Chances to Duke?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi!</p>

<p>I'm curious for my chances at getting into some of the schools I applied to. My cumulative average is about a 94, and I'm only in the top 25% of my class. I will have graduated with 9 AP courses and 1 college calculus course. The courses I am taking this year include:</p>

<p>Georgia Tech Calculus II and III
AP Econ (Micro and Macro)
AP Physics C
AP Stat
AP Literature</p>

<p>My sat score:
Reading-680
Math-800
Writing-750</p>

<p>I am among the top three classical pianists in my state with numerous awards. I also was among the 45 students to represent Georgia in the last ARML math competition. I am the president of my school's math team, and have plenty of community service hours over the years. The only thing holding me back is my mediocre class ranking. What are my chances to:</p>

<p>Duke
WashU
NYU (Stern)
Emory
Columbia
Northwestern
UChicago</p>

<p>My extracurriculars are rather diverse, but I have always focused heavily on classical music and mathematics (which shows, I think). My other activities include:
Mu Alpha Theta President
Principal Viola at the top orchestra in my high school
News Editor of my school newspaper
Science Olympiad
National Honors Society
Beta Club, 80+ hours</p>

<p>Other things worth mentioning:
I have tutored for the last 5 years. My parents are divorced and I am solely provided for by my mother. I use the money I've made in tutoring to help pay bills and buy food.
Questbridge College Match Finalist
Georgia's Governor's Honors Program Finalist
Master classes with Lang Lang, Yin Chengzong, Claude Frank, Julian Martin, and Jon Klibonoff.
AP Scholar with distinction
Perfectly fluent in English and Mandarin</p>

<p>Also, I submitted an arts supplement with a recording of Chopin's Piano Concerto in E minor. Is there anything else I should do to help my chances with my admissions regarding piano or mathematics? I hope to become an actuary or maybe major in something business related. More importantly, I do not want to give up piano in college, so college seems most appropriate for me?</p>

2

<p>You sound like an interesting applicant!
I think you’re in a good place for NYU and Emory. The rest (minus WashU which I don’t know much about) are probably reaches due to the class rank, but you definitely have a shot. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>I’m sorry to say that class rank pretty much kills your application to Duke/WashU/Columbia/Northwestern/UChicago because something like 90% of their respective classes are in the top 10% for rank. The fact that you are trying to get in on academic merit makes acceptance unlikely. However it could happen. Good chances for NYU/Emory.</p>