<p>haha i mite do tat. wud b pretty embarrassing even tho all ym friends no i was in the nsb, but o well. good idea. i dint even no bout spellbowl. thanks! wats ur name anyways? watd u play on JV singles wit North Central? if you were 1 or 2, i mighta played u.</p>
<p>don't listen to aznsensazn17 and instead listen to the guy aznsensazn17 said not to listen to. (meh, they're both on crack anyway)</p>
<p>for top colleges: terrible SAT. terrible GPA. mediocre ECs with little depth and little leadership. </p>
<p>reject by: HYPSM, columbia, brown, dartmouth
maybe in at the rest</p>
<p>Lmao ^ who the hell are you anyways, firefox? I don't know about your experiences, but I am close to my fellow peers (including numerous who've graduated and gone on to different colleges), so I'm trying my best to give my firsthand advice from what I've learned the past 3 years. If you've had different experiences--well, who knows what the universities want then, right? Playtowin, you do have terrible GPA and bad SAT's by a white person's or asian person's standards...but AFFIRMATIVE ACTION is out there and improves your chances drastically. Make sure you make your junior year your very best.</p>
<p>And oh yeah--to Ses and firefox? If a USAMO qualifier and RSI attendee with "good enough" (by the Ivies' GPA and SAT standards) GPA and SAT scores cannot get into Harvard and them schools, then who can? Oh, I know-how about International MAthematicalOlympiad members! Yeah, they have a good chance!!! Even though there're only what 4-6 of them, only they can get into the top schools. Just admit them; Screw everyone else, theres no need to fill the THOUSANDS of vacant admission spots.</p>
<p>playtowin265, feel free to apply to those top reach schools. listen to those who praise your chances and disregard those who say you won't get in. who listens to criticisms nowadays anyway?!</p>
<p>I don't usually reply to chances threads, but I have some experience with URM college applications. Here is my view of the pros and cons in your profile:</p>
<p>GPA - may be too low for the most selective schools; they are looking more in the range of 3.7+. If you don't pick it up in the last two years with excellent grades in the most difficult schedule, you may be in trouble.
SAT - soph PSAT of 195 is excellent, you should make NM & NHRP next year if you study. The down side is that this makes your GPA look even worse as it says you have the ability but aren't working very hard.
ECs - good if you can work them into interesting essays that talk about your interest in underserved communities.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>ps, when colleges talk about first generation students, they are referring to first generation in their family to attend college, not first generation in the US; I'm not sure you are both are just the latter from your profile.</p>
<p>thanks for all the feedback, even the negative stuff. and puttin up colleges like HYP, columbia, dartmouth etc i knew were reaches or even beyond but i jus put em up there to c feedback on how big a reach tey were etc cus i dint really no. anyways, found out wat i figured, not really a chance for those. also, firefox, jus becus the gpa and sat may not b ideal for the ivies, doesnt mean tey r "TERRIBLE". i do agree my gpa is lower tan where it shud b but my SAT's will b in the midranges of most top schools.</p>
<p>your GPA and sat are good for a student in general, but terrible for top schools such as HYP</p>
<p>ya i no wat u mean. ill rpolly get a 3.7 or 3.8 junior year bringing my average up to like a 3.55 or 3.6 or sumitn? does tat help any? or is it a lost cause? cus senior year wont count so much cus i wuda already applied to colleges.</p>
<p>Aim for a 4.0 your next two years and I think you'll do fine.</p>
<p>also im takin a college class at IUPUI downtown tis summer on ethics and so far its not bad and i tink i can get an A. wud tat b sumtin really good cus it wud show i can work at a college level and do well in a college class? or does it not really matter?</p>
<p>wait, you were in Akeelah and the Bee?!?!?! were you one of the prinicpal actors? i love that movie!!!</p>
<p>also im takin a college class on ethics at IUPUI tis summer and so far its not bad. i tink i shud get an A in there so wud tat look really good becus it shows tat i can do well and excel in a college class or does it not really matter?</p>
<p>ya i was up for the role of javier, akeelahs friend tat is big part in movie, and i got 3 callbacks and it was between me, the spy kids kid, and JR <em>the kid who got it</em> and ten between me and JR and Doug <em>the director</em> wanted me for the role but Lionsgate, the financial backers, thot itd b 2 much of a risk to go wit an unexperienced actor so went wit JR but there was a small role still left of Roman so i got tat. wasnt close to as big as Javier, btu it was still fun being part of the movie. I was the fat kid in the green shirt in basketball scene wit a few lines. im still bitter i dint get Javier. haha.</p>
<p>Colleges will see your grades through Jan of senior year, so keep working on your gpa. The extra time works in your favor as you can both improve your overall gpa and show colleges that you are getting serious and improving your grades. I don't think there's anything wrong with having one or two long shots on your list. But overall, you need to make sure that your list is balanced and realistic.</p>
<p>Also, drop the poor spelling and grammar now. You don't want to slip up when you write applications or have interviews. Sorry, I just had to add that, I'm a mom afterall :).</p>
<p>Haha thanks. I am pretty careless online.</p>
<p>jus postin it again so people dont miss it since it is some posts back, but also im takin a college class on ethics at IUPUI tis summer and so far its not bad. i tink i shud get an A in there so wud tat look really good becus it shows tat i can do well and excel in a college class or does it not really matter?</p>
<p>What I think will help you is that you are an URM coming from a competitive high school. You'll be able to handle any elite college environment. At Chicago, which is academically intense, many of my URM friends came from challenging high schools and were admitted even if they weren't at the very top, because they were used to being challenged.</p>
<p>That's not a promise by any means, but I think in your list you will end up with a few pleasant surprises.</p>
<p>LMAO at this:</p>
<p>"Affirmative Action is definitely going your way. I would strongly assert that you have a good chance (I dunno, let's say >80%?) as of now at all your schools, including Harvard and the top Ivies." - aznsensazn17</p>