Decent grades, good SAT’s, & mediocre extras: Chances for UC’s & up

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey, I’m new here & any help would be appreciated
Sorry this is so long…</p>

<p>I am Caucasian & planning on majoring in business (economics, entrepreneurship, or finance but also am interested in developing my writing) so I would appreciate if you considered this for my chances…I will apply to the business programs at these schools, and if anyone has new schools for me to look into that would be appreciated.</p>

<p>My grades have a fairly significant upward trend so I think it’s important to show them that way (also some schools like UC’s, Stanford, others don’t use freshman yr) but here goes (my classes are just short of the hardest offered at my school). </p>

<p>Freshman Yr: 3.3gpa UW, 3.3 W<br>
Sophomore Yr: 3.7gpa UW, 4.0 W
Junior Yr (est): 3.90 gpa UW, 4.5 W</p>

<p>9th -11th: 3.65 UW; 3.93 W (class rank around 80/730; top 11%)
10th –11th: 3.85 UW; 4.25 W (class rank around 30/730; top 4%)</p>

<p>AP Tests:
Soph AP Euro: 5
Jr AP US (should be a 5, possibly 4)
Jr AP Comp (should be a 5, possibly 4)
Jr AP Calc AB (4, maybe 3)</p>

<p>Will take 5-6 AP classes next yr, will include AP Stats, AP Gov/Econ, AP Lit, AP Comp Sci, AP Psych, & maybe one more</p>

<p>SAT I (estimated): 800M, 700R, 750W (2250 total)
SAT II Math IIC (est): 750-800
SAT II US Hist (est): 700-750
(do I have to take a 3rd SAT II w/ the SAT II writing in the SAT I?)</p>

<p>Other:
-Cross Country just JV (9th/10th/11th, maybe 12th too…should I do it for the 4 yrs?)
-Track JV (9th/10th)
-NHS (1 yr)
-Started small business at school w/ invention…made abt $200 in the 1st few weeks
-Taking a business class where I am writing a complete business plan (may submit as supplement)
-Writing a historical fiction / mystery novel that places the Civil War in a modern context (only abt 70 pgs into it but will have a lot more done by end of summer…will this carry any weight if it is not finished/published…supposedly it is quite good) (possible supplement too)
-Ignite leadership program (1 yr)…help w/ freshman
-Mild community service, few hrs here and there not significant (was in Boy Scouts just short of Eagle Scout but quit due to the hypocrisy of the program…dropped out right abt when one kid on drugs got his Eagle)
-Religious school 9th/10th
-Work 12-16 hrs a week during the school year & 25+ during the summer since end of sophomore yr and plan on continuing to end of sr year…all at one job (never quit)
-If anyone could give me info on FBLA, I would like to start that.
-Took Chinese for 4 yrs (will continue in college) ...went to China when our family adopted </p>

<p>My school is really new (2 yrs old) and has very few clubs…don’t know if any admissions officer would care. Any chances my EC’s are a bit unique and not just pathetic?</p>

<p>I should get two fairly good recs & one really good one. </p>

<p>Here is the schools I’m thinking abt applying to…if you think I should take any of them off the potential list let me know. I still need to narrow these down…</p>

<p>In order of difficulty for me to get into…tell me if I’m wrong:</p>

<p>Univ of Pennsylvania Wharton (reach)
Columbia (reach)
Stanford (reach)
Cornell (reach)
Northwestern (reach)</p>

<p>NYU Stern (reach-match)
Univ of Chicago (reach-match)</p>

<p>U of Mich Ann Arbor (match)
Carnegie Mellon (match)
NC – Chapel Hill (match)
UC Berkeley (match-Cali resident)
UCLA (match-Cali resident)
USC (match)</p>

<p>UC San Diego (safety)
UC Irvine (safety)
Maybe more UCs (safety)</p>

2

<p>bump....noone has any opinion? or even anyone w/ similar stats that could tell me where they ended up?</p>

3

<p>Stern will be a too reach too</p>

4

<p>where would nyu stern fall in w/ the 1st 5 reaches?</p>

<p>i know some of these schools are way up there and am still narrowing things down, any that are too much of a reach that i should take off the list completely and not apply to?</p>

5

<p>It is hard to say because you haven't taken the SAT. If you get a 1500 or mid 1450s youll have a solid shot everyhwere</p>

6

<p>Do you live in Calif? If you are not a Calif resident, you should know that the UC's only accept 5% of out of state applications. There are so many kids from Calif who apply and qualify for spots at the UC's under Calif state law, that someone from out of state has little chance of getting a space. And with the increase in the number of Calif kids applying each year, I wouldn't count being on of the lucky few.</p>

7

<p>yes, i do live in california. based on that, the top UC's (Berkeley/UCLA) should be about a "match" right?</p>

8

<p>um if u live in cali then unc is gonna be harder than u thihk its as competive as duke for out of staters. what about more matches that are like right below ivy like vanderbilt emory georgetownw, and washu</p>

9

<p>any info on the quality of undergrad business at vanderbilt, emory, georgetown, & washu? </p>

<p>btw, unc has a really good business program...that's why i put it on there, but i understand if it's a reach</p>

10

<p>In class rank do they use weighted or unweighted gpa?</p>

11

<p>i'm sure it's weighted...otherwise it would be a lot lower b/c of people w/ weak schedules, no ap's, etc</p>

12

<p>hey stambliark, do you do to tesoro high school by any chance?</p>

13

<p>actually yeah do you go there</p>

14

<p>do you know christian osmena?</p>

15

<p>i know he is and he knows who i am, but we're not friends or anything</p>

<p>more seriously tho...can anyone confirm my chances at any of these schools besides the fact that chapel hill and stern are reaches as well?</p>

16

<p>is that all the opinions or will i just be ignored till i actually get test scores?</p>

<p>if so, that's fine & i'll come bug you all in a few months</p>

17

<p>Univ of Pennsylvania Wharton- Rejected
Columbia- Rejected
Stanford- REJECTED
Cornell - Accepted-Deferred
Northwestern Accepted</p>

<p>NYU Stern Accepted
Univ of Chicago- Accpted/Deferred (Going to be tricky)
U of Mich Ann Arbor Accepted
Carnegie Mellon Accepted
NC – Chapel Hill Accepted
UC Berkeley- Accepted/Deferred
UCLA Accepted
USC Accepted</p>

<p>UC San Diego (safety)
UC Irvine (safety)
Maybe more UCs (safety)</p>

18

<p>how definite would you consider your rejections/acceptances. meaning, is it even worth applying (or using up my own shot to apply early) at the very top ones on that list</p>

<p>also...could anyone confirm or disagree w/ MJ920103's ratings?</p>

19

<p>i think you have a good shot at all those schools b/c you have great test scores</p>

<p>however, stanford and cornell will be reaches b/c of your gpa</p>

<p>nice job throughout high school man</p>

20

<p>oops i forgot that you wrote "estimated"</p>

<p>well, if you get what you thought you would get, then your chances are as i said in the previous post</p>