Honestly, @ToxicityXD I think you’re in denial. Take the amazing advice these people are giving you and think about looking into more safety/match schools. Your EC’s are pretty average except for the skeet shooting, that’s a little unique. Your academics are pretty average if not a little low for students applying to ivies and top tier schools. I understand that you didn’t have AP classes for 2 years in HS but I don’t think ivies really care too much. Once they see your stats, they might dismiss your application immediately. Take these users’ advice and consider more safety schools/
UNC ACT and SAT for the fall of 2017:
Instate students:
SAT 1300-1470 mid 50%
ACT 28-33
OOS:
SAT 1370-1540 mid 50%
ACT 30-35 mid 50%
Based on this data, UNC is a match. It’s possible that the OPs Naviance shows something different.
Being an in state student and at NCSSM , no less, I believe you’ll be accepted at State and should be accepted at UNC. Apply to Duke ED, if money isn’t a concern and that would be your preference over UNC.
Parse your list of 15 of the hardest schools in the US to get into to 5 and add 5 between those and UNC (I.e. Emory, Wake Forest, Northeastern, etc). This gives you more options.
Having a child at a school (right down the road from you) that has nearly 50% acceptance rate at Duke every year, I understand the weight of a strong high school and Duke legacy (my daughter is one but doesn’t like Duke.)
just for the heck of it, OP, can we go back to where you might ED? I know Duke is a legacy for you- and it is a great school- but if you are going for a dream school, is Duke that school for you? Are there any others that really speak to you? again, not just b/c it would be cool to say ‘I’m going to X’, but that have some combination of the chemistry program/research opportunities/social environment/quality of life/etc?
You said earlier that you “fell in love with MIT, Harvard, Stanford, UCB, UChic, GATech, Caltech, and Vandy and loved all of them specifically the first 3”. Have you thought more about what *in particular/i you loved about each of them? do know which of them are more likely to be looking for students like you? (also, did you visit during term? have you sat in on classes?).
You are a competitive applicant. Your stats and ECs are good. Write great essays and you could get accepted to any of these schools
I truly hope you prove us all wrong and please do so. You are compared to your school district /class students. As stated check Naviance carefully for the post 3 year trend. Where do you fit in that trend per school? I am very familiar with the Illinois schools and Georgia Tech. I would not rd Northwestern since you are legacy at Duke. Do it there. I don’t think your competitive enough for Northwestern or University of Chicago. They are both touchy Feely schools also. Did you have contact with them or visited? We had a contact with Georgia tech also and the company we know was owned by the professors name on the biomedical building. My son’s stats and resume was much stronger also. He made the wait list so I guess that is something to be proud of? They will fight to the death to get their own Georgia kids in vs OOS kids. My son’s at Michigan so not a bad consolation prize.
You have some talented people on this thread trying to advise you. Add some more matches and safeties. I know several kids like you that didn’t get in anywhere the last 2 years with better stats. You are a really great student but it’s more competitive then ever. Michigan had 10,000 on its wait list. Kids that got off had amazing stats.
Look at this thread. There are some similar schools. See how he lined up reaches, matches and safeties. Look at his stats and accomplishments. Read the advice and see how he responded. This is a good thread for you to learn from.
@Cavitee Unless I read it wrong, I do not think OP is a student at NCSSM, instead he indicated he was not living in NC as a sophomore and unable to apply to NCSSM.
@yearstogo re-reading it, I see my reading comprehension has failed me yet again
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/2092604-chance-me-for-t20-lacs.html#latest
Another example of the type of applications that you’re up against. Note the overlap in colleges you’re both applying to. Most top selectives pool and compare applicants within a region so this is an example of your direct competition and someone you may be compared with or be competing for a geographic diversity spot with. And there’s no way to know if this other person will be accepted, even though his surface stats are much stronger than yours.
At the risk of repeating this again, each app will be viewed holistically and stats are not the only thing you will be measured on, so stats are not the whole picture. But this comparison shows why people are concerned about the strength of the stat portion of your app when viewed against other candidates (and this other example candidate will not be an outlier, there are many of them.)
Instead of ignoring information that you don’t like, you still have time to make smart choices to improve your chances - by selectively targeting one or two top colleges that are looking for exactly what you offer, by tailoring your app to be most appealing to those matches and by being realistic about your chances and not wasting time on applications to colleges where you have little chance. People are telling you this not to be hurtful but to give you the information you need to give you the best shot at a good outcome.