Dartmouth Chance?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi guys!

I applied ED to Dartmouth (class of 2020) and I was wondering what you guys think of my chances. Here are my stats, etc…

Female from Midwest

Recommendations: Both of my teacher recommendations will be solid, and my counselor rec will probably be beneficial because my counselor likes my achievement and career plans. Additionally, one of my favorite former teachers, who attended Dartmouth, took it upon herself to write me an alumni recommendation (she was not one of my 2 teacher recs because I had her freshman year). A long-time coach of mine, who also attended Dartmouth a looong time ago, approached me about writing a letter, which I am assuming he has sent by now.

GPA: 4.15 (weighted), 3.96 (unweighted)

Coursework:
7 AP classes:
APUSH (5)
AP Lang (5)
AP Biology (4)
AP Lit (current)
AP Economics (current–our school combines micro and macro into one course)
AP Government and Politics (current)
AP Environmental Science (current)
3 Honors:
Honors Freshman Lit (9)
Honors Sophomore Lit (10)
Honors Chemistry (11)

Academic Achievements:
National Merit Commended Scholar (210 on PSAT)
AP Scholar Award
Cum Laude Society (top 10% of class–our school does not give rankings past this figure:/)
National Honors Society
National Society for High School Scholars
Honor Roll all possible quarters

Test Scores:
ACT: 33 (E: 36, M: 30, S: 32, R: 34, W:29)
SAT: 2100 (not so strong, but my ACT is higher)

ECs:
Poetry Out Loud: competed 9, 10, 11 (runner-up in school-wide competition 10 and 11), plan to compete 12 and I am told I will probably go to States this year)
Internship: with public sector organization in conjunction with a college class, next semester
American Sign Language classes (10, 11, 12)
Establishment of current tutoring system at my school (12)
Peer tutor (12)
Mock Trial (9, 10)
JV Softball (9)
Medical Club (10, 11, 12)

Community Service:
Volunteer at a local soup kitchen every summer (9, 10, 11, 12)
Volunteer at local animal shelter (11, 12)

Employment:
Barnes and Noble (10, 11)
Hostess at local restaurant (12)

I know my ECs are extremely lacking and that my chances are incredibly slim, but Dartmouth is my dream school and I very badly want to get in!! Not to say I will be unhappy with any of my other schools.

2

Also, I don’t know if this helps, but I am a first-generation college student. I am an only child and neither of my parents attended college. My interviewer told me this might be significant because Dartmouth strives for a diverse student population.

3

What are you majoring in? :slight_smile:

Alright, let’s go through it and see if we can counterbalance the whole “Ivy League” thing.

Your GPA is within the norm, and the amount of AP classes you took certainly does you well. Actually, objectively speaking, you’re pretty fine off. (SAT might look cooler if it were a little higher, but don’t stress over that one. Which are you sending? ACT or SAT?)
Academic achievements add a few pounds in your favor, congrats on those!

Now, ECs. I don’t really see that much consistency with your extracurriculars. Well roundedness is great but at times, it’s also nice to show some direction, not that it’s mandatory or anything. Besides that, you’ve done your fair share. It isn’t lacking too much, if that’s your worry.

First generation does have its appeal I believe, some more weight for you,

Balancing it out in the end… It’s still hard to say, but I’d give it a low reach, bordering a high match. You’re a qualified applicant, but you know how these top notch colleges are. Kick butt on the essay, and I can see you in already! Good luck.

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1832658-chances-for-some-great-liberal-arts-colleges.html?new=1
Fancy chancing me, dear?

4

@AGoodFloridian I’d like to major in economics or public admin, with the hopes of getting a graduate degree in law and/or public policy. Thanks for the response!