Chances for Emory, U. of Chicago, NYU, GW, UVA, Wake Forest, and Tufts?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>School: Topeka West High School
Rank: 20/243, ranking should improve this is from sophomore year
GPA: uw 3.7, w 4.1
I have taken 1 AP (will take 2 next year, school only offers six, two of which are In the art department), yet will have taken 7 honors courses as of next year.
I am taking the SAT and ACT this summer, aiming for a 2000-2100 and a 28-31.</p>

<p>ACTIVITIES
FBLA(Future Business Leaders of America)-9,11,12
Spanish Club-10,11,12<br>
Volunteer Initiative-10,12
Debate-11,12 Yearbook-11,12 Model U.N.-11,12<br>
LEADERSHIP<br>
Topeka West FBLA* chapter Co-President-12 501/Topeka West Business Representative-11,12<br>
KS FBLA* District 3 President-2010-2011
IFL (Institute for Leaders)-summer 2010<br>
Yearbook Copy Editor-12 </p>

<p>HONORS AND AWARDS
ACADEMIC
Honor Roll (8 semesters) 9,10,11,12
Kansas Regents Honors Scholar 12 Lettered: Academic 10,11,12 </p>

<pre><code>ACTIVITIES

National Honor Society -12
</code></pre>

<p>COMMUNITY SERVICE
Stormont Vail Hospital: ___hours<br>
March of Dimes through FBLA*<br>
Campaigned for a KC council woman summer 2010</p>

<p>Don’t know how many hours, still have to calculate, over 100
My hooks are that I am from a lower class family, a single mother, and am a first generation college applicant.
Also, if you think that my ec’s are weak please give advice on what you think I could do to strengthen them.</p>

2

<p>You need to consider 2100 as the minimum SAT for the schools that you mentioned. If you hit that, you’re a reasonable candidate for any of them. </p>

<p>P.S. You’re basically overqualified for Tufts (not that it’s easier to get into, it’s not. It’s just not even close to same quality as the other schools you mentioned).</p>

3

<p>idk what soze is saying but tufts is a great school median act between a 30 and 33 which is better than uchicago but if you get a 33 on your act you have a solid shot at all of em</p>

4

<p>Tufts is a classic example of a school where the difficulty of getting in is out of wack with its overall quality.
Chicago is another, but in the exact opposite direction.
In a nutshell: Chicago might be easier to get into than Tufts, but it’s a <em>way</em> better school.</p>

5

<p>I fail to see how Emory, NYU, Wake Forest, and especially GW are heads and shoulders above Tufts. Chicago I can see (although not by much), but there were at least a few posters this year who chose Tufts over Chicago.</p>

6

<p>Nevermind. Apparently Soze has a hatred for Tufts that runs much deeper than this thread. This likely stems from the fact that she went to Brandeis, a quality school that is underrated and in the shadow of Tufts (and Harvard and MIT) a lot of the time.</p>

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<p>I don’t <em>hate</em> anything, Tufts is a fine school, but I’m not the only one that thinks it’s overrated.</p>

<p>And just for the record:

  1. I don’t think Brandeis is particularly underrated. I would say it’s rep and quality are probably fairly well aligned.
  2. I don’t think Brandeis is in the “shadow” of Tufts or any other school.
  3. I’m not a “she.”</p>
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<p>Chicago is not far better than Tufts, though it is harder to get into. I did a bit of my own evaluating in this regard, seeing as I got into both and my college choice was between the two. I’d say that of the schools listed, Tufts is number 2. </p>

<p>I would realistically cross NYU and GW off the list. Not because you cannot get in, but because given that you’re low-income, they will not be financially viable.</p>

<p>Wakeforest should be safe, but I’m not sure how helpful they will be financially. There was someone on another thread with a 0 EFC who NYU expected to take out 30k+ in loans per year. Do not go to NYU if you are not very very well off. They will not help you financially and the debt will consume you.
Same thing (to a lesser extent) for GW. For being one of the most expensive colleges in the country, they sure don’t spend like it. Their professors rarely get TAs, they don’t get paid well, and the aid is not very good.</p>

<p>For highly selective places like UVA, UChicago, Tufts, and Emory, you really need an SAT in the 2200s (or ACT equivalent). You need that kind of score to establish your intellectual mettle, because based on your grades and ECs, it’s not well established already. I realise that you don’t have many APs in your school, and I’m not saying you’re not smart, I’m saying that without a very good SAT score, an adcom will look at your app and not have a very good basis of determining how fit you are for that school.</p>

<p>People often ask how to ‘improve their ECs.’ That’s not really possible. You’re either interested in really cool things and take advantage of the opportunities, or you don’t, or you don’t have those opportunities around you. If you don’t have those opportunities around you, you need to find a way to convey this ‘interestingness’ in your essays.</p>

<p>You seem very business-oriented. Bear in mind that UChicago HAS NO UNDERGRAD BUSINESS PROGRAMME. They do economics, not business. </p>

<p>University of Maryland College Park has a good business programme, and given your scores, you’re very competitive. That, and it’s a lot cheaper than any ot the other colleges you listed (private universities and a public one which is inhospitable financially for out-of-state students).</p>

9

<p>bump bump bump</p>

10

<p>Both UChicago and UVA are a level above the other schools mentioned in their overall education and reputation.</p>

11

<p>^lol. Since when is UVa a level above Emory in terms of overall education. I would say that, for undergrad, they are pretty equal with Emory getting the edge simply due to better facilities and a much higher endowment. A case can be made that U. Chicago is the best school on the OP’s list but it isn’t a level above the likes of Emory and UVa… those are pretty fairly equal universities. Advice to the OP… the above is what sort of advice you should try to ignore… such advice offers sweeping generalizations without any sort of real contribution. </p>

<p>Soze, umm, why are you against Tufts again? Why is it overrated? Tufts is a relatively under appreciated school IMO so I can’t see how it is overrated… the student body and the quality of education (mixture of LAC and research university) is appealing… plus its location is an added bonus. It has a lot going for it. Even one of my friends in Canada knows how good it is. </p>

<p>IBfootballer, you lost me when you said Tufts is the second best school on OP’s list… Arguably Chicago, Emory, Tufts and UVa are peer schools BUT if we were to distinguish between the four and rank them (which I don’t necessarily think we should do), I would probably put Emory and maybe UVa ahead of Tufts … anyways, I’d rather group them together and put them under “top schools”.</p>

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<p>^I put Tufts right after Chicago. Legitimate difference of opinion</p>

<p>Tufts does, fyi, have a top 10 IR department.</p>

<p>this thread has devolved into a bunch of folks kvetching about which schools are better.</p>

<p>What OP needs to know: get those test scores up if you want a good shot at all of these, and write very good essays!</p>

13

<p>Tufts and Emory are different. Tufts is harder to get into and smaller, more undergrad and less research focused. </p>

<p>Emory is bigger, more southern and has more research and graduate opportunities.</p>

<p>A very different vibe walking the two campuses.</p>

14

<p>Raise your SAT, best of luck to you.
Great chances at Tufts.
You won’t be in Tufts syndrome, you are not OVER qualified, seems like a match…</p>

<p>Return the favor, and
Chance back please? =)
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/954853-hypsm-chances-if-you-also-applying-you-better-chance-me-im-pretty-competitive.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/954853-hypsm-chances-if-you-also-applying-you-better-chance-me-im-pretty-competitive.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

15

<p>Your grades are fine, but you will need to explain your lack APs in your application. So, as it stands here’s what I think:</p>

<p>Emory - Reach
UChicago - Reach
NYU - Match
GW - Match
UVA - Low Reach
Tufts - Match
Wake Forest - Match</p>

<p>Chance Back: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/953055-please-chance.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/953055-please-chance.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

16

<p>^Stop that!
Haha</p>

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<p>Chicago is in the same league as the Ivies. Tufts is not. For that matter, Chicago has an Economics department that is more highly regarded in terms of reputation and employer satisfaction than the Harvard Economics Department, which is ranked second behind Chicago.</p>

<p>Also, no one mentioned here but Chicago does not look at your Writing score on the SAT I. If you want to go to Chicago, write stunning essays and get great scores in Critical Reading and Math.</p>

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<p>Stern is the best for business among those schools. period.</p>

19

<p>^
Wrong. Emory has a better business school, as does UVA. They are higher ranked, better regarded and graduates earn more. Best business school without any doubt is Wharton, with Ross and Sloan being somewhat close behind.</p>

20

<p>^Stern is better than both Goizueta and McIntire for Wall Street recruiting.</p>