first post here....

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi, all.
I've been lurking here for a bit. Wanted to see if anyone could shed some insight on my college chances. I only wanted to include a few schools (4), all of which I really like, for my first post here... thanks to anyone who takes the time out.</p>

<p>academics/scores:</p>

<p>GPA UW: ~97%; GPA W: ~99%
Rank: 2nd of 297
SAT I: 2320 (730 CR, 800 M, 790 W)
SAT II: 780 US History, 750 World History, 720 Biology
APs: World History (5), US History (5), English Language (4)
Most rigorous course load (3/3 APs, 6/6 APs senior year)</p>

<p>activities:
-Baseball - biggest time commitment
*HS team (9-12, Varsity 10-12) [12 obviously hasn't happened yet...]
team went 27-3 this year
all county (as junior)
second highest batting avg. on team ~.400 (highest of non-seniors)
local news channel scholar athlete award
(would love to lead the team as capt./co-captain next yr as senior)</p>

<p>*Long Island travel baseball teams (pre-HS > 11/12)
Every summer since middle school, many summer tourneys</p>

<p>Taken summer clinics/local camps
Volunteered at some local clinics in summer for younger players</p>

<p>-Basketball
*HS team (9-12, Varsity 11-12) [again, presumably 12...]
*Summer team through my local parish (9/10)</p>

<p>-Band (9-12)
Jazz Band and Select Ensemble (9-12)
first "chair" drummer
all-county
nyssma (ny state school music assoc.) score of 95/100</p>

<p>-School Newspaper (9-12)
News Editor (10+)
Silver award from Empire State School Press Assoc. for Best News Story</p>

<p>-Mathlete "team" (9-12)
Co-captain (11/12)
bronze- county interscholastic math league
competed @ annual tourney on Long Island with "A" team from H.S.
certificate of merit - ny state competition</p>

<p>-Spanish Club
officer (11) / president (12)
led/organized some district activities, weekend field trips, typical club stuff
2nd place medal for Spanish poetry recitation in Long Island Language Teachers Assoc.</p>

<p>-SGA (stud gov.) (President, treasurer 10/11)
-Yearbook editor - layout/photos
-National Honor Society (President/H.S. chapter)
-Tri-M Nat'l Music Honor Society (Officer)</p>

<p>Miscellaneous:</p>

<p>Honor Roll
Nat'l Merit Semifin.
AP Scholar</p>

<p>-Art Honor Society
-Athletes Creating Excellence
-Key Club (volunteer hrs, not sure how many...)
-Globe Club</p>

<p>-Done volunteer work with local parish
-Working this summer as attorney's secretary @ consulting firm on L.I.
-Took summer programs/classes @ MIT + Brown
(MIT camp got me even more interested in computers/computer science. Very interested in exploring this field further... Thinking about writing about my tech interests for my college essay...)</p>

<p>-Some other random things about me, not really worth mentioning: (e.g. academic/music tutoring in school district, taken guitar lessons, amateur photographer, enjoy art (drawing/painting), made some short videos, big into photoshopping/computers in general, etc...) - probably won't put this stuff on applications...</p>

<p>Don't know what I want to major in ... Interested in both computer science/similar fields, and humanities (esp. history) ...</p>

<p>Caucasian / male
State: new york
School type: public</p>

<p>tentative schools:</p>

<p>Princeton
UPenn (brother graduated there, Idk if that matters)
Notre Dame
SUNY Binghamton</p>

<p>I really like all 4 of those (even Bing, albeit less so than the other three...), and have a few others that I'm considering, but was just wondering about those for now... Thx to anyone who replies</p>

2

<p>Princeton-High Reach
UPenn-Mid/High Reach
Notre Dame-Umm…
SUNY Binghamton-I’m not familiar with your state institutions</p>

<p>NY is an incredibly competitive area for college admissions. Your EC is great, but too much width and not enough depth could be a big problem. Try to drill in on your most meaningful activities. If you can, retake the Bio SATII.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/746334-what-my-chances-these-liberal-arts-colleges-others.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/746334-what-my-chances-these-liberal-arts-colleges-others.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>I understand that there is a lot of “width” among my activities. I didn’t know I’d be penalized for having such diverse interests. </p>

<p>Additionally, how is there a lack of “depth”? I’m very passionate about sports (especially baseball, play nearly all year round, for school and travel teams), music (school’s best drummer, president of music honor society, play guitar on the side), and other activities for which I have leadership positions/awards (writing, math, language, etc).</p>

<p>I know I don’t have many national awards/recognition, but I’ve always been very involved and expressed my passion for diverse interests. </p>

<p>Anyway, I wasn’t expecting anything less than a “high reach” for the Ivies! I’m sure I won’t get into any of them, which I fine with me – I really love Notre Dame.</p>

<p>(And do you really think I should retake the Bio SAT II? That was a non-AP class, offered in 9th grade at my H.S., so I’m certain I’ve forgotten everything!)</p>

4

<p>Unfortunately, elite institutions are not looking for well-rounded applicants. They look for a well-rounded class. What does this mean? It means that places like Princeton and whatnot are going to pick the Olympic competitor, the violin prodigy, the academic genius, etc.</p>

<p>Sorry, I know how you feel. Over high school, I had to drop many of the clubs I loved to focus on just three things.</p>

5

<p>I feel sorry for you, that you abandoned something you loved for the sake of getting into a top school. </p>

<p>And my brother’s interests/activities were very similar to mine (he was not an “Olympic competitor, violin prodigy,” or anything of that sort). He did not have any national/international awards, but was involved in and led various and diverse activities, from math to writing to language. Our ECs, in fact, are quite similar, except that I play sports and he did not.
So while I don’t dispute your assertion that elite schools like applicants who are very strong in one or two fields, my brother (and many of his friends at Penn) are proof that colleges also like well-rounded students with great GPAs and test scores.</p>

6

<p>Ouch… </p>

<p>Actually, the reason I quit was because I getting 4 hours of sleep. Perhaps you mistake my comments as an affront, which would be unreasonable in any case. If you cannot handle criticism, even harsh ones, perhaps you should not wear your heart on your sleeves or ask for comments online.</p>

<p>In any case, I am being positively honest. Don’t hold out hopes or proofs in anecdotes. Read the admissions books, talk to your high school advisers. </p>

<p>In any case, a college confidential is no place for verbal attacks.</p>

7

<p>Oh, I can handle criticism. But not when it’s coming from the likes of a pretentious high schooler like you, who apparently knows so much about not only college admissions, but the quality of many undergraduate US universities.</p>

<p>I was perusing some other threads in this section, and what is your deal, samsumimom? You launch into rants when people say that they want to go to an Ivy League school. You then bash these schools by insulting their undergraduate curricula and asserting that LACs produce students better equipped for grad school. And you told someone that he basically has no chance of being recruited for tennis.</p>

<p>Who gave you the authority and infinite wisdom to criticize people so harshly. Do you get off on belittling others and their chances to go to top schools? You’re still in high school! You’ve never gone to an Ivy League school, so how can you collectively dismiss them? And why be a self-proclaimed “bearer of bad news” when you don’t need to be? To help someone? Or do you just want to feel better about your own accomplishments?</p>

<p>Additionally, I’m not “holding out hope” for a school like Princeton. As I said, I’m perfectly fine attending Notre Dame (by the way, what does “Umm…” mean as a gauge of one’s chances?). But don’t belittle my brother’s credentials for getting into Penn. I’m telling you, factually, that he was not an expert at any one activity, or the recipient of any national awards (save National Merit), and yet he got into a dreaded Ivy League school. And yet you still contend that such students can’t get into Ivies?</p>

8

<p>I disagree with samsunimomo. I think it’s great that you are obviously passionate at things that you also excel at. I think you have a good/decent shot at all of these colleges. Granted, I don’t know much but I think that your ECs are assets, not demerits.</p>

<p>And besides, there aren’t enough Olympians and prodigies to make up an entire college class.</p>

9

<p>"Monsieur l’abb</p>

10

<p>Thank you, Halie. I really don’t care if I don’t get into Princeton – I just wanted to throw one “impossible” school on my list (that is good in engineering), and the other Ivy (Penn) is b/c my brother attended, and I think it’s beautiful and friendly and urban, and a great school.</p>

<p>And samsunimomo: Continue with your irrelevant and unhelpful posts on this website. :slight_smile: Self-serving people always win in the end, don’t they?</p>

11

<p>Unfortunately, yes.</p>

12

<p>Fortunate for you!</p>

13

<p>I seriously just chuckled to myself. </p>

<p>This person has is 80 points short of having a freaking perfect score on the SAT. It’s sad that you are taking out your insecurities on someone who, BTW, is a new member on CC who should feel welcomed, not turned away. You seem to have an intellectual superiority complex. And a rudeness problem. Maybe your “self-servingness” will take you far, but the way you belittle people won’t.</p>

14

<p>Princeton - Reach
UPenn - Reach (Checked Penn’s website, and they said they only count parents and grandparents as legacies, sorry.)
Notre Dame - High Match
SUNY Binghamton - Safety</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/744907-chance-me-will-chance-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/744907-chance-me-will-chance-back.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

15

<p>No, actually, and I am being rather serious.</p>

<p>The last few threads was crafted in order to take deviant path from both of our hot-headed passion, much like a surrealistic catharsis. Sorry, I probably do not make sense here.</p>

<p>There is black, there is white, and there is gray. </p>

<p>We’ve seen each other only with tinted views so far, and for that, I am sorry. However, I still stand by the things I have written. </p>

<p>Believe me in that I have not tried to purposely antagonize you or any other CC members in any way. In any case, I am very open to discussing controversies more civil (on both both parts, judging from our acrid behaviors to one another) manner.</p>

<p>So, you have a choice. Would you rather that we start over or that I never try to contact you again? I would very much prefer the former.</p>

16

<p>Thank you, Michael2010. I figured having a sibling grad wasn’t worth anything, haha. For some reason there’s a section of the app where it specifically asks for grandparents and siblings who were Penn graduates, but I guess it’s just sort of a formality.
In any event, I will chance you back!</p>

<p>And samsunimomo: No, just go away</p>

17

<p>Alright. Sorry.</p>

18

<p>Egos aside…</p>

<p>Notre Dame / SUNY : Definite ins. No question.
I think you have an excellent chance to get into UPenn and Princeton - almost as good of a chance as I do. </p>

<p>Haha just kidding! But you have an excellent SAT score, excellent course schedule, excellent grades, excellent ECs, blah blah blah.</p>

<p>Just a nitpick:
You can be well-rounded and focused. Go deep and wide :]
Actually you will notice that having too many things is actually a bad thing… as they do not fit on the Common application! I personally am cutting down: I got sports, volunteering, and my art. That’s it => but I am submitting an art portfolio as well as going deep in my other sections. </p>

<p>Just some suggestions :] You have an excellent shot at these schools! I might even suggest applying to more ‘top tier’ schools.</p>

19

<p>Haha, thanks. I will definitely need to condense it for the Common App. I know you can sometimes submit a resume, so maybe I’ll do that.</p>

<p>And honestly, I’ve wanted to go to Notre Dame since I was in elementary school (I was deeply inspired by the film Rudy, although I haven’t played football in years…), so anything “better” than ND is just gravy. I could apply to other “top tier” schools as you said, but I really don’t know if I’d want to go! I’ll have to visit and see if I can picture myself as a student there. </p>

<p>Good luck with Princeton and your apps and such!</p>

20

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>A supplimentary resume would be an excellent addition to your application. Might as well use all those EC’s for something haha.</p>

<p>Honestly - I think the essay is the largest part to our applications. Thousands upon thousands of students have basically the same application - but all the essays are [hopefully] unique!</p>

<p>Good luck to you too! Hopefully us well rounded individuals can kick ass to ‘prove’ ourselves to some of the more… lets say… extremely pointed individuals on this forum :P</p>