Could I be Ivy League quality?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Could you guys chance me? I have already made a chance thread with these stats but nobody was chancing me, so I decided to try again with a completely new thread (sorry if this annoys anybody).</p>

<p>White Male in Arizona. Highschool is not known for sending kids to ivies. Our valedictorian went to Yale. He was the first person to go to an ivy in the past couple of decades!</p>

<p>(GPA includes assumed A after taking Drivers Ed. course for 1 semester at summer school)</p>

<p>UW GPA: 3.97
W GPA: 4.1</p>

<p>Class rank: 12/600+ (not positive of the number)</p>

<p>SAT: W680, CR680, M580 = 1940. (Taking again in October: will be studying all summer and fall to achieve 2250+)</p>

<p>ACT: Will take it this September. Will be working to have 30+</p>

<p>SAT IIs: Took in June, awaiting scores.</p>

<p>AP Tests: AP Gov't: took in may, awaiting scores</p>

<p>Senior Year APs:</p>

<p>AP Chemistry
AP Calculus AB
AP Micro/Macro
AP Spanish</p>

<p>Had all A's in all my classes up through Junior year except for Honors PreCalculus, in which I received to B/B+.</p>

<p>EC's: (through the time applications go out EA)</p>

<p>approx. 120 tutoring hours
273 hours interning at County Attorney's office
approx 320 hours volunteering at county Teen Court.
Piano for 12 yrs, Violin for 9 yrs, voice for 2
NHS
Academic Decathlon (Junior Year)
Will be publishing first book of poetry this summer
Am taking an independent study course in Mandarin Chinese</p>

<p>Leadership Positions:
Teen Court Treasurer (Freshman-sophomore year)
Teen Court President (Junior Year)
My highschool Orchestra class president
Ignite mentor to incoming freshman (Senior Year)
Teen Court intern: (Sophomore Year)
Should be first chair violinist in school orchestra, either as first violin or second violin.
Looking to found a bipartisan politics club at my HS</p>

<p>Job Experience:</p>

<p>273 hours at attorney's office
Petsitting business
Teen Court Intern
Will start working at a music store in July</p>

<p>Major/State/Regional Awards:</p>

<p>Law Day Essay Contest: Third Place
Academic Decathlon Awards
A Scholar of the Month of January 2008 at my HS
Teacher nominated Points of Pride for academic excellence
Have applied for the Presidential Scholars honor program for the arts. Will submit poetry.</p>

<p>Have two amazing (not just good) teacher recs I am sure I will have.
Will have amazing essays, as I am really good at writing. I have already started writing the essays this summer.</p>

<p>I am looking to major in PoliSci/International Relations. </p>

<p>I think that is all. Here are the schools I am applying to.</p>

<p>Harvard
Yale
Princeton
Stanford
University of Boston (Trustees Scholarship)
Boston College (Presidential Scholarship)
University of Arizona (Flinn Scholarship)
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh. (Chancellor's scholarship)</p>

<p>Could you chance me on the scholarships too? Thanks</p>

2

<p>how do ur grades and ecs compare against ur val?</p>

3

<p>Outside of HYPS, I'm not familiar with the admissions processes of the schools you're applying to but I'd say you have some academic weaknesses. Your GPA is average for the HYPS applicant pool but your SAT scores are definitely on the low end. Your ECs are good (I don't really know what to make of the book of poetry; it really depends on whether it's self-published or not) but without solid academic stats, ECs count for little, unless they're extraordinary. I'd say that right now, HYPS are high reaches (unless you raise your SATs).</p>

4

<p>rohin: I think my ECs are pretty good compared to my val. But his weighted GPA was 4.5 I think, and his test scores were really good. I am not sure but I would guess 2250+ on the SAT and comparable scores on SAT IIs. (I was home schooled up to junior year, so my weighted GPA is a lot lower than it could have been. Should I mention that on my applications)</p>

<p>sw: what should my SAT goal be to apply to HYPS and my other schools? Should it be higher because of my other academic "weaknesses?"</p>

<p>I am also from Arizona. Do you think that would have any effect on admissions to HYPS?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

5

<p>Improving your score by three hundred points is a daunting feat to undertake right before the college application process commences. You seem like a very involved student and all but nothing truly stands out from your application that makes me interested. But keep in mind I'm just a kid who is fairly new to the process as well.</p>

<p>All of my predictions are based on information standing as of now . I am not considering the predicted SAT scores.</p>

<p>I'm looking at each individual school's 2012 class profile.</p>

<p>Harvard- reach- with strong essays/ recs/ and higher test scores chances will greatly improve but as everyone says its a c*** shoot.
Yale - reach " "
Princeton- reach " "
Stanford- reach " "
University of Boston (Trustees Scholarship)- I'm guessing this is BU and not UBM. slight reach to match- more leaning to the match side. For the scholarship I believe that you would be more on the reach side. But if your nomination is great and scores imporve you have a decent shot.
Boston College (Presidential Scholarship)- match - prsidential scholarship- seeing that this scholarship is administered to 15 students in the entire class I would say reach.
University of Arizona (Flinn Scholarship)- Safety for school and match to slight reach for Flinn scholarship.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania- Safety<br>
University of Pittsburgh. (Chancellor's scholarship)- Match for school and slight reach for scholarship but a really good shot if predicted scores become true.</p>

6

<p>Owlie: thanks so much! You have good advice and good input for being "new" to chancing. I was kind of confused by your wording though when you said that "all but nothing truly stands out." Are you saying that my resume does look interesting or does not?! </p>

<p>Does anybody have SAT/SAT II/ACT score ranges that they would recommend for my chances to get into HYPS?</p>

7

<p>If you want to see SAT/SAT II/ACT score range for HYPS, go to their websites and look at the data sets for their current freshman class.</p>

<p>And in response to your "Will being from Arizona help?" question: I'm pretty sure the answer is no. While AZ definitely doesn't have as many qualified Ivy applicants like CA, I don't think it qualifies as a contender in the geographic diversity factor that some adcoms look for.</p>

<p>Personally, I think your ECs and awards are a bit weak compared to other HYPS applicants. However, I don't really like to give out chances of admission to those schools because as is frequently stated, it's a complete crapshoot to get into those schools these days. Your stats are pretty good, and with great recs and final standardized testing scores, you'll be fine. Good luck!</p>

8

<p>Thanks ivycmm. I knew about sat ranges being on the colleges' websites, but I wanted to know if there was a specific sat range others would recommend to make up for my weaknesses.</p>

<p>For example: even though I don't need a 2300, would it help offset my lower (relatively) GPA and low(er) ECs?</p>

<p>Also, could it be said that my ECs show more quality than quantity? After, all only five or so ECs can be put on an application, right?</p>

9

<p>After, all only five or so ECs can be put on an application, right?</p>

<p>Not necessarily. If you have lots of ECs that you think are meaningful, you can attach a supplementary activity list. I did that for all of my schools. I think it's a good idea because you can talk about what contributions you specifically have made to an organization, even if you don't hold an officer position.</p>

10

<p>I'm just curious, what school do you go to? I'm from Arizona too, and my school cranks out these smart kids, but I think it actually helps to stand out more at a school that doesn't have as many kids applying to those schools.</p>

11

<p>A1389: Mountain View HS Marana</p>

12

<p>bump 10 char</p>

13

<p>I think your GPA is good and your ECs are pretty respectable so you would have a good shot if you only increased your SATs.</p>

14

<p>I think the above chancers have been for the most part on the optimistic end for you. The GPA is pretty good, but the SAT is way too low. Like what has been said before, raising that SAT by 300 points will be a daunting task, especially during the hectic times of first semester senior. I would say that a 2250 is the minimum for an unhooked applicant, with 2300 probably putting you in the 50% range for unhooked people.</p>

<p>In terms of your ECs, they really arent that stellar. Its nice that you have a few leadership positions here and there, but other than that, you don't have much. Your honors are pretty much limited to school honors, ones chosen by teachers, which I guarantee everyone going for Ivy Leagues have. Is your poetry being published by an outside publisher? If not, I think it would be good to validate your success as a poet by entering some writing competitions, like that Scholastic Art and Writing one.</p>

<p>Hopefully some type of regional quota will help you out, but considering that you know of some good applicants from your school already, that means there are probably good applicants across the state/region. </p>

<p>Your essay/interview will have to be absolutely amazing to get in. And by amazing, I mean the kind that is better than all of the 40k applicants, because I don't see you getting in on account of your test scores/ECs.</p>

15

<p>Your courseload is below what the average overachevier who apply to HPYS usually take (10 AP's is what I conside average), so that sort of cancels out your GPA. Unless you come from a school that doesn't offer many AP's, this is a weakness.</p>

<p>Your EC's are somewhat above average, but at least are relevant to the field you want to go into (I find EC's are constantly the weakness for people applying to HPYSM). So you have a strength there.</p>

<p>This is what it comes down to: your SAT's. You absolutely need to get at least a 2250 to be even in the ballpark for HPYS. If you get something around 2300, maybe you stand a shot at one of those schools.</p>

16

<p>sevitagen: I looked at my school's course catalog and it look like my school only offers 10 AP classes total. So does taking 5 AP classes look good, bad, or neutral?</p>

<p>Also, what do you think of self-studying for AP tests?</p>

17

<p>woah man, i just stopped at your SATs...they are NOT ivy league quality. The only way u'd get in with those SAT scores is if your an academic/atheletic star/genius...</p>

18

<p>5 ap classes is kind of neutral. I know kids at my high school who have already done 10 ap classes. my friend has done 13 ap classes... So you need to start self-studying for your ap tests. try to get 8 or 9 ap classes total.</p>

<p>P.S- i heard if you get a 5 on your ap calculus BC exam you will get 2 credits at dartmouth (that is if you get in). that means you save 1/3 of the years tution.</p>

19

<p>cgar514: I am retaking the SAT and taking the ACT as well this fall. There is no way I am settling for those scores: I know they are way below average. But what are my chances if I can bring the scores up?</p>

20

<p>Will it look cheesy if all of a sudden I take 7 or 8 AP Classes/Tests during my senior year after only taking one the year before?</p>