Chances into ivies? Ridiculous or Realistic?

<p>Graduation: 2012
Schools: Columbia (ED), UPenn (Wharton), Cornell, Brown
GPA: 3.8 UW/4.37 W (top 10)
Courses:
IB HL Math - predicted score 6
IB HL History- predicted score 7
IB HL Econ- predicted score 7
IB SL Chinese B- predicted score 7
IB SL Chem- predicted score 6
IB SL English A1- predicted score 7</p>

<p>I go to an international school in China but I'm an American resident. I never took any AP's since my school doesn't offer them.</p>

<p>Now here comes the terrible scores ...
SAT I: 1960 (W: 690 R: 640 M: 630)
SAT II: Bio M- 680
I'm retaking in Oct and SAT II's (chinese, math II) in Nov. Aiming for 2200+ and 700+ respectively. </p>

<p>EC's:
9th grade-
Key club
Photography Club
Habitat for Humanity
Student Government
(all only members)</p>

<p>10th grade-
Community service- Leader
Environmental club- co-leader
Student Government- secretary
Habitat for Humanity
Yearbook- Chief Photo editor
Newspaper- co-editor</p>

<p>11th grade-
Student Government- VP
Photography Club- founder/leader
Dance Introduction Club- founder/leader
Yearbook- Photo editor
Newspaper- co-editor
Habitat for Humanity
along side all these clubs I have to do CAS (a requirement for the IB program) resulting in 200+ of community service this year.
Mission trip to China
English tutor for migrant children
Children's Museum volunteer </p>

<p>Awards:</p>

<h1>1 Debater - World's Scholars Cup China Regionals</h1>

<h1>10 Top Overall- World's Scholar's Cup China Regionals</h1>

<h1>3 - Regional Science Fair</h1>

<p>I'm not sure if school awards count but I've received various Honor Roll awards every quarter semester.
Winner of $6000 scholarship to my school in Junior year.</p>

<p>How do I fare?</p>

<p>I think you could do well at non-Ivy top tier schools that aren’t as selective. You can always try, but I doubt you’ll get your scores up 250+ points, so Columbia ED may be wasted. Look at schools that are SAT optional as well, like Bowdoin. Also, you have to look at more safety schools!! Applying to Ivies only is a disaster waiting to happen, especially if your SATs aren’t 2300+.</p>

<p>more ludicrous than realistic I would say. your academics are too weak and ur asian…</p>

<p>Thanks for the realistic and honest replies!</p>

<p>Yeah shimmer made a good point i would suggest applying to safety schools as well…just so you won’t put all your eggs in one basket. But aww common! Don’t listen to that hater!! I actually think you have a realistic chance, your ECs and leadership seem pretty good. I would just suggest showing true passion in every single extracurricular you do. If you love debating and science then you should talk about them in your essay as though they are life sustaining activities that you can not possibly live without (which in my opinion they are). Lol.</p>

<p>And for that comment that said you can’t raise your score 250 points…I think it definitely is possible. I would just suggest focusing on improving your writing and math scores because those are the easiest to change. For writing, don’t worry too much about the essay, just get a 9+ and focus on the sentence correction part. If you get everything right you can get an 800. And for math…just practice. And though these things are easier said than done you should try. With a bit of hardwork these next few months it is all possible. :)</p>

<p>Oh and just a little advice…don’t listen to condescending remarks like the one Andrewsun1994 made. It seemed pretty rude to me.</p>

<p>They are not constructive criticism at all and in my opinion should be disregarded. I mean Galileo was told that it was a ludicrous idea that the earth orbited the sun, but he didn’t listen to those remarks. And we are all a little bit more intelligent because of his confidence. Haha.</p>

<p>Plusssss as the saying goes…if you have even a little bit of a chance. It is still a chance! I am not saying you will get in for sure, I have no way to know that. But that doesn’t mean you should’t apply. </p>

<p>Anywayssss think about it…and do what you have to do. Lol. I wish you the best.</p>

<p>Hey, I think you could definitely improve your SAT score by a lot in just a year! The first time I took it was May sophomore year and I got 2150. Second time I took it, January junior year and got 2280. Third time I took it, June junior year and got 2320 (superscored 2360). Hope this is encouraging! Just do a lot of practice tests. I suggest Official Guide and past tests (I find Barron’s and Princeton’s ridiculously hard) and just don’t overthink the essay and you’ll be fine. Also, I think you have a solid chance at cornell if you get ur SAT score over 2000 since your extracurriculars are good. My friend goes to cornell and he says most people there have SAT scores in the 2000ish 2100ish range.</p>

<p>Those SAT scores automatically disqualify you. For U Penn Wharton especially, you’ll need 2300+ to even have a reasonable chance. Don’t take SAT II Chinese… You live in China for crying out loud. Without solid Academics, it’s tough to say you have a good chance at any of your choices.</p>

<p>Get a 2200+ SAT score and then apply. Don’t bother making threads about “what you plan to get.” Oh and research up some safeties/matches.</p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>

<p>That kids an idiot who said you need a 2300+ to apply. If you break 2150 you should apply because even if your score is on the low side you still have a chance. I raised my score 180 points in total from my first to second time and I’m looking to increase eeven more this fall</p>

<p>As others have said, I wouldn’t worry TOO much about your SAT scores–after a certain benchmark score, SATs don’t make that much of a difference. I would look into raising them a bit, but perfect scores are by no means necessary. </p>

<p>That said, while you do have a lot of ECs, it’s not exactly clear what your focus (i.e. central interest/passion) is. Many of the ivies have been focusing on depth rather than breadth in recent years-- they want to see a kid who knows what he/she loves and pursues it, not someone who has a lot of filler ECs. This is a mistake I made in my own high school career (did too much of what people told me to do rather than what I loved), but you still have time to tweak your resume a bit/figure out how to let your true interests shine in your application.</p>

<p>Overall, it’s somewhat of a long shot but you are at least a competitive applicant for the ivies. I’d also look into top non-ivies, for example Duke, Rice, Emory, and NYU, depending on what your future plans in terms of a major/career are. </p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>