Chances! (Remember, Karma's a bi+ch lol)

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Hope the title got a decent amount of posters' attention! haha</p>

<p>Here's some condensed info that'll go on my application, but it's certainly not exhaustive
: )</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0 (unweighted...my private school doesn't weight advanced classes, nor are they dubbed "AP." I'm hoping my counselor explains in my School Report how difficult the classes are, and that I've taken all the toughest available every year).</p>

<p>Class Rank: Valedictorian (but only out of 40 haha)</p>

<p>SAT 1 (single sitting): 750 CR, 710 Math <-meh, still low, 760 Writing: 2220</p>

<p>Sat IIs: I took Math IIC and Lit in June, but for some reason they never mailed me my scores because I tested standby haha. I've been emailing back-and-forth with their customer "support." yeesh. Anyway, judging by my AP and CR/Writing scores, I expect Lit to be in the 750+ range. Math II was pretty hardcore, but I heard the curve is generous. We'll see.</p>

<p>APS: here's the <em>ouch</em> part..since my school doesn't really support APs, I only took the Lit test this spring (self-study obviously). I got a 5. I expect to take several more AP tests independently NEXT spring, but I obviously have to apply way before that : (</p>

<p>Honors: plenty of school-wide awards, but it's only worth mentioning the national ones, I suppose: Furman Scholar, Sewanee Book Award for Promising Writers, and National Merit (either CS or SF, we'll see.....).</p>

<p>ECs: -Forensics!! (aka Speech and Debate). Team Captain. I've placed regionally in literally every event (on the speech side, no LD or anything). I recently placed 18th nationally in Original Oratory at the NFL tournament in Las Vegas. If you know anything about Forensics, you'll know this is huge :)
-Varsity Basketball, starting point guard for two years
-Mock Trial, hoping for an Attorney award at State this year...
-Theatre, Leading roles in all productions 3 straight years</p>

<p>(I hope adcomms see an emphasis on leadership and communication/public speaking skills in these focused ECs..)</p>

<p>Community Service: about 250 hours. For the past 3 summers, I've volunteered as a counselor at a summer camp for underprivileged kids. My Freshman and Sophomore years, I volunteered as a tutor for the same group of kids (same organization) once-a-week.</p>

<p>My Teacher and Counselor recs should be awesome, especially for Davidson, since the teacher went there, and he told me he's planning something special for his Davidson rec :)</p>

<p>I write poetry and prose all the time, so I plan on developing some kick-butt essays, and perhaps sending in some supplemental work (possibly for the $20,000 writing scholarship at Davidson...).</p>

<p>So, with all that in mind, what are my chances at getting into the following schools??</p>

<p>HYS (yes.........I know. lol)
Duke, Georgetown, Vandy
Davidson
UT-Austin's amazing Plan II Honors Program (I'm in-state, so admission to the general university is automatic because I'm top 10%, but Plan II is verrrry selective).</p>

<p>I may also apply to UNC-CH, Wake, or a LAC like Williams/Amherst.</p>

<p>Thanks, you guys!</p>

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<p>Bartender I'll have a <em>bump</em>, shaken, not stirred.</p>

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<p>Bump 10char</p>

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<p>siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh</p>

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<p>Do you really need to know your chances hookem? :) What speech did you use for Original Oratory!!! I'm a fellow debate freak... but never good enough to go to Nationals... I bow down to you!</p>

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<p>haha well I'd like to know if HYS are extreme reaches or just reaches lol</p>

<p>Mine was called "Choose Your Own Adventure." It was about the forgotten joys and practical benefits of reading great literature (that of the Western Canon..etc.). Basically about how hardly any Americans read Shakespeare and stuff for fun anymore....yeah haha.</p>

<p>wanna hear something crazy?
....I was a novice :)</p>

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<p>HYS are just reaches, not extreme reaches. I say go ahead and apply.</p>

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<p>cool. any other thoughts?</p>

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<p>there's no such thing as karma.</p>

<p>Anyway, your ECs are very good on the HYS scale. The national debate is very impressive, and you're pretty successful in your other endeavors as well. I hope you're not serious in questioning whether you should even apply, because there aren't many who have better ECs than that. Don't let CC warp your perspective. </p>

<p>The only problem you'd have would be to sell your academics to HYS. They're not exactly grabbing (4.0 great but doesn't make your stand out, SAT's just okay), and might even be a bit worrying due to a lack of APs. I think success on SAT II's would help quite a bit in assuaging some fears. If you can get a, for example, 800 Math II and a 770 Lit, it'll make your curriculum look a bit stronger. </p>

<p>Overall, you're absolutely competitive. You'll probably be a bubble applicant in my estimation. It really comes down to the impression your academics give adcoms.</p>

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<p>I don't believe in karma, either. Just a title, I guess :p</p>

<p>Thanks for the input! I completely agree about my SAT scores. I only missed a couple of both CR and Writing because of stupid mistakes, which I'm confident I can remedy. My math is decent, but I need to work faster. Luckily, I've heard Math is the easiest section to improve. I'm definitely taking it again, especially for all my non-EA schools. As far as SAT IIs go, I'll look at my scores and then decide if I want to take either of those two again or just move on to, perhaps, USH or WH. Even though it doesn't affect admissions, I plan on taking Calculus AB, USH, and Physics AP tests in the spring.</p>

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<p>bump? 10...</p>

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

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<p>c'mon guyssssss</p>

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<p>Just for my own curiousity, do you attend a rural, suburban, or urban private school?</p>

<p>I would say that HYS are the typical reaches, but you have a decent chance. You have absolutely maximized the options at your school, and adcoms like that. Additionally, forensics could be big, since a national rank is not too shabby.</p>

<p>I would say that Duke/Georgetown/Vandy are high match/low reach, but I think a bump in the math score could change this.</p>

<p>BTW, I don't believe in karma either. I believe in "divine retribution." Same concept, different name.</p>

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<p>suburban :)</p>

<p>thank you for your advice!</p>

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<p>good grief chance threads die out fast...</p>