Chances at Various Top Universities

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I am currently a junior in the IB Diploma program in Arizona. If you're not sure what IB is, it's a very rigorous international program (kind of like AP on steroids). The assessments are different, and you take nearly all of them at the end of your junior and senior years. It's essentially a very difficult honors/AP class with different teaching styles, and if you receive a certain "IB" score, you graduate with your IB diploma.</p>

<p>These are a few colleges I am most likely going to apply to next year (yes, some of them are much more difficult to get into than others, but I'd appreciate a quick opinion on a few of them :D)</p>

<p>Stanford University (number one choice!)
Georgetown University
UPenn
Duke University
UCLA
Boston College
UCSD</p>

<p>**I have a legacy at Stanford - both my father and my aunt graduated.</p>

<p>SAT Score (since I have just started my junior year, i'll be taking it again this winter, I took it as only a sophomore): 2210 - 750 Writing, 740 Reading, 720 Math</p>

<p>ACT + Writing Score (also taking again this winter): 33 Composite</p>

<p>Taking the PSAT soon, hoping to become a semifinalist/finalist next year. I think this is within my reach.</p>

<p>GPA: 4.72 Weighted, 3.95 Unweighted
Class Rank: Our class ranks have not been released yet, but I expect top 5-10% of our class of about 600.</p>

<p>I have taken all IB courses other than visual arts freshman, sophomore, and junior year (this year) and received an A in all of them.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>100+ hours volunteering at a hospital
President of my school's creative writing club, publishes a literary magazine every year
Published poet
Staff Writer for sxhool newspaper
Officer in Spanish National Honor Society
Member of the National Honor Society
Here is the big one: I have been a competitive rock climber for the past 4-5 years; I travel all over the country and the world to compete. I am currently ranked 2nd in the nation and 15th in the world in my age category. I dedicate 20 hours per week to this, and I hope my passion and success will shine through in my essays. I do not have as many other ECs because I dedicate most of my time to getting through IB and training for competitions, but like I said, I hope colleges will like this unique sport that I have been quite successful at.</p>

<p>Some competition placements:
3rd National Championships 2008
9th World Youth Championships 2008
2nd Regional Championships 2009
1st Divisional Championships 2009
2nd National Championships 2009
1st Regional Championships 2010
1st Divisional Championships 2010
2nd National Championships 2010
15th World Youth Championships 2010</p>

<p>I still have awhile before I apply to college but I hope you guys can offer some honest opinions. I'm expecting my essays and recommendations to be very strong. Thank you! :)</p>

2

<p>Wow, I put way too much stuff on my first post haha.</p>

3

<p>As you probably know, Stanford is a crap-shoot for all applicants. It is very difficult to predict your chances there, other than to say that you have a shot. The legacy will help your chances but by no means does it seal the deal.</p>

<p>Your SAT score of 2210 as a sophomore is an excellent score. Hopefully you can raise it by 100 points or so, for an even better chance at being admitted to Stanford and UPenn. (Georgetown is a hard school to predict.) You look like a strong match at Boston College (my D goes there) and UCSD. Duke is a low reach given your current stats. UCSD is a low match/safety, but not a 100% guarantee.</p>

<p>Is rock climbing a year-round activity? If not, your EC’s might be considered a little thin. Dedicating “time getting through IB” is not a good reason not to have other activities, or log additional hours in your current list of EC’s, and will sound like an excuse if used as a reason why you are not involved in another activity. Most of the schools on your list expect you to take the most rigorous course load at your school and you are doing just that.</p>

<p>You have a nice mix of Reach and Match schools, but may want to add a “true” Safety school–one that you are guaranteed of getting accepted to and one that you would be happy to attend, in the (unlikely) event you get rejected to all the schools on your list.</p>

4

<p>Rock climbing is a year-round activity. I train 30 hours a week during the summer, and 20 during the school year all year. All of my ECs require a lot of time, rather than dedicating a small amount of time to each.</p>

<p>Thanks for your opinion! That’s what I was hoping for - a good mix of reach and match schools.</p>

5

<p>nice scores and such but would stanford really want a rock climber? how big is the sport even… its one thing to be ranked 2nd in the nation for a sport like cross country where hundreds of thousands of kids compete vs. a sport where only maybe 1000 compete.</p>

<p>def reach either way… they’re unpredictable.</p>

6

<p>don’t collleges place emphasis on uniqueness?</p>