<p>volunteered one summer at local state university Physics Dept. helping in lab (he wants to major in physics), one summer at local Boys and Girls Club</p>
<p>he is a National Hispanic Program Finalist</p>
<p>AP Physics 5
AP World History 5
AP American History 5
AP Calculus AB and BC 5 (his school didn't offer AP Calculus class for BC part, he learned it on his own)
currently enrolled in several more AP classes, but I don't see how this can count since it's not over till May ?</p>
<p>English is his secong language that he started learning at age 13 - can this play any part in admissions ?</p>
<p>His schools on interest are: MIT, University of Chicago, University of Notre Dame, University of Maryland (he will also apply to UVA anv VA Tech, but not really high on his list, just in state schools).</p>
<p>What are his chances ? Where else should he try ? Money is a huge factor for us.</p>
<p>English is his secong language that he started learning at age 13 - can this play any part in admissions ?</p>
<p>This will definitely play a favorable part in the admissions process and increase his chances, since he’s Hispanic-- an under represented minority or URM.</p>
<p>William and Mary - great deal for a VA resident. Why not try some Ivy? Lot’s of $$ to give on a need base. It has been my experience that students who like UChicago would not be particularly interested in Notre Dame or U MD, and vice versa…odd combination of schools.</p>
<p>I agree, I don’t understand Notre Dame either, the rest is supposedly based on their physics programs. I am afraid he is not applying to enough schools, though. Isn’t William and Mary more liberal arts type of college though ?</p>
<p>You may also want to take a look at Cal Tech, Harvey Mudd, and Stanford (these 3 being in CA), as well as Harvard and Princeton. Good luck to your son.</p>
<p>Wm & Mary has a liberal arts feel, but is not a LAC. Having said that, many LAC’s have great physics depts, I believe. He has a lot of great choices and I agree the list should grow. Sorry, I missed the physics major. I don’t know about Wm & Mary’s prowess in that dept.
Best of luck.</p>
<p>I received a BS is Astronomy from Maryland and can assure you that it has a very solid program in Physics. You did not give a breakdown of your son’s SAT scores but if his math SAT was 700 or higher he should have no trouble being accepted as a Physics major at UMCP.</p>
<p>First of all I think I’d only submit the ACT score since it converts to a higher number than the 2180. My guess is that he will be accepted at Maryland, VA Tech and probably Virginia. I also think there is a good chance at Notre Dame. MIT & Chicago are difficult to predict because of their low admit rates though his URM status certainly helps. Finally you may want to consider Carnegie-Mellon and Case-Western as additional choices.</p>
<p>I think he has a pretty great shot any ALL schools he wants to apply to. The EC’s are rather weak, but the fact that he is a URM will more than make up for that.</p>
<p>Also, agree with Vinceh to only submit the ACT of a 34, much higher than the SAT.</p>
<p>Best of luck… and luck is sometimes involved in the top tier schools!</p>