<p>Hey, I just got my ranking for my class (they only do it after junior year) and I am freaking out about my college chances, please let me know what you think.
white, upper-middle class, male
GPA 3.5 uw 4.2 w
rank 86th percentile, meaning top 14% of my class not the bottom 14%
full ib course load
taking 8 classes senior year, most seniors take 4 or 5
president of book club
chapter president of bbyo, a national jewish youth organization
student government historian
hospital volunteer 4 hours a week for about 2 years, shift supervisor
altogether over 800 community service from various activities
work at starbucks about 20 hours a week
won various leadership awards
captain of nationally competitive ice hockey team
elected to steering committee of Unitown, a diversity and leadership camp run through school that i attended, will be a counselor next year
president of literary magazine at school
have had poetry published
attended two college summer school programs
sats = 2100 first try will retake
sat iis = 710 literature, 700 math iic, 660 chem, will retake
expecting decent and recommendations and good essays and great interviews</p>
<p>possible colleges:
brandeis
tufts
cornell
nyu
duke
boston university
boston college
u of michigan
u of virginia</p>
<p>two things:
1) what other east coast colleges do you think could be a good fit?
2) what can i do besides get good grades and retake sats to improve my chances?</p>
<p>thank you so much for taking time to read this</p>
<p>You are in pretty good shape for many of the colleges you list, but do not include any safeties. You seem to have settled on medium to large research universities. My 2 cents:</p>
<p>brandeis = match
tufts = match
cornell = reach
nyu = match
duke = reach
boston university = match
boston college = match
u of michigan = reach
u of virginia = reach</p>
<p>Keep in mind that matches do not mean you will be accepted. It just means that you are average for those that do get accepted. The actual odds are probably 40-60%. Are you committed to the east coast or just exploring possiblities out here? I would imagine that Arizona will be a safety for you, is that what you are planning? Other east coast schools to consider: Rutgers = match; Penn State = match; U MD = match; JHU = reach</p>
<p>"student government historian" whaaaat?</p>
<p>Your stats are great, you'll do fine. The Starbucks job will especially help.</p>
<p>can anyone else please offer me some input?</p>
<p>First of all, don't freak out ... I don't think you have to write-off any of these schools just because you're top 14% and not top 10%. I can't speak to the process at other schools, but Boston College will definitely look at a lot more that just your stats (though these are obviously the most important, so try to up them next year). I'd think your community service and Jewish leadership would be very attractive to the BC adcom, especially if you tie it in with BC's Jesuit principles (solidarity with the disadvantaged, social justice, human rights, faith in action, etc) in your application. One word of caution: don't count on a stellar interview since BC doesn't offer them. The essays are your place to shine.</p>