Chances for Stanford, UC Berkeley, GA Tech....

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I am currently a Junior in South Carolina. I plan on majoring in Engineering, most likely Mechanical.
What are my chances for Stanford, UC Berkeley, GA Tech, Purdue, and Clemson?
I have already received a provisional acceptance to Clemson, so I know I am good there. I just mentioned it because its local and I am considering it.</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0 unweighted, 5.06 weighted (Will most likely be 5.08-5.1 after Senior Year)
Class Rank: 1 (Valedictorian)
Class Size: 205-210</p>

<p>SAT: Superscore of 1970 ( 770 math, 600 reading, 600 writing) I know my SAT is weak, but since I am engineering, would they look over the reading and writing because my math is so high?</p>

<p>ACT: I am taking it next week. I have made a 31 on all three practice tests that I have taken from the Red Book.
English- 30, 28, 33
Math- 35, 35, 36
Reading- 24, 31, 29
Science- 34, 30, 27 (No idea what happened here)</p>

<p>My school doesn't have very many AP Classes, but we have access to a local Technical College.</p>

<p>AP: AP Human Geography (3), AP Calc AB (should make 4/5)
DC: English 101 and English 102 (A in both)</p>

<p>Senior Year:
1st semester:
-DC American Lit
-DC Calculus 141 (basically Calc BC)
-DC Chemistry 101
-DC Engineering (#?)
2nd Semester:
-DC Calc (Which ever class is next)
-DC Engineering
-DC Physics
-DC Government
(Basically 8 Duel Credit Classes, totaling about 24ish hours)
I will also be taking Spanish 3 honors at my highschool, but that may have to be DC if the scheduling doesn't work out.</p>

<p>All of my classes from Freshman-Junior year have been Honors when available, and I have had 97-100 on them all except a 94 in English 2 honors.</p>

<p>Volunteering:
- Volunteered a summer at an Equestrian Farm with Disabled Children (Horse Therapy)
- 4 Mission trips (Virginia, West Virginia, New York, New Jersey)
- Various work at local food banks, soup kitchens, and a Children's home</p>

<p>Extra-Curriculars:
- Beta Club
-National Honors Society
-JV Soccer (2 years)
-Varsity Soccer(2 years)
-JV Cross Country (3 years)
-Varsity Cross Country (2 years)
-Piano (4-5 years)
-Clarinet (6 years)</p>

<p>Leadership:
-Treasurer of Beta Club
-Will be President of Beta Club Senior Year
- Elder at my church (Presbyterian)
-MAYBE an office for NHS (suggestions?)</p>

<p>Awards:
- All-State Clarinet player for 3 years in a row
- 1st and 3rd place Science Fair Winner in my School
- Didn't win, but placed in Regional Science Fair one year
- Duke Tip Scholar
- SC Junior Scholar
- President's Education Award
- Region Cross Country Champions
- Region Soccer Champions (2 years)
- Highest average in Algebra 1 honors, Geometry honors, Algebra 2 honors, Pre-Calculs Honors. Biology Honors, Into to Engineering, Principles of Engineering, and Digital Electronics</p>

<p>Hook/standouts:
- I've competed in 4 half-marathons. I placed 1st in my age group in one, and 3rd in another
-I recently completed a FULL marathon (which I will be using for one of my essays) and finished 4th in my age group</p>

<p>Essays: I shouldn't have a problem with them. I have already started the ones for Stanford. I have 3-4 months to perfect them so these will be a strong point</p>

<p>Recommendations:
- I haven't talked to anyone yet, but I hope that they will great.
-Will probably have one from my AP Calc teacher and my Cross Country Coach (since running will be a big part of my essays)
Any Suggestions with my recommendations?</p>

<p>I will be applying Restrictive Early Action to Stanford (the day it is open), and any of the other schools if I will be allowed to (REA at Stanford has limits on applying to other places).</p>

<p>Well, that is basically it. Will living in South Carolina help or hurt my chances at Stanford (my 1st choice)? Also, keep in mind that my High School is not a very competitive school. We haven't sent anyone to an Ivy or highly competitive school since I have been there, if at all. Will that fact hurt me?</p>

<p>THANKS FOR THE TIPS!</p>

2

<p>Stanford = Possible/Reach to Low Reach (good EC’s and awards + Valedictorian is good but shouldn’t make you expect to get in)</p>

<p>UC Berkely = Reach to Low Reach</p>

<p>GA Tech = Low Reach</p>

<p>Clemson & Purdue = Match</p>

<p>Your location and high school shouldn’t hurt you. As long as you’re taking the most challenging classes available and participating in your community you should be fine. </p>

<p>Chance Me?? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1641098-northwestern-bound-sophomore.html?new=1”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1641098-northwestern-bound-sophomore.html?new=1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>Can anyone else chance me?
Also, would having my college Engkish professor be a good person for a Recomendation letter? Or should I stick to just High School teachers?</p>

4

<p>Obviously, you have not reach a plateau in ACT yet as the scores fluctuates. Do more practice tests before taking the real test. However, you don’t have much time left.</p>

5

<p>Test scores are inconsistent with your class rank and GPA. Colleges may infer a great deal due to this. Is your school that weak? Do you teachers inflate grades?, etc. Most of the competitive schools do not let you superscore. Other than that, it looks like you have a good HS resume. All of those top schools are VERY competitive, even for valedictorians. Good luck.</p>

6

<p>I’m sure our grades our somewhat inflated to help the poor students, but that’s not always the case. For example, in my AP Calc class, I have a 98 for the year. The next highest student in the class has like an 86… I just work extremely hard to keep the best grades possible in every class. Also, our weighted scale is a bit different than most I believe. For us, each number grade is a different weighting. A 100 in a CP class is a 4.875 GPA. 100 in an Honors class is a 5.375. A hundred in an AP class is a 5.875.
I am the only student in my grade with a GPA above 5.00.</p>

<p>As for my test scores. I’ve taken numerous practice tests, but I am a slow test taker, especially when it comes to reading. On the last reading ACT test I took, I missed 5 questions and made a 29. Out of the 1st 3 passages, I only missed 1 question. I ran out of time at the end and I had to guess random answers for 3 of them, (which I got them all wrong). So it’s not that I don’t know how to do them, it’s just I’m not fast.</p>

7

<p>And also, my SAT Is a lot higher than the rest in the top 5 students in my class. I Made a 1370, number 2 made a 1220, number 3 and 4 made an 1160… So I guess my school is not a very good one. Probably 50-60% free/reduced lunch</p>

8

<p>How are you with the financial situation? Berkeley/GTech are very pricey out of state, as are the private schools you’re considering.</p>

<p>Marathons are not hooks. Work on bringing your ACT up as you’ve scored in a wide range in practice. Maybe start taking the real one soon.</p>

9

<p>If those are your SAT scores (even if they are out of CR+M 1600), they are very low for these schools.</p>

10

<p>Financially, I’m in the 60,000-70,000 range so atleast for Stanford, my full tuition is free and I would also receive a bit more because of my families financial status. I have not looked Into Berkeley or GA Tech yet…</p>

<p>And I know my acores are on the lower end, but my 1370 out of 1600 is about the lower 25% range for Stanford and about 50% range for UC Berkeley and GA Tech. Plus, assuming I make atleast a 31 like my last 3 ACT Tests, that is improving from my 1970 SAT, which compares to a 29 I believe.</p>

<p>As for the marathon…How is that not a hook? There are very few teenagers that run marathons, and it shows passion, hard work, and determination which are all key aspects to Stanford. I feel like running a marathon would set me apart from a lot of applicants because there will be very few if any who have achieved a 26.2 mile run (which is NOT an easy task).</p>

11

<p>Ga tech would most likely accept you, high match but it would be expensive. Go to Clemson if you want to save money and party. Virginia tech is a good engineering school and it has great food.</p>

12

<p>Im fairly confident I will be admitted to GA Tech… But yes, it is expensive, because ether do not offer a great deal of financial aid.</p>

13

<p>Stanford is an ultra high reach (3% chance of getting in imo)
UC Berkeley is a high reach (10% chance)
GA Tech is a reach (20% chance)
It’s great that you’re valedictorian and all, but your test scores do not correlate at all with your extremely inflated GPA. Kids at my school are pulling 3.4 GPA’s, but have 2020 on the SAT. Another issue is that you’re not being compared to students at your school, but instead, applicants from around the nation. Your lack of AP’s looks bad when you’re compared to a student with a 3.9 GPA, but with 12 AP’s and 2100+ on the SAT.l</p>

<p>What I can recommend you do is earn a 2250+ on the SAT. Take SAT 2 Physics and Math level 2 and score 800’s. Get 5’s on all the AP’s you have left (3’s look ugly). And finally, a 34/35 on the ACT (which I couldn’t unfortunately pull).</p>

<p>Your EC’s and awards are FANTASTIC. It’s just your stats that you need to up, and you can fathom up to a high match at UC Berkeley.</p>