Chances for an unusual situation

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Notre Dame
1

<p>So here are my stats</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 740 R, 770 M, 550 WR Essay 10(explain later)</p>

<p>ACT: Composite 30</p>

<p>Englsih 24</p>

<p>Math 32</p>

<p>Reading 32</p>

<p>Science 34</p>

<p>SAT II:</p>

<p>Math 1 700</p>

<p>Physics 790</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.1 UW 3.9 W (also explain later)</p>

<p>Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 30% ( very competitive high school)</p>

<p>AP (place score in parenthesis): AP physics B (5), AP English III (4), AP World History (4), AP US history (4), AP latin IV </p>

<p>(4), AP Chemistry (4) </p>

<p>Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics, AP Psychology, AP Physics C, AP Calculus, AP English IV, AP </p>

<p>Economics, AP Government, Speech </p>

<p>Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):</p>

<p>National Latin Exam medalist 3 years in a row</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):</p>

<p>Hafiz (memorized the Quran, this is also why my stats were low but I will explain at the bottom), Debate (congress captain), Junior State of America (President and founder), MSA (MIST coordinator), National Latin Honor Society (Webmaster), DECA (state finalist) </p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: Conducted marketing research and designed my own professional survey under the guidance of a Professor from a university.</p>

<p>Volunteer: 400+ hours at my mosque, 40 hours at the library</p>

<p>Essays: Very good and my supplement is absolutely amazing ( I talked about the connection that I felt with Christianity even though I am a Muslim)</p>

<p>Teacher Recommendation: great not amazing 8/10</p>

<p>Counselor Rec: Standard 6/10</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes</p>

<p>Intended Major: Physics</p>

<p>School Type: Public</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Asian</p>

<p>Gender: Male</p>

<p>Income Bracket: 53,000</p>

<p>Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Hafiz, first generation</p>

<p>Ok so now here are the details, I never had a formal educational background. When I came to America my parents put me in a religious institution to memorize the Qur'an where I spent quite a long time. And when I was finished I never had the chance to get a formal education but I still had to go into high school which put me at a severe disadvantage from my peers (who were already competitive). I had to learn a lot of things like basic things like grammatical structures and syntax. To give you an idea, I was so confused as to why my math teacher used the letter "x" in a math class, I thought it was barbaric to use letters in math. I gradually adjusted and excelled later in my high school career but even today my speech and grammar are quite poor (my writing and English standardized test scores). My GPA also suffered quite a lot because I took a lot of hard classes because I enjoyed learning (14 AP classes) but I just realized that this caused my GPA to take quite the hit.Do I have a chance? I applied to brown ED but got rejected :( Am I hoping too much?</p>

2

<p>I think you have a really good chance because memorizing the Quran will really stand out. Your gap might be a little low, but they like to see that applicants have challenged themselves throughout high school and have passion for learning. You should emphasize that you memorized the Quran and explain your situation well in your essays, for sure, though.</p>

3

<p>Thanks PCIKunk for the input. I would like other people to also offer their input on my matter</p>

4

<p>My father got into UCLA in a similar position as yours, only his was a little more extreme (immigrated to States in 8th grade, knowing no English at all). And UCLA was a top 5 school back then.</p>

<p>I’m not so sure that memorizing the Qur’ran will have a huge positive impact (correct me if I am wrong, but don’t almost all Muslims memorize the Qur’ran? I know most of my Christian friends memorize the Bible, although perhaps that’s not a valid comparison…), but it’s certainly something to differentiate you from other applicants.</p>

<p>In the end, I think a lot will depend on your essays, and how you present yourself as a student going through your situation. If you have a large upward trend in grades, that will certainly help, illustrating your adjustment to a new learning style. </p>

<p>I think competitive schools such as ND would want to see Math II instead of Math I (and near an 800 at that), but that should be a small factor. </p>

<p>As PCIKunk said above, I’m not sure if the gap differentiating you and your peers is large enough, but if you explained your situation fully to the adcom, then you should have a decent shot. A lot of this, consequently, hinges on your essays.</p>

<p>I hope this helped ^^</p>

5

<p>I agree with the two above posters. I’m not sure you will stand out enough for a school such as Duke. </p>

<p>But don’t fret. You will excel no matter where you end up because it is obvious that you are a studious person with drive. Trust me. You will do fine wherever you end up.</p>

6

<p>I hope you are talking about Notre Dame ^, but thanks for the input anyways.</p>

7

<p>Actually, I was talking about Duke (it was on my mind when I wrote it)… </p>

<p>So now that it is Notre Dame… I think you have a slightly better chance. Though… again… wherever you end up, I know you will be successful. Maybe ND will see that in your application, too.</p>

8

<p>I honestly doubt that you will get in. You have too much working against you. Other applicants will have great recs along with better academics and ECs that are just as good. It’s not that your resume is bad, I just think there will be better ones out there. Sorry if this was discouraging. Good luck! I really hope you get in!</p>

<p>Chance me back? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1603723-predict-my-results-will-chance-back-immediately.html#post16818487[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1603723-predict-my-results-will-chance-back-immediately.html#post16818487&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;