Hi, I wanted to know how my profile is looking right now, because I feel like I’ve wasted my first three years of high school and there’s not really anything I can do about it.
I currently hold a 3.71 gpa (unweighted) with 4 honors courses in total. My sat score is a 2160. I have played a few different sports over the years and excelled at none: Freshman year I played reserve soccer and crew. Sophomore year I played soccer, jv hockey and jv lacrosse. This year I played reserve soccer, jv hockey, and am currently not doing a spring sport. Next year (senior year) I will be playing reserve soccer again, probably as captain, and I hope to make varsity hockey. I also have about 40 hours of community service and plan to get more over the coming months, but apart from that I have next to no ecs (I started drums in January and work a part time job) . So my question is; are my chances looking bleak for top tier schools? I was also wondering if there’s anything else I could do to increase my chances? I’ve been trying to get an internship in a biology lab at a nearby ivy but it’s been tough so I don’t know how that will work out.
If you mean the Ivies they are a reach for everyone, more of a reach for you. Cornell may be a reachable reach. You will likely have to lower your sights to a more realistic school like Boston University or GWU.
Yeah I meant the ivies (I know HYPSM is totally out of the mix) , but I also meant schools like Williams, Tufts, Amherst, CMU, etc. and also the less selective ivies like Cornell and UPenn
Your SAT score is the 98th percentile and you have good grades. Hopefully you will take some AP classes next year because they are expected in the top 25 schools, universities and colleges both.
Your chances are not materially better or worse than other students. If you apply to enough you will certainly get into a few just based on probability, and basically that is the game in this bracket of schools. You can raise your chance by picking schools your fellow classmates with better stats do not apply to and being smart geographically.
You could just as easily get rejected from BU as any other school, by the way.
Students like you have the hardest time picking safeties rather than a priority list.
I plan on taking Physics honors, french 5 honors, Precalc honors, and AP environmental science next year (this is the only AP course my school offers). Yeah I’ve been looking around and I just don’t know what a good safety is. Thanks for the help guys
Where are you from? Public or private high school?
Public high school in New Hampshire
Get the data about where kids applied last year from guidance or use Naviance and use the top 30 schools both universities and LACs to see where kids applied and the success rates.
If you see for example better success at Hamilton and fewer applications compared to Amherst, then flag Hamilton.
In the group of top schools you have to compile a list based on risk/reward. Hamilton is a good example because it is outside New England and I will guess fewer kids apply there compared to the schools in Vermont, Mass, Maine and New Hampshire. I’m sure you get the idea. Cornell vs University of Rochester would be another.
You can still have super reach schools on your list but you can strengthen the list this way.
@BatesParent2019 applying to more schools does not increase probability, as admissions to different colleges are mutually exclusive. I think OP has low chances at top tier schools like the lower-tier ivies, but so does everyone else. However, your somewhat lower GPA and lack of substantial ECs may lower your chances, so of course have some safeties and matches on your list as well.
Make UNH your safety and look around New England for places you can afford. Ivies and really selective schools like Williams, Tufts, Amherst, etc. are reaches for everyone whether they were grade A students or not. Get your GPA up to like a 3.8+ if possible if you still really want to reach for those top notch places.
Your EC’s are not inadequate in any way (except maybe for Ivies who want you to discover the cure for cancer. 
). Soccer and hockey take up a lot of time and colleges realize that. Are you planning on possibly playing in college at all? IMO, the fact that you can balance school, multiple sports, and a part time job is impressive.
@neonerudite I am sorry to inform you that you are incorrect.
@BatesParent2019 I’m pretty sure I’m right; applying to 6,8,10,20 etc top tier schools does not increase your chances of getting into one, as your chances for getting into one does not increase the more applications you fill out.
@neonerudite And I am pretty sure you are wrong.
@BatesParent2019 I don’t want to argue with someone who is undoubtedly older than me, but if OP OOS unqualified for top tier schools such as HYPSM or Williams (any top 20 for example) , which im not saying he is, there is no way he will get into them, no matter how many he applies to. College admissions aren’t a random process, so rules of probability can’t really apply here.
OP, you should definitely apply to reach schools. Make sure you have stellar essays and you should have a decent chance.
@neonerudite This student is a 98th percentile student. In this particular case there is a very very high probability of finding a match in the top 25. By the way, using the term “unqualfied” in the case of Williams is not accurate. Plenty of qualified students do not get accepted for whatever reason. I know of two cases this year of students that both got into Williams but not Colgate, Hamilton, Bates or University of Rochester. Every season is filled with stories like this. Years ago this did not happen because applications per student were much lower, so a student’s probability per school was higher.
Now the probability of acceptance is more dispersed because every kid applies to many more schools. Naturally, to capture that same probability you need to apply to more schools.
^ I have also heard that just because you apply to a bunch of highly selective colleges hoping to get into one of them, it does not increase the chances. We are talking about a student without hooks or anything outstanding. I agree. Applying randomly to prestigious schools would not increase the acceptance for the student.
@goingnutsmom When it comes to college admissions people hear lots of things. The truth is that at least 80% of top students get accepted to at least one top school and this is unchanged. What has changed is that it requires more applications simply because everyone else is applying to more schools.
Interesting. What do you define as a top student - academic, scores and EC’s. Also curious about your stat about the 80% - where does that come from?
I define a top student as one in the top 5% so therefore a top school is one where the average stats of students is around that mark.
To me saying Colgate is not a top school because it is rated #22 but Amherst is strikes me as ridiculous. Or Notre Dame is not an Ivy equivalent is equally nuts.
I have seen the 80% stat in many places but most recently in the NY Times in a piece written by Kevin Carey. It does a great job explaining acceptance rates and how admissions chances are now dispersed rather than lower.
Do you mind adding the link to the cited article? Would be very interested in reading it. Thanks.