<p>Let me give you a quick and dirty chances methodology:</p>
<p>Use the SAT as a start point, then look at GPA.</p>
<p>1) Find the schools where your SAT CR+M is at the 50%. This gives you approx 35-40% chance of admittance. I think a CR+M of 60% gives a person a 50% chance of admittance – just my thinking and nothing scientific. YOur SAT CR+M is 1260. That is at the 50% mark (approx.) of private universities ranked in the 75-100 in USNWR. Holy Cross, American U, Boston U, Northeastern are all Top 100 universities with ave. 25/75 SAT of about 1260. Lots of publics too… what state are you in? You are above the ave. at SMU (1230). The SAT of the schools you list ave. about 75-100 points higher than your scores.</p>
<p>Alternatively, find where a school’s 25% CR+M SAT mark is. Assume anyone under that percentile is a highly unusual applicant: recruited athlete, URM, legacy… someone with a hook. If you are below that mark, chances of getting in depend on your compelling “uniqueness”… an compelling uniqueness is extremely hard to communicate in a college application. Absent compelling uniqueness, changes of getting in drop like a lead balloon.</p>
<p>2) Look at the ave. GPA at these schools. Most of the schools I listed in 1) above report “weighted GPA” in the range of 3.8 - 4.1. This is much lower than the schools you list in your OP. If your weighted GPA is toward the top of that range, your chances increase… and you can move your “match range” in the USNWR up 10-20 spots.</p>
<p>3) For private Universities, will you need significant FA? If so, you slip back a little, if not, you move up a little in uour chances of admission.</p>
<p>4) EC/essays: Think of the ECs of your friends and classmates last year and the schools that accepted them. It is unusual for ECs or essays to move a person much… unless at the Top 10 where they are really the only tie-breaker among thousands of applicants whose scores are 2300 and 4.5 weighted gpa… ECs especially, won’t affect much. However, if you write an essay about why X University is a perfect fit for you, and show how your ECs align with that, that can make a big difference… and a compelling essay shows you have a very good feel for what is unique about X university.</p>
<p>The colleges you have listed (except for UDub) are matches for students with 1350 SAT and weighted GPA of about 4.1 or 4.2, or unweighted of 3.8 - 4.0. If you have compelling stories to tell about your unique personality, unique goals in life, unique experiences or challenges overcome, you might be able to connect with one of the adcoms of the schools you listed… but there needs to be a strong connection to overcome sub-average stats.</p>
<p>If you are not a senior, I suggest putting in 15-20 hours studying an SAT Math prep manual, and perhaps even get a private tutor for 5-6 hours of individual attention. Getting above 1300 on the SAT can be important for the highly selective colleges you listed.</p>