Chances on getting accepted? EA/ED.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Race: 1st Gen. Asian/South Korean Male (Permanent Resident)</p>

<p>School: North New Jersey Public School (sends about 8 to ivies each year)
GPA: 4.29 W, 3.66 UW (bit weak here)
Rank: 23/298</p>

<p>SAT I: 2170 -- Best Score out of 2 tests (680verbal, 760 math, 730 writing) + Retook in October for 3rd time hoping for 700+ on verbal</p>

<p>SAT II: 770 BiologyE, 780 Math IIC, 790 Korean w/listening, 800 Chemistry
AP Exams: 5 Chemistry</p>

<p>Course Rigor + Grades in HS (weakest point): I wasn't recommended for any honors classes in 8th grade because I was a complete slacker/idiot getting by with B's and C's. But by end of 9th grade I got recommended for all honors. I had a difficult time adjusting to the honors environment as you can see below. </p>

<p>9th Grade: (No Honors/AP)</p>

<p>Spanish 2: A
English 1: A
Geometry: A
World Civilizations: A
Band: A+
Gym: A
Biology: A
Business Management: A</p>

<p>10th Grade: (All-Honors)</p>

<p>English 2 Honors: A-
Spanish 3 Honors: B+
Algebra 2 Honors: A
U.S. History Honors: B
Chemistry 1 Honors: B
Band: A+
Gym: A</p>

<p>11th Grade: (All-Honors/ 1AP)</p>

<p>English 3 Honors: B-
Spanish 4 Honors: A-
Trig/Pre-Calc Honors: B+
Chemistry AP: B+
Physics Honors: B
Band: A
Gym: A
U.S. History 2 (Summer): A</p>

<p>Senior Year Schedule
AP Physics C
AP Calc BC
AP English
AP Spanish V
AP European History
Band
Gym</p>

<p>School doesn't offer chances to take Ap's too much...wide variety, but schedule doesn't fit: 2 AP's max in Junior Year, can't take AP's before Junior Year. And to take the 2 max AP's...needed to either: drop language, drop elective, or take summer course.</p>

<p>Extra-Curriculars as of now: (Stongest Field)
From most important to least:</p>

<p>All-Eastern Band (12th, Currently Awaiting Acceptance)
New Jersey All-State Band (10,11,12)
New Jersey All-State Orchestra (10,11,12 Only accepts 1 player from entire state)
New Jersey Region Band: (9,10,11,12)
Bergen County Band: (9,10,11,12)
Volunteer Nursing Home (90~100 Hours)
All-School Musical Pit-Orchestra (10, 11, 12 Director's Invitation Only)
Chemistry AP League (11)
Volunteer: Town Community Band (10,11,12 Section Leader in both, about 90 hours)
Marching Band: (10,11,12, Clarinet Section Leader 11th, Alto Saxophone/Horn Section Leader 12th)
Conductor's Symposium (A music conducting seminar that requires professional players to sight-read while teaching conducting) : (11th, Director's Invitation Only)
National Honor Society: (11,12th)
Math League (11,12th, invitation only)
Tri-M Music Honor Society (10,11,12th)
All-American Youth in Concert in Ireland (11th)
Jazz Band: (11,12th)
Instrumental Music Chamber Guard: (9,11th)
Bowling: (10th)
Intramural Badminton: (11,12)
Volunteer Music Orientation for children at a Temple: (11th)
Spanish Club: (10,12th)
Chess Club: (9,10th)
Drama Club: (9th)</p>

<p>So my EC's are mainly focused on music with some dabbles in other areas. I play 5 instruments with relative ease (learned 3 new ones in HS)</p>

<p>I'm section leader in a good majority of those music extra-curriculars (does this count as leadership?) </p>

<p>Awards:
Recognition Award from Board of Education for All-State Band/Orchestra, Region Band, County Band for all 4 years</p>

<p>Undergraduate Music Award (9th)</p>

<p>Work Experience:
CVS Pharmacy (20~25 hours per week in Summer), Worked as Cashier, general store maintenance) Total about 150 hours</p>

<p>Essays: I think my essays are like 10x better than the papers I wrote at school</p>

<p>Recommendations: 1 From AP Chem, 1 from Spanish 4H teacher...They personally came to me to say Thank you for asking them to write recs...is this a good sign?</p>

<p>I don't know about my guidance one, but she wants me to go over them with her tommorow</p>

<p>Schools I'm Applying/Considering:</p>

<p>Early Decision: Johns Hopkins University (#1 Choice!)</p>

<p>Early Action: University of Notre Dame</p>

<p>Interim Decision: Rice University</p>

<p>Regular Decision: Boston College, Vanderbilt, Washington University in St. Louis</p>

<p>Rolling: University of Michigan - Ann Arbor</p>

<p>Major: Chemical Engineering</p>

<p>How do I fare at these choices?</p>

2

<p>You have a 50% chance of acceptance at John Hopkins.</p>

3

<p>I'd say a good chance at UM.</p>

4

<p>match jhu .</p>

5

<p>Err...a mixed response at JHU? does match = 50%?</p>

6

<p>match usually means that you have a good shot of gettin in....more likely than a reach but less likely than a safety</p>

7

<p>I think U of M is a reach. His UM GPA is about...3.36 (UM only uses soph-junior years and only count academic courses). Additionally he is from OOS and UMich weighs GPA heavily.</p>

<p>And in my honest opinion, you guys are a little bit too optimistic. I mean his GPA UW looks alright but after you take out those A's in gym/band, his GPA drops quite a bit..</p>

<p>Johns Hopkins University - Reach
University of Notre Dame - Reach
Rice University - Reach
Boston College - Match
Vanderbilt - Slight Reach
Washington University in St. Louis - Reach
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor - Reach</p>

<p>I think your aiming a little too high. :/. You need a safety also</p>

8

<p>Umm...I don't think I counted gym/band in the GPA...unless I calculated wrong</p>

<p>My GC says Boston College/U-Mich are safeties</p>

<p>and You yourself said Rice was a slight-reach...on a previous post of course.</p>

<p>JHU/Notre Dame...I've already applied...Counselor says I have a good shot as well...</p>

<p>I value everyone's opinon and wanted to see how accurate my gc was. But then again, the responses are so different...and there really is no accurate way to predict admissions. Colleges are so much more than scores, which many people seem to be basing their predictions upon. The reason I chose colleges like JHU/Rice/Notre Dame is because they have the holistic approach.</p>

9

<p>I wouldnt consider BC or UMich as safeties becuase both are tough.......
But good luck and i hope u get in</p>

10

<p>I'm just reviving this really old thread...to show everyone how my ED/EA schools turned out.</p>

<p>Despite my low GPA, it looks like a relatively good SAT score (2200), awesome SAT II's (800,790,780,770, respectively Chemistry, Korean, Math IIC, Biology), awesome essays and recs + music hook (?) look above, was enough to get me into Johns Hopkins University and University of Notre Dame. </p>

<p>To those people who think they don't have a chance because of low GPA -- I think this should give some hope. I did take the hardest courseload possible after freshman year (no honors to all honors), but my grades did drop because of this humongous jump. I don't know if they looked favorably, disfavorably, or neutrally on this. Nonetheless -- I got in, and I'm REALLY REALLY HAPPY.</p>

11

<p>You should of tried to reach for a few iveys. Johns Hopkins is a great school, but you should of atleast tested the waters of the iveys.</p>

12

<p>Funny...now that I look at this thread again I would have rated the schools as:</p>

<p>Johns Hopkins University - Slight Reach
University of Notre Dame - Slight Reach
Rice University - Reach
Boston College - Match
Vanderbilt - Match
Washington University in St. Louis - Slight Reach / Reach
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor - Slight Reach</p>

<p>Looks like you give me hope at aiming a bit higher myself...(3.66 UW, 33 ACT :P)</p>

13

<p>HeadofStamford...everyone tells me that, but seriously, with a low GPA, I thought Johns Hopkins was enough for me. I immediately knew it was a first choice that I actually had a decent chance of getting into (unlike the uncertainly I would face at the ivies). And when you see a 45% early rate, you know you should apply :). And no more of those regular apps! Everyone in my schools is in so much trouble right now...and I'm just happy it's over. </p>

<p>It turns out that I am the only friday acceptance in my school...which made me feel really good about my ED choice. All of the other students got deferred from most of their earlies..because they reached higher. I thought JHU was a very nice ED choice.</p>

<p>Here were my other choices had I not got in ED/EA:</p>

<p>Amherst College
Northwestern University
Carnegie Mellon University
Boston College
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (sent in november, Rolling, but I have to withdraw before finding out I guess)
University of Rochester
Rice University (I did Interim Decision, but withdraw since decisions come 2/1/07)
College of New Jersey
Cornell University or Duke University</p>