do i have a chance at harvard, princeton, or yale?? ^^

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Gender: F
Ethnicity: Asian
Location: Northeast
College Class Year: 2014
High School: Private
High School Type: 25% harvard, princeton, yale. 25% other ivys. 20% liberal arts colleges. 30% other top schools</p>

<p>Academics:
no gpa avail, but my grades are a's in math and science, b/b+'s in english and history
Class Rank: 14/50
Course selection: all ap's</p>

<p>Scores:
SAT total (i took this in 8th grade and i haven't retaken it): 2170
SAT I Math: 730
SAT I Critical Reading: 710
SAT I Writing: 730
ACT (also in 8th grade) -30
SAT II Bio: 710 (yeah i know bad score. im hoping to get a much better score on my other sat ii's so this one won't count as much)</p>

<p>Will take SAT II's in US History, Math-2, chem, physics, latin, lit
Will retake SAT and ACT sometime junior year</p>

<p>ECs
-School literary newspaper (layout editor)
-Asian Awareness
-Princeton Model Congress
-Math team head
-Science club head
-Harvard Model UN
-Piano for 9 years (played at carnegie hall and lincoln hall as a soloist, but not like my own concert)
-Swimming for 9 years (competitive, i was once state-ranked but not anymore? does this help?)
-i'm going to do science research sometime junior year and summer</p>

<p>Honors/Awards
Allstar award for swimming from the Association of Independent Schools
Winner of at least 2 piano competitions but i can't remember the names right now
Passed bill at Princeton Model Congress (15/1000 people got their bills passed)
Winner at many robotics competitions
I'm part of the Center for Talented Youth (CTY)... does this help me??</p>

<p>Recs/Essays
I've got two teachers who'll write good recs for me. Haven't even met my counselor yet... but my school doesn't deal with college until junior year so no one in my grade really knows our counselor. I don't have any recs outside of school... is this a problem? My essay will probably be good, my school's known for our liberal arts curriculum. </p>

<p>Hooks: my ECs. and the fact that I was the first person who did an accelerated math course in our school. i skipped sophomore and junior year math and went straight to bc calculus. and i was actually wondering about this. since our school is like an english/history type of school, do you think that since i'm good at math and science, i'll have a better chance at getting into some colleges? Weaknesses: no work/intern/volunteer experience (i did some volunteering in freshmen year but i got really busy this year and kinda stopped doing it... is this really bad??). and my grades aren't stellar but according to our teachers, colleges know that my school is a really hard school (we're ranked second in the US), so admissions officers will understand that our grades won't be able to look as good as people who go to easier schools.</p>

<p>Colleges of Interest
Yale
Princeton
UPenn
Boston University
Harvard</p>

<p>Interested in majoring in medicine/biochemistry/business. thanks for all your input!! and thanks to the person who i took the format of this from... you know who you are!!^^</p>

2

<p>You have a chance just as much as any other person. Your grades and test scores are impressive and you will most likely get into some of the lower tier ivies. However, your EC's aren't all that impressive and no, being a part of CTY isn't something that should be acknowledged as it's a part of your pre-high school years. Being a math/science person distinguishes you from your humanities concentrated peers but that may not necessarily translate into college admissions perceptions-there is no 'quota' to fill from your school persay. So, if your humanities concetrated friend is also applying to the same schools but she is just a better candidate, your math abilities won't sway or tilt the decision towards you because you would be competing essentially against all the other math candidates( this is a sweeping generalization- obviously, location, amongst other things, come into play). Also, while it is impressive that you are a sophomore in Calc BC, it's not uncommon. Looking at your major and your activities, you should add MIT/CalTech to your list. Also, if you are to do research, do it on a competative level! You are only a sophomore and so many things change/develop from sophomore year to first semester senior year, so keep on your track. You have a good chance at some schools but HYP are always a crapshoot. Your hook, I would say, comes from being from the 2nd ranked high school. Other than that, I can't really see anything.</p>

3

<p>thanks for all that. see thats the problem with my school I think. B/c all my teachers are claiming that we don't need to take that many AP's/SAT II's because college admissions officers know that our schools difficult and all that. But from what I hear from my friends in other schools, they're all soo busy taking 5 AP's and 3 SAT II's. And I'm taking much less and also doing much less ec's. </p>

<p>But also, the seniors this year who have already gotten into college, the ones who have gotten into hyp don't have that much EC's actually. Most of them were head of one or maybe two clubs in our school, and did some volunteering over the summer. Our school, being really small, rarely has anyone who's a national merit finalist or anything else that's really extraordinary. I actually don't understand how so many people in our school get into hyp. So from what I'm hearing from my teachers and peers, the fact that my school's really good counts for a lot.</p>

<p>But I totally agree with you that none of my EC's or hooks are amazing, but among my peers, they're almost the best. So I'm just not really sure exactly how much I'm competing against people in other schools... because then our school would not have that many people going to hyp.</p>

4

<p>I think it's a little too early to tell but given that the school is ridiculousy competitive but also considering you only have a class of 50, i would say you have a very good chance at some of the tier 1 and 2 schools. however i think that EC's are extremely important at Tier 0 schools like Hypsm, so i suggest you start getting officer positions and obtaning more awards... just my 2 cents and take it with a grain of salt.</p>

5

<p>thanks!! yeah maybe i'm worrying about this too early...</p>

6

<p>Hey, thanks for chancing me!</p>

<p>Anyways, I think you have a great chance, not only because your top school, but also because you still have a year and a half to get everything done. Seriously, you are in great shape, thinking about admissions so early in the game.</p>

<p>Keep up your course work and become involved in depth with ec's that you enjoy, without spreading yourself too thin. come back in a year and I'm sure you will have a killer resume. Good luck!</p>

7

<p>wait i dont get it, you guys dont take many exams and don't have many national merit scholarship finalists; how on earth do the colleges then know how "competitive" this school is? unless the college admissions councilors went through this school as well as 150 other high schools to compare the curricula, how can they possibly know how competitive your school is? </p>

<p>this is interesting because i come from a school that is tough (and graduates 30 National Merit Scholarship finalists, 60 IB kids, and even more AP scholars every year) but nobody ever tells us that our school is so hard that we don't even have to take these exams. it's a public school that ranks, and everyone knows (in central texas) that if someone switches from my school to another school, their rank automatically jumps 30 places within a year because the other schools are much easier. Even among IB schools, we're also considered top notch. our scores and strong, and everyone who leaves our school finds themselves having a much easier time in top notch colleges than kids from other schools. </p>

<p>so ultimately my question is, how do admissions people know what's a "competitive" school and what's not?</p>

8

<p>Competitive schools have high numbers of national merit finalists and ap scholars and other similar award winners. Competitive high schools include stuyvesant, boston latin, and thomas jefferson. The competitiveness of a school is reflected in its test scores. If your school doesn't even frequently have many national merit finalists, it's probably not competitive at all. That makes me wonder how 25% of a class can go to HYP. What kind of school is this?</p>

9

<p>I think you are a cinch for BU, a long reach for all the others -- although if the details of your EC's are interesting, that could help. There are a ton of excellent colleges and universities in the range from BU to HYP. Have you considered whether a smaller LAC might be more to your liking? Would you consider women's colleges? </p>

<p>Have you visited any of the places you mention? My niece was sure BU would be at the top of her list until she visited it and a small LAC on the same day -- she's going to Connecticut College instead. She also HATED Brown when she visited. So these visits are vital. You might still prefer all the HYP after you're done -- but I'm betting not!</p>

10

<p>Are you taking APs? If so how many? Or IBs? If the case is IBs, you have a much better shot than with APs. Also consider using an online GPA calculator to calculate your GPA. If it is less than a 3.8 or a 3.75 (unweighted) your chances at HYP are probably less than good, but as Ford says, BU is a definite match.</p>

11

<p>Well you guys can look my school up if you don't believe me that it's ranked second best. It's called Brearley and its all-girls and its in NYC. And yeah personally I don't know how a lot of people in our school really make it to hyp but they do so... I'm guessing our school's name counts for something.</p>

<p>And amb3r, our school only has like 50 people anyways so 25% isn't that many people actually. And this year it was particularly low, maybe like 10/11 people got into to hyp plus like 5 got into stanford, mit, etc. </p>

<p>I've visited Yale but thats it, and I didn't really like it. But sorry for saying this but I just think that if a school is good then I wanna go there. And no, please no, I am not going to a women's college. haha. I just spent my entire life in a all girls school haha. And it was really bad. </p>

<p>I'm probably going to end up taking maybe 7-9 APs.</p>

12

<p>A couple important things - first of all, like everyone else says, you're not going to be accepted on your school's merit alone. As a sophomore, I kind of doubt that you personally know all the seniors and their lives enough to say that they didn't do any EC's and didn't take many AP's. And I did look up your school, it's #2 for matriculation to Ivies (not acceptance, matriculation). It's probably a very prestigious school, but a degree alone won't get you into the schools you're looking at.</p>

<p>Second of all, the college app is for what you did in high school. Not in pre-high school years. So, as other people have mentioned, they're not going to see anything you did in 8th grade - being once state-ranked in swimming isn't going to help you here. They also won't see your 8th grade SAT scores by the time you apply to college - they disappear off of your official College Board record after three years.</p>

<p>It's kind of odd that you're an intense math/science person but you're going to a school known for its liberal arts curriculum. Wouldn't that give you fewer opportunities for advanced math/science study? Like, what are you doing after taking BC calc - no math for two years? I think this is also an area where your EC's are kinda lacking - involvement in your field. You don't have much math/science oriented involvement. Colleges get loads of people who want to major in premed/biochem, and some of your competitors will get the edge because they've done internships and individual research while your claim to fame is being president of a science club. Likewise, that's something to look into - volunteer at a hospital or do some research under a well-known scientist and submit to Intel or Siemens if you really want to get noticed. Your piano accomplishments do set you apart, though, and if you get some more national recognition here you could make a case for yourself musically.</p>

<p>Also, your class rank is pretty low. Even for a competitive school.</p>

<p>Yale - reach, like it is for anyone
Princeton - reach, see Yale
UPenn - slight reach
Boston University - definite match, probably a safety
Harvard - reach, see Yale</p>

<p>You definitely need some other schools to consider as safeties on the chance that you don't get into these schools, unless you are 100% sure you'd be happy at BU.</p>

13

<p>To be fair, 14/50 isn't exactly low (percentage-wise yes, but with that small of a graduating class from what seems to be a very competitive high school I don't think it will hurt her)
I agree with your assessment of reaches and matches.
A note: dual enrollment for math might be sketchy if at a community college, so if it is possible to dual enroll at a university then go for it.</p>

14

<p>As someone who just graduated from another top NY high school, I have to be honest and say that unfortunately I don't think HYP or the like is going to happen.</p>

<p>First, the reason so many at your school get into ivies is that they are legacies and/or very rich and connected. Applying from a top NYC prep without having a tie to HYP makes them all but impossible unless you're absolutely brilliant and top of class, a minority or someone who excels at something to the extent that the Times has written you up.</p>

<p>Second, kids at schools like ours are expected to have very high SAT scores. While yours are good, they are not HYP good. It's hard to claim you're great at math with a 730!</p>

<p>Also, your class rank is a killer.</p>

<p>That said, you'll get into very good schools but I wouldn't bank on any ivy or ever WAS level schools. Sorry!!</p>

15

<p>It's really to early to tell how stron an Ivy candidate you might be -- but the reality is you are competing with the #'s 1-20 in you school and every other prestigious prep school, as well as all the vals and jocks and plain well-rounded good students from the publics. All you can do at this point is keep up the good work, and start exploring other options that you could be happy with -- there are plenty out there! If you didn't like Yale, who's to say that you'd like Harvard or Princeton? You have time -- check out a couple of the LACs in the northeast (there are a ton), you might like them better than any Ivy. You gotta get off of this Ivy fixation!</p>

16

<p>In at UPenn and Boston U.</p>

17

<p>I have a sister who's a senior this year and she told me about the other seniors.
Well, of course I'm planning to retake the SAT. I just listed my 8th grade score because I haven't retaken it yet and it would be hard to chance me if you didn't even have a SAT score judge me upon.
I'm going to Columbia for multivariable and in senior year I'm doing independent study in math at my school and doing something at another college, I'm not sure yet.
Not to be a bit obsessive about college apps, I counted the number of people who have legacies that I know of. There's about 3 or 4 of them that I know. So assuming that I don't know about another 3 that I don't know about that's like 6/7. Then I counted the number of people with better grades than me. A lot of those people end up being the people with legacies so I don't recount them. The number ended up being 4/5. Then I counted the people with really impressive EC's, awards, sports, music things, etc. That was like another 4. I would fall right under these categories. Then it would add up to about 15 or if I counting less about 20. Then I know that on my list, there's some people who are aimed at going to small liberal arts colleges. At least 2 are aiming for international univ. So therefore, assuming that 15 people in my class will get into HYP, I have a bit of a chance if I do something major in my junior year. Am I like not calculating my chance right, like there will be some underdog or something that I usually don't include that'll take the small number of HYP spots away?</p>

18

<p>You will know who the athletes are and some of the legacies, but you'll never know the quiet connections that are so common at top NYC preps. Probably 80% of your classmates at Brearley are wealthy and VERY connected. </p>

<p>It's not the top 30% of such a school's class that go to the top schools. The VAST majority are athletes/legacies/rich/minority scholarship students.</p>

<p>You are not just up against kids at your school, every top school will limit kids from NYC preps as they get a zillion apps from us. If you're an unconnected kid not number 1 in your class, HYP are virtually impossible! Sorry, but it's just the truth.</p>

<p>People don't go around advertising that their uncle just gave Princeton a building but look around at your classmates parents and relatives, this is the top .000001 percent of wealth in the Country. They may not appear to be legacies but trust me, they have strings you will never know about.</p>