Chances for Ivy League?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I am close to finishing my junior year in high school (11th grade) and am trying to aim for admission into an ivy league school or Stanford. As of now these are my grades/accomplishments going into my senior year (12th grade):</p>

<p>Weighted GPA: 4.37
Class Rank: 29/1100
PSAT: Math- 80, Reading- 74, Writing- 64; Total: 218
SAT: Math-760, Reading-730, Writing-700; Total: 2190 (Will retake)
ACT: English-33, Math-34, Reading-36, Science-31, 'Writing'-33 (Essay:11); Total: 34
U.S. History Subject Test: 800
Math Level 2 Subject Test: 780
Physics Subject Test: 770
Ethnicity: White</p>

<p>Before Freshman Year:
Spanish 1
Algebra 1
Honors/Pre-AP Geometry</p>

<p>Freshman Classes:
Honors/Pre-AP English
Honors/Pre-AP Biology
Honors/Pre-AP Algebra 2
Honors/Pre-AP Spanish 2
Human Geography AP
Debate/Comm Apps
Orchestra</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
Honors/Pre-AP English 2
Honors/Pre-AP Chemistry
Honors/Pre-AP Pre-calculus
Honors/Pre-AP Spanish 3
World History AP
European History AP
Orchestra</p>

<p>Junior Year:
English 3 AP
Calculus (AB) AP
Spanish 4 AP
U.S. History AP
Environmental Science AP
Honors/Pre-AP Physics
Orchestra H</p>

<p>Senior Year:
English 4 AP
Government/Economics AP
Chemistry AP
Biology AP
Physics B AP</p>

<p>Clubs:</p>

<p>Freshman:
National Junior Honor Society
LASER (Science Fair)</p>

<p>Sophomore:
National Honor Society
LASER (Science Fair)
STAND
President of Key Club</p>

<p>Junior:
National Honor Society
Spanish Honor Society
Key Club</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Have been playing golf for 4 years (Handicap ~16)
Have been playing cello for 7 years (Principal (1st Chair) for 2 years)
Volunteer often at a local nursing home (Currently spent ~150 hours)</p>

<p>Accomplishments:
2nd Place School Science Fair Winner 9th Grade
1st Place School Science Fair Winner 10th Grade
(I have won 1st place at district and regional competitions many times in elementary and middle school but that probably won't matter to colleges)
2012 National Spanish Exam Bronze Medal
2012 Solo/Ensemble Contest: Cello Solo- Rating of Superior
And a few other miscellaneous things</p>

<p>*Have excellent letters of recommendation from a couple teachers</p>

<p>*Have been a member of a 'Think Tank' group involving a chemist, physicist, and engineer at a local university (I observe, assist, and learn from them)</p>

<p>**Received a U.S. Patent for a Solar/Wind clean energy invention in Nov. 2008</p>

<p>**Have a 2012 provisional patent for a different invention with myself as co-inventor</p>

<p>**Two separate scientific articles that I have written will be published in a reputable regional science journal this summer</p>

<p>Overall, I possibly still have my first semester of senior year which will involve me focusing more on science based courses, however my gpa and rank will probably not change.I also come from a school that is ranked in the top 1% of best highschools in America if that makes a difference. I realize that valedictorians with perfect SAT scores get rejected, but I'm trying to be optimistic. My dad went to Stanford and he also really wants me to get into a top school. I realize that I probably don't stick out much or excel in any one area in particular, but I hope that I somehow might be accepted into Stanford or an Ivy League School. Any feedback would be appreciated!</p>

2

<p>And my Unweighted GPA is ~3.85</p>

3

<p>Immediate rejection</p>

4

<p>Class rank/gpa do look a little weaker (though scores are good but not great)…school ECs also, not particularly enthralling, though that wind/solar patent stands out as being pretty clutch along with the publication yet to come.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>are you handicapped? because that’s a significant detail.</p>

<p>Anyways, the gpa and a slight lack of significant leadership makes me hesitate to say that you have great chances but your innovation is a big pull that could compensate for a little weakness for at least some of the less selective ivies like Dartmouth, Penn, Cornell but it’s tough to say. BTW if you’re into clean energy, I would encourage you to look at a dual-degree program at Penn, VIPER (If you ED’d to it, you’d have significantly higher chances than RD). Stanford likes its legacies so you have a chance albeit small. Fair boost if you are handicapped (perfect essay topic lol).</p>

5

<p>@Doener Thanks for the input lol</p>

<p>@dblazer Yeah my stats don’t particularly stand out, especially my gpa, rank, and test scores. And I didn’t get involved in all the bs leadership positions and activities because I wanted to actually have downtime and time to explore things I was interested in. Oh and “handicap” is a numerical measurement of a golf player’s ability. lol I’m not actually handicapped, but I’m hoping that my essays can be good without that detail haha</p>

6

<p>Bump
Any other suggestions or colleges that would be a better match?</p>

7

<p>Haha explaining handicap to a nongolfer ;). I think you are an average applicant and you’ll end up in the right school anyway ivy or not. EDIT: I just saw your research articles and work, and that really makes you stand out, and go for VIPER, Ive heard it’s very good. By the way, if you are planning on trying to get recruited for golf you need a MUCH better handicap (our team captain is a 3 and has only D3 offers, I am currently a 7, and have given up hope on it). Apply early to the one you love most.</p>

8

<p>Yeah I’m definitely not expecting to get recruited for golf. It’s something I do every weekend to let some of that stress out either on the driving range or a golf course. Oh and it’s that darn putting that seems to blow up my handicap. Anyway, thnx for the feedback, it def makes me feel a little more comfortable with my chances</p>

9

<p>Bump- any other chancing/suggestions?</p>

10

<p>I mean, your test scores and gpas look around the middle. What really sets you apart is your patents and science research. You probably have a fair chance.</p>

<p>Can you chance me back please?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1334147-chance-brown-williams-other-top-schools.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1334147-chance-brown-williams-other-top-schools.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

11

<p>What state are you from? Ethnicity? Very few schools give a boost for golf.</p>

12

<p>@xmsamurai Thanks, and sure thing</p>

<p>@Waverly I’m from Texas, and I’m white. And as I said before, I’m definitely not expecting to be looked at based off of golf. It was just something I thought I might mention</p>

13

<p>Chances are very likely for Cornell, Brown- the others I’d wouldn’t be sure- maybe Penn ED or Stanford bc of legacy- you should look into johns Hopkins or duke or northwestern as well- ivies aren’t everything</p>

14

<p>@dhaber1 Yeah I’m also planning on applying to the colleges you mentioned and a few others. Thanks for the advice!</p>

<p>Anyone else have some final suggestions/chancing?</p>

15

<p>I don’t know why some people seem to think you have no chance…personally I think some of those upper schools are certainly reaches, but I definitely think you have a chance! Even though your class rank doesn’t seem that great, a class of 1110 is really enormous, so they will probably cut you some slack for that. Also, golf is really unique even if you’re not super competitive about it. You do a lot of really cool science fair and research stuff that sounds awesome! If you like Stanford, consider Berkeley or UCLA too. Both are amazingly awesome schools that I’m pretty confident you would get into. :)</p>

16

<p>^UCB and UCLA don’t give financial aid to OOS. Bad idea unless OP is full pay.</p>

17

<p>ooooh good point. Sorry about that. Just a suggestion!</p>

18

<p>I’m going to say you have a great chance at Stanford due to strong science background + legacy, Ivies are always a crapshoot</p>