Dartmouth, Etc.

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Alright, so I'm new here. I've already applied, but I'd sincerely like to know what kind of a shot I have at the following schools. I'll provide you with as much information as I can! </p>

<p>General[ul]
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Location: California
[<em>] Ethnicity: White
[</em>] Financial Aid: No
[li] Major: English/Spanish/Writing[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>Scores[ul]
[<em>] ACT: 32 (12 Writing); 34 super-scored, if that matters (sent both tests)
[</em>] GPA: 3.76 UW; 4.09 W (does not factor in 1st sem. senior grades)
[<em>] SATII: 710 Lit, 710 MathIIC, 690 US History
[</em>] Rank: N/A (competitive public school, sends many to top schools; 11 to Stanford, 4 to HYP each last year.)[/ul]</p>

<p>High School Schedule[ul]
[li] Freshman[/li]Honors English A/B
Honors Geometry B/B
Honors Spanish II A/A
Honors Biology A/A
Health/Photography A/A
Physical Education A/A</p>

<p>[li] Sophomore[/li]Honors English A/A
Honors Algebra 2 B/B
Honors Spanish III A/A
Honors Chemistry B/B
AP World History B/B
Yearbook A/A</p>

<p>[li] Junior[/li]AP English A/A
AP Calc A/A
AP US History A/A
AP Physics A/A
AP 2D Art A/A
Yearbook A/A</p>

<p>[li] Senior (First Semester)[/li]AP English A
AP Calc B
AP Biology A
AP Psychology A
AP Gov/AP Econ A
Yearbook A</p>

<p>Online PE A/A (I know, its a joke, right?)[/ul]</p>

<p>This is where I'm most unsure. Despite my rough sophomore year (I sent in supplementary material explaining this), my grades have been pretty strong, especially in Honors/AP courses. Care to enlighten me on how an admissions officer will view my transcripts?</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities[ul]
[<em>] Yearbook: Editor in Chief; nationally ranked.
[</em>] Sports: 3-year varsity athlete; national recognition; numerous awards.
[<em>] Photography: Did my own community service; 5 on AP exam; submitting an art supplement.
[</em>] Community Service: Won some awards for my community work; NHS; NSHSS; founded a very active community club; volunteering related to my majors and interests.
[li] Awards: AP Scholar, Youth/Scholar of the Month, some other small awards.[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>I think this is where my application is strong, I didn't go into much detail here, but I spend all of my time dedicated to several very concentrated extracurricular activities that all make sense with the things I'd like to study/pursue. </p>

<p>Subjective[ul]
[<em>] Essays: I think they're some of the best I've written, English teachers have loved them, so has my college counselor.
[</em>] Interviews: I'm pretty good with people, and the interviews I've had thus far I think have only helped my application.[/ul]</p>

<p>Schools[ul]
[<em>] Dartmouth - This is my dream school
[</em>] Yale - Legacy
[<em>] Johns Hopkins
[</em>] Georgetown
[<em>] Notre Dame
[</em>] Chicago
[<em>] Duke
[</em>] NYU</p>

<p>[li] Accepted: Villanova EA[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>Thank you for taking the time to read this, I appreciate it! If you'd like me to chance you, I'd be happy to - just post a link</p>

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<p>it will be hard but definitely worth it…its hard for anyone</p>

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<p>Handala92 - Thank you! I really hope it works out–although its nice to hear about someone getting accepted with similar stats!</p>

<p>patriotsfan13 - Thanks, I agree!</p>

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<p>wow, that’s a lot of AP’s :P. The admission officers will most likely understand about your sophomore year especially when you sent a letter to them about the circumstances that surrounded it. More importantly however, you were able to bring your grades up, so even better. Essays and good recs are extremely important, so i guess you’re set there. Looks like we have some schools we want to get into in common too :p</p>

<p>Wish you much luck, I’m sure you’ll get in!</p>

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<p>i hate legacy people…</p>

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<p>Thanks metalfox, I hope so!</p>

<p>akwade – Thanks for hating me!</p>

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<p>your stats are great! although could improve on tests side
only barrier between you and colleges of your choice is your test scores
in my opinion
Dartmouth - high match
Yale - Legacy - high match
Johns Hopkins - match
Georgetown - match/high match
Notre Dame - in
Chicago - high match
Duke - match
NYU - match
good luck!!!
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/835069-chance-me-one-last-time-will-return-favor.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/835069-chance-me-one-last-time-will-return-favor.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>

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<p>Outrageously uninformed!</p>

<p>Honestly, I think Dartmouth will be incredibly tough with all those Bs and a 32 and relative low SAT IIs. Yale too, even as a legacy, uunless your family has giev large donations.</p>

<p>Coming from a very competitive school in a very competitive state means the bar is very high for you. They will know where you rank and it does not look like you’re near the top of the class.</p>

<p>I think you have a fighting chance at the others.</p>

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<p>Thank you both for the input!</p>

<p>hmom - I’m not sure if it matters, but I am in the top 10% of my class, my admissions counselor said that they just don’t release any of that information to schools. Very few have UW 4.0s at my school (mass grade deflation) and not that many take a rigorous schedule. I’m just hoping that my tough classes (and my strong performance in APs) will help me out a bit.</p>

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<p>Dartmouth - low reach; I really hope you get in!
Yale - reach for everyone, even those with legacy status
Johns Hopkins - high match
Georgetown - high match
Notre Dame - don’t know enough
Chicago - mid-reach
Duke - match
NYU - match</p>

<p>Being able to pay full freight helps you A LOT. Good luck! :)</p>

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<ul>
<li> Dartmouth- Low reach

<ul>
<li>Yale- Reach</li>
<li>Johns Hopkins- Match</li>
<li>Georgetown- Low reach/match</li>
<li>Notre Dame- Match (like an >80% chance)</li>
<li>Chicago- Match</li>
<li>Duke- Low reach/match</li>
<li>NYU- Match</li>
<li>Accepted: Villanova EA</li>
</ul></li>
</ul>

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<p>you have a good chance, especially if you have a hook at any of the schools you mention, hook is important. I don’t know if that is true at Dartmouth etc but hook is what seems to get many people in at so many top schools. .Your act 32 ACT is fine - probably better than like the 97% of people taking the test. For sure - submit both tests with that supercore to 34! You mentioned Dartmouth. I know someone who just got into Dartmouth with a 29 act and no hook (at least that is what she says), but she was like # 5 out of several hundred with super ecs (started a book club for seniors), so you never know. (She did not take the SAT I, but had right around 700 on her SAT IIs. Top schools, even HYPS, do accept applicants with high 20s on the ACT if there are other parts of the application that are outstanding. UPENN Wharton last year accepted the second ranked kid in the senior class at another high school near me last year, also with an ACT 29. So you never can tell what a school will do. These days, better to be a 2000 sat 3.5 gpa with a strong hook instead of a 2400 (36 act) 4.0 and no hook. I think You will get accepted to many of the schools you applied. If I were you, I would put Yale at the top of the list, especially with legacy, which is a huge factor at that school if you look at their admission stats. The fact is that ivys and many top schools love their legacy, especially alums that have been generous. It is a huge factor, and if anyone tells you otherwise, I think they are wrong (or just upset that they don’t have that kind of hook). All this, just my opinion. good luck to you!</p>

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<p>Great list of schools-might want to look at Holy Cross-similar to Notre Dame and Georgetown.</p>

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<p>thanks for chancing me! all i can say is, i hope you’re right!!
and your scores are very similar to mine! =]</p>

<p>Dartmouth: i think you have an amazing shot at getting in, your scores are definately good enough
Yale: obviously tough for anyone, but your ACTs are good and legacy helps A TON!
Johns Hopkins: i think in
Georgetown: in
Notre Dame: in
Chicago: match
Duke: match
NYU: definately in!</p>

<p>Accepted: Villanova EA: congrats! =]
good luck!</p>

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<p>Schools will know where you rank. Your school profile will give detailed info on grade distribution most probably, and they keep historical data from all schools they get applicants from in order to estimate rank. </p>

<p>Your first line of competition is kids from your own school. At very competitive schools, your scores are low. Your next line of competition is kids from other, similar CA schools. This will make competition at ivies brutal. I give you a better shot at Yale as a legacy than at Dartmouth that wants very high stats from the unhooked. About 40% of every class are val or sal, and that includes the recruited athletes, URMs, legacies, staff kids and development candidates. Not to mention the low income and kids from Alaska and North Dakota.</p>

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<p>I disagree. you have a very good chance, especially if you have a hook at any of the schools you mention, hook is important. I don’t know if that is true at Dartmouth etc but hook is what seems to get many people in at so many top schools. .Your act 32 ACT is fine - probably better than like the 97% of people taking the test. For sure - submit both tests with that supercore to 34! You mentioned Dartmouth. I know someone who just got into Dartmouth with a 29 act and no hook (at least that is what she says), but she was like # 5 out of several hundred with super ecs (started a book club for seniors), so you never know. (She did not take the SAT I, but had right around 700 on her SAT IIs. Top schools, even HYPS, do accept applicants with high 20s on the ACT if there are other parts of the application that are outstanding. UPENN Wharton last year accepted the second ranked kid in the senior class at another high school near me last year, also with an ACT 29. So you never can tell what a school will do. These days, better to be a 2000 sat 3.5 gpa with a strong hook instead of a 2400 (36 act) 4.0 and no hook. I think You will get accepted to many of the schools you applied. If I were you, I would put Yale at the top of the list, especially with legacy, which is a huge factor at that school if you look at their admission stats. The fact is that ivys and many top schools love their legacy, especially alums that have been generous. It is a huge factor, and if anyone tells you otherwise, I think they are wrong (or just upset that they don’t have that kind of hook). Great schools have plenty of great applicants. But contributing legacy or superstar athlete is something that is just so important. All this, just my opinion. good luck to you!</p>

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<p>Yes, but the ivies are looking for the top 1%. Your anecdotes are not helpful. As you admit, you really have no idea if these kids had hooks. Read the common data sets if you want to be informed. Back out the 40% who are hooked and then calculate how many with a 32 and no hook are getting in. then account for the tip factors–underrepresented states, first gen, low income and the number gets very small.</p>

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<p>Thanks for chancing me! </p>

<p>Dartmouth - low reach (I think you have a good shot), Good luck!
Yale - Reach
Johns Hopkins - low reach
Georgetown - High Match
Notre Dame - don’t really know
Chicago - High Match
Duke - High Match
NYU - match</p>

<p>Good luck! I think you have a real shot at all of these schools.</p>

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<p>hmom, you make some very good points.
I will not highlight anything in your post.
But according to the ACT site - a 32 composite is actually top 1% in the country. See the act web site table. I thought it was something like top 3%.
I did not say I have no idea if they were hooked. Never said anything like that. In fact, the girl that went to Dartmouth said she was unhooked.
finally, yes, the averages of accepted applicants do include urm, hooked, etc. no doubt about that for sure. And certainly the average without those admitted applicants would be higher.
but I have to believe that anyone with a standardized test score in the top 1% and great grades at least has a shot. At the ivys and other top schools, there is simply no telling what will equal an admit. this is just my opinion.
Anecdotes are not helpful. I agree. But the fact that hook, whether it be generous legacy or athletics, etc, is probably one of the most important admissions factors, is something that cannot be ignored. It’s the way it is and always will be; indeed for good reason. Again, my opinion
p.s. maybe we should check back here and see if the op gets in. would be interesting.</p>

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<p>Thank you for all the helpful input, everyone… I appreciate it!</p>

<p>I can definitely see both the optimistic side and the rather realistic side. I just hope I can impress them with my essays and other non-score elements of my application.</p>

<p>As far as I know, very few from my school are applying to Dartmouth, and those I do know who are applying are unhooked candidates with much lower stats (minus one recruit, who already got in). </p>

<p>Hoping for the best!
Thanks again everyone</p>