Chances for Cornell, Dartmouth, & Others

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>What do you think my chances of getting into these schools are?</p>

<p>Cornell (RD)
Dartmouth (RD)
Boston College (EA)
University of Rochester (EA)</p>

<p>State: Louisiana
ACT: 31 (35 English, 35 Reading, 29 Math, 25 Science) <em>retaking in September</em></p>

<p>GPA: 3.85 unweighted at a very competitive residential high school that teaches all classes on a college-level. My school neither ranks nor weights GPA, but is good enough to have been listed as one of Newsweek's Public Elites in past years. Dartmouth actually came to our college fair last year.</p>

<p>Senior Schedule (year): Calculus II, Physics III, Latin Poetry, Expository Writing, U.S. Foreign Policy, Calculus III, Emergence of Modern Russia II, Creative Writing, British Literature, and Era of FDR.</p>

<p>EC's:
- Founder and Editor-in-Chief of my own online technology news publication, PC Fastlane, which has been mentioned on USA Today's website and is taken seriously enough that companies send me free products to review. I also own several other websites, which together earn thousands of dollars per year as my own business that I am in the process of incorporating.
- 200+ volunteer hours at Katrina-affected hospital.
- Designed website for said hospital as well as local high school.
- 2-year internship with National Center for Preservation Technology Training (a government agency that is part of the National Park Service)
- Magna Cum Laude on National Latin Exam
- #2 at State Literary Rally in Computer Science (9th grade)
- Speech & Debate President
-JCL (Junior Classical League) (went to state convention and placed in numerous events)
- Young Democrats Vice President
-NHS
-Beta Club
-Ambassadors
-Tech Squad
-Newspaper</p>

<p>Intended Majors: International Affairs and business.</p>

<p>I am in an unusual predicament. My family doesn't qualify for a lot of need-based aid on paper, but due to unusual circumstances, won't be able to help me pay for college. Which college of the four do you think is best for financial aid? </p>

<p>Also, does being from Louisiania, a geographical minority, give me a boost in admissions or scholarships?</p>

<p>Assume:
Recs: Great to outstanding
Essay: Excellent</p>

<p>Thanks for the help.</p>

2

<p>BC and Rochester are essentially shoe-ins, but Dartmouth and Cornell will be uphill battles with those scores. I might consider the SAT or conversely a 35 on the ACT would put you in a far better position. Dartmouth has awesome aid, but its your biggest reach.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the input. However, I don't see how taking the SAT would be give me a signficant advantage over the ACT. At Dartmouth, 26% of accepted applicants submitted the ACT. At Cornell, this number was 21%. While there are more applicants submitting the SAT over the ACT, I doubt taking the SAT would put me in "a far better position." Neither school favors one over the other.</p>

4

<p>I think you misunderstood me.</p>

<p>I recommend the SAT on the off chance you might score higher. Many people do better on one or the other. A 31 doesn't put you in the best position for Dartmouth and Cornell, particularly Dartmouth. If you could get a 2200+ on the SAT or boost the ACT to a 34 or 35, it would be a huge boost to your application. </p>

<p>Also I would consider more "matchy" schools as well- places like Emory, Vanderbilt, and Tufts.</p>

5

<p>Ok, I see now. You might be right. The SAT doesn't have science and that's what killed me on the ACT.</p>

6

<p>Yeah I definitely know people who have done very well on the ACT vs. the SAT, and the opposite. A guy in my high school class got a 30 on the ACT and a 1560M+V on the SAT, ended up at Princeton.</p>

7

<p>Bump. Anyone?</p>

8

<p>I agree with slipper1234 about BC and Rochester. I wouldn't call these safeties, but you can feel fairly assured that you would get into these schools. As far as Cornell and Dartmouth, I'd call these low reaches for you. Have you taken any SAT IIs? Because I can guarantee you Cornell and Darmouth both require 2-3 SAT IIs. While your ACTs aren't outstanding, I'd say its your ECs that makes you a contender at these two schools. Your website businesses and the money you've made off it seem quite amazing, and as a whole your ECs are focused around tech/business, which is great. So if you haven't taken any SAT IIs, get on that, and try to improve your ACTs. Good luck man.</p>

<p>I'm applying to Wharton. Could you give me some imput?
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/534608-applying-wharton-there-any-chance.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/534608-applying-wharton-there-any-chance.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

9

<p>Thanks. I would chance you aairzoom, but i don't know much about Wharton so I don't think I would be of much help.</p>