Do I even have a shot?!

<p>Wow, I'm freaking out everybody. Name's RJ and I need some serious help. Im going to be a seinor and, joining the fight for a college, have been thrown into the Coliseum with nothing but a spoon. I have been comming to this site for many months and it depresses/motivates me each time I visit it, with the abundance of "elite" students posting all their great ec's and what not. I now realize I need nothing short of a miracle to get into the Ivy's but I was hoping someone could tell me where my transcript is good enough to get me to. </p>

<p>I have a cumulative average of 97% for freshamn-juinor year in highschool (think its 4.0 unweighted but might have gotten 1 b) and I take all honors and a couple AP classes every year.</p>

<p>My Sat scores :<br>
Reading-640 Writing-640 Math-720 (Im almost positive Ill break 2150 next time I take it though)
Math 2- 800
Chemistry- 560 (I know!! I blame my stupid teacher....and myself of course. Will retake*)</p>

<p>My Ecs/sports:
Founder of the Ping Pong Club beginning of juinor year
Jazz band - 4 years
Spanish club - 1 year
Chess club - 3 years
School newspaper editor - 1 year
Basketball rec. league - 2 year<br>
Outdoor track - 1 year
Indoor track - 1 year
Cross Country - 1 year
Tennis-1 year</p>

<p>Btw - In no way am I boasting here (becasue lets be honest : ) , I dont have anything to boast about). So basically I want to go to lower end Ivy's and other schools of that caliber. Any hope guys?</p>

<p>My friend's sister (she's a junior in college now) got accepted to Cornell with very similar stats. Her gpa was a bit lower than yours, her ec's were a bit better, and her SAT M+V was the same. She only applied to two top schools and was rejected from Georgetwon early action and accepted to Cornell where she is currently attending. So yes, there's hope for you.</p>

<p>thank you for your insight meow360 but i have to consider scholarships a lot and i dont believe cornell gives much out so are there any other colleges up there?</p>

<p>what about me...
Floridian Male sophmore attending a private christian school (it's not a very well known school) I would like to major in Finance/Business. I want to be a broker of some sort.</p>

<p>Freshman Year:
Varsity/MVP/First Position for School's tennis team
All honors courses possible were taken
Mostly A's, maybe a B or two...although, my semester GPAs were 4.2 and 4.4
NJHS
Mu Alpha Theta
Intern at SmithBarney, stock brokerage</p>

<p>Sophmore-Senior Year:
Mostly all of the stuff I did my Freshman year all over again, only I will be doing the following extras:
President of Sophmore class
Cross Country for Soph/Jun/Senior years
Maybe soccer for soph/jun years
Junior State of America </p>

<p>I hope to get a SAT score somewhere in the 1800-2000s
What do you think my chances are for Cornell/other ivies?</p>

<p>"lower end Ivy's"
People won't like that.</p>

<p>Very little chance. Scores too low, ECs too average. 2150 won't do it.</p>

<p>I appreciate you honesty bobby100, but is there anything I can do to increase my chances as a seinor? I believe I can work hard enough to possibly get 2200, would that do it?</p>

<p>Who knows. Your ECs don't say ivy nor do your current scores. With a 2200, great recs and great essays you have a shot at lower ivies.</p>

<p>To get into any Ivy, you have to be GREAT, I don't see anything GREAT here. And I really don't think the term "lower ivies" says anything positive for your perspective on colleges.</p>

<p>Harsh...but at least I can hope for the best and expect the worst, and I didn't mean anything when I said lower ivy's, its just a label everyone in my school says for brown, cornell, and upenn, didn't mean any disrespect.</p>

<p>"its just a label everyone in my school says for brown, cornell, and upenn, didn't mean any disrespect.its just a label everyone in my school says for brown, cornell, and upenn, didn't mean any disrespect.“
People won't like that, either. =x I know you mean no disrespect, but it conveys a sense of arrogance.</p>

<p>But it is pretty disrespectful considering those are some of the top universities in the country. People who "label" those schools are the types of people who either are unable to get in, or are so impressed with themselves they tend to think the word sucess and HYP are synonymos.</p>

<p>its like saying the "lower" Nobel Laureates lol</p>

<p>Doesn't matter what he says. The kid wants to go to an Ivy League school. So, does he have a fair shot? </p>

<p>That I have no authority to comment on. However, I can recommend some outstanding Liberal Arts Colleges that are good matches for a candidate like you. </p>

<p>As many have realized in recent days, the top LACs certainly offer quality education even the big Ivies cannot hope to rival. </p>

<p>Williams, Middlebury, Bowdoin, and Davidson are all outstanding places to spend your undergrad years. They provide close-knitted school communities plus MUCH more accessible and responsible profs who solely devote their time to undergraduate teaching. If you are really thinking ahead, it may be a big advantage to spend your undergrad years at a LAC and receive quality education and preparation for a BRAND NAME ivy graduate school. Now that's the ideal long term strategy:)</p>

<p>Also, Middlebury and Bowdoin consider SATs as "optional" (which could work to your advantage). At Middlebury, you have 3 options: submit SAT Reasoning OR submit ACT OR submit a combination of 3 subject tests in either the SAT II format or AP exams. As you can see, this obviously works in your favor because you could simply send them your good SAT Reasoning score, and still get the recognition. If you apply ED to these top LACs, your chances of admission should be "very good." Good luck:)</p>

<p>Okay, then, no, you probably wouldn't get in. Although you have good grades, your unimpressive list of ECs and average test scores will not swing the vote in your favor. Check out the LACs, though, they are a bit easier to have success in.</p>

<p>Absolutely no chance a places like Williams, Amherst, and Swarthmore. Their requirements are just as stiff as HYP. Likewise, schools like Duke and Rice want a solid 2100+ and 3 SAT IIs at 700+.</p>

<p>Absolutely NO Chance? Remember, nothing's ever for sure.</p>

<p>Let's take a look at the statistics of some major LACs:
Median SAT scores V + M:</p>

<p>Middlebury: 1330
Bowdoin: doesn't even require SATs for admission (though it could be a plus if you can score around that median range of Middlebury)
Williams: 1400
Davidson: 1300</p>

<p>As the OP stated, he/she will CERTAINLY be able to raise that SAT score to an 2100+, which fits perfectly within the top LAC range.</p>

<p>Jimmy, few unhooked applicants with scores at the median get into top schools. The bottom half of the class are athletes, URMs, legacies and the very wealthy. The middle have exceptional talents and all the others need stats above the 75th percentile.</p>

<p>Us saying that you wouldn't get into these schools doesn't classify you as a bad student, stupid, or unable to succeed in college. Your information listed lacks any sort of stand out appeal and you would be eaten alive in the admissions room by kids who have done way more for a longer period of time than you.</p>

<p>As others have stated, your weak ECs hurt your chances at the very most competitive schools including the LACs. As you probably know, at the top lacs like Bowdoin, 75% of the applicants are not admitted and many of those students have very strong ECs including holding significant leadership positions and ECs that demonstrate passion through long term commitment. If you do not submit SAT scores than there has to be some other compelling reason for a Bowdoin or Middlebury to admit you.<br>
I cannot tell from your post if you are male or female, but if you feel strongly about applying to a highly competitive schools consider schools that might more readily admit you because of gender, for example if you are male Vassar might give you a second look. Of course there are many terrific "highly competitive" rather than most competitive schools that would be very interested in you and would possibly provide merit aid.</p>