Chances Please

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Looking at Harvard, Cornell, Duke, Wash U, Emory, BU, and Syracuse. Please tell me if i have a shot.</p>

<p>(make sure you read the part about class rank)</p>

<p>White Jewish Male from NJ</p>

<p>Looking to study History and Government</p>

<p>ECs:</p>

<p>Acivity (Years) (Hours per week/weeks per year) (Position and awards)</p>

<p>Track/XC (4 Years) (18/40) (Varsity Captain, 2005 Coaches' Award)</p>

<p>Religious School (4 Years) (3/40) (Youth Rep. to Religious School Board)</p>

<p>Community Service (4 Years) (2/52) (National Honor Society President)</p>

<p>Performing Arts: Music, Drama (4 Years) (7/40) (Trumpet Player, Actor)</p>

<p>Model United Nations (Last 3 Years) (3/12) (Senior Advisor, Distinguished Delegate Awars at RUMUN 2006)</p>

<p>Basketball (First 3 Years) (20/12) (JV Captain, Varsity Letter)</p>

<p>Work Experience:</p>

<p>Accounts Payable Intern (40 hrs/wk for the summer)
Administrative Assistant (3 hrs/wk for two months)</p>

<p>Other:
-televised NJ Challenge trivia program (one of eight teams left out of an original 32)
-raised $1000+ a year for teh past 7 years raised for National Multiple Sclerosis Society
-participate in a group that collects, stores, and delivers donated medical equipment
-National Merit Semifinalist (224)</p>

<p>THE NUMBERS:</p>

<p>SAT: Reading 730, Math 770, Writing 700</p>

<p>SAT IIs: Biology 700, Math 800, US History 790</p>

<p>AP: Three tests taken, all 5's</p>

<p>Transcript:</p>

<p>Ninth Grade:
Honors English A
Honors Biology A
World History A
Honors Algebra II A-
French II B
Gym/Heath A/B+
Band A-</p>

<p>Tenth Grade:
Honors US History A
Honors English A-
Honors Pre-Calc A-
French III A-
Honors Chemistry B+
Gym/Driver Ed A/A-
Band A-</p>

<p>Eleventh Grade:
AP Calc AB A+
AP US History A+
AP English Language A+
Physics A+
French IV A-
Gym/Health A-/A
Band A+</p>

<p>Senior Year Schedule:
AP Psychology
AP Calc BC
AP US Government
AP English Literature
Justice & Society
Gym/Health
Band</p>

<p>Class Rank: </p>

<p>This is very strange but I'll explain best I can.</p>

<p>Exact rank is not disclosed.
Basically my GPA is 4.04 on my school's very weird system.
The highest GPA in my grade is 4.52.
There are 24 people who have GPA's between 3.9 and 4.52.
There are 115 students in the class.</p>

<p>OBVIOUSLY MY CLASS RANK IS NOT VERY GOOD, BUT DO I STILL HAVE A SHOT AT THESE SCHOOLS?</p>

<p>I was deferred from Georgetown EA</p>

<p>Again, the schools I am looking at are:
Harvard (mother and grandmother went undergraduate, grandfather and uncle went graduate)
Cornell (grandfather went undergraduate and taught there)
Duke
University of Virginia
Wasington in St. Louis
Emory University
Boston University (safety)
Syracuse University (safety)</p>

2

<p>You'll have a decent chance at Harvard mainly because you're a Legacy (I think they admitted 40% of legacies at Harvard last year) and you've got some good money making skills. I think that the $1000 you raised is an awesome hook. You might have a good chance at Cornell but I don't know what their policy of admitting legacies is.</p>

<p>Harvard -Slight Reach/Good Match depending on what you focus your essays on
Cornell- Similar situation to Harvard
Duke- I have no idea, so I won't inject my non-professional opinion
U of V- Match/safety
WashU- Match
Emory- Match
Boston/Syracuse -I'd like to say 90% chance of admission. Maybe 99.9?</p>

<p>I'd like to see where you end up. I think you've got the most potential of anyone I've ever met! Let me know if you have Facebook.</p>

3

<p>Karot:
Are you sure about all that? I hear UVA puts huge emphasis on class rank, especially for out of state applicants. Considering the fact that i didnt get into gtown early, i think class rank is gonna kill me at alot of those schools.</p>

4

<p>Ummm, I wouldn't put much faith in the above. While H accepts 40% of legacies, legacies are a highly qualified group. Unless your relatives have given a lot of $$$, I don't see it.</p>

<p>Your rank, simply, hurts. Do you like your safeties?</p>

5

<p>suze:
you don't think i have any chance at those other schools? any of them? i understand H is pretty much impossible. i like my safeties, i guess, but i'd obviously prefer to go to a better school. do you have any suggestions for great schools that might take me despite my rank?</p>

6

<p>The legacy factor could get you into Cornell, again, if there's more influence than average because your grandad taught there. Emory is also a possibility if they respect your high school.</p>

<p>But you're up against a lot being white, from an overrepresented state and having good but not great SATs and a low rank for those schools. Roll that up with the fact this is the hardest year ever at top schools, so I wouldn't count on them.</p>

<p>I would add some schools in the Emory range. MW or west coast that get fewer east coast applicants.</p>

7

<p>.......................bump</p>

8

<p>It's true that UVa highly values rank for OOS. Its definitely not a safety for you. It sounds like your school is a small private school; being in NJ UVA prob knows it pretty well--have past applicants from your school had success with UVa?</p>

<p>But besides your rank you are a very typical OOS applicant. With so many applying it's nearly a toss-up. Write great essays, get great recs. etc. Good luck</p>

9

<p>i actually go to a small public school, which is usually pretty competitive but for some reason our grade this year is exteremely smart. In just this year so far we have:
3 accepted to Princeton
1 accepted to MIT
1 accepted to Georgetown
2 accepted to Columbia
1 accepted to Cornell
1 accepted to NYU</p>

<p>Not many people from the school ever apply to UVA. I think I may be the only one doing so this year. But I know there is one person currently enrolled there from my school.</p>

10

<p>///bump////////////</p>

11

<p>.......................................bump</p>

12

<p>Suze: Unfortunately for all the great high school students, the legacies being admitted aren't necessarily good at school. Colleges go out of their way to admit people who are the sons and daughters of the famous, rich and influential. Kind if disgusting:
<a href="http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7945858%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7945858&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I do agree with you that my suggestions were super optimistic. I'm practically a total newbie here so it's great that you guys are able to help me out here.</p>

<p>436, I think that your fundraising once again is a good hook. Colleges like to see people who can bring in money.</p>

13

<p>karot:
well i'd like to think i'm kinda good at school......</p>

<p>Anyway I understand the legacy is gonna be huge stretch but im applying anyway and not looking at my chances for that right now. I'd really like more info on my chances at:</p>

<p>Emory
UVA
Wash U
oh and maybe UChicago or UNC Chapel Hill</p>

<p>thanks</p>

14

<p>Karot, you are confusing legacies with development candidates. Some kids are both. But the average legacy whose family has not given generously get only a small boost and must have qualifying stats. </p>

<p>Your posts in general, karot, are wildly optimistic.</p>

15

<p>Ah screw it, I'll just let suze make all the recommendations.</p>

16

<p>...bump..............................</p>