Come one, come all - another chances thread!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Complete college list: Stanford, Duke, MIT, JHU, WashU, Northwestern, Cornell, UC Berkeley, UCLA (ELC recipient - I'm a CA resident)</p>

<p>Stats:
SAT I: 1490 (800 M, 690 V)
SAT IIs:
Math IIC: 800
Writing: 780
Physics: 760</p>

<p>AP's taken: Chemistry, US History, Calc BC, Statistics, English Language, Physics B - 4's on ALL</p>

<p>Prospective Major: Engineering</p>

<p>So-and-so extra-curriculars - leadership in a few clubs, 350+ volunteering hours in various places, 2 different jobs, a few more minor things.</p>

<p>Various awards and activities - CSF (will be sealbearer in spring), NHS, Gov's Scholarship, National Merit Commended, various Golden State Exams, and various other non-school affiliated awards. </p>

<p>Decent essays, very good recs (2 teachers I've known for a while)</p>

<p>So, please tell me: what are my chances? Feel free to ask for any additional information if you need it.</p>

2

<p>bumper sticker</p>

3

<p>hennesandcold:</p>

<p>Stanford: Reach
Duke: Slight Reach
MIT: Reach
Johns Hopkins: Match
WashU: Safe Match
Northwestern: Match
Cornell: Slight Reach (Engineering)
UCB: Match
UCLA: Match</p>

4

<p>Thank you for the feedback, Flopsy. Please, can anyone else give me their opinion?</p>

5

<p>Do CSF and NHS really count as awards? Do they carry any weight at all or are they just useless filler?</p>

<p>I was always under the impression listing them under awards is the same as saynig you're a french or spanish club member w/o any leadership roles.</p>

6

<p>Stanford: Reach
Duke:Reach
MIT: huge Reach
Johns Hopkins: match/ reach
WashU: Safe SAFE!!! Match
Northwestern: Match! on dee money
Cornell: match man
UCB: match
UCLA: Match / saftey?</p>

7

<p>Flopsy has got it.</p>

<p>Regards</p>

<p>Jerod</p>

8

<p>Thanks omniscient and mistuhxstoopeed for the feedback, that helps a lot. I might not apply to MIT, since there are other schools I would rather go to anyway. </p>

<p>To StressingOut: I was under the impression that NHS and CSF were items which are applicable under the categories "Awards/Activities" just because of their nature. I'm not totally sure though - maybe some fellow CCer's here can fill us in? </p>

<p>Btw, my unweighted GPA is 3.975, my weighted GPA is 4.59, and my UC GPA is 4.48. Maybe this changes the standings a little bit? (Hopefully Duke or Cornell to a "Match" status! I'm looking favorably upon those two schools right now)</p>

<p>More feedback is appreciated, thanks everyone!</p>

9

<p>Stanford: Reach
Duke:Reach
MIT: Big Reach
Johns Hopkins: Reach
WashU: Reach
Northwestern: Match
Cornell: Match
UCB: Match
UCLA: Safety</p>

<p>I actually applied to the exact same schools and when I got all my decisions last year, I was not happy dude. JHU Wash U and MIT all rejected me and my scores/stats are slightly better than yours.</p>

10

<p>NHS and CSF qualify as awards, but are they even worth putting down? For "filler" ECs, most ad coms just gloss over that stuff.</p>

<p>Is it the same w/ NHS and CSF?</p>

11

<p>Hmm ihateschool, thats not too good to hear, but how can I be surprised with the intense competition nowadays? I guess I have to hope the adcoms will be gracious and accept me, huh? </p>

<p>For my scores/stats, I know that if I retook SAT's I would definitely get higher, at least 1530+, but I just couldn't find the time to do that. Besides, a 1490 is good enough for most colleges (aside from CalTech, Harvard, Yale, etc.). But besides that, any general words of advice for me? Should I go to an interview with a Duke / WashU adcom? Anything I should/shouldn't include on my app? Any words of advice will be much appreciated!</p>

<p>And, of course, more feedback on my college list :)</p>

<p>edit: If this helps at all, I'm in the top 1% of my my class rank-wise of a top-notch school (800+ people I believe)</p>

12

<p>i ended up with a 1600 and a 4.84 GPA, solid extracurriculars leading to Coca Cola Scholar Finalist, and enough research to make your mind spin. I was wait listed by Wash U and JHU, to be exact, because I think those schools only accept you if they know you are sure you will attend. Plus I told them I was premed, and considering how they are the 2nd and 3rd best med schools in the nation it was awkward. I was invited to the Duke Upclose program for the top 1% of their applicant pool and ended up choosing Stanford. Advices? You are doing good, and many schools are reaches, not necessarily pertainly only to you, but to everybody. At first I was like, man Im not gonna apply to Harvard but my dad told me to do it anyway since I already finished the common application, so I did and I ended up getting in, but I chose Stanford. Many ppl here like that at Stanford. just keep ur head up even if you dont get accepted to every school. same day i found out from stanford i was rejected by Wash U, JHU, and MIT. same day i was accepted with a full ride to harvard i was rejected by princeton, yale, and u penn.</p>

<p>college admissions isnt about "what is good enough." it is about which school thinks you are the best fit for them, and whereever that may be is the correct destiny. There was no reason for the less competitive schools to reject me or waitlist me, but I think a 3/4 ride to stanford, a full ride to harvard, and a full ride to duke ended up justifying it for me.</p>

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<p>Wow ... just ... wow! Your stats are brilliant, and I'm really amazed that JHU and WashU would even consider waitlisting you, regardless of the notion that you may or may not attend those schools. Thanks a lot for your advice - I will very seriously consider what you have said and think about it for a while. Btw, were your "3/4 ride to stanford, a full ride to harvard, and a full ride to duke" all merit-based? I'm leaning towards Duke right now, but I dont think I have the stats to get a full merit-based ride. Also, do these schools like Duke, JHU, WashU, Stanford, and Berkeley/LA automatically give you merit-based scholarships, or do you have to apply for them? On top of that, I'm not sure if I will be totally financially able for these schools, even though my parents earn a decent amt. of money. Thanks again for your advice, it really is very, very helpful.</p>

14

<p>I'm sorry, but UCLA cannot be a safety to anyone...
You know how unpredictable the UC system is.</p>

15

<p>haha Flopsy, I totally agree with you ... UCLA has got to be one of the most random schools out there. The admission rates last year were even lower than those of UC Berkeley, which surprised me a lot. </p>

<p>Anyone else have an opinion about my schools? As another sidenote, I've participated in some lengthy research outside of school, which I surely will address in some of the short essay responses for the schools.</p>

16

<p>More opinions are greatly appreciated! :)</p>

17

<p>yeah, UCs went nuts last year... UCLA had a lower acceptance rate than Harvard, if i remember correctly, due to budget cuts. But according to all my buddies, (yes, i live in CA) it should be easier this year cuz the financial state of the state (how ironic) is better this year.</p>

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<p>Heh thats good to hear, good for us Californians w/ ELC! Btw, I dont think UCLA had an acceptance rate of ~10% last year ... I believe it was around 22-23%.</p>

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<p>it was pretty darn low. i heard people talking about 6%.... as opposed to harvard's 7%....</p>

<p>but that could have been an exaggerration.</p>

20

<p>I'm pretty sure UCLA's acceptance rate for the class of 2008 was 24%.</p>