Chances for Ivies, Berkley, UCLA, Northwestern, etc.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hello everyone! I am a junior right now and am wondering if you could chance me for schools like Columbia (my dream school), UPenn, UChicago, Berkley, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, Brown, etc. I also thought I should mention that I do go to a public school (although it is the best school in Western Pennsylvania) and am Caucasian. I also have a single parent with low income and feel that I would be able to set myself apart in my essays talking about my struggle with weight/self-confidence, going vegan, and other things. Thanks!

Test Scores:
-SAT: 1480; Essay: 21/24
-ACT: 32C; 35E, 32M, 32R, 29S and 10/12 on Writing
-I do plan on retaking both, especially the ACT because of the science bringing my score down

Course Load:
-Freshman Year: Honors Civics, H Algebra 2, H English, H Bio (no AP classes are offered at my school until 11th grade), Spanish 2, H Psychology, H Child Psychology
-Sophomore: H World Cultures, H English, H Precalc, H Chem, H Mythology, Media, Spanish 3, Excel/Computer Science
-Junior: AP Chem, AP Calc AB, AP Language & Comp, H Spanish 4, H American Cultures, H Human Anatomy & Physiology (college level course w/out AP test), plus Online Finance
-Plans for Senior Year: AP Bio, AP Physics, AP Lit, AP Calc BC, AP Spanish, AP Economics, plus another online class self paced when i don’t have a Bio lab
-Class rank: 1 of 205
-GPA 4.5 W, 4.0 UW

Extracurriculars Thus Far:
-Freshman Year: Winter Track, Spring Track, PRSEF Science Competition (leader), Circle of Friends (volunteer club w special needs), Data Jam (leader of team)- it is a large competition in Pittsburgh for applying data to real world uses, Minithon (school fundraiser 50,000+ for childhood cancer), Calcusolve (leader of team), Spanish Club
-Sophomore: FBLA (placed at states), Winter Track, Spring Track, Student Gov, Job-work at local coffee shop (I can do latte art (: ), Started Interact club (volunteer club-officer), Minithon (again), Calcusolve (again), Spanish Club (again), NHS, plus SAT prep over the summer
-Junior: Cross Country, Winter Track, Spring Track, Co Chair of Glow Run (yearly race that my school runs to raise 50,000+ for cancer)-is a city wide event that attracts a lot of ppl, FBLA, Student Gov, Minithon again, Calcusolve again, Westinghouse Engineering apprenticeship, AIU Apprenticeship in Chem Engineering and Sports medicine/nursing, PRSEF Science Competition, PJAS Science Competition, Same coffee shop job, Hospital Volunteering (4 hrs/week), creator of vegetarian/vegan club, Spanish Club, NHS, started my own vegan youtube channel (plants by parisi) and instagram (plantsbyparisi), 2nd job as tutor
-This coming summer: UPCI (University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute-8 week research program that will give me the opportunity to publish my research), plus more volunteer and job

Of course, I do realize that at this level, admissions are quite unpredictable and cannot truly be determined, but I just wanted to know if it is worth applying or what more you think I could do to set myself apart and/or raise my chances.

2

You’re on track. The UPCI internship is good, I knew someone who did it and did well in college admissions. They were able to send their research to science competitions and became a semifinalist but getting published would also be quite an accomplishment.

You should definitely work on getting your ACT up. I found the Science section to be the easiest to raise scores on. Especially when you realize that it really doesn’t test your knowledge of science as much as test your ability to interpret graphs, tables and charts. With practice this becomes pretty easy. You can even get by without reading the passages if you get good enough. I studied for the ACT for three or four weeks and went from a 31 in Science to a 36 on the actual exam. Good luck!

3

I agree with @Multiverse7 . I would also posit that increasing your Math score on the ACT might not be as hard as you think. Get a hold of the 2016-2017 edition of the ACT Red Book and see where it gets you.

Your EC roster is impressive. It is definitely worth applying; I’m not really sure why you posted this thread, though, because you are obviously well qualified for any of these schools. At a certain point, CC Chance Me threads don’t offer much help because it’s up to the AdComms to decide whether or not they like you.

FWIW, good luck! :slight_smile:

4

S had similar GPA, 34 ACT, slightly less ECs. Math 790 and bio 760 subject tests. Accepted UCB (in state), waitlisted Johns Hopkins (did not opt in), rejected Brown and Stanford. Accepted to Univ of Rochester with merit. Agree with other posters regarding ACT scores. Good luck.

5

Yup, bring the math score up as well. Take two subjects as well. Aim for an 800 on the Math 2 because a lot of top applicants will have this score.

6

If you can write a solid essay about your research that will really help, your ECs are on the lighter end for somewhere like Columbia. I would definitely invest some time into your testing. Both of your scores are great of course, but if you want to get rid of some of the unpredictability of admissions getting to a 1500+ or a 34+ would help a lot and make sure scores aren’t a reason to reject you. Based on current stats (you’d have to have a ridiculously competitive applicant to be a match for most of these schools, you’ll probably get into at least one or two of these):

Columbia: Far reach
UPenn: Reach
UChicago: Reach
Berkley: Match
Stanford: Far reach
Johns Hopkins: Reach
Brown: Reach

Chance back: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1936862-chance-me-ill-chance-back.html#latest

7

Thanks everyone!!
@CactusUsername what would you recommend as more serious extracurriculars? I would love some suggestions that is the kind of stuff I am always looking for

8

If you get extracurricular suggestions you’re just stray engaging in them ? I think admissions want things you’ve been doing for a while. Things you’re actually interested in. Not things you did because someone suggested it’d be good for admissions. I think they’d see right through it

9

@CrimsonZa ik what you mean and I didn’t mean to come off that way. Everything I have listed I enjoy doing and most of what I am doing I have been for more than a year. What I meant to say is what they really meant as “light” and based off of what I already do, what they may have in mind as something more serious. Thank you for the input though, I really appreciate it!

10

CrimsonZa is correct that most extracurriculars will only carry weight when you’ve been doing them for a while. If you want to improve on your ECs take a look at the ones you already do and look for awards or achievements you can get within that EC - it’s about depth not breadth.

11

@CactusUsername Oh okay I see what you mean! I will definitely be looking. I am hoping for NHS President and National Merit Semi-finalist. Thank you for the help!

12

I did also forget to mention that I (along with a few other peers) are starting an annual special needs baseball game with the Pittsburgh Pirates to raise money for their charity foundation. Would this be a strong extracurricular?

13

Take the UC’s off of your list. You are an OOS applying to California public universities.
**Berkeley/b and LA are state-funded schools. Which means California taxpayers fund those schools, so, as a non resident, you won’t receive any financial aid from a California public university.

Your fees would be $55K per year. Federal monies would, maybe, cover your health insurance fees and thats about it.

If you are low income, where would the rest of the money come from?

14

Single parent… if your other parent is slive, be aware that many colleges still want both parents’ finances for financial aid purposes.

15

@ucbalumnus yes I am aware but my other parent contributes nothing (hardly ever even child support) so only my mothers income would be counted

16

bump

17

Those colleges which have “Yes” under “Noncustodial PROFILE” at https://profileonline.collegeboard.org/prf/PXRemotePartInstitutionServlet/PXRemotePartInstitutionServlet.srv will require the finances of both parents. If your other parent is uncooperative with the financial aid forms, or has significant income and assets so that you will not get enough financial aid, then you must seek large enough merit scholarships.

Berkeley and UCLA do not offer need-based financial aid to non-California residents. Sufficiently large merit scholarships are extremely hard to get. Several of your other schools require Noncustodial PROFILE for need-based financial aid and do not offer merit scholarships.

18

@ucbalumnus I was unaware of the UC policies thank you for letting me know!! I am aware about the need-based policies of schools like Columbia and know that I would be able to afford it-this is one of the main reasons I want to get in so badly

19

bump

20

I think you have a great chance at your schools of choice, especially considering you accomplished much with little to no resources (single parent with low income). I feel as going vegan and having social media would be more compelling if your YouTube and Instagram (which I can find) was more popular. You aren’t very active on your YouTube either, and if you’re gonna write about it, you should try to expand that platform. Either way, a male speaking about body issues and working over them is very unique and interesting.

Some schools are very specific. Brown asks you to explain why you want a certain major, so prepare for that.

Just keep working hard, find out what you are truly passionate in, and try to start specializing in that. I think many top schools like it when you find something you adore and run with it, doing things that most other students don’t do. Make a big impact in what you do, and show genuine commitment. Good luck!!