Do I stand a chance?

<p>I'm a junior with a few ideas on which schools I want to apply to..but recently I've started to feel less secure about my chances and I'm starting to feel like my standards are rapidly plummeting along with my GPA :S Everyone here has great resumes but I'm afraid my grades aren't as stellar and my ECs aren't as packed. </p>

<p>Here's where I stand so far:</p>

<p>Asian Roman Catholic female, intl school, intl passport
Bilingual in English and Chinese, 6 years of Spanish</p>

<p>Freshman GPA: 3.8
Sophomore GPA: 3.78
Junior GPA: (so far) 3.62
Cumulative: 3.73 (unweighted)
no ranking system or weighted grades in my school</p>

<p>Courses:</p>

<p>Freshman - Regular classes (non APs)
Sophomore - APUSH (5)
Junior (predicted grades) - AP Psych (5), AP Lang & Comp (4/5), AP Bio (3/4)
Senior - plan on taking: AP Calc AB, AP Euro, AP Lit, AP Econ (Macro/Micro)</p>

<p>I'm taking Spanish 4 this year, the equivalent of AP Spanish, and I'm moving on to taking Spanish 5 next year, which is equal to the IB Spanish B Year 2 level. I've also taken Band for the past 3 years, and still plan on taking it next year as an elective.</p>

<p>SAT IIs: US History (690), Biology (just took today! I'm feeling it's around the 680-700 range)
PSAT: 192
SAT I: taking in June, aiming for at least a 2150</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>I'm really not much of an athlete due to health issues. I was involved in my school's community service program full-time in 9th grade, visiting orphanages etc. every week after school. Joined the Habitat for Humanity club sophomore year till now, just got elected for a leadership position for the next school year. I plan on going on a Habitat building trip as well. On weekends I alternate weeks for visiting orphanages and volunteering at a cerebral palsy care home as much as I can. In addition, I'm also involved in NHS and Prom Committee.</p>

<p>Last summer I volunteered at a hospital as both an assistant for department offices and volunteer in the children's ward. I plan on doing it again this summer, and I'm also considering on becoming a registered World Vision youth volunteer.</p>

<p>I've played the piano for 9-10 years, passed the ABRSM level 8 exam along with intermediate music theory. Also played clarinet in band since 5th grade.</p>

<p>This is my college list so far, but my counselor doesn't think most of them are matches..</p>

<p>Boston College (current goal)
NYU
USC
U of Chicago
Northwestern
Wesleyan (If I do I'm hoping to also go for the Freeman Asian Scholarship for Asian passport holding students)
Purdue? (Not my top choice but it's infamous in my school for being everyone's safety)
UPenn or Dartmouth or Columbia (as reaches, obviously)</p>

<p>I'm still stuck on safety schools...what would be considered a safety school for someone like me?</p>

<p>I'm mostly likely going to go into the humanities field. Right now it's either business or history (probably art history). Or I might just double major.</p>

<p>So it all comes down to: is my college selection appropriate? What should I improve on? (either the college list or transcript-wise)</p>

<p>Do you need financial aid? Where do you stand in your class, are you want of the top 3?</p>

<p>Your GPA is solidly good and you seem to have some nice community service activities which you enjoy. For the Ivies, being Asian puts you at a bit of a disadvantage, so I'd say they're going to be reaches unless you can manage to get your SAT scores above a 2200. </p>

<p>For chancing purposes, I'm going to assume you get a 2100 (CR 700, M 700, W 700). Scale of: high reach, reach, semi-reach, good fit, likely, safety.</p>

<p>Boston College... GOOD FIT.
New York University... GOOD FIT.
University of Southern California... SEMI-REACH.
University of Chicago... REACH.
Northwestern University... REACH.
Wesleyan University... SEMI-REACH.
Purdue University... SAFETY.
University of Pennsylvania... HIGH REACH.
Dartmouth College... REACH.
Columbia University... HIGH REACH.</p>

<p>Some more schools to consider offering art history and/or business majors:</p>

<p>REACH: Swarthmore College (PA), Williams College (PA)
SEMI-REACH: Bowdoin College (ME), Georgetown University (DC), Middlebury College (ME), Haverford College (PA), Johns Hopkins University (MD), University of Notre Dame (IN), Carleton College (MN)
GOOD FIT: Washington & Lee University (VA), Colgate University (NY), Bard College (NY), Emory University (GA), Kenyon College (OH), Colby College (ME), Hamilton College (NY), Oberlin College (OH), Brandeis University (MA), Connecticut College (CT), Macalester College (MN), Reed College (OR)
LIKELY: Pepperdine University (CA), Bucknell University (PA), College of the Holy Cross (MA), George Washington University (DC), Tulane University (LA), Denison University (OH), Lehigh University (PA), Skidmore College (NY), Gettysburg College (PA), Wheaton College (MA), Occidental College (CA), Trinity College (CT), Villanova University (PA), Wake Forest University (NC), Northeastern University (MA), Franklin & Marshall College (PA)</p>

<p>Thanks littleathiest! </p>

<p>Suze - My school is competitive so I doubt I'm on the top 3..or top 10, for that matter. I don't need financial aid, but 12 years of private school tuition makes me reach for scholarships so I don't have to depend as much on my parents.</p>

<p>Any other suggestions?</p>

<p>Many of your top schools only give need based aid, so if scholarships are impt, aim for schools that offer merit $$ where your stats put you at the top of the applicant pool. There's a good list on the parent's board.</p>

<p>If you go to a competitive private school they keep data on who gets in from your school. That's the best info you can get.</p>

<p>Middlebury is in Vermont, not Maine.</p>