chances of getting admitted

Colleges and Universities A-Z New York University
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<p>hi guys. i ask for an honest evaluation of my high school activities and academics record. i would like you to lead me int he direction of what colleges i should be looking into. i am a junior now btw:</p>

<p>GPA:
unwieghted-> freshman and sophomore year probably around 3.5 out of 4.0, this year as a junior probably closer to 3.7/3.8 out of 4.0
weighted-> freshman and sophomore year is 4.96 out of 6.0 (i know i really screwed this one up...=(...), this year however i have around a 5.5 out of 6.0</p>

<p>SAT: 720 math, 700 reading, 680 writing (going to retake)</p>

<p>Extracirriculars:
Biology team (11, plan on doing it 12)
physics team (plan on doing it 12)
academic decathalon (11, plan on doing it 12)
jazz band (11, plan on doing it 12)
tennis (jv 9, varsity 10/11/12)
football (jv 9 and 10)
national honor society (11, 12)
latin honor society (11, 12)
Volunteer at hospital: 50 hours this past summer, plan on 50 more this summer
Volunteer for PEC organization: 8 hours last year, plan on 8 more hours this year
I plan on attending a summer science program at UPENN or Columbia or Clark University this summer for 3-4 weeks.
I also have been cleaning up my local beach every fourth of july (and believe me, thats no easy job...-.-;), so i guess thats comm service</p>

<p>in my free time i spend plenty of time playing the saxophone. i can pretty much confidently say i am the best saxophonist in the school (or at least one of the best). i also would like to say that i know, that i am aware of how badly i screwed up my freshman and sophomore years. i pretty much realized what a mistake i made at the end of sophomore year and thats when i really started picking my grades up. i havent let my grades drop since. it should also be noted that i am the youngest kid in my class. i just turned 16 this year where most people are turning 17 or 18. </p>

<p>i dont know how my chances are of getting into penn, but that is going to be one of the schools i apply to. ever since my mother went there for vet school i have been fascinated with it (thats since i was like...2 years old i think...).</p>

<p>aside from NYU i plan on applying to:
Columbia
Johns Hopkins
Carnegie Mellon
UPENN
Rutgers (backup)
Stevens Institute of Technology (backup)</p>

<p>i would really appreciate any responses to this thread. i need to know exactly where i stand in terms of admission to penn (and all the other schools i mentioned if you dont mind and you have the time to tell me). whatever you answers are, i thank you for the time you put into your review. god help me...</p>

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<p>I honestly have no clue about Rutgers and Stevens Institute...</p>

<p>but because I applied to both NYU and Columbia, I can probably give you better evaluations on those schools.</p>

<ul>
<li><p>For NYU, your SAT scores and your GPA looks fairly decent, and safe. BUT it also depends on WHICH school you're applying to in NYU. It DOES make a huge difference. For instance, applying to Stern with those SAT scores might make you average, or slightly below average since everyone applying to Stern has near-perfects on their Math sections. Applying to Steinhardt-- I would say you have a very very good chance. For CAS, I'd say you have a shot. So it really depends on which school. Until you tell me which school, i think i'll stop there. From my knowlege, NYU is one of those schools that plays the numbers game. With 35,000 applications a year, they really don't have the time to review your EC's thoroughly, and your individual talents, and all those things that make you YOU, and take a wholistic look. So definitely, which school you apply to will be looked at in the context of your grades and scores, and from there evaluations are made.</p></li>
<li><p>With Columbia, I applied Early Decision. Columbia's also one of those schools that would be beneficial to apply early IF YOU KNOW ITS YOUR FIRST choice school, because the acceptance rate between Early and Regular is very drastic. Early: 29% , Regular: 11%. Also, with such a low acceptance rate, you really do need to set yourself PARTICULARY apart from everyone else. I mean, that goes with all schools, including NYU, but with an ivy league you really need to ask the question: How am I different? Grades and Scores are not going to answer this question. Getting a high SAT doesn't set you apart, neither does a high GPA. Academic excellence is only the essentials or pre-requisites of applying. Every other application has the same, if not better stats. So you have to rely on soft factors: where are you from (Lithuania, US, or United Arab Emirates?), do you have legacy?, did you travel to Africa and do social work there?, were you the fencing champion?, do you take sing opera with a julliard teacher, etc etc. You need to find something that SETS YOU apart. From your EC's I really don't see that. I assure you every other applicant will have similar activities. </p></li>
</ul>

<p>I hope that helped. You're still a junior. You have plenty of time. Also, a good advice is to take advantage of your summers. Do not stay in your community, and take classes at your school, or read for fun or whatever. Get off your butt (perhaps community, state, or country) and do something DIFFERENT. If you have a list of books to read...bring it along with you. Study abroad with AFS, or even better: participate in the summer program AT the school you are considering. If its NYU, enroll in a summer program (I'm hearing if you're applying to Tisch, doing a summer Tisch program will help), if its Columbia do their Summer program (which was what I did and it was the best experience ever)...</p>

<p>don't jsut sit around. Colleges (particularly NYU and Columbia) are looking for independent and motivated individuals who are taking the initiative to DO SOMETHING UNIQUELY DIFFERENT AND PROFOUND. </p>

<p>New York City requires independent street-savy kids.</p>

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<p>thanks so much for the reply, i think id most likely be applying the CAS at NYU. yea i was definately going to apply for the summer program at columbia this summer (or the UPENN one). i am indian (which i know will hurt, because i slacked off fresh + soph years whereas most other indians dont =/). btw i DO have a legacy at UPENN. my mother was one of the top students of her class at the vet school there (or does legacy mean you have to have a parent that went to the undergrad school)? im actually thinking of spending some time this summer playing saxophone out in central park for money lol! ill set out a hat and just play my tunes and hope it passes nicely. again thanks for the reply! i am going to try to make the best of my junior year and summer and perhaps, the earlier part of senior year.</p>