Chances of Becoming an Ivy League student?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey Guys!
Just about to submit my application to all ivy's (Harvard is my dream school since I was a little kid) and nervousness is hitting me like the walls of a swimming pool would do to Helen Keller XD
I am fairly confident about my chances of getting into at least one, (counselors, teachers, etc. have all gotten my hopes up. hopefully not for nothing!) but what do you guys think?
I know that these are IVY LEAGUE colleges, and as a result they are reach schools. I am perfectly content with not getting in, but its still been a lifelong dream of mine.</p>

<p>I'll try to emulate the template that most college admissions threads do.</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I: 2080 (730 on math, 720 on writing, 630 on critical reading)
ACT: 32
SAT II: Chem: 650, 760 Math II: 800 Biology: 760
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.94
Weighted GPA: 4.50 (out of a 5.0 scale)
Rank: N/A
AP Scores: AP Chem: 5 AP Language+Comp: 5 AP US History: 5 (all during junior year)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Physics, AP Bio, AP Literature + Comp, AP Spanish, Marching Band, AP Computer Science, obviously gym
Major Awards: National Merit Scholarship Finalist, New Jersey Regional Science Fair: 3rd Place Behavioral Science Category Winner, Public Health Award, National Honors Society, Spanish National Honors Society, Science National Honors Society, Tri-M Music National Honors Society, 2nd Place Chemistry Olympics</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Mixed Choir, Concert Choir, Male Acapella Choir (Captain), Marching Band (Section Leader), Jazz Band (Section Leader), Golf Team, Habitat for Humanity Club, Environmental Club, Volunteering at a Hospital, Music Tutor
Job/Work Experience: Music Teacher, Music Assistant
Volunteer/Community Service: Music Tutor (I returned to my old middle school to aid my teacher in running a summer music program), Volunteered at a Hospital. About 500 Hours of Community Service
Summer Activities: Hospital Volunteer, Music Tutor
Essays: I talked about my experiences in the sciences. I already have some experience in college level sciences (Science program at Columbia university), as well as my work in a hospital. I talked about how each school would provide me with a good foundation for higher level study.
Teacher Recommendation: I would hope its pretty good XD
Counselor Rec: See above
Additional Rec: See above
Interview: N/A</p>

<p>Other:
State: NJ
School Type: Public, unranked
Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Not too good, gonna apply for financial aid
Hooks: First Generation College</p>

<p>Thanks guys!
Again I know that even qualified applicants don't get in, so I'm not holding my breath or anything</p>

2

<p>To be totally honest, your low SAT scores are probably going to hurt you, though your ecs are pretty good. </p>

3

<p>Same as what the person above said. Your SAT and ACT scores are both low for the average Ivy League applicant. Personally, I’d consider around 2250~ on the SAT or a 33-34 on the ACT a “typical” score for an Ivy applicant.</p>

<p>Also, although you may have several EC’s, in my opinion they seem to lack focus. I also personally wouldn’t categorize any “honor society” achievements as “major accomplishments”, unless at your school, they’re much more exclusive than I’m imagining. Even then, I don’t think most people would count them as anything too significant. College admissions at top colleges usually just brush them off as slightly-better-than-average clubs.</p>

<p>Alsooo, I’m sure someone might say this eventually, so I’m going to go ahead and say it. Why apply to all the Ivy Leagues? Each one has a distinct personality that differentiates it from the rest. They all have their own strengths and weaknesses, although of course, since they’re Ivies, they generally have excellent education all-around. However, for whatever major you choose, there WILL be non-Ivy schools that will definitely have better programs than at least one of the Ivies that you’ve applied to. For example, biomedical engineering. Johns Hopkins is ranked #1 and Duke #2. In fact, according to the most recent US News ranking, NONE of the Ivy League schools even make the top 10 list. I know, I know; there’s different rankings everywhere for everything, but absolutely no one can argue that even Harvard or Princeton has a better BME program than JHopkins or Duke. In fact, the only Ivy I’ve seen make top 10 in recent times is UPenn, and apparently now they’ve slipped right off the list.</p>

<p>Point is, all the Ivies are different. Most people who apply to all the Ivies simply do so for the glory without enough research into how good the individual programs are at each of them. For any major you choose, there WILL be several non-Ivy programs that are on par if not better than several of the Ivy ones. </p>

<p>Sorry for typing so much, but I never understood why people choose to apply to all Ivies without consideration for all the other great non-Ivies out there. I have nothing against Ivies - I’m applying to a few myself. But they’re not even my top choices, simply because the programs I’m looking for at the Ivies just aren’t as strong as some in non-Ivy schools. Most people, like I said, only apply to the Ivies for glory. So, I ask again, why apply to all Ivies? I assume you want to do something science related, so why not MIT? Why not Caltech? What about Stanford?</p>

<p>Going back on track though - you have a chance, but it’s just that: a chance. Most everything is still a reach, even if some might be low reaches. Personally I think with your scores, GPA, and EC’s all considered, your essays and recs have got to be phenomenal for you to close that gap between “reach/low reach” and “decent chances”.</p>

4

<p>I think telling a Helen Keller joke in a public space shows incredibly poor judgment, so I’m going with zero chance.</p>

5

<p>By the way, no one is a National Merit Finalist yet.</p>

6

<p>Poor grades, average ECs & awards, but to top it with inability to distinguish between Ivies. </p>

7

<p>How does he/she have poor grades? A 3.94 unweighted out of 4.0 is nothing to scoff at.</p>

8

<p>Cornell is a reach, the other ivies are out of reach. </p>

9

<p>Chances are, your supplements will be lackluster. Your brand hunting will be obvious and you will not be able to apply yourself to every essay. You clearly have no actual interest in any of the Ivies seeing that you have chosen to apply to all of them despite the fact they are different from one another. It will show in your interview. That, in conjunction with your SAT score and tasteless jokes, is enough to keep you out of every Ivy League schools. Don’t waste your parents money. If you are going to apply, don’t apply to more than 2 or 3. Maybe Cornell, Dartmouth, or Brown. But HYP, are out of reach.</p>

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<p>@yodude51‌ You’re right. I should’ve said average grades for the Ivies. </p>