Chances! Help me eliminate schools

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>HS: public
Ethnicity: Asian
Financial aid: yes
GPA: (4.8 W)(3.8 W)
Rank: 12/351
Freshman year
- English 9 honors (B)
- Geometry honors (A)
- Environmental science honors (A)
- World history honors (B+)
- Physical science honors (A)
- Health/PE (A)
- Band 1A (A)
- Concert band 1B (A)</p>

<p>Sophomore year
- English 10 Ap-prep (B)
- Pre-calculus honors (A)
- Biology honors (A)
- Chemistry honors (A)
- Ap physics B (A)
- Civics/Economics honors (A)
- Band 2B (marching) (A)
- Concert band 2B (A)</p>

<p>Junior year
- Ap english 11 (B)
- Ap calculus AB (A)
- Ap calculus BC (A)
- Ap chemistry (A)
- Ap music theory (A)
- Ap earth/environmental science (A)
- Spanish 1 (A)
- Band 3 honors (A)</p>

<p>Senior year
- Ap english 12
- Ap statistics
- Ap psychology
- Ap european history
- U.S. history honors
- Spanish 2
- Spanish 3 honors
- Band 4 honors</p>

<p>Test scores:
PSAT: 190 (+36 from last time) (54 CR)(80 M)(54 W)
ACT: 26 (23 E)(35 M)(21 R)(25 S)(essay: 9)
AP: Physics B (3)
Chemistry (3)
Environmental science (4)
Music Theory (4) (Aural:4, Non-aural:5)
Calculus BC (5) (AB subscore:5)
SAT subject: 780 math level 2 (Plan on taking physics and chemistry next year, and I expect 700+ from both)</p>

<p>Extracurricular activities:
- Math club (4 yrs)
- Chess club (4 yrs)
- Band/Jazz band/marching band (I can play piano, trumpet, french horn, and mellophone. I also attended Governor's School for orchestra.) I will probably submit recordings for french horn, trumpet, and piano
- Basketball (not competitive, but play for various teams)</p>

<p>Volunteer/Work/Community services:
- I expect to do a lot of community services this year for clubs in my school such as the environmental club, interact, and cultural club.
- I have worked at a restaurant as a host/cashier for 3 years.
- I volunteer at a local museum's planetarium</p>

<p>Honors
- National Beta club
- National Society of High School Scholars
- National Honor Society
- Junior Marshall (honors for top 15 students in class)
- All-district band and all-county band
- NC Governor's school West
- Summer Ventures for math and science
- Various academic awards for geometry, calculus, band, env science, and chemistry.</p>

<p>Intended majors: astrophysics/math, electrical engineering, and maybe music</p>

<p>Schools I'm thinking of are (in order of preference):
Princeton
MIT
Yale
Swarthmore
Williams
Dartmouth
Cooper Union
Amherst
UNC chapel hill (safety)</p>

<p>It's a bit lenghty, but I don't think I'm up to the standards. Chances please.</p>

2

<p>May want to eliminate Princeton, MIT, Yale, Swat, Williams, Dartmouth, and Amherst unless SAT reading and writing get into the 600s.</p>

3

<p>Eh? Don’t look at my PSAT score. Look at my ACT score. I am not sending my SAT score except for subject tests. </p>

<p>Besides you don’t even mention Cooper Union.</p>

<p>BTW I am an international student living in U.S.</p>

4

<p>I usually never post on these kinds of questions, but you would be wise to go to the nearest public library and take a look at one of the books that contains college info, including the kinds of GPA’s and test scores that fall in the middle 50% range for admissions. I doubt that your 26 ACT is in this range for any of the schools you have listed, but I could be wrong.<br>
Additionally, as you are an international student (even though living in the U.S.) you should be aware that many schools will not treat you the same as a U.S. citizen when it comes to FA. You need to check this out also before you create a college list. Good Luck</p>

5

<p>You need way more safeties with standardized test scores like those. Definitely re-take the ACT if you want UNC to be your safety.</p>

6

<p>Oh yeah. I’m aiming for a 29 on the ACT</p>

7

<p>A 29 is still too low for most of the schools on your list. You really need to improve your reading/writing test scores; 23 E and 21 R are far too low for almost all of the schools you have listed (minus Cooper Union). Unless you can get into the 30’s in almost every section, most of the colleges on your list are unrealistic (especially since you’re an un-hooked Asian).</p>

8

<p>UNC is a high reach unless you live in N Carolina, the rest are not likely to happen at all. Maybe Cooper Union.</p>

9

<p>Unhooked Asian? </p>

<p>I moved to U.S. when I was 11 years old and had to learn English at the time. I have been speaking the language of 7 years now. Let’s say that I’m bilingual and can play 4 instruments equally well (including French horn). Is this a hook?</p>

10

<p>when I say hook I mean: URM, athlete, legacy, or national/international recognition in something.</p>

<p>you are very talented, but so are all the other applicants. in your case, you need higher standardized test scores.</p>

11

<p>When you said athlete, how much time do you have to put into these sports? I play basketball for unorganized teams.</p>

12

<p>Athlete in this case means good enough to be recruited to play for the college team. I agree with the others- your list is very top-heavy. Look for matches and safeties. And I have a question: as an international, are you considered in-state for UNC because you reside in the NC? Or does international status change that?</p>

13

<p>Which activities should I do to improve my chances, if any?</p>

<ol>
<li>Play for basketball teams (team for church or for the school team)</li>
<li>Work on making all-state band (I made all-distrcit. In this case, I have to place high enough on all-district to be able to tryout for all-state.)</li>
<li>Enter many chess competitions, including state competitions</li>
</ol>

14

<p>As the above posters have said, your list is very top-heavy, especially for an international. You have an above-average GPA and above-average EC’s, but your ACT score is very mediocre for all of the schools you are shooting for. Since you wanted to eliminate schools, perhaps you should re-evaluate your shot at MIT, Yale, and Princeton, as well as some of the others, if you cannot increase your scores. </p>

<p>I do not know how much playing basketball for rec leagues will help you. All-state band would be a respectable accomplishment, though.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

15

<p>Everyone of these schools will be very unlikely except UNC-in state, which you’ll need to bump the ACT a little to get in. I would apply UNC ED if I were you.</p>

16

<p>You’re not even a lock for UNC…</p>

17

<p>Agreed. I would really take a look at the list. If I were you I would aim strongly for UNC and aim for a higher ACT score.</p>

18

<p>Ditto to what the others have said. No offense, but your standardized test scores are very low for the top-tier schools you’re applying to. Aiming for a 29 is not enough when it comes to competing for a chance at admission at those schools. The only school that looks likely to admit you is UNC Chapel Hill, and even then, your ACT is weak compared to other applicants. Also, you’re an international student, which means you should be even more competitive than the U.S. candidates. You really have to get a 30+ ACT to even be considered for admission…</p>

19

<p>Do I have nothing that stands out outside of my ACT score?</p>

20

<p>In this day and age a high standardized test score and being at the top of your class is a given, ECs and essays only differentiate once you hit a certain level. To get into an Ivy with an ACT of 26-29, without a strong hook, is going to be an uphill battle. On the other hand, you are in-state for UNC, which many students would do anything to be.</p>