chaynces at ivy/ivy caliber spots

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>i would appreciate any help. my school sent one person to yale last year, other than that, it's mainly ou, osu, and lower echelon private schools. i'm a junior. i'm posting this again because i just got a letter from the provost at my safety (smu) saying i'm probably a shoo-in, and i should apply for honors and a full merit scolarship.</p>

<p>location: enid, ok
School: public
Gender: male
Ethnicity: white
I plan on majoring in poli-sci or something similar</p>

<p>GPA: cumulative should be a little over 4.0, weighted, dragged down by ninth grade. enriched classes are 4.25, aps are 4.5.
SAT Scores
Critical Reading: 740
Math:690
Writing:690
1st attempt</p>

<p>ACT scores
English:35
Reading:35
Math:30 (have gotten 33 in the past, should be easily raised)
Science:33
Composite:33
3rd try</p>

<p>SAT IIs
math 2-760
literature-720</p>

<p>AP Scores:
Euro history-3 (highest score of anyone at my school last year, and only 2 others got it. we have a terrible teacher and hardly anyone ever passes)
Calc BC-taking this year, should easily be a five
Lit and comp- should be a five
physics- should be around a four, maybe five </p>

<p>Freshman Year
Enriched Biology-B (teacher did not like me, but i recieved higest grade on end of instruction, but can colleges see that?)
Contest speech-A
ok history/am govt (would have taken enriched, but did not fit in schedule)-A
yearbook staff-A
Enriched algebra 2-B
Enriched world literature-A</p>

<p>Sophmore Year
Enriched american literature-A
AP european history-A
Spanish-A
Enriched chemistry-A
precalculus-B
Astronomy 1 and 2-A</p>

<p>Junior Year
AP calc bc-A
AP physics-B (highest grade in class)
Spanish-A
AP lit and comp-A
Botany-A
Zoology-A</p>

<p>I have gone out of my way to take the hardest schedule offered, and have other high school level classes i took in 7th and 8th grade to boost my gpa later. I am almost in the top five percent of my class.</p>

<p>I played football last year and would have this year but time did not permit. I ran cross country in ninth grade and have run track since ninth grade. I have not lettered yet but probably will this year in track. My lack of letters comes from the fact that I go to a 6A school that is pretty competitive athletically. I am active in my church and help out during the service every week. I have gone on mission trips with my church to alabama, florida, and mexico. i also did the whole contest speech thing in ninth grade, and i'm a member of the national forensic league. my recs will be AWESOME. i have a teacher and a counselor that think i am the world's greatest. i can also write some pretty darn good essays.
I have been in all the honor societies for as long as possible. I will probably be at least a merit semifinalist. I was on student council in 9th grade. I have a job at a local radio station and could get a glowing rec from my boss. My AP calc and physics are taken through a regional center of the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics. According to the director of the Oklahoma School of Science and Math, colleges recognize this on application as a tough, college preperatory curriculum. I have done various other things during summers that can augment my application in a pinch. I plan on trying to be a page in dc over this summer. I have a whole year ahead to add to my ecs and academic resume, so if there are any suggestions for good things to do both extra curricular and schedule wise i would appreciate them. i've also never prepped (no books, no practice tests, nothing but going and taking the tests) for any of the standardized tests. i'm not sure how much that would change things, and would appreciate any insight about that. here's my school list, in no particular order:</p>

<p>Swarthmore
Stanford
UPenn
UChicago
Northwestern
Rice
WUSTL
Emory
Washington and Lee
Brown
Carleton
Columbia
Georgetown
Dartmouth
Middlebury
Amherst
Williams</p>

<p>thanks</p>

2

<p>aw come on...</p>

3

<p>"Almost in top 5%.." and "only sent one to yale" = below-average chances</p>

4

<p>Just read the boards for your schools this week. When both your SAT and class rank is low for a schools, chances are slim.</p>

5

<p>you people are kidding right? Of course those are among the most selective schools in the country, but the applicant has a decent GPA and a 33 ACT - which is above the 50% mark for even the best schools on his list. Work on your rank/GPA and don't be deterred. College admissions really is random - once you are in range, it's unpredictable, but I suggest applying to as many schools (that you actually like) as possible.</p>

<p>
[quote]
only sent one to yale = = below-average chances

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Considering that Yale is probably the hardest school to get into in the nation and the OP isn't even planning on applying there, I don't see how this hurts him. It is rare for a school to send someone to Yale at all.</p>

6

<p>Brand, 60% of seats at ivies are taken before the average applicant applies. Being at the 50th percentile does not work for the vast majority of the unhooked: athletes, legacies, development candidates and URMs. After almost 5000 posts, I'd think you would know that at top schools you're not in even decent shape if you're not above the 75th percentile.</p>

7

<p>OP, wat's your unweighted average? My school sends like 1 or 2 people per year to Yale</p>

8

<p>My high school sends about 15 per year to Yale which means nothing.</p>

9

<p>i was just making a comparison. It was not to be factored into the OP's chances.</p>

10

<p>
[quote]
After almost 5000 posts, I'd think you would know that at top schools you're not in even decent shape if you're not above the 75th percentile.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Judging by the decisions threads in these top schools' forums, it looks like CC has an unusually high number of
[quote]
athletes, legacies, development candidates and URMs

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Honestly, if you're trying to argue that a 33 is too low for someone applying to an ivy or other top school, you can save it. I've seen far too many instances where that is not the case.</p>

11

<p>What's shocking this year uis the 35s and 36s rejected. When top schools go below double digit acceptances a 33 is hardly a sure thing.</p>

12

<p>dhuang, it's probably around 3.7-3.8, but i've been really tearing stuff up lately and it will probably be closer to 3.9 by the time i graduate.</p>

13

<p>i don't think your 33 or your gpa would keep you out then. It might not get you in though in the same respect. Good luck!</p>

14

<p>Swarthmore - reject
Stanford - reject
UPenn - reject
UChicago - accept
Northwestern - toughie
Rice - accept
WUSTL - reject
Emory - accept
Washington and Lee - accept
Brown - reject
Carleton - toughie
Columbia - reject
Georgetown - reject
Dartmouth - reject
Middlebury - reject
Amherst - reject
Williams - reject</p>

15

<p>Work on rank and SAT. It might seem a little superflous with your ACT score but a nice SAT can open up some doors for you in some scholarships.</p>

16

<p>fo sho, i'm already signed up to take the sat again soon. but, it's on a saturday in a week when i'm also taking 3 AP tests, so we'll see how that turns out. :S</p>

17

<p>You should maybs consider Duke.. </p>

<p>From your schools I'd say you have mostly reaches except Washington and Lee. Good luck next year! :)</p>

18

<p>
[quote]
What's shocking this year uis the 35s and 36s rejected. When top schools go below double digit acceptances a 33 is hardly a sure thing.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Oh yes, even a 36 doesn't guarantee acceptance. However, the 33 is impressive and helps pull these schools within range, though the rank is likely to be an obstacle.</p>

19

<p>do colleges differentiate a lot between ACT scores just as long as they are above a 32? That's what i've been told, since 32 and above is 99th percentile.</p>

20

<p>bump about the ACT question</p>