Do I have a chance at any Ivies/comparable schools?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>To be honest, my interest in the majority in the Ivies isn't huge. However, I would like to gauge my chances of being accepted (generally speaking) at top-tier institutions. I'm a rising senior and I'm still not entirely sure what are good matches and reaches for me. I don't want to waste money applying to places I don't have any inkling of a chance at getting into.</p>

<p>About me:</p>

<p>I intend to double major in German and Economics; German is my primary interest.</p>

<p>Places I'm particularly interested in:
UChicago
Swarthmore
Tufts
Georgetown (College)
McGill
Rice
Cornell
Penn (CAS)
Middlebury
Fordham (safety)</p>

<p>[ul]
[li] SAT I (breakdown): 2290 (800 CR/690 M/800 W/11 E) - one sitting</p>[/li]
<p>[li] ACT: 36 (36 E/36 M/36 R/36 S/12 essay) - one sitting</p>[/li]
<p>[li] SAT II: Didn't take (not sure if I need to or not)</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8 (~4.6 weighted)</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 5%</p>[/li]
<p>[li] AP (place score in parenthesis): European History (5), US History (5), German Language (5), English Language and Composition (5)</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Senior Year Course Load: AP Biology, AP Calculus BC, German IV Honors, AP English Literature, Spanish I, Martial Arts, AP US/Comparative Government</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Awards: AATG Summer Study Program Winner (39 winners nationwide; scholarship for a 3.5 week trip to Germany), Girl Scout Silver Award, school awards in Foreign Language and Social Science, school award for good character, 1st place in cultural essay category at UIC German High School Day, likely NMSF, AP Scholar with Honor, AATG National German Exam Gold Award, levels II and II (top scorer in Northern Illinois for level III), Church/diocese awards for peer ministry</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Martial Arts Club (officer), Girl Scouts, Model UN, Constitution Team, German Club, NHS, Church Youth Group, Stage Crew, Thespians</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Job/Work Experience: I've worked for a few months at Culver's and the public library</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Volunteer/Community service: volunteering as a counselor at Girl Scout camp, occasional community service projects with Youth Group</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Summer Activities: AATG summer program, volunteering at Girl Scout camp, work</p>[/li]
<p>[li] State (if domestic applicant): Illinois (Chicago area)</p>[/li]
<p>[li] School Type: Competitive Public</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Ethnicity: White</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Gender: Female</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Income Bracket: I honestly don't know because my parents refuse to tell me, but probably between $100,000-200,00</p>[/li]
<p>[*] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nothing in particular, although I think the AATG award is a big deal because I got a letter from the Georgetown German Department Chair congratulating me and inviting me to apply to Georgetown for German.[/ul]</p>

2

<p>Fail thread has failed. :(</p>

3

<p>You have really really good scores on SAT, ACT, and APs. Your problem is that you have almost no leadership positions. You should overall still be fine, but it’s something to think about. Chance me? “Chance me for Ivies?” is my thread.</p>

4

<p>Yeah, that’s true. I dunno, being the president of a club or something is usually a popularity contest, and I’m not exactly Ms. Popularity. xD</p>

<p>But I do think I’ll probably be a co-president of Martial Arts Club this year, and maybe an officer in German Club. So that’s something, at least.</p>

5

<p>You have excellent test scores, but it seems you have no ECs. Unfortunately for you, Ivies want the whole package. I’m sure they would rather have a student with subpar test scores but amazing ECs than a student with subpar ECs and amazing test scores. To them, it seems that you didn’t contribute to your school or do anything important just excel on your tests and grades.
If you can somehow change their perspective via essays, you might have a shot but those colleges you listed are extremely competitive. Despite this, I’m would bet that you will get into at least one of the lower tier colleges that you listed, I wouldn’t count on an Ivy though.</p>

<p>Chance me back please!</p>

6

<p>No ECs? I listed nine ECs. o_0</p>

<p>The ones I listed:</p>

<p>Martial Arts Club (officer)
Girl Scouts (member for 11 years)
Model UN
Constitution Team (a big deal at my school - you have to try out)
German Club
NHS (National Honor Society)
Church Youth Group (mostly community service)
Stage Crew
Thespians</p>

<p>A few I forgot:</p>

<p>Polyglot Toastmasters Speaking Club (you give speeches in German)</p>

<p>I’m also in art club and was on the school newspaper staff for three years (I didn’t sign up for senior year because I don’t have enough time).</p>

<p>My ECs aren’t amazing, but I didn’t think they were negligible. D=</p>

7

<p>You’re right they aren’t negligible; to most schools, that is a fantastic list of ECs. That being said, there is nothing really in that list that makes you stand out among the thousands of other applicants they get every year. You have a decent shot, IMO, at an ivy like Brown or Cornell, but you aren’t quite up to the HYPSM standard. I’m sure you will find a great school!</p>

8

<p>Oh, that’s fine - I’m not aiming for HYPSM. Even if my ECs were amazing, I still wouldn’t consider those schools realistic options. Ideally, I could go to a top 50, or maybe even top 20 school, but it definitely doesn’t need to be top 5. :)</p>