Chances at various Tier 1 schools?

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Hey all, junior here. Was wondering if I could get chanced at:</p>

<p>Listed by proximity (I live in Wisconsin):
UW-Madison
UChicago
Macalester College (parents' alma mater)
U of Michigan
Washington University in St. Louis
Vanderbilt
U of Virginia
Georgetown
UPenn
Princeton</p>

<p>Test scores:
SAT: 2350
PSAT: 231 (Most likely National Merit)
ACT: 35
(Will be taking SAT IIs shortly)</p>

<p>GPA:
3.95, top 10% of class (School doesn't do weighted gpa)
Overall 8 APs, I expect 4s and 5s on all of them with perhaps the exception of Physics B...from what I understand, scores don't factor into admissions so much as the classes themselves. I can elaborate on which APs I am/will take if necessary.</p>

<p>ECs/Leadership/Sports</p>

<p>Freshman year:
-JV tennis
-IBA (Intramural Basketball)
-Mock trial
-Coached middle school forensics (they went to state FWIW)
-Briefly on school newspaper (about the first half of the year--wasn't for me)</p>

<p>Sophomore year:
-JV tennis
-Mock trial
-IBA
-IVA (Intramural Volleyball)
-Made section leader of saxophones in marching band
-School jazz band
-played in pit orchestra for school production of "A Chorus Line"
-Jazz ensemble that made it to state solo/ensemble</p>

<p>Junior year:
-Mock trial, state competition (It's worth noting that we only took second at regionals but got the wild card...took 13th out of 16 at state competition)
-IBA
-IVA
-Mu Alpha Theta (Basically a monthly math competition)
-Varsity math team for Woodland Conference math meet
-Spanish NHS
-School jazz band
-Leader of Unit 1 in We the People competition
This is a nationwide American Public Policy competition in which 6 units of 4 or 5 students each specialize in different areas of American Constitutionalism and Republicanism. We won our state competition and will be leaving for Nationals in D.C. the 25th!
-still section leader for saxes
-going to state solo/ensemble for 3 events: jazz ensemble, sax quartet, sax choir
-BRIEFLY--emphasis on briefly--worked in our school's writing center volunteering time helping students with essay writing or papers from any class. I plan to pursue this more seriously senior year.</p>

<p>Senior year predictions:
Everything from junior year (minus we the people competition) PLUS
-NHS
-not really an EC but a class specific to our school, Challenge class. This is a class that teaches students' to have various analytic and philosophical discussions. Projects include making a documentary, and the final project, known as the "IRP" (independent research project), consists of a 20+ page paper and hour long presentation about, as the name implies, a topic of personal interest that is independently pursued.
-MAYBE (probably not) have a go at a position in student council.
-MAYBE consider doing something broadcast-related w/ newspaper
-DEFINITELY doing pit orchestra again</p>

<p>Thanks for any and all consideration!</p>

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<p>Bumping before I go to bed.</p>

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<p>I think you have a good chance for most of your target schools, except for Georgetown and Penn ( which are equally selective) and Princeton ( which is super selective).</p>

<p>For these 3 schools, you will need very outstanding essays and strong recommendation letters, as your profile is just average ( even in the lower range) for their applicants. The admission is always looking for applicants with some outstanding acheivement or international awards. </p>

<p>You might want to add Cornell to your list.</p>

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<p>Do you have any hooks? </p>

5

<p>Sorry. I had left out another selective school , U Chicago, which also has a very low acceptance rate. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>Amazing stats–you have as good a chance as anyone.</p>

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<p>UW-Madison may be a safety for you. You are qualify for all these schools although some of them like Princeton or UChicago are still considered reaches. The other ones are mostly matches at different levels. Good luck on your SAT2 which may further strengthen your credential.</p>

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<p>@houseofcats Ok, cool and thanks! Really my goal is to get into at least one of these schools besides Madison (where I go to school, going to Madison is like the default path for like all the average/smart kids each year, I’d rather set myself apart from them). If a couple are definite reaches I’m ok with that. I don’t really wanna go to an ivy for the sake of it being an ivy, and from what I understand Cornell is about on par with some of the other schools on my list, so I’m kinda so-so on that idea. I fancy myself a really good writer so I don’t think the essay should be a problem. Same with letters of rec. I’ve actually already had a teacher offer to do one of them. Assuming those are both really well-done, out of curiosity, what do you think my chances at UChicago/Penn/Princeton/Georgetown would be?</p>

<p>@bodangles
Thanks!</p>

<p>@billcsho‌
Thanks! Yeah, I’m hoping for at least 700s on whichever ones I take.</p>

<p>@ClassOf2015HS
Thanks for replying. Well, I’m a white, suburban, middle-class male, so not really, no. Will I really need a hook beyond what I’ve already listed to have a shot at these schools, even the lower-ranked ones?</p>

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<p>Answers?</p>

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<p>You will be very competitive at even the most selective schools on your list provided you have strong SAT II’s. (730+) If you do become a National Merit Scholar, that’s even better. Good luck!</p>

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<p>Thanks! Just curious, do you have to get the scholarship to be officially dubbed a “National Merit Scholar”? Do colleges care about semifinalist/finalist status, or only who ultimately receives the scholarship?</p>

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<p>bumpin’</p>

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<p>For the selective schools you mentioned, there is no guarantee admission even you have a SAT 2400 & GPA 4.0 with extremely good essays etc etc.</p>

<p>The reality is some of the top schools will reject more than half of the validictorians and many with perfect GPA & SAT scores. There are just TOO MANY applicants fighting for the limited spots. You might get into Princeton ( supposedly one of the most selective in the world) and get rejected by Upenn or Georgetown and vice versa.
There are many other factors involve, such as the location or the reputation of the school you are attending, and if you happen to be " the ones" the admission needs for that particular school year. They might just take a “less qualified kid " and reject a " well groomed kid” under different circumstances.</p>

<p>I agree with your comment about Cornell. Just go for the schools you feel most comfortable with.</p>

<p>My suggestion is to be as well prepared as possible, and apply also for some less selective schools, and just try your best and hope for the best.</p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>

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<p>For top schools, they don’t really care about National Merit status as their admission stat is way above the cut off anyway. In addition, most students will not have the National Merit Scholar status until they are pretty much settled with all the admission results. Usually, one would be a NMSF when applying EA/ED and at most an NMF at RD.</p>

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<p>@houseofcats‌ Yep, definitely trying to be realistic about those schools. Just hoping for the best! And thanks again!</p>

<p>@billcsho Ah ok, that makes more sense. Oh well.</p>

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<p>I’ll bump again.</p>