College counselor said that i could apply to strong colleges such as brown/cornell, but i'm not sure

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Basically, I had a junior appointment today in which my counselor told me that I would be able to apply to schools such as Brown/Cornell and some other strong schools, such as Georgetown or UCLA or UVA. However, I’m really doubting myself because I’ve been told that many other students got similar recommendations and those who followed often had trouble getting in.

GPA Unweighted Junior Year: 89.33
GPA Weighted Junior Year: 96.03
Classes taken: AP Chem, AP Physics I, AP US History, AP Language, Honors Precalculus, Honors 4 Spanish

Overall GPA (entire high school career so far) Unweighted: 92.06
Overall GPA Weighted: 98.97

Sophomore year took 1 AP and 4 honors, so my grades have gone down from then, about a 94.0 unweighted sophomore year.

ECs:
Chess expert around 2000 rating
Head of Chess Club
Head of Chinese Club
MUN participant (looking for leadership position)
Looking to start a physics club (most interested in this subject, improved the most Junior year so far

Volunteer work: 100+ hours at Buddhist monastery last summer, looking for more this summer

Work experience: Taking an internship this summer for a 9/11 project

PSAT: 1370, don’t think this is an accurate representation, took my first real SAT in March, yet to hear back

SAT 2: 680 in World history, likely won’t submit this score

Recs:
APUSH offered to write for me, AP Physics unbelievable improvement in terms of effort/grades

Was all of what my counselor said truthful or is it exaggerated?

2

I think you should! Try to take because you definitely have a chance when it comes to those schools! You seems (so far) like a strong candidate! Don’t hold back and take risks, you never know honestly. What do you plan to major in? What would you like to do?

Chance me back: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1976597-chance-me-for-georgetown-uchicago-stanford.html#latest

3

No idea for a major, though I enjoy classes such as history and physics (i know, weird combo.) Not sure how strong my other stuff is compared to an average accepted applicant though.

4

If you do better on your actual SAT then those schools are defiantly worth applying to. Good Luck!

5

And a 2000 rating?? You’re a beast, Cornell will like that a lot.

6

Yes, you can apply and have a shot, but they are reach schools. You will need to come up with a well balanced list with a couple of reaches but also matches and safeties. And before you apply anywhere, please make sure you talk with your parents about how much they are willing to pay each year - are you any only child or do you have siblings in college or soon to be in college? Cost is an important factor that you would want to know about up front before you send out any applications.

7

Thanks so much for the advice! @Fishnlines29, tuition is not an issue, and would you say brown/cornell is a reach and somewhere like georgetown or UCLA OR UVA as targets, or are they all reaches? No siblings

8

UCLA is a Reach and if you are out of state, you will recieve no financial aid so expect to pay full fees at $60K/year. As stated by @Fishlines29, run the net price calculators on the all the schools before applying and discuss finances with your parents.

9

If you consider UCLA as a reach, would you say brown/cornell is out of the picture? I just want to get a good idea so i know what i can plan for

10

I would consider them all reaches due to the sheer number of applicants and limited spots.

I know you say tuition is not an issue, but that’s what most kids (and parents) start off thinking and saying. But the truth is, it’s not until you sit down and realize many schools want 50-60-75K per year and do the math, it hits you! And you don’t want that to be after you’ve been admitted but can’t afford to attend.

Please pin your parents down on a specific number they can afford per year without taking out loans and how much they are willing to possibly take out in loans per year without dipping into any retirement, emergency funds, etc.

What state do you live in?

11

I have discussed and money shouldn’t be an issue, and I am located in New England Area

12

Then you’re lucky :slight_smile: Are you looking to major in Physics?

13

I was looking at possibly business as well but no decisisons yet

14

That’s cool, well there is a wealth of information here on CC and as you start to create your college list, tons of posters will be willing to help you narrow things down and figure things out. My daughter is interested in physics and had similar stats to you - she did very well during the application process and changed direction in the end - she wanted to keep her options open (on major).

15

Mind I ask where your daughter went?

16

Also, is it important to consider that I am an Asian male? I consider myself not your typical “excel at math” as I am fairly good at history and English which I don’t find very typical among Asians, and math is actually one of my worst classes

17

Really dig into what those colleges say they look for, which is more than stats and some activities. In that fierce competition, they’ll want to see your drives, how you pursued them, what impact you had- and more. Not just stats, clubs, titles. Dig in, see what they say they look for and what sorts of current students they highlight, as examples. Then see if you do feel you match.

UVA is also reach-y for many, because they try to get kids from all over the state. Makes them unpredictable.

Adcoms at this level look at the transcript, not just gpa. How the 89 flies depends on what courses you got less than A equivalent in. And for stem, they like math-sci activities. Think about what picture you’d be presenting to them.

18

Here comes a mean, horrible ogre. Sorry! You are wise to question this. I am a realist, and while you are a strong student, I simply do not see any of those schools as viable options. By all means, apply to a couple that you really love. Your GPA is unquestionably on the low side for all of those schools. You need an SAT score of at least 1480 to be in range. If you just plug your stats in to the range of grades and test scores, you might be in the ball park. The reality is that at those very competitive schools, the lower ranges of grades and test scores usually belong to recruited athletes and hooked kids.

However, are you in a rural area? Are you first gen to college? Those factors might be helpful. Unfortunately, even if you aren’t a STEM kid, you are Asian. As it is now, I honestly can’t see any of those happening, except maybe UVA. Has your counselor suggested some of the wonderful LACs out there? With your chess “hook” you could be very desirable at a lot of LACs.

Good job coming here. I suggest you look for schools with acceptance rates in the 20-40% range as low reach and match schools.

19

You can definitely apply, but don’t be fool by the GC comments/confidence. Cornell probably a bit easier and “friendlier” vs Brown. Couple of things that are in your way - 1) GPA (weakish for these schools) 2) SAT (how much better vs PSAT - 15XX will get your cross the threshold - how bad is your Math or are you just humble - most Asians will have 750+ in M when they apply to these Ivies) 3) Hook - what is it - is Chess sufficient? People good at Chess are obviously “strategic”, “critical”, and “observant” - are those traits demonstratable in your other ECs? 4) Unfortunately, you have an “anti-hook” (esp. for the Ivies) - Asian/Male. Other than that, what is your intended field of studies? Non-STEM majors would be a way to avoid the Asian/Male “anti-hook” - but is that what you want? Can your feeling with Chess tie to the intended majors like History (many historical events, decisions can be examined thru deep strategic critical thinking!!_) Overall, I think you can apply to these two, make sure you have many other names in the Top25 to Top50 schools to consider. The smaller top liberal arts colleges may see “fewer” similar candidates with your profile and you have less an “anti-hook” there. Good luck. JMHO.

20

@Lindagaf thank you for your comments. I would just like to ask if improving my gpa up 2-3 points would make a significant difference? Also, I go to a fairly strong public high school in which the class difficult is extremely high for classes such as APUSH. I am suburban and not first generation, but I think I can definitely push to improve my gpa