Chances for Georgetown, Cornell, Notre Dame, Fordham

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>GPA w/ Add-On: 3.97
ACT: 32
SAT IIs: Will take in November</p>

<p>Honors Courses: Language Arts 9, Biology 9, World History 9, Geometry 9, Advanced Spanish 8, Algebra II 10, Chemistry 10, Pre-AP Language Arts 10, Physics 11, PreCalc 11, Biology 12, Calculus 12
AP Courses: AP US History (4), AP Language and Composition, AP Statistics, AP US Government and Politics, AP Literature and Composition, AP Psychology</p>

<p>ECs: Music Club, Marching Band, Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Pit Band, Steel Band, Jazz Band, Band Council, School Newspaper, Club for International Awareness, Library Aid, Teacher Evaluation Committee, Thespians, Youth Group, Student Council, Prom Committee, Piano Lessons, Tutoring, Camp Imagine If!, Sole Purpose, Church Musical Services, National Honor Society, Tri-M Music National Honor Society</p>

<p>Leadership Positions: Student Rep of Music Club, Secretary of the Music Club, Co-President of Music Club, Vice President of Band Council, Head Photography Editor of Student Newspaper, Student Representative of Teacher Evaluation Committee, Head Stage Manager of Thespians, In running for senior class president, Saxophone Section Leader, AP Tutor, Co-President of Tri-M</p>

<p>Thank you for your help!</p>

2

<p>It appears that your course work is weighted heavily towards English and History classes. Did you take any foreign language after Spanish 8? This lopsided class selection will hurt, although the damage should be mitigated somewhat with your six AP classes.</p>

<p>I have no idea what a GPA w/Add-on means. For highly selective universities, your unweighted (UW) GPA will be looked at. They simply expect that you will take the most demanding classes and don’t care about how your high school chooses to weight them.</p>

<p>Your ACT is on the low end of the accepted student range for Notre Dame, Georgetown and Cornell, but it won’t eliminate you by itself.</p>

<p>Your ECs demonstrate a passion for instrumental music. Be sure that your application emphasizes this passion.</p>

<p>You don’t mention your class rank or how recent graduates from your school have performed in highly selective admissions. Academic awards (NMSF, AP Scholar, etc.) will also strengthen your application.</p>

<p>Assuming your essays and LORs reflect are well-crafted and reflect positively on you, you should be strongly competitive at Fordham. Unfortunately, I think you will be a borderline applicant at Notre Dame, Cornell and Georgetown.</p>

3

<p>Cornell: Reach
Georgetown: Reach
Notre Dame: Reach
Fordham: Safety</p>

4

<p>if your GPA w/ addon means weighted, then maybe it’s a little lower but not too damaging for most colleges. though you have to show passion in your ECs in your essays probably since leadership positions don’t speak for anything on their own</p>

<p>Cornell: reach
Georgetown: reach
Notre dame: low reach/high match
Fordham: safety/low match</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1515027-chance-me-ill-chance-you-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1515027-chance-me-ill-chance-you-back.html&lt;/a&gt; if you can!!! :D</p>

5

<p>If this year’s admission cycle is any indication, ND will be a reach. The ACT is on the low side, and combined with what looks like a not very demanding curriculum (no foreign language beyond one year of Spanish, AP classes in math or science), I think ND will be tough. Do you have a plethora of volunteer/service work? Are you a legacy? Are you planning on maybe playing in the marching band? These things, while they won’t guarantee admission, might help. Good luck!</p>

6

<p>Okay, here’s an update: I took three years of Spanish in an accelerated program. I had to drop, however, Spanish 4 so that I could be come a head newsmagazine editor. I have nearly 200 hours of community service, 500 tutoring hours, and I have contributed to a local charity that helps Hispanic children become involved in sports and writing. I have a double legacy status at Notre Dame. Thank you for the help so far. :)</p>

7

<p>Uh, double legacy status at Notre Dame probably matters a lot :stuck_out_tongue: supposedly more than most other schools in the US
So (don’t take that in completely) I guess if you present yourself well etc. you sound fine. :smiley: best of luck and thanks for chancing me</p>

8

<p>Notre Dame: Low reach</p>

9

<p>Does your school offer AP science/math courses and if so why did you elect not to take them? Other than that and your lowish ACT, I would think that ND would be, while still a reach, less reachy than others. From what I have always heard, legacy status does help at ND. Maybe this year was the exception, though, as I know many legacies, double legacies, multi-generational legacies, and connected beyond connected applicants who had in-the-ballpark stats who were not admitted. you didn’t say whether you were planning on retaking your ACT. I would strongly encourage you to do so. Again, best of luck. Having just gone through this with my D, I know how stressful it can be.</p>

10

<p>My school offers AP Statistics (which I have taken) and AP Calculus. I am unable to take AP Calculus due to scheduling difficulties. My school offers AP Bio and AP Chem, both of which require two period. Since my school only has a seven period day, I am simply unable to take an AP science. It really does suck. My high school is actually against students going to college out of state, so I truthfully am in a difficult situation. Thanks for the input!</p>

11

<p>Maxwell - I don’t get it. You have a 200-word posting with extensive lists of ECs and leadership positions, then decide to chime in with an update? Were you unexpectedly named head newsmagazine editor during the past week? Or maybe it just slipped your mind that you have hundreds of hours of community service focused on Hispanic children?</p>

<p>What does “three years of Spanish in an accelerated program” mean? Normally, AP Spanish is the fourth year, so an accelerated program must mean that you have already completed the AP exam.</p>

<p>It seems that your story is rather fluid, perhaps to sound more impressive to complete strangers. You certainly can apply to as many Reach schools as you would like and hope to prove us wrong, but a more prudent approach would be to look for other schools more similar to Fordham (maybe Villanova? Ithaca? GWU?).</p>

<p>You have a solid academic record. Congratulations for your success and hard work. However, admissions has become hyper-competitive and applicants need to be realistic.</p>

12

<p>I honestly was just extending upon what I had written previously. Considering I have not been in Spanish for two years, I forgot about that bit of my schedule. The accelerated program is a program where eighth graders test into Spanish. 10 students are picked from 250. AP Spanish is not offered at my school. Photo editor is a lead editor position. Once again, I was extending upon what I had said. The community service hours stem from youth group and CIA while the Hispanic program is Camp Imagine If. I’m sorry if my story seems “fluid.” I am a competitive applicant because I have spent my years in high school developing and dedicating my interests. Thank you for the advice though. I will be sure to prove you wrong.</p>

13

<p>Cornell: High/Regular Reach
Georgetown: Reach
Notre Dame: Reach
Fordham: Low Match</p>

14

<p>Relax. We are only trying to help. From past postings, I know that Rmldad has recently been through the search/application process with his kid(s), as have I. I think he (Rmldad, I’m assuming you’re a he) would agree with me that this year’s admission cycle was particularly brutal. My D applied to and was accepted by two of the schools you listed. She will be attending ND in the fall, and believe me, after what we saw, she knows how fortunate she is to have been accepted. She had depth and breadth to her EC’s, lots of leadership, service work, was a three sport varsity athlete, 4.0 GPA, 2200+ SAT, had worked at ND the summer between her junior and senior years in a physics lab, had excellent recs from both her teacher (physics, and she’s not a math/science gal) and her counselor, both of whom are ND grads. Really challenged herself in school by taking the most difficult classes she could, Catholic, I don’t know what else, at this point I think I’ve blocked it out. She applied EA and you know what? She was deferred. That she was ultimately accepted was a bit of a surprise after seeing how the whole thing was unfolding. My point after this long tangent is that even the best of the best applicants don’t always, for whatever reason, get the results they want and probably deserve. Just make sure your application is as good as it can be, that your essays speak to who you are, not who you think the Ad Coms want you to be. And retake your ACT if possible :slight_smile: Good luck and if you’d like any more insight, feel free to PM me.</p>

15

<p>ejclc - you are correct - I have twins who will be freshmen attending college this fall, one at ND and the other at Duke. They were both accepted at ND and Cornell (neither applied to Georgetown or Fordham), so I have some up-to-date perspective on this process. While the application process worked out for my twins, many of their friends were disappointed with their results.</p>

<p>The difference between a 32 ACT and a 34 is significant. Similarly, a 3.7 UW GPA is significantly different from a 3.9. For many 18-year olds (especially those with 32 and 3.7), these differences seem trvial until faced with the reality of rejection letters.</p>

<p>OP has a solid record and should be proud of your accomplishments. However, I encourage you to enter the application process aware its demanding nature.</p>

16

<p>might look at Holy Cross-great school 1 hour from Boston.</p>