, and School Newspaper). None of these EC's are very interesting either. It's nothing personal, but I think your chances are low at a lot of these schools. Choose some safeties. Here are my predictions; if I don't include certain schools it means that I am not familiar with them and can't make a prediction.</p>

<p>Yale SCEA: Rejection
Harvard SCEA: Rejection
Stanford SCEA: Very High Reach
Dartmouth: Low Reach
Duke: Reach
UPenn: Low Reach
Princeton: Rejection
Cornell: Match
Northwestern: High Match
WashingtonU in St. Louis: Match
Rochester: Low Match
UChicago: High Match but it all depends on your essays
Johns Hopkins: Match
Tufts: Match</p>

8

<p>Some of the large flagship universities in the US are every bit if not more prestigious than German schools, so I am not sure what your mother considers a "not good enough"school. Such schools have some outstanding resources and opportunities that rival and sometimes exceed the top private colleges.<br>
One thing that you omitted is what you want to do academically. Are you planning to pursue music, drama, math, Slavic studies, etc? When you go to college, you are not going to be able to do all of the things you have been doing. One thing the top colleges like to see is a passion and skill for something. A laundrey list of activities just makes many adcoms dizzy and unable to focus on what you will bring to that college. It is difficult to answer that question given your "random" activities.<br>
Your proficiency in the languages and your background may interest schools who have departments looking for such students. My opinion is that the top schools, HPYS are not likely to overlook your junior year performance. That is your most important year, grade wise. There are just too many students with fantastic resumes and profiles that do not have those issues. I think you have a good spread of schools on your list, and there is no reason why you should not try for the "lottery ticket" schools, but you should understand that they are truly "lottery tickets". Some of your match schools are only match if you show them interest and attention, something the top schools do not count. Many kids have made the mistake of bending over backwards for their top pie in the sky schools, and not paying enough attention to the schools that are more realistic for them, and still selective enough that they may reject students who are not enthusiastic about them. That is why some state schools, with short apps, no demonstrated interest required and stats driven, should be on your list. It is going to be very difficult to show each school on your list proper homage if you apply to 15 schools that are looking for that.</p>

9

<p>I don't know if you know this, but living through a war, even if not for a really long period of time 9and by that I mean several years, because I was definately there for months) leaves a pretty great impression on a person, even if that person is only three. I was only pointing that out, because you have to consider that when you look at me as a person, since it is a huge part of who I am today. I don't mean to say that I'm on eof those kids who has lived in a refugee camp for several years or something like that, but it's definately something that makes a difference in who I am and gives me a completely different perspective on life from all of the other kids that I know. Not many people can say that.</p>

<p>I didn't mean to be rude to you in this post or to make it seem as if I don't appreciate your input, but saying that colleges won't be impressed that I was a refugee because I was 3 at the time is kind of being insensitive to my entire situation. I mean, there is no way that you would even know so I cannot expect you to be more sensitive, but yeah. By the way, I'm not banking on my former refugee status to get me into any school (if you think that). I just thought it would be an attention grabber in the title. Overall, thanks for your input.</p>

10

<p>I did say that I was planning on majoring in psychology in my first post. Other than that, I didn't constuct a "laundry list" of activities and actually omitted things that I have no passion for or dropped junior year. I really like music and theater, as well as newspaper, Science Olympiad, and Model UN. It's strange to say, but I'm the type of person who is interested in everything. I really don't like it when people think that I'm doing something only to get me into college. It ticks me off a lot, so I just wanted to set you straight even if you dont' believe me.</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice about paying more attention to schools. I'll definately keep that in mind. And I'm not necessarily going to apply to all of these schools; they just have the most prestige of the schools I have on my list now (I am still narrowing the list down--kind of a slow process for me), which is why I asked about them. I'm actually thinking that I'll at least be able to get into Rochester, which has a pretty good psychology department from what I hear, and I don't think I would really mind going there considering all of the advantages that I would receive if I went there. So I guess that's kind of a safety even though it isn't really. Realistically, I'll probably apply to a state school as well, but I wouldn't want to go there so I didn't put it on the list. Thanks again for the advice!</p>