Chances, NOT for HYPS

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Yes, I won't be applying to any schools in the top 7 of US News & World Report...gasp, shock, awe! Sometimes I feel like one of the few who isn't doing that here...</p>

<p>Anyways, here's my information.</p>

<p>I have a number of different issues, and a number of dilemmas...so I'll give a run down of everything in as much detail as possible, and then state them towards the end...</p>

<p>THE NUMBERS</p>

<p>*School doesn't rank, but if they did I'd be in the top 15-20%.
*SAT Reasoning: 2060 Total, 730 Math, 700 Writing, 630 Verbal. (plan to retake in October, and am hoping to boost Verbal up at least 40 points. The last two times I took it, I didn't study/barely studied...)
---Was the second time I took it, and all done in one sitting.
*SAT Subject Tests: 760 US History, 700 Math II C first time (650 second time), 660 Literature, 610 Physics.
*APs: Took US History (5 or 4) and Physics (5 to 3 range) this year. Will take English Language and Statistics next year, possibly Biology and possibly Psychology (more on that later).
*High School GPA: 3.83 Unweighted, 3.93 Weighted
*Only academic classes: 3.76 Unweighted, 3.91 Weighted, 3.57 Weighted without honors or AP credit.
*GPA for the UCs: 4.08
*GPA for University of Michigan: 3.66</p>

<p>*By "Academic Classes", I mean Math, Science, English, Foreign Language, and History/Social Studies.</p>

<p>I've taken:</p>

<p>Math: 4 Years (if you count Stats AP?) plus one in middle school (which qualifies for UCs I know, not sure about other schools...)
English: 4 years
Social Sciences/History: 4 years, might be 5...
Foreign Language: 2 years, plus 1 in middle school (same deal as Math).
Science: 3 years, might take 4th...</p>

<p>ABOUT ME</p>

<p>*Male
*California competitive public high school -- BIG UC feeder, with only some going to Ivies and Stanford.
*Multiracial (1/4 Hispanic is the only minority I got...could this count at some colleges?)
*Middle Class, perhaps upper middle class.</p>

<p>In School ECs</p>

<p>*4 years of Newspaper - Reporter (9), Copy Editor (10), Web Editor (11), News Editor (12)
*Marching Band 3 years - 10, 11, 12 (plays Tuba)
*Concert Band 3 years - 10, 11, 12 (plays Trombone)
*Jazz Performance Band 2 years - 10, 11 (plays Trombone), might do it 1 more year.
*Cross Country and Track 4 years - Varsity last year for Track...might not do it in senior year, though.
*Interact Club, active member</p>

<p>Out of School ECs</p>

<p>*Hosts and Runs an Online Social Game production company. Has done a total of 7 games since 8th grade, and will soon finish with an 8th.
*Participates in various games, too.
*Working: Summer Job this summer at Pizza Hut, may continue into school year.
*Might start volunteer work at a local museum?</p>

<p>Senior Year Courseload:</p>

<p>This is "as of right now"...I might change some stuff...</p>

<p>*Statistics AP
*English AP
*American Government/Economics (required, no AP version of this)
*Film History - might change to Psychology
*Newspaper 4 Honors
*Band 4 Honors</p>

<p>I'm also considering taking Biology AP, if I am able to...do you think doing so would make a serious difference when applying to colleges? Trouble is, I was hoping to be working also...so I don't know what I'm going to do.</p>

<p>Schools I'm currently looking at, in current order of interest:</p>

<p>Columbia (ED)
Washington U in St. Louis (ED Round 2? Would I be allowed to do that?)
Emory
Cornell
UNC Chapel Hill (OOS)
University of Michigan (when should I apply to their rolling admissions...do you think I NEED to retake SAT Reasoning and Subject Tests before doing so?)
NYU
UCLA
University of Southern California
George Washington University
UC Berkeley
UC Santa Barbara
Syracuse University
UC San Diego
University of Colorado at Boulder (should I retake the SAT reasoning before applying, since it's also rolling admissions? Or should I wait before applying)
UC Irvine</p>

<p>What do you think are my chances at these schools?</p>

<p>Also, I guess I'm wondering...if I have a 700 on the Math IIC (first time taken, did worse the second) and a 760 on US History, do I NEED to retake the Subject Tests? Would these scores hurt in the admissions process, or would they not care? Because while a 760 on US History is 93rd percentile, the Math IIC is only 56 percentile.</p>

<p>One other thing...I am pretty sure I want to major in either English, American Studies, or Sociology when in college. I have ECs to back up both the first and third of those (Newspaper, the online game stuff). Is there one that might be better to declare as my "primary interest", based on stats? Do note, although my SAT score is better for Math, I've performed better in school in English and Social Sciences.</p>

2

<p>u don't need sat ii's for umich</p>

3

<p>You dropped 50 points on MathIIC on second retake? Ouch.</p>

4

<p>In that case, should I wait until after I've taken the SATs again before applying to U of Michigan (scores would be out by early November), or apply early and take advantage of rolling admissions (sometime in September)?</p>

5

<p>bump, as nobody has yet told me chances :(</p>

6

<p>Come on guys...don't make me bump this again! :-p</p>

7

<p>confused_student:</p>

<p>UCB/UCLA: Slight Reach
UCSD: Match
UCI/UCSB: Safe Match</p>

8

<p>Well, I'm bumping this again, as besides the UCs, I never got a response...and just out of curiousity so I can see where people are coming from, it would be greatly appreciated if you could take the time to briefly type out why you think that school is a Reach, Slight Reach, Match, Safe Match, Safety, or whatever. Just saying a school is a reach doesn't inform people of their true circumstance.</p>

<p>My 2 big question, however, are these:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>When do you think I should apply to U of Michigan and U of Colorado: before or after I try the ACT in hopes of a better test score? (in September, meaning I would apply in October as opposed to August/September)</p></li>
<li><p>Should I try applying Early Decision to Columbia, or should I wait until I've taken my SATII's and Reasoning again to see how I've done?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>In addition, for AP scores, got a 5 on US History and a 3 on Physics B.</p>

9

<p>Alright lets see, your EC's are alright... I think the game thing will probably look real good, besdies that just mediocre. Grades are alright, probably not going to hurt you much. There does however seem to be a lack of AP's, I don't know if this is because the school doesn't offer many or because you havn't taken many but having only 4 will proably not be that great, plus Stat and Psychology are looked at as weaker options, I'd go with the Bio but that's where my interests lie. SAT scores are not too great for your upper choices, raising the Verbal would obv help you a lot. SAT II's are again just alright, probably consistent with your SAT scores.</p>

<p>BIG REACH</p>

<p>Columbia (ED)
Cornell</p>

<p>REACH</p>

<p>UNC Chapel Hill (OOS)
UCLA
NYU
UC Berkeley</p>

<p>MATCH</p>

<p>University of Michigan (when should I apply to their rolling admissions...do you think I NEED to retake SAT Reasoning and Subject Tests before doing so?)</p>

<p>SAFETY</p>

<p>University of Colorado at Boulder (should I retake the SAT reasoning before applying, since it's also rolling admissions? Or should I wait before applying)
Syracuse University
George Washington University</p>

<p>DON'T KNOW but proably match/slight reaches</p>

<p>University of Southern California
Washington U in St. Louis (ED Round 2? Would I be allowed to do that?)
UC Santa Barbara
UC San Diego
UC Irvine</p>

10

<p>Chances:</p>

<p>Columbia = Miniscule
Cornell = Low
Berkeley and Mich = Match (Good ol' Cal residency)
ALl others = Fair to High Chance</p>

<p>Comments: Grades are below average, but will pull you through where you want in many of the shcools on your list. In-school EC's bother me. You joined all those musical groups for only 3 years. Why? Why didn't you participate earlier? It seems you just crammed all the music EC's for the looks and not for the passion. Although you may deny my statement, the fact is that you most likely did for your application and not for honest passion. If the college asks you the same question, I doubt you can say much other then BS something quite obvious. Trust me, as a person who performed regularly (I too play the trombone, in addition to piano, whcih is my main) and practiced 2 instrucments with great passion, I've met MANY peopel in school who have folowed similar patterns. NONE are actually joining due to their whole-hearted interest or curiosity to learn their instrument. However, if you are somehow different, I would like to see you come up with a decent explanation to joining so many activities all at once at the same times.</p>

<p>I don't really know much about the production company that you run, as you didn't provide much information. It seems inflated imo, as you didn't realyl describe it much and every other EC's just doesn't show you as a out-of-school activities type of person. No offense intended....</p>

<p>My reply may seem more "rude" or "mean" compared to the other posts, but it's what this part of the forum was intended to be. This is my honest belief of your credentials.</p>

11

<p>The school I went to in junior high didn't have any music department. My freshmen year, I wasn't able to join due to scheduling conflicts that could not be resolved. So while I get what you are saying, starting in my sophomore year was my only option. I would have joined sooner if possible. Also, I had been doing piano before, up until 8th grade...but haven't played regularly since then, and haven't ever done competitions or w/e, as I was wanting to focus on trombone.</p>

<p>To confirm, I wasn't able to join the Marching Band/Concert Band class (which is one class over multiple periods at my high school), and Jazz Band you aren't allowed to join until you've completed 2 semesters of classes in the music department. Probably the colleges won't really see this, but that's what happened.</p>

<p>Your post was not rude at all, and quite well articulated.</p>

12

<p>Oh, and to answer the previous poster's question...my school doesn't offer tons of APs. I believe it only has 14 APs total, but because of certain rules the school imposes the most any one person can take if they really wanted to take every single AP is 12, and I don't know of anyone who has ever done that. Psychology AP isn't offered at my school. I would be self-studying for the test.</p>

13

<p>Confused,</p>

<p>You’ve presented a lot of information and asked a lot of questions – not all of which I will address.</p>

<p>First, you can only apply ED/SCEA to one school. If you are rejected or deferred by your ED/SCEA school, you can apply ED2 to another (only one) college, if desired. You can apply RD or Rolling Admission at any time, however if you are accepted to your ED school, it is a binding commitment. You are obligated to enroll, and you are then asked to retract all other outstanding applications and send in a deposit within a relatively short timeframe.</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Columbia: REACH (highly competitive; it would be a reach for applicants with higher GPA and test scores than what you have; applying ED will not help you much, if at all)</p></li>
<li><p>WUSTL: Slight REACH (if you can bring up your SAT scores, it would help; WUSTL does not have ED2 option any longer)</p></li>
<li><p>Emory: Slight REACH (90% of enrolled freshmen have unweighted GPA at 3.75+; your SAT Math score is about 70th percentile for enrolled freshmen; however, your SAT CR score is under the 25th percentile; interesting EC with Online Social Game company; they will look strongly at recommendations and essays)</p></li>
<li><p>Univ. of Michigan (MATCH) / Univ. of Colorado (SAFETY): both Rolling Admissions schools; apply early as there is nothing to lose; no commitment is necessary until May 1st; however, if you are accepted ED anywhere, you will still have to retract applications outstanding and refuse admissions to schools where you have been accepted via Rolling Admissions)</p></li>
<li><p>Cornell: REACH (competitive; also, based on your information, it appears that you will only have 2 years of Foreign Language – depending on the college, Cornell requires 3 years of a single foreign language or 2 years each of 2 different languages; you would have to explain this deficiency to the admissions dept.)</p></li>
<li><p>UCLA/UCB: Slight REACH (competitive admissions; check comments below about A-G Requirements)</p></li>
<li><p>UCSD: Weak MATCH (your weighted GPA falls under their average UC GPA)</p></li>
<li><p>UCI: MATCH to weak SAFETY</p></li>
<li><p>USC: Weak MATCH</p></li>
</ul>

<p>** FOR UC's: You allude to “middle school” course as “qualifying” for UC, which sounds dubious. To confirm certified courses for your specific high school in California, go to the following link, type in your H.S. in the “search” box, and click on your high school to see listing of courses approved for UC’s A-G Requirements.</p>

14

<p>630 Verbal</p>

<p>this score will pretty much nail you out of the box</p>

<p>you don't need a 1400+ necessarily, but it can't hurt to have it</p>

<p>i was told, you should have at least a high 600 on each test such as a 680</p>

<p>i personally had a 760 M, 690 V, and had very fine results</p>

15

<p>I thought the average UC GPA for UCSD's admitted students was a 4.04...I have a 4.08.</p>

<p>This is from a brochure I received from the University of California, which also indicates some a-g credits are taken from middle school, 7th and 8th grade.</p>

<p>And I should confirm...the 2 years of French I had in high school were French 2 and French 3. My guidance counselor said at one point this would count as 3 years, but I'm not sure. Would it be best for me to try and change my schedule, so I take French 4 in my senior year? I don't know if I could do that, but it could be possible.</p>

16

<p>Confused,</p>

<p>I'm sorry... I didn't put in URL link from my post above... it should read:</p>

<p>** FOR UC's: You allude to “middle school” course as “qualifying” for UC, which sounds dubious. To confirm certified courses for your specific high school in California, go to the following link, type in your H.S. in the “search” box, and click on your high school to see listing of courses approved for UC’s A-G Requirements.</p>

<p><a href="https://admissions.ucop.edu/doorways/list/%5B/url%5D"&gt;https://admissions.ucop.edu/doorways/list/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

17

<p>Well, if I search for my high school, it wouldn't list courses from my middle school. :p</p>

<p>I've used the site before, used it to find out my UC GPA (4.08). I took Algebra 1 and French 1 in 8th grade, and those classes at my high school count towards UC a-g requirements, but it says nothing about those classes when taken at my middle school.</p>

<p>This sounds like something I should double check with my guidance counselor...</p>

18

<p>Why CU Boulder? Sounds out of the blue. I'm going to apply there because I'm in state, but why you?</p>

<p>And there's Honors Newspaper?? O_o</p>

19

<p>Confused, if you found your school's certified courses for A-G Requirements, you can be reasonably certain that what you see is what UC will go by. Frankly, I know of no exception being made for classes taken in 8th grade as being certified for A-G Requirements, which need to have been taken in grades 9-12. </p>

<p>Taking Algebra I and French I in 8th grade does not count toward A-G Requirements, nor does it count as courses taken in your official transcript for H.S. It is not uncommon for students to have taken these classes in 8th grade -- my own daughter did. Of course, it does put you on a more accelerated track for these subjects than those students who did not take these classes earlier.</p>

<p>Not that you shouldn't trust your school guidance counselor, but if he tells you that the 8th grade classes satisfy UC's A-G Requirements, you may want to corroborate his opinion with UC's Admissions Department. It wouldn't be the first time that a GC gave out erroneous information, unintentionally I'm sure.</p>

20

<p>CU Boulder because I like the city and have family there, plus while it may not be an ivy it's a good school which should make for a good safety.</p>

<p>Yes, my school gives honors credit for a fourth year in Newspaper and a fourth or fifth year in Band.</p>

<p>NorCalDad, the brochure I have from the University of California says they sometimes accept college prepatory classes taken in 8th grade and some in 7th grade. So, I know they DEFINITELY do sometimes. I just don't know if they would count it for me. The question for my guidance counselor is would other schools consider it.</p>