Gender: M
Location: Long Island
College Class Year: 2020
High School: Public
High School Type: sends some grads to top schools
Academics:
GPA - Unweighted: 96.15
GPA - Weighted: 98.08
Class Rank: top 5%
Class Size: 350
Scores:
SAT I Math: 720
SAT I Critical Reading: 660
SAT I Writing: 750
ACT: 32
SAT II U.S. History: 710
SAT II Math Level 2 (IIC): 720
SAT II Biology - M: 750
Extracurriculars:
Significant Extracurriculars: Student rep. to board of ed.
Chamber Orchestra
Math Club
Express Yourself (special ed. mentoring)
Student Council
Drama
Advanced Science Research
GSA
Leadership positions: Class President (Junior + Senior years)
Orchestra VP (Junior year)
Orchestra President (Senior Year)
Drama - Props Crew Chief
Volunteer/Service Work: 80 community service hours (raise money for foundation fighting blindness)
Honors and Awards: Science, Math, Music, Thespian (Drama), Spanish, English, and National Honor Societies
College Summer programs: Molloy College Summer Research Intern Program
Colleges of Interest:
College: Dartmouth College, Choice #: 1, ED/EA: Yes, Athlete: No, Legacy: No, Status: Will Apply
College: Brown University, Choice #: 2, ED/EA: No, Athlete: No, Legacy: No, Status: Will Apply
College: Georgetown University, Choice #: 3, ED/EA: No, Athlete: No, Legacy: No, Status: Will Apply
I’m White, gay, and Jewish
Personally, I don’t think you’ll get into either Dartmouth or Brown. You have a better shot at Georgetown. Your SAT isn’t spectacular, and you’re lacking leadership in your EC’s (I know class president is good but a lot of applicants to top schools were that). Nothing really stands out to make a Dartmouth or Brown take special interest in you. Hope I could help.
No for Dartmouth, sorry. Maybe, low reach for Brown, and decent shot at G’Town. Chance me http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18673653#Comment_18673653
Intended major?
AP classes? Scores?
Honors classes?
ACT score breakdown?
Dartmouth: 15% ED
Brown: 10%
Ok, I’m sure those seem disappointing to you, but let me put some context and caveats on those numbers.
-
Your objective factors (standardized test scores + GPA) are solidly in the middle of the range for both schools, hence essentially your chance = overall admit rate for the school.
-
The Dartmouth ED admit% is 26% versus 10% overall. However, as I keep blathering about everywhere on the board, a lot of that has to do with the difference in the pools (more legacy, recruited athletes, URMs in the ED pool), so I don’t give a huge boost to a normal applicant for applying ED. Of course, I could be wrong (I know, right?), so maybe your chance there is 20% or so…I’m pretty certain it isn’t 25% for the reasons I stated above, but maybe higher than 15%.
-
I actually like your ECs - lots of people here will turn up their noses at them because there isn’t some “knock your socks off” type achievement on there, but I think it is pretty good if looked at closely.
-
As always with these schools, your application (essay + interview + recommendations) is the difference maker here - that is what helps you beat the odds.
Georgetown: 25%
This is a much different kind of school - not sure why this is your pick as a 3rd choice?
Dartmouth: reach
Brown: reach
Georgetown: low/reach
Unfortunately, I agree with what everyone else has said. Your SAT and ACT scores are on the lower side. To look really competitive, I would try to bring your scores up the the 75th percentile range. The middle 50% math SAT range for Dartmouth is 680-780. If you’re able to get your math score from a 720 to a 770-780, that will help. The middle 50% critical reading SAT range for Dartmouth is 680-780. Your CR score is a 660- lower than the 25th percentile. I’d say that you need to get it up to at least a ~720. The middle 50% writing SAT range for Dartmouth is 680-790. Your score for writing is a 750, which is pretty great, though I’d try for a 20 point increase just to be safe. Also, Dartmouth’s ACT range for the middle 50% is 30-34. You’re right in the middle of that. Your chances will improve if you can get your ACT score up a point or two. Your GPA also seems to be in the middle for Dartmouth. I think that raising it will definitely help. Are you taking any AP/IB classes, or at least the most rigorous course load offered at your school? If not, I would try to. There are hundreds of students trying to get into top schools with a ton of AP classes. As for Brown, the similar tips apply. The middle 50% ACT score range for Brown is 29-34. Again, you’re right in the middle of that, but it wouldn’t hurt trying to improve your score by at least a point. The middle 50% math SAT range for Brown is 670-780. The middle 50% critical reading SAT range is 660-760. The middle 50% writing SAT range is 670-770. While the middle 50% SAT ranges for Brown are lower than the 50% SAT ranges for Dartmouth, I would really try to get your SAT scores up to what I mentioned above (for Dartmouth). That way, you’ll be more competitive for both Dartmouth and Brown. Like everyone else has said, you don’t have too many leadership positions listed in your ECs. I would try to spend senior year focusing on getting those leadership positions; you’ll look more competitive that way. You don’t need to add any more ECs, just focus on getting ‘higher up’ position-wise for ECs you have now. Other than improving your SAT/ACT scores, there are a couple more things I’d suggest making sure you focus on. Make sure that you get great letters of recommendation. Get more than the minimum number of letters needed. Write a great essay. As said previously, set up an interview with Dartmouth and Brown. This might help your chances by a lot. If you’re able to do all of this, you’ll definitely be more competitive and have a higher chance. Good luck!
I am going to disagree with #5 above about the test scores.
I don’t think this is the best way to maximize your chances. Yes, your scores could be higher, and yes, your CR score in particular is a little low for schools like Brown and Dartmouth. However, overall, your scores (both SAT and ACT, and your SAT2s) are in the range already. A small increase in test scores, such as “a 20 point increase” isn’t going to do anything to help your chances…that kind of increase is totally within the margin of error of the test, and the schools know that.
The only real benefit to retaking the SAT would be if you genuinely think your current CR score is below your level of ability - ie, you think you have a good chance to get it over 700 if you take another crack at it. If you have already taken the SAT more than once, you should honestly assess whether you really think you have decent shot at improving. Also - if your ACT reading and science sections are good, I would worry less about the CR score.
I do recommend submitting both the ACT/SAT - they are very equivalent scores, and showing both demonstrates the ability to perform well on two different types of tests. Not a big deal, but that shows that they are truly reflective of your real level of ability.
If I were you, here is how I would spend my energy:
-
Research the schools above so that you really know them well enough to interview well and write a great “Why Dartmouth/Brown” type of short essay.
-
Put together good applications, with great essay(s) and recommendations.
-
Identify some other slightly less-selective schools that have what you love so much about Dartmouth and Brown, and put together good applications for them.
Since apparently these aren’t on here as you’ve all pointed out, I’d like to add I’ve taken four AP classes so far and am taking 5 next year as a senior. I have one three and three fives on those exams. They include: AP World: 3; AP Biology: 5; AP US History 5; AP English Language: 5. And as for the leadership comments? I went to a different high school when I was a freshman and I’m still class president for 2 years, Orchestra VP then President, Head of a part of my drama program, and I’m the student representative of my school to the board of education (6 schools total with over 8000 students in all the schools). That’s all while attending a different school as a freshman. I’m also in seven honor societies out of nine available (Not art or business). There are also no leadership positions available in clubs like math club, science research, or express yourself (a club in which I mentor special ed. students). I’ll take these schools are reaches, but leadership isn’t what’s lacking, it’s average+.
I agree with you that your leadership credentials are quite strong. Sometimes, posters on this board get ridiculous with their comments about ECs and stuff like that.
For what it is worth, and it’s not much because I’m not on the admissions committee, I personally was impressed with this:
Drama - Props Crew Chief
I know for a fact that this is thankless job, and the fact that a high stats / high achieving student such as yourself was willing to take it on (considering the rest of your schedule) shows me something (a genuine desire to participate in theater, and a willingness to do the grunt work.)
As for the AP class, that was roughly what I had estimated when I calculated your chances above, so no real change there.
Today I just got a letter from my principal telling me I’m going to be a part of a new Senior Student Leadership group that will help integrate freshmen and new students as well as plan school wide events.