For a friend (Notre Dame, UVA, MIT, and more!)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>This is for my rising junior friend. He just wants to know where he stands. He would also like advice on how to shorten his list of possible schools (business).</p>

<p>WGPA: 4.350 (valedictorian for his year has a 4.7)
Rank: 20/500
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Asian</p>

<p>SAT: 1980 (650 CR, 750 M, 580 W) (PSAT, Taking in junior year)</p>

<p>AP Classes (upcoming this year): APUSH, AP Eng Lang, and AP Chem</p>

<p>EC's:</p>

<ul>
<li>ACC Club/Interact Club/QARI (Community Service)(9-10) - 1000 hours combined</li>
<li>Junior Varsity Swim Team (10)</li>
<li>400 hours working with kids at Chun Yee School (9-10)</li>
<li>Participated in the Green Chemistry Program (9) - 200 hours</li>
<li>Science Olympiad Member (joining this year)</li>
<li>Academic Decathlon (joining this year)</li>
</ul>

<p>Potential Hook: </p>

<ul>
<li>First generation college student</li>
</ul>

<p>Awards:</p>

<ul>
<li>National Spanish Exam: Bronze medal</li>
</ul>

<p>The schools he's looking at are: Notre Dame, UVA, MIT, UPenn, Cornell, BC, NYU, WUSTL, Babson, Miami U, Villanova, Bentley, CMU, and BU</p>

<p>Thanks guys!</p>

2

<p>What’s his unweighted GPA? That would be more helpful than weighted.</p>

<p>Being an Asian is a terrible disadvantage in college admissions. Almost all competitive Asian applicants to top schools have SAT I scores of 2150 or higher, along with stellar GPAs, class ranks, and SAT IIs.</p>

<p>So your friend REALLY needs to raise that SAT score to a 2100.</p>

<p>If he was hookless, I would say almost no chance at the best of the schools on his list. But he has a hook: first generation college student. If he’s in a low income bracket and writes very good essays that show his passions and who he truly is as a person (and once again raises that SAT score to a 2100+), he’s got a shot at all schools listed. But still not a great one.</p>

<p>My predictions:
Safety: None (Tell him to find at least one good safety school!)
Good Match: Babson, Miami U, BC, UVA, BU, Bentley
Low Reach: Notre Dame, Villanova, CMU
Mid Reach: WUSTL
High Reach: UPenn, Cornell, MIT</p>

<p>I think he’s in at Babson, Miami U, BC, UVA, and BU. He’s got a good shot at Notre Dame, Villanova, and CMU, but no guarantee for admission at those three. He’ll need great essays if he wants in at WUSTL. As for UPenn, Cornell, and MIT, it’s gonna take some killer essays, teacher recs, and improved leadership in EC’s for him to have a good shot at acceptance.</p>

<p>Hope this has been helpful :)</p>

3

<p>actually, there are safety schools for this student: Babson, Bentley, and BU.
I know many people with non-stellar GPAs, ECs, SATs, etc. that are accepted into those colleges. </p>

<p>tmanneopen, I actually know this “friend” that you’re talking about.</p>

4

<p>i agree with decrescendo’s list except UVA is NOT a “good match” unless he’s in-state. it’s more of a mid reach to me</p>