Chances at UChicago, Penn, Princeton, Stanford?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey guys, so far I’ve been accepted into UIUC as a James Scholar, IU with direct admission to Kelley, Hutton honors college, and the ACE Program, Miami Ohio on a near full ride, and Minnesota engineering.

What do you think my chances are at my remaining schools I’m waiting to hear from: Princeton, UChicago, Stanford, Penn, Northwestern, College of William and Mary, Boston University, and Michigan?? Appreciate any feedback!

Objective:

ACT (breakdown): 35C (35M, 35E, 34R, 36S)
SAT II: None
Unweighted GPA (out of 4): 3.68
Weighted GPA (out of 4): 4.15
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Human Geography, AP Physics 1, AP English Language and Comp, AP US History, AP World History all 4’s or 5’s
Taking Now: AP English Lit and Comp, AP BC Calc, AP Biology, AP Econ(mic&mac)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Biology (double period), AP College Western Lit and thought (Dual Enrollment, also take Lit and Comp with this class), AP Economics (mic&mac), Band, Spanish 4, AP BC Calc
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction, Illinois State Scholar, Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Recipient

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Marching Band (Drum Major and Section Leader), Symphonic Band (Section Leader), Math Team (Captain), Cross Country, Baseball, National Honor Society, Foreign Language Honor Society
Job/Work Experience: Caddy and Self-Employed Landscaper
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer Assistant Coach for youth travel baseball team the last 4 summers, study helper for young kids at library once a week
Summer Activities: Mostly sports mentioned above, on travel teams for baseball and run all summer. Went to Sycamore Drum Major Camp for Leadership last summer, and volunteer coaching
Essays: Most schools around 8-9/10
Teacher Recommendation: For sure 10/10 from all 3
Counselor Rec: 10/10 She says I’m the best student she’s had in a long time. She says best in my class of 450

Other:

Intended Major: Either Economics or Accounting/Actuarial Science
State (if domestic applicant): Illinois
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian and White (check multiracial when possible)
Gender: Male

2

I’d say BU you’re in easily. I think you’ll get into William and Mary as well. UChicago they place a lot of weight on essays so if yours were good I think you could get in there. UMich is so competitive OOS but I think you have a good chance. Stanford UPenn Princeton and northwestern are all so competitive the most anyone can say is you’re a competitive applicant. I think your gpa might be a bit low for them but certainly doesn’t keep you from being competitive for them. I think you’ll get into at least one of those four but who really can say. Best of luck! Chance back? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1851091-chance-me-please.html#latest

3

You’re on the bubble academically due to your low GPA. A 3.68 will be a drag on applications to highly selective universities, unless your school is extremely rigorous insofar as grading is concerned (i.e. few students have a 4.0 or anything close).

A 10/10 recommendation, for reference, should be one that starts “Scarcely in my career have I…” or “No other student…,” continues in that same vein, and is written to suit the demands of a good recommendation letter rather than one which merely praises an applicant (there is a difference).

Without becoming bogged down in the details, don’t assume your 4 recommendations will all be 10/10.

I suspect you might have trouble standing out from a large pool of applicants. Sport is a clear theme, but otherwise your extracurriculars seem quite scattered. As for chances…most of the schools you’re applying to are a shot in the dark anyway. For you, the highly selective one (10%>acceptance rate) are even more so, due to GPA. You have an average chance at W&M or UMich (which isn’t great as an OOS student) and should get into BU.