Chances of Yale, Brown, Penn, Georgetown, and American.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm waiting to hear from Yale, Brown, Penn, Georgetown, and American. </p>

<p>Eth-White
Sex- Male
Area- West Virginia!
Religion- Catholic and Greek Orthodox</p>

<p>School: About 600 students in Rural WV (though, near Pittsburgh and Ohio). It’s a Public School, and we don’t really offer a lot of the higher-level courses. I’ve had a fairly decent amount of classes of what IS offered, except I have forgone Calculus (took Pre-Calc) and physics so I could focus on Social Sciences, since that is where my concentration lies. </p>

<p>My school doesn’t have people apply Ivy League. I’m one of the first people who has applied from it in over 15 years (and the two others who have applied Ivy went to UPenn). </p>

<p>SAT:
Math-600
C.R.- 640
Writing- 710
Essay- 8 and 10 </p>

<p>ACT:
29</p>

<p>SAT II:
US- 570/630
Math I- 570
Math II- 570
Literature—540/570 </p>

<p>Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Weighted GPA: School doesn’t weight grades </p>

<h1>1 in my high school class out of approx. 200</h1>

<p>AP Classes: </p>

<p>AP Chem
AP Chem—Lab
AP English Lit.
AP Civics/Government (online)
AP US History
AP Psychology</p>

<p>Also, this year I’ve been trying to find classes since they are not offered at my school. 2 of my AP’s (Psych and History) are taught teleconferenced from another school, and I’m the first person in my school to take an online course (AP Gov). I’m also taking an independent study course this semester, so I’m taking 5 classes instead of 4. All in all, throughout High School, I’ll have had 35 classes—while I’ve really only had an opportunity to take 32. </p>

<p>ExtraCurricular:</p>

<p>Key Club: 4 years, current GOVERNOR of West Virginia’s District and a member of the Key Club International Council. I’ve spent nearly 1 thousand hours with the organization in planning stages, communications, etc, as well as hundreds of hours doing community service.
Academic Games: 8 years (since 5th). Multi-National Champion in individual games, teamwise, and all-around titles. </p>

<p>Lector at my local church (I read the Bible Passages on Sundays) </p>

<p>Student Council: Rep, 1 year. Class Vice-President, 2 years</p>

<p>Environmental Awareness Club: 3 years. Publicist and Secretary</p>

<p>Volunteer at local nursing home: 5 years (7-11). Over 600 volunteer hours </p>

<p>Job: Local Assisted Living Facility: 400+ hours in 9 months. When the activites Director left, I was made a temporary manager/department head for the summer, working 40+ hours a week. </p>

<p>Debate Team: 2 years, regional debate champion</p>

<p>Lit Mag/Yearbook/School Newspaper: Let’s just say the Publication’s Department sees a lot of me!</p>

<p>Friends of Rachel Club: 1 year (just started, charter member). </p>

<p>Soccer: 9th, Varisty Letter. OVAC All-Academic Team</p>

<p>Community Service has really been the highlight of my HS career. </p>

<p>Essays: I think their good. But, that would be up to the Admissions Counselor(s). I wrote about my service and Key Club Involvement/Journey and how it’s given me a worldy perspective outside of a rural WV High School. </p>

<p>Teacher Recs.- Read a few, they seem excellent. My Counselor recc. Was amazing. </p>

<p>Standardized tests are what will make or break me. Basically, my SATII’s aren’t amazing by any standard, but I’m hoping everything else sorta balances it out…..</p>

<p>I aced interviews (when offered, since there aren’t necessarily officers in my area), so those are my strong point. I think my experiences and my emphasis on the importance of networking with others to get a better knowledge will help. </p>

<p>What are my chances???</p>

2

<p>American-IN
All Others-High Reaches
Reason: Although you are in a rural area and taking advantage of the coursework opportunities, your SATIIs will just about kill you at most of those schools. You might get a chance at one of them, because your resume is impressive.
I would suggest that you retake a couple subject tests in March (you’ll have to get busy with late registration!) and spend every chance studying and cramming. Go to every good, public library and review the study guides. Take practice tests. This will become important IF one or more of the schools puts you on its waitlist. They, if you are lucky enough to boost one or more of your subject test scores, that will look good for you when you provide supplemental information.
Take heart. American has an excellent reputation both in government studies and in international studies! However, I hope some of the elites give you a chance! I wish I had had your fortitude and determination when I was young and growing up in rural America! Keep me posted or send me a pm when you hear from these schools!</p>

3

<p>I’d say all the schools besides American are mid-to-high reaches for you.</p>

<p>You’re GPA and ECs are excellent, but your standardized testing scores will drag you down. For such elite schools, an SAT of less than 2000 is a big detriment, and your subject tests don’t do anything to change that.</p>

<p>There’s also the issue of colleges thinking your school was a pushover. When they see a student with such a GPA but low scores, they assume something might be amiss. The fact that you don’t go to a very competitive school certainly confirms that. (You’re a “big fish in a small pond.”)</p>

<p>If there’s anything you can do to bring up those scores in case you get waitlisted, do it.</p>

<p>Also, have heart in the fact that American is definitely a good school. I know quite a few people who are happy there and the government/politics programs are excellent.</p>

4

<p>Thank you guys-- I know I’ll like American, that’s part of why I applied there. Though, I have legacy at Georgetown, with a relative who teaches there. I was sick both times I took that SAT II’s, but I don’t know if I should mention that to the colleges-- I took them in November and January. </p>

<p>My school is not the most competitive school in the nation, but the 3 classes that I’ve had not taught there have actually been taught following AP Guidelines, and my online one is taught by a college professor. </p>

<p>Thank you for your help, by the way :)</p>

5

<p>Don’t give up on Georgetown. Turn the fact that you are from a rural location to your advantage. Tell them that your education may have not prepped you for the standardized tests like the big city schools may have but you are an achiever and feel that GU should give rural folks a chance to shine and become a “whole person”. Some really great well rounded people have come out of rural and less sophisticated educational environments, like Honest Abe and Obama!</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>Long time ago grad of GULC!</p>