Finalizing College List: Chance Me?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I have started to finalize the list of colleges that I will be applying to, but I was wondering if anyone could chance me one last time for the colleges on my list. My list is pretty short and contains colleges from all over the nations. With that said, my list includes:</p>

<p>1.) Boston University
2.) New York University
3.) Northeastern University
4.) Tulane University
5.) University of California, Los Angeles
6.) University of Kentucky</p>

<p>My Stats:</p>

<p>I am a white male whose family's income is below $120,000. However, I do have one hook. I am a first generation college student.</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA: 3.91
Weighted GPA: 4.33
ACT Score: 28</p>

<p>Schedule:
Eighth Grade (High School Credit):
- Algebra I Honors
- History and Appreciation for the Arts and Humanities</p>

<p>Freshman Year:
- Geometry Honors
- English I Honors
- Biology
- Spanish I
- World Geography and US Government
- PE/ Health</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
- Algebra II Honors
- English II Honors
- Introduction to the Sciences
- Spanish II
- World History
- Art</p>

<p>Junior Year (All Taken at Western Kentucky University):
- Math 117 (Trigonometry)
- CS 180 (Honors Introduction to Java programming)
- Bio 120 (Biology Concepts: Cell Metabolism and Genetics)
- Bio 275
- Math 136 (Honors Calculus I)
- Eng 100 (Introduction to College Writing)
- Bio 312 (Bioinformatics)
- CS 371 (Honors Advanced Computational Problem Solving: Mathematica)
- Chem 116 (Introduction to College Chemistry)
- Bio 485 (Honors Costa Rican Biodiversity Studies)</p>

<p>Senior Year (All Taken at Western Kentucky University; Only registered for first semester right now):
- Chem 120 (College Chemistry)
- Chem 121 (Lab)
- Math 137 (Calculus II)
- Eng 200 (Introduction to Literature)</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities:
- Conducted undergraduate research; discovered my own bacteriophage that I got to name and enter into an international database
- Research internship at Kentucky's only NCI designated cancer center where I was able to conduct my own research project using human tissue samples. This opportunity was supported by a grant I received.
- Conducted field research in Costa Rica; examined the relationship between the gunnera plant and cyanobacteria that lives in its roots
- Member of Beta club (3 years), Spanish club (2 years), Medical Exploration and Discovery Club (2 years and President), yearbook club (2 years), and WKU's microbiology club (2 years)
- Presented research about bacteriophages at the Louisville Regional Science and Engineering Fair (LRSEF), Kentucky Science and Engineering Fair, Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, WKU Student Research Conference, and the NCSSSMST student research conference
- Community Developer for my wing of the residence hall (Major leadership position)
- Founded a lawn care business that lasted two years</p>

<p>Awards:
- Perfect attendance freshman, sophomore, and junior year
- Highest average grade in algebra II, which was taken a year before my fellow classmates
- PGxl Laboratories Award (LRSEF)
- Sigma Xi Award (LRSEF)
- First place in microbiology category (LRSEF)
- Second place overall (LRSEF)
- Second place school (LRSEF)
- Best of session at WKU student research conference
- Research internship grant to financially support my cancer research
- Three scholarships totaling $850 to aid in paying for my study abroad trip to Costa Rica
- Dean's list first semester at WKU
- President's list second semester at WKU</p>

<p>Volunteer:
- Intensive Care Unit (4 hours a week for two months)
- Progressive Care Unit (4 hours a week for two months)
- Delivered and relocated the eggs of endangered leatherback turtles. I even released some baby sea turtles, which allowed me to save approximately fifty leatherback turtles from certain death (5 hours a night for five days)
- I tutored underprivileged juniors and seniors that were struggling with algebra II at my high school (2 hours a week for the whole school year)
- Aided in organizing a benefit dinner that raised money for a young child that was diagnosed with cancer (10+ hours)
- Served meals at the local soup kitchen (6+ hours)
- Served as a waiter for Hospice Tea (10+ hours)
- Miscellaneous volunteer hours (30+ hours)</p>

<p>Recommendations:
- Counselor will be amazing because she has truly seen me blossom both academically and just in my normal life
- Other two will come from professor and research mentor, both of which know me very personally and are very proud of me</p>

<p>Thank you very much for reading this rather lengthy post! Also, if there are any colleges in California that you think I fit, I would appreciate it if you can recommend them to me. Once again, thank you!</p>

2

<p>I know it’s a lengthy post, but it would definitely help me if someone can chance me or give me some feedback. I just want to make sure that I’m not wasting time, or money for application fees, because the schools on my list are out of my league or something. Thank you! </p>

3

<p>Accepted to all. stellar ECs</p>

4

<p>Accepted to all. stellar ECs</p>

5

<p>Your ACT score will make NYU, Tulane, Northeastern and UCLA reaches. </p>

6

<p>Accepted to all. stellar ECs</p>

7

<p>In to all but UCLA. UCLA could go either way.EC’s pushed you in
chance- <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1669822-chances-for-business.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1669822-chances-for-business.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>Your stats aren’t high enough for UCLA, but you have a very good chance at the other schools listed. Your test scores should be a bit higher though. If you get it to 30, you would be smooth sailing.</p>

9

<p>First, I would like to thank everyone for chancing me!</p>

<p>@TomSrOfBoston‌, I knew my ACT was low, but I didn’t think it had the ability to make all of those college’s reaches. I currently have them set up as Tulane and UCLA being my reaches, NYU and Northeastern as my matches, and then Boston and UK being my safeties. </p>

<p>@AnnieBeats, I will definitely try to get my ACT up to a 30. Would you agree with my breakdown of the colleges as I described to Tom?</p>

10

<p>Have you run NPC’s for BU? If if isn’t affordable, it isn’t a safety. UK would be a safety because you may be able to afford the in state price. </p>

11

<p>That’s true @AnnieBeats. Thank you for the tip! Also…</p>

<p>Bump.</p>

12

<p>Bump</p>

13

<p>Bump. Can anyone else offer any advice or chance me? Thank you! I’m sorry for bumping so many times, but I’m just so nervous!</p>

14

<p>It looks like you have a good chance at all the schools except NYU and UCLA. I’ve seen very high stats for some NYU applicants but they didn’t get in. As for UCLA, you will need a higher ACT score, however, the UCLA scores each student on their grades and on their holistic review. I’ve known students who got into UCLA with a 1400 in their SAT and many were rejected with 2000 and a 4.4 gpa. (as a first time college student you will have extra points, I know the UC’s really look for that) But you will have to pay out of state tuition, which is really expensive. Is price an issue at all? If you can go anywhere, you should apply to more schools.
I didn’t see a SAT score, are you thinking on not taking the SAT? Here’s another recommendation, try to get an interview with the college admission rep for your area (esp. if it’s the person who reads your application, they can connect a face to the application) and definitely apply early action if you can. FYI - UC applications open early this year on August 1, 2014.
This gives you more time to start since you have a lot on your hands if you decide to file early. What role does your high school counselor in helping you select and apply when the time comes?
Best of luck!</p>

15

<p>Take the ACT once more, and you’re set.</p>

16

<p>Thank you so much for the very helpful responses! I definitely will retake the ACT, but I will actually study for it this time. Also, I would love to apply to more schools in California, but I also don’t want to apply to too many. Do you happen to have any recommendations for colleges in California that I can actually get into? I will be applying to both Northeastern and Tulane as early action and will look into also applying to UCLA as early action. I had plans to reach out to Tulane, as it is currently my top choice, but I will definitely look into how to set up interviews. Do I essentially just reach out by email? Also, I discovered that I do a lot better on the ACT than the SAT after I took the PSAT. Finally, my counselor and I are really close (there are less than 120 students in my whole school) so I would say she plays a large role, but she’s more just there to guide me through the process and aid in reaching out to the universities if I need her to. However, I understand that it would look best if I do it myself. I would like to once again thank you for replying! Your tips were extremely helpful, @tkpasq‌ and @nagintapls‌!</p>

<ul>
<li>AppleBoyFreak</li>
</ul>

17

<p>Definitely try to improve your ACT score, I think you are a definite in into Northeastern, BU, Tulane, and University of Kentucky. Like a previous poster said, it’s hard to tell with NYU and UCLA because of your test score but they both view applicants holistically so you have a great chance at those as well. There isn’t a common trend with the schools you’ve listed here so I’m a bit curious as to what you are studying? Your extracurriculars are amazing and you will receive great recommendations for your private schools and your GPA probably sets you in the top 10% of your class. In California, I would also look at UC San Diego, UC Berkeley, Stanford (a reach with your test score but you are a strong applicant and I definitely believe you have a shot), and USC (expensive but gives lots of aid!). Caltech and Harvey Mudd would be good choices if you are looking on the engineering/STEM side. I definitely believe that if you study hard for the ACT you can improve your score dramatically! PM me if you have more questions, I am a California resident currently studying at Northeastern and you seem to love California and NEU so I would be happy to help you out in any way I can :). </p>

18

<p>Your ACT scores are a bit low. But if you retake and get them higher, add Duke to the list. </p>

<p>Great list of ECs, congrats!</p>

19

<p>GPA is great, stellar EC’s, but your ACT scores are a bit low…Raise them up a bit and you should be fine…
besides that, you are looking good for all of those colleges! </p>

20

<p>I plan on studying biochemistry, but the main reason that I am applying to those schools isn’t for the studies. As I’ve discovered from my first year in college, where you go for undergraduate studies doesn’t matter, but what you do at that college does. With that said, I feel as though those six colleges will provide me many opportunities to discover a new culture, better myself, and because most of them are larger and in large cities, there will be many opportunities to conduct research and get internships. Northeastern and Tulane are definitely my favorites right now! I love Northeastern so much because of the fact that they require their students to participate in a co-op experience before graduating! Also, thank you for recommending the other colleges to me! If I was to apply to Stanford, it would be my number one school, so I will definitely reconsider applying there. Also, thanks to everyone for chancing me! It has definitely been helpful in this journey to narrow down my college list!</p>