Chances for Harvard/Ivy League

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hello
I'm an African American male living in the Bayou.
Class Rank 24/247
GPA: 2.7 (Weighted)
SAT: 780 Math, 720 Reading, 730 Writing
National Achievement Scholar</p>

<p>I was orphaned at the age of 6. Raised by my Aunt. Struggled through middle school, and I am blessed to have the chance to go to college.
I work 2 jobs to help my Aunt put food on the table.</p>

<p>EC's:
Football Varsity: 9, 10, 11, 12
Starting punter all 4 years.
2nd Highest GPA on Football Team Award</p>

<p>Lead in the school musical: 11, 12</p>

<p>Essays: Help me plz?
Recs: My football coach and my physics teacher who I've talked to before</p>

<p>Work Experience:
Popeyes Employee 10, 11, 12
2011 November Employee of the Month
Alligator Wrangler 11, 12</p>

<p>What are my chances for regular decision at a top tier university?</p>

2

<p>With a 2.7 weighted GPA?</p>

3

<p>But i have good SAT scores? Won’t my life circumstances help me?</p>

4

<p>You’re an average high school student. Harvard is not for average HS students. While working to support your aunt is commendable, there are tens of thousands of students that struggle with similar problems.</p>

<p>Why do you want to Harvard anyway? I’m sure you could get in to your state university.</p>

5

<p>Okay. Maybe not Harvard. But what about UChicago? I’ve talked to their coach.</p>

6

<p>You can apply to them but make sure you apply to realistic ones as well</p>

7

<p>Okay here’s my list:
Stanford
MIT
USC
Washu
Duke
Dartmouth</p>

<p>Chances?</p>

8

<p>That’s not what I mean by realistic. Look, you can apply to all of them and see what happens, but the last thing you want is a situation where you are rejected from all of these top tier universities and have nowhere to go. Apply to your state university and a few other non competitive ones.</p>

9

<p>I’d say reaches/high reaches for all of these schools. While your story is touching, 2.7 weighted is soooooo low for top tier schools. I’m African American, I have a 4. weighted with better EC’s and equal test scores, and I’m not even sure I’ll get into an Ivy.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1416636-chance-me-please-jhu-ed-cornell-etc.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1416636-chance-me-please-jhu-ed-cornell-etc.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Please chance back:)</p>

10

<p>Your story would definitely make an amazing essay, and your SAT scores are pretty good. But I agree, the GPA will definitely hurt you, since top-tier colleges place A LOT of importance on GPA, whatever your life story.</p>

11

<p>Maybe you can get a coach recommendation? </p>

<p>A 2.7 is too low even for a URM. Unless if you are able to get a 2400 on the SAT.</p>

12

<p>strgglin4lyfe i have some different advice. You have chance. your situation is very different from most people. Try to write some killer essays and if you speak your heart out you can get in!!</p>

13

<p>This post just screams ■■■■■</p>

14

<p>A couple things:</p>

<p>First, to LeggoJHU, honestly, I would say strugglin4lyfe has a slightly better application than you do. Here’s why: for one, he’s a recruitable athlete. He’s also got more practical work experience as an employee that shows his life situation. Match this with the fact that he’s got unique experiences culturally as an alligator wrangler (a deeply southern thing that I have in fact watched at the high school level) that set him apart. LeggoJHU, you have a strong application, but there’s no compelling story. I mean this in the nicest possible way, but you’re ordinary. strugglin4lyfe is more compelling. This is an important lesson in the college process.</p>

<p>Secondly, strugglin4lyfe, i would still not get my hopes up if i were you. Where you’re coming from is amazing, and as a fellow former resident of the bayou, it is uplifting to see one of the many ragamuffins in the area trying toward social mobility. I wish you the best luck. may you prove all these cynics wrong.</p>