Down to brass tacks:
Assuming I have an unweighted GPA of 3.8 to 3.9,
A ‘new’ SAT score of 1500,
Having done well in AP Physics I and II,
Pre-AP Pre-Calculus,
and AP Chemistry,
While looking to take AP Computer Science, AP Physics C, Astronomy, and AP Calculus BC my senior year,
and having work experience at the Rutherford Appleton Lab in Didcot, England,
participating in the AEOP program, REAP, during the summer prior to my junior year,
and attending a similar program to REAP during the summer prior to my senior year,
and possibly competing in the chemical olympics and physics bowl,
What would my chances be of being accepted into the following universities with a physics-based major(either plasma physics, astrophysics, or elementary particle physics)?
Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT)*
Princeton University*
University of Michigan
Brown University
Harvard University
UC Berkeley
California Institute of Technology(CalTech)
Stanford University
University of Chicago
Oxford University (and if this is even liable)
I’m sure the acceptant pool would be similar for many of these schools, so don’t feel obliged to answer for each individual one. Also, feel free to offer different university choices, this list was just a few that I had been looking into and aiming for. I’m currently a sophomore at a Texas high school trying to plan for a very important junior year. I lived in England for a year and a half prior to moving back to my hometown of El Paso.
Thank you,
Dante B.
Disclosure: I haven’t actually taken my SATs, or completed any of the courses listed(the only one I’m currently in is AP Physics I), and the provided GPA is my realistic prediction for the end of the first semester of my senior year.
This is far from a “variety” lol. You really don’t know what that word means in terms of College Admissions here, do you? A variety would be a list as far reaching as HYP all the way down to something like CU Boulder or Occidental or non-prestigious state schools and/or LACs. Please don’t ask for chances if you don’t have test scores. And also, you’re a sophomore. C H I L L O U T. Complete your courses, get a concrete solid GPA we can work with, get your ACTUAL test scores, and come back then.
I’d honestly say all are reaches, odds are high you would get shut out. Come back when you have real stats. Get a copy of the Fiske Guide to Colleges and pick out matches and safeties. Worry about reach schools once you have actual stats.
Also, don’t pick OOS public schools if you can’t afford the tuitions.
Well I just wanted an idea of what to aim for the rest of my high school career…I was really just unsure. Is having high SAT scores and high GPA really as important as some people make them out to be? Should I study hard for the tests over to summer, or get as much subject-specific extracurricular stuff in as I can? I mean I want to aim high, and that’s why I listed top schools. Their standards are only something of goal for the next two years; it’s not imperative I get into an amazing school (obviously). Honestly, I don’t think I’d have too hard a time getting into the top 7% of my class, which makes UT Austin a much more likely choice for me than any of these other schools anyway. They’re just something to shoot and try for, that’s all.
As @auntbea says, take out anything you can’t afford now- no need for the extra work going in and no need for heartache coming out.
High SAT and GPA are necessary but not sufficient for getting in to top schools. Read MIT’s great adcomms posts [url=<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/there_is_no_formula%5Dhere%5B/url”>http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/there_is_no_formula]here[/url] and [url=<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways%5Dhere%5B/url”>http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways]here[/url].
For Oxford forward planning is helpful and your course plan puts you in good shape. You would at best get a conditional offer, b/c you need Calc BC. The PAT is key for making the interview shortlist.
Oxford University is a 3-year curriculum for undergraduates (as is Cambridge); it’s a little different from what you get in U.S. universities.
Actually, Physics (& most sciences) are 4
year programs. But- yes the approach is very different- you only study your subject.