College Chances and Possible Improvements

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi there,</p>

<p>I'm a freshman in high school, though I am really wondering about college, and want to find out where I can improve.</p>

<p>When I do apply to college, I suspect that I will be interested in applying to MIT, Harvard, Tufts, and BU--ultimately I do want to be in the Boston area, though NYC is not completely out of the picture (so maybe NYU, Columbia).</p>

<p>Now my school is weird. We have no APs, no IB, no class rank, they don't tell us our GPA--only letter grades. Nevertheless, my school is still top-notch, private, and Quaker. Since the class of 2003, we have sent 90 people to Ivy's (with an average graduating class of 100), 3 to MIT, 9 to Tufts, 9 to BU, and 10 to NYU (though this list goes on and on). So, my stats are as follows:</p>

<p>Freshman Year:
Foundations of Scientific Knowledge - B
Advanced Geometry - B
Spanish 1 - A
Literature & Composition - A
World History 1 - A</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
3 School Plays
Drama Club
School Newspaper
Intern at Congressman's Office
Chorus</p>

<p>Sophomore year I am taking:
Chemistry (over the summer at a different school so I can take Philosophy)
World History II
Philosophy
Algebra II/Precalc (The Sophomore year advanced math class)
Literature & Composition II
Spanish II Advanced</p>

<p>I will also be adding Model U.N. and 3 more plays beginning Sophomore year.</p>

<p>Also, my teachers and parents agree that I will be able to easily get straight A's Sophomore year, notably because I am a whiz at Algebra-related subjects (though not Geometry) and also because Chem comes naturally to me. Overall, I have been taking the toughest courses my school offers.</p>

<p>I am especially interested and talented in history and politics, as I got permission to take a Senior history course (Philosophy) and have been completing additional research assignments assigned to me by my history teacher. So, yes, I will want to study political science in college!</p>

<p>So, I would like to ask, what will be my chances at the schools listed above? Where can I improve to increase my chances?</p>

<p>As a note, I have a big connection to MIT, legacy at Columbia, and my grandfather attended Harvard.</p>

2

<p>It’s a little hard to tell without test scores, but I think if you continue on the way you have been doing so far and your scores are good (over 30/over 2000):</p>

<p>BU: match
NYU: match/low reach
MIT/Harvard: reach (but they are for everyone)</p>

<p>I’d suggest you keep up your grades and EC’s and try to add in a few service hours.</p>

<p>Oh, and don’t stress too much about college yet… you’ve got until your junior year to really freak out about it! For now, have fun!</p>