Chances for Getting into Notre dame, NYU, WUSTL, Etc.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hello, I was wondering if anyone could chance me on these universities based on my stats.
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Black (from Africa, but I have spent the vast majority of my life here)
Location: Small town, Midwest. Pretty good public high school.
School/Town life: Not much to say, very small and predominantly white (98%). Nice, quiet place to grow up though if somewhat boring.
GPA: 3.2 unweighted, not sure of weighted gpa because my school just started weighting. My gpa at the end of this semester is looking to be at least 3.7</p>

<h1>of AP: 8; 6 senior year (Chem, Psychology, Bio, Calc AB, Lit&Comp, and Government), 2 junior year (Language&Comp, U.S History). 4 on Language AP test, and 2 on History (teacher is not great and school average is about a 1)</h1>

<h1>of Advance/Honors: 6</h1>

<p>SAT: 700 CR, 650 M, 680W
ECs:
High school soccer: 1 year JV, 2 of Varsity
Taekwondo: 8 years, class captain, and I'm a black belt
Government Club: 1 year
Job: Helped my dad start a business a couple years ago. I was in charge of keeping track of finances and employee checks. I have also been helping my dad with his patients since 8th grade(he is a physical therapist).
Church: Various activities for 13 years, been a youth leader.
Charity. About 16 hours of community service through my school, I have participated in the 30-hour famine fund raiser for two years (collect money for starving kids, then go without eating for 30 hours while doing some community service).
Below are all the colleges I am interesting in (assume out of state). I receive messages from USC, UMich Ann Arbor, Bowdoin College, and Bates College about every 5 or so weeks (received application from UMich). Messages from NYU, Emory, Johns Hopkins and Notre Dame about every two to three weeks (Notre Dame sent me an application). I Get messages from Washington University in St. Louis, Tulane, and University of Chicago, almost weekly (WUSTL and Tulane have sent me multiple applications). I want to lower my list to four colleges. I was dealing with stress and other stuff freshman and sophomore year, but my grades improved junior year, and senior year is looking great. I can get about four or so great teacher recommendations, and write great essays and explain my grades. If anyone could please give me information of which four I have the best shot at, I would appreciate it. I want to be a psychology major if that matters.
Colleges:
NYU
Emory
Johns Hopkins
Notre Dame
WUSTL
Tulane
University of Chicago
University of Rochester
Brandeis University
University of Southern California
Colorado College
Georgia Institute of Technology
Bowdoin College
Bates College
Carleton College
University of Michigan</p>

2

<p>black?? I think you are still considered to be international student</p>

3

<p>I won’t be considered international, I mentioned the african part in case it mattered at all.</p>

4

<p>Not to dissappoint you, but many, many students receive those letters and application forms. They don’t factor into your admission chances at all. It’s good that your a URM, but even that can’t make up for a really subpar gpa and average test scores. I would consider applying to more matches and safeties. Some of those schools are gigantic reaches. Good Luck going from 2 ap’s one year to 6 ap’s the next year, thats tough man, but it’ll definitely help the strenght of the difficulty of your couseload. Your definitely college material. If I were you(with your stats), these would be the 5 colleges I would apply to
Georgia Tech
insert Reach school here
University of Colorado
Michigan St.
Boston University
University of Rochester
Another Safety
Your definitely college material. Try and write the best essays you can and work hard on senior grades for those schools who require mid-year reports. And what is class rank? Because if it’s good, then a lot of these schools become more attainable. I’m srry if I was a little mean, i’m just trying to be honest. Good Luck :)</p>

5

<p>No, It’s fine ha ha. I don’t want or need sugar coating. Wow, I thought I would have almost zero chance at GIT because I’m out of state, my math SAT, and my gpa. I know that I have little chance at these schools, but I want to give it a shot since they accept some students at my gpa level. I have a safety, I just want to avoid the hassle of transferring after freshman or sophomore year if I can. I am taking the SATs again (didn’t study first time), but I thought my scores were in the middle percentile for these school. As for class rank, I’m not sure. I think I’m in the top 40%, but that could really improve because my classmates have not been doing that well in AP classes. As for my AP classes, my school does not offer that many, but I’m trying to prepare for college which is why I have so many. It’s hard, but I like the challenge and I’m doing well. Hopefully it will be worthwhile once college starts. Thanks for your time and advice man. </p>

<p>Any other input from others would be appreciated.</p>

6

<p>All the schools that you named are reaches for you. Both your GPA and test scores are below the line for most of them. ND, Chicago, Bowdoin, WUSTL and Brandeis would be particulary high reaches.</p>

<p>You need soma matches and safties.</p>

7

<p>Ha ha, I know they are all high reaches. I just want to know which four I have the best shot at since I have a safety. Also, If I were to get a 3.8-4.0 gpa in college, would my high school grades matter much if I wanted to transfer after freshman year? I’m taking the SATs again, but all the college info websites I go to say mine are average for these schools or a little above average for some. By how much do I have to raise them?
Thanks man</p>

8

<p>Will you be full pay at all?</p>

9

<p>What do you mean full pay? I think I will be able to afford all of them with some scholarships and a loan if that’s what you mean</p>

10

<p>

Am I the only one that doesn’t get this comment at all? LOL.</p>

<p>Back on point, I would increase your number of apps to at least 6, preferably 8. I know it is a pain in the rear, but you do have a shot at some upper level schools. Your SAT scores are very good, including the math. People think if you don’t have a 750+, it somehow isn’t good. That isn’t true. Also, there is a real shortage of black males in college, so since by your comment you are apparantly an American citizen, that works too. I think you have a decent shot at Tulane, Colorado College, Georgia Tech (but only apply there if you are interested in engineering), and Bates and Carleton will look at your app carefully. You could also apply to U Miami (Florida), College of Charleston, Clemson (again, if engineering is your thing), and I could come up with a number of others.</p>

<p>The atmosphere at these schools are pretty different. I think what would help is you answering the following preferences:</p>

<p>1) Size of school, undergrads (0-2,500; 2,501-10,000; 10,001-20,000; 20,000+)
2) Location (Highly urban, suburban, rural)
3) Geography (are there parts of the country you prefer or some you will not consider)
4) Weather (prefer warm, snow…?)
5) Sports (looking for competitve Div. 1, don’t care…?)
6) Greek scene (thinking about joining, want to avoid even a whiff of it, or in between)
7) Anything else that you might think is important to you personally (you ride horses, like rock climbing, active arts scene, whatever).
8) Not really about atmosphere, but very important. Will you need Finanacial Aid? Are you hoping for merit scholarships?</p>

<p>Answer these and the search can be narrowed.</p>

11

<p>It’s probably going to around 6 because of my safety, and I might add another reach. I’m going to be studying mostly natural sciences with a few social sciences so would GIT be ok for that? I know it’s a challenging engineering school, but I’m not getting a lot of info from those that aren’t engineering or computer science students. I prefer smaller schools, but I can handle big ones. The location of school, weather, sports etc. are not big factors for me. I do like rock climbing and hiking, which is why I’m considering Colorado College, I love that state. As for finical aid, I will take as much as I can get, but I’m prepared for the large tuition of these schools. I’m also considering University of Wisconsin-Madison and Case Western. If I have a decent shot at Miami, I will put that on my list.
Thanks for your input man, I really appreciate all of these comments</p>

12

<p>No problem. Frankly GT is probably not for you. For what you describe, some of the other choices seem better. Colorado obviously a good choice, you might also want to consider some of the UC schools like Santa Cruz. Decent academically, and about 15,000 undergrads so not small but not as huge as some. Very liberal. Great for hiking, other outdoor stuff. Also be aware that the California schools are really struggling with budgets.</p>

<p>A gem of a small school in Kentucky is Centre College (yes, I spelled that right). Strong stats for incoming students, and a great track record for graduates. They are 88% white though, and very anxious to increase their black student population above 4.5%. Therefore they might be open to giving you a good package. They are about an hour drive from the Appalachian Mountains, so good outdoor opportunities there. Recommend you take a look.</p>