<p>Another topic about chances; even if it deserves a "just wait and see", I'm interested in your point of view.</p>
<p>I'm a French 17 years-old boy, applying to a lot of schools for the undergraduate class of 2014.</p>
<p>Here is my resume:</p>
<p>Academics:
French baccalaureate, with a grade of 16/20. No GPA equivalence, but it must be in the top 10% (maybe 5%, but honestly I don't know)
SAT I: Maths: 690 Critical reading: 670 Writing: 630
SAT II:World history: 650 Maths: 680 Spanish: 780
TOEFL IBT: 108/120</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:
Martial arts for 12 years, 3 hours/week
Piano for 5 years, 4 hours/week
Volunteer first-responder for the red cross since 2008, around 4 hours/week</p>
<p>I'm applying to:
Harvard
Princeton
Tufts
Colgate
Duke
Hamilton
New York University
Boston College
Boston University
Skidmore College
Hobart&William Smith Colleges
Union College of New York</p>
<p>So, in your opinion, what can I get?
Thanks</p>
<p>Hamilton, Hobart, and Union College notwithstanding (I don’t know anything about them), I believe you’ll be denied from all with the exception of NYU. If you truly are within the top 5-10% of your class then I think that’s a match for you. That SAT score is your main issue. You also have a very sparse list of ECs, which colleges won’t like. TOEFL is good.</p>
<p>Is my SAT that bad?
Having hundreds of EC is typically American, in Europe people concentrate in very specific fields rather than attending dozens of clubs 3 times a year …
Hope they’ll understand that.</p>
<p>“That bad,” no, not at all. It’s about 400 points above average and definitely considered good. However, you obviously don’t have a full understanding of the calibre of the schools you’re applying to. Even the “lower” ones like Boston College, Colgate, and Tufts expect you to have around (or over) 2100. I would advise you to completely forget about H, P, and Duke. Waste of money for the application fee.</p>
<p>As far as ECs, you have to realize you’re applying to American schools so you have to play the admissions game the way Americans do. You can’t just say, “Well, this is how we do it in Europe.” You’re not going to be going to school in Europe; you’re going to be going to school in America and you have to cater to that.</p>
<p>You have good scores, no doubt. However they’re not fantastic, or even great. You’re aiming just a bit too high with most of those. But I think NYU would be a great match for you. It’s a very well respected school, with an extremely diverse community, located in America’s greatest city. I’d apply ED/EA there if I were you.</p>
<p>For the Ivy, I totally understand the level of difficulty, just trying. Even a 5% chance to get it is worth the cost.
Union and BU are my safety schools, according to their average SAT.
For NYU, I’d just like to major in English, College of Arts and Science. No specific program.
Thanks for your advices</p>