Everytime I post a chance thread, everyone says "aim higher." Well, I did. Chances?

<p>I know, I already posted a "Final" chances thread. However, the fact that people were telling me things such as "OSU? You kidding?" and "You'd probably get into more than one ivy!" made me reconsider a little bit, and add a few more desireable and more competitive schools to my list. I'm not saying I'm going to apply to every school on this list, but I'd like to be chanced for them to give me an idea where I stand and an idea of where I should apply.</p>

<p>First, Credentials:</p>

<p>White Male from Minot, North Dakota
Lives on a Farm. Am fluent in that lifestyle.
HS Class of 2010 (junior)
1st Generation College Student (both my parents failed out [still have jobs today], mother failed out of uw-madison, father failed out of Emory)
Highly Ranked Public High School (well, #3 in N. Dakota, that is, so that's really not saying much)
GPA (unweighted): 3.898
GPA (weighted): 3.962
ACT: 35 (w/ 10 writing)
I never took the SAT, but I got 226 on the PSAT.
Class Rank: 5/174
Major: Undecided. Possibly arts of some sort.</p>

<p>CLASSES (HP=Honors Placement)
FRESHMAN: Spanish 1, HP Earth Science, HP US History, HP English 9, HP Geometry, Band
SOPHOMORE: HP Spanish 2, AP Biology, APUSH, HP English 10, HP Algebra 2, AP Gov, Band
JUNIOR: HP Spanish 3, AP Chemistry, AP Euro, AP English, HP Pre-Calc, Band, Music Lab
SENIOR: AP Spanish, AP Physics, AP Psychology, AP English, AP Calc AB, Band, AP Music Theory</p>

<p>AP Scores varied Greatly.</p>

<p>EC's:</p>

<ol>
<li>Band.</li>
<li>Percussionist</li>
<li>4 years of High School Band.</li>
<li>1st Chair since sophomore year</li>
<li>Made the most Elite Audition band in my school 10th-12th grade</li>
<li>3 Music Letters, all from various Band Activities
<strong>Marching Band</strong>
-5 years, 8th-12th grade.</li>
<li>Section Leader for upcoming season</li>
<li>Co-Section Leader last year
<strong>Drum Line</strong></li>
<li>Co-Captaining the Drum-Line</li>
<li>5 years</li>
<li>Our group won 2 state titles
<strong>Pep-Band</strong></li>
<li>Section Leader junior year</li>
<li>Winter and Spring</li>
<li>Composed a "song" that we performed
<strong>Jazz Ensemble</strong></li>
<li>1st Chair Pianist/ doubled up on bass when needed</li>
<li>3 years</li>
<li>Performed in DC
<strong>Solo & Ensemble</strong></li>
<li>Played a Sax Solo sophomore year and received a superior rating</li>
<li><p>Fresh-Junior Year: Played with group and got excellent/superior ratings
<strong>Traveled to Spain last summer with the band to perform in Madrid</strong>
<strong>Accepted into the North Dakota all state High School Honor Band</strong></p></li>
<li><p>Track & Field (Indoor & Outdoor)</p></li>
<li><p>1 mile, 2 mile, 4X400 m. Relay</p></li>
<li><p>Captain Junior Year for Indoor</p></li>
<li><p>Freshman Year-Senior</p></li>
<li><p>National Honor Society</p></li>
<li><p>300 Community Service Hours to this point</p></li>
<li><p>Includes peer tutoring to disabled children in the elementary school</p></li>
<li><p>Habitat for Humanity, summer 2009. Renovating a childrens library. only 2 hours a week.</p></li>
<li><p>Part Time Job, Target. I Work in Food Avenue. 25-30 hours a week.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>-Essays should be good. I'm generally good with that.</p>

<p>-I have 2 recs getting ready to be lined up. One should be good, and one should be absolutely excellent</p>

<p>Second, Colleges: (A lot, I'm sorry)</p>

<p>Univ. Southern California</p>

<p>UVA</p>

<p>Univ. Washington</p>

<p>Stanford Univ.</p>

<p>Univ. Wisconsin-Madison</p>

<p>James Madison Univ. (EA)</p>

<p>Indiana Univ. - Bloomington</p>

<p>Univ. Illinois Urbana-Champaign</p>

<p>Univ. Minnesota-Twin Cities</p>

<p>Emory University</p>

<p>UMich-Ann Arbor</p>

<p>UPenn</p>

<p>Cal Poly-SLO</p>

<p>....Thanks.</p>

<p>Why EA at James Madison University? Do you have some phobia for applying to colleges? I think your list is very uneven. I followed this format which gave me a shot at 15 colleges. </p>

<p>5 Reaches
8 Matches
2 Safeties</p>

<p>Univ. Southern California-Match
UVA-High match, OOS
Univ. Washington-Safety
Stanford Univ.-Reach for everyone
Univ. Wisconsin-Madison-Low Match
James Madison Univ. (EA)-Safety
Indiana Univ. - Bloomington-Safety
Univ. Illinois Urbana-Champaign-Low Match
Univ. Minnesota-Twin Cities-Safety
Emory University-Match
UMich-Ann Arbor-High match, OOS
UPenn-Reach for everyone
Cal Poly-SLO-Safety</p>

<p>Apply to some ivies too if you want. I can understand why an ivy might seem like a turnoff though. Quite honestly, I think living on a farm has given you a rather lacking perspective of what college you are capable of getting into. Reading some of your threads almost made me feel like you were a ■■■■■ lol.</p>

<p>Also, why not try Juilliard School or Columbia? Although they are both reaches for you.</p>

<p>Thank you, NP.</p>

<p>Bump.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t say Wisconson is a match, more of a safety.</p>

<p>Aim higher.</p>

<p>Honestly, you’re very much underestimating yourself.</p>

<p>You have a very good GPA.
You have excellent test scores.
Your ECs are good.
You are from North Dakota.</p>

<p>Look into more schools of Stanford’s or Penn’s caliber (or slightly below). Most of the schools on your list are safeties or low-ish matches.</p>

<p>I agree with what everyone is saying. Apply to a few reaches and create more matches. You never know, you may get accepted. Best of luck!</p>

<p>You should definitely look into Cornell! Not sure if it fits your major, but it has really solid schools that match your stats and a good college environment. Good luck!</p>

<p>Upenn, uva, emory, stanford are reaches. ( but doable)
USC, cal poly low reach (cal poly is here only because CSUs are becoming more and more regional-and Cal Poly only has a 34% acceptance rate)
the rest are matches or lower. good luck!
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