Chances?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I want to figure out if i have any chances at the following schools (I've already been accepted to U. Pitt Honors so that's my safety).</p>

<p>Harvard (Early Decision)
U. Penn
Cornell
Georgetown
Johns Hopkins</p>

<p>I have:
800 Math, 680 Verbal, 33 ACT
700 Biology, 700 Writing, Haven't gotten my German results yet but i'm confident they're in the 700s.
AP Bio 5, German 4
4.0 unweighted, 4.7 weighted, 5 out of about 500</p>

<p>2 years varsity water polo, recipient of coach's award for leadership
12 years piano, played at the kimmel center
Job as piano teacher and church pianist
Lead in school musical and community theater
1st place at bi-county national history day competition for senior individual documentary
Volunteered speaking with an all German speaking resident at an old folks home</p>

<p>5 years of german, 3 years latin, twice silver medalist in national latin exam, started the russian club, 3 years member
3 years German national honor society, 1 year president
youngest person ever in school history to finish all german classes</p>

<p>Current courses: AP Chem, AP Literature, AP European History, Anatomy, and a course called Allied Health which consists of 14 kids selected from 5 area schools to be hospital interns, highly selective.</p>

<p>Also participated in the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine at Georgetown University</p>

<p>My interviews for harvard and cornell kicked major butt and my english teacher read my harvard essay and almost cried cause he said it was so good , so i think i'll do ok in those areas.</p>

2

<p>Please, any insight would be of much help.</p>

3

<p>your ec's are very unique, i think you are 45% chance, i know a girl in my class with better everything except gpa with a legacy. those damn legacys will get in first but you'll be top picks after that</p>

4

<p>You have a good chance at the schools on your list. You've used the EA well, and your statistically compatable for all your other schools. :)</p>

5

<p>my essay made my english teacher cry, but for a different reason...</p>

6

<p>Another question. I received a full ride at Pitt already. Should I take that, or is it worth it to go to Harvard (supposing I'm accepted)?</p>

7

<p>I'd really appreciate it if somebody responded, even if you just made up crap. THanks</p>

8

<p>Look- let me lay it frankly to you...</p>

<p>You barely have a chance at those ivies you mentioned...Especially Harvard
I don't want to be offensive but your SAT verbal is a 680. Now if you can take the SATs again and focus mainly on verbal, forget math, you should jump it to at least a 1510. That would be better.</p>

<p>You seem dedicated to one activity- German- but here's your HUGE advantage. If you can play up your german skills and a desire to minor in German you have a really unique hook.</p>

<p>A good essay is a definite plus and your rank is outstanding. But those SAT scores could improve... a lot. At least have one above 750+. Remeber, the best of essays can't get an unqualified and weak candidate in.</p>

<p>Your chance at georgetown and john hopkins are excellent and you will most likely get in. But harvard, upen, and cornell (maybe) aren't looking too hto. PLan some safeties.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

9

<p>i'd say you would have a much better chance if you actually made your english teacher cry, almost doesnt cut it:p</p>

10

<p>Well thanks for the tips. I'm not really worried about SATs because I know that Harvard considers anything above a 1450 academically strong enough for them, so raising my score to a 1510 would really do jacksquat for me. And I really did play up my german. I've done extensive volunteering with a dying 99 year old man. I visited him in a nursing home every wednesday for a year and spoke with him (he spoke no english, only german). I'm the only person in my school to finish all of our german courses their junior year. My german teacher wrote me a recommendation. My interviewer was also a german minor so we really clicked there and we had a lot of connections in what german authors we liked. I also played up languages in general because i've goten two silver medals for latin and i helped to start a russian club which i've been a member of for three years. I also really played up my love for biology and medicine. I'm in a program now that meets at a hospital every morning for two hours. We take class two days a week (anatomy stuff) then the rest of the week we do clinicals with doctors. I talked about how i feel in love with surgery while being in the OR, and I knew that's what I had to do in life. This program takes kids from 5 area schools but only admits 15 kids (they get around 100 applications too). I also have done doctor shadowing and participated in National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine at Georgetown. So I think I've got a decent shot.</p>

11

<p>And as for safeties I've already got a full ride at the University of Pittsburgh Honors College so that's good enough of a safety for me.</p>

12

<p>I also don't see how you think I'm that much of a stretch for Cornell when my SATs are top 25 percent there.</p>

13

<p>pjv80287, you will get more personal attention at Pitt Honors than at Harvard. Harvard dorms are better than Pitt dorms by far. Cambridge/Boston is far more interesting than Oakdale/Pitt. You ride public transportation free at Pitt. At Pitt, you will run into a lot of classmates outside the Honors program who will tell you how hard they worked to raise their SAT's to 1110 - and they are genuinely proud of their accomplishment. The three-river confluence is a gorgeous site. You will be happier pre-med at Pitt than at Harvard. It's hard to find a smiling pre-med at Harvard. For Pitt pre-meds, the university hospital is good for internship, renowned for transplant surgery. CMU is next door for classes in which Pitt does not excel. They share facilities. Pitt's full-ride is a beautiful present. Many turn it down. All that said, and considering the academic ability of fellow students outside Honors compared to that of the general Harvard student body, the advantage goes to Harvard. That is not to say there is anything wrong with Pitt. I actually like the school.</p>

14

<p>Thank you for giving me exactly what I was looking for. I've realized that even if I get into Harvard, i'll be just another kid there, nothing special and they probably won't care about me that much, but at Pitt i'll be special and they'll care about me because they actually want me. And plus, my parents are only paying for 4 years, so if i go to harvard i'll have to pay for my own med school, but if i go to pitt for free (which i would do) then med school would be free for me. This option looks better by the minute.</p>

15

<p>PLEASE REPLY! Even if you have absolutely no idea. Just say hello even. But whatever you do don't look at this and not leave a comment of some sort.</p>

16

<p>hello then.</p>

<p>i'm not really familiar with pitt's honor program, but should you get into harvard, i think you should at least give it serious thought. i mean, while you may receive more personal attn and the like @ pitt, harvard has a reputation that far outstrips pitt's honor prog. i guess the question is whether the prestige is worth it or not. and keep in mind, the courses and the atmosphere are probably much more stressful/difficult @ harvard, simply because of the competitive nature of the pre-med program and such. </p>

<p>regardless where you get in and decide to go, i think you're well-qualified and i wish you the best of luck!</p>

17

<p>hola
it said the message has to be at least 10 characters:)</p>

18

<p>Hey, it's tough to be optimistic about Harvard, but your chances at the other schools are great. Did you apply to Wharton at Penn, or just the college? Cause Wharton is really tough to make, but you're in at the college I'd say.</p>

19

<p>I'm just applying to the regular college, not Wharton.</p>

20

<p>You have a wonderful resume. I think you will have some good choices to make come April. Harvard is a long shot, a lottery ticket for anyone, and though you have some interesting ECs and an unusual major in German, there are so many kids in the same category with near perfect SATs. But by applying ED you have given yourself the best shot at that school. </p>

<p>Pitt is an excellent school with a great premed program. If you live in the Pittsburgh area, the downside would be that you are not going away far for college. An east coast undergrad with a Pitt med school combo would be great. Another problem is Pitt is that most of the kids come from the greater Pittsburgh area, there is no real campus and there are a lot of commuters and part timers going there which does affect the college atmosphere. But some kids love that kind of a school--NYU, BU, GW are also city schools and many kids choose the college for that kind of city environment. And I don't think the attention is personal at Pitt. It is a large school with a lot of big classes, particularly entry level courses.</p>