Chances? :)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Thanks in advance for chancing me!

Schools:
-Duke University (ED, in-state)
-UNC Chapel Hill (in-state)
-NC State University (in-state)
-ECU Honors College (in-state)
-Cornell
-Columbia
-MIT
-Brown
-UPenn

Resident: North Carolina
Intended Major: Undecided

Stats:
GPA: 5.03W/3.7UW (I know, it sucks, but my parents were going through a divorce. My transcript shows a ridiculously strong upward trend though, and I’ve been taking extremely challenging courses)
Rank: Top 10%
SAT I: 2300
SAT II: Chemistry (780), Physics (800), Biology (800), U.S History (800), English (800), French (800)
AP Classes: Calc BC (5)/AB (5), Statistics (5), Psychology (5), Chemistry (3), U.S History (5), English Language (4), Environmental Science (5), Physics I (5), Physics C Mechanics (4), Art History (5), Human Geography (5), Computer Science A (5)
Senior Course Load: AP U.S Government, AP Biology, AP French, AP English Lit, AP Physics II, rest are honors classes

Extracurriculars:
Honors/Awards:
Mayor’s Award
Hard Corps Award
1st Place in State/National Technology Competition
Regional/State Awards for Science Olympiad
District/State/International Awards for DECA
Regional/State/National Awards for FBLA
Regional Awards for Model United Nations
Presidential Service Award Bronze
CTC 100+ Hour Award

Extra-Curriculars:
Model United Nations (10-12)
Science Olympiad (9-12, Captain 11th)
French Club (11-12)
French Honor Society (11-12)
Math Club (10-12)
Technology Club (11-12)
DECA (11-12)
FBLA (11-12)
Quiz Bowl (11-12)
Volunteer at Hospital 200+ Hours
Piano 10 Years
Dance 3 Years - Organized a fundraiser and performed, raised ~ $7,000 for hospital
Research Internship with a University Professor

Recs:
Counselor: 10/10, she’s amazing, I can talk to her about anything
Science Teacher: 10/10, known me since 9th grade and coaches my Science Olympiad team
English Teacher: 9/10, she’s amazing, but a ton of kids ask her to write recommendations
Other Recs:
Piano Teacher: 10/10, known me since I was 11, and share a really close relationship
Research Professor: 9/10, I know him pretty well

Thanks again for chancing me!!

2

Yes, I agree that your GPA may be your weak point. You have excellent standardized test scores and AP’s. Your EC’s seem a bit scattered though; many people who are applying to those colleges have very similar applications.

What did you do over the summers? Colleges also care about what you have done over the summer, since it shows where your passion lies. How did you get the opportunity to volunteer at the hospital and/or intern under the professor? Was it under a program or were you proactive about it?

Also, just curious, you mentioned 1st Place in State/National Technology Competition? what sort of competition is it? Is it test taking in nature or a science-fair (ISTS, ISEF, Siemens, etc)?

I noticed that you didn’t talk about sports. Are you on a team? This info may help fellow CC’ers chance you.

Overall, though, I think

-Cornell
-Columbia
-MIT

should be your high reaches.

-Brown
-UPenn

should be your low reaches,

and

-Duke University (ED, in-state)
-UNC Chapel Hill (in-state)

should be reasonable goals/matches. Your intended major is also really important, and your EC’s should reflect that.

3

Thanks so much for chancing me!! The technology competition was an engineering sort of nature competition in which my team invented a product and presented it. The hospital volunteering was under a program, but the internship was proactive. As for sports, I haven’t done any, but am planning on joining my schools swim team during the summer, or track and field in the fall. Thanks again!

4

I think you may want to apply to some more schools? I listed Brown and UPenn as low reaches only because I can’t speak for your essays or interviews. If you craft a well-balanced yet striking (in your own unique way) application, you will have no problem getting into that tier of colleges. NC State should DEFINITELY be your safety

5

Duke is a private school, and therefore doesn’t consider state. NC State and ECU are definitely your safeties, I think you’ll get into UNC. ED at Duke, and you have a really good chance. MIT and Columbia are tough, but I think you can get into MIT depending on gender (I’m assuming you’re female due to your user, so you would probably get in). I also think you’ll get into Brown and possibly Cornell, but Penn and Columbia are definitely reaches.

6

Yup, I’m female. How much does MIT take gender into account?

7

Just look at the statistics on niche (the website), and you’ll see how many more male applicants there are compared to female. They want a 50/50 campus, so being female definitely helps your chances

8

@AmberLee2016 Most tech schools want diverse campuses, and since a school like MIT is primarily male, females will get an extra boost when applying so that the gender ratio is as close to 50/50 as possible. This is the same with a school like CalTech as well. But since you are a female with really solid academics and ECs, I think you’ll get into MIT, especially coming from a less represented state.

9

Thank you!