Go on. Callously crush my hopes. You know you want to. :)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I might as well post another "Chances" topic, now that I know where I'm applying. . .I have nothing to lose, except my dignity and confidence. But who needs those things :) ?</p>

<p>Unweighted Final Average: 97.89
Weighted Final Average: 98.68 (my school's weighting system is horrible. . .I'm sure the colleges will put 2 and 2 together when they see my course load and grades)
Class Rank: My school doesn't rank. . .but I'll guess that I'm top 3 (maybe even valedictorian)
12 Honors, 11 APs
AP Classes: AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics B, AP Computer Science A, AP Computer Science AB, AP European History, AP American History, AP Politics and Government, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature, AP Calculus BC</p>

<p>SAT I: 1440 (720 M, 720 V) (could be better, I know. . .)
SAT IIs: Math Level 2 700, US History 780, Writing 650, Chemistry 710, Math Level 1 680, World History 760, Ecological Biology 760 (<em>sighs</em> Absolutely disastrous, these doomed me. I had the worst luck and timing when taking these. . .moving on. . .)
APs: AP Biology 5, AP Chemistry 5, AP American History 5, AP Computer Science A 5, AP European History 5, AP Language and Composition 4
ACT: 34 English, 32 Math, 34 Reading, 27 Science = 32 Composite
PSAT: 216, was it? In SAT terms, I got a 740 M, 710 V. . . </p>

<p>(all place names have been censored for safety reasons)
Academic Honors, Awards, Distinctions:
- Bausch and Lomb Science Award (11)
- Commended Status for the National Merit Scholarship Program (11)
- AP Scholar with Distinction (10, 11)
- 5th place in Level 3 of the <strong><em>somecounty</em></strong> Mathematics Teacher’s Association Annual Mathematics Contest (10)
- 3rd place countywide in Level 2 of the National French Contest (10th nationwide) (10)
- 3rd place countywide in Level 3 of the National French Contest (11th nationwide) (11)
- President of the National Honor Society (12)
- President of the Computer Club (10, 12)
- Vice President of the Computer Club (11)
- President of Mathletes (11)
- Vice President of Mathletes (12)
- Highest Honor Roll (every quarter)</p>

<p>Scientific Research
- Summer research - The Effects of Hypergravity, Microgravity, and Pituitrin on Dictyostelium discoideum (11)
- Summer research - Analysis Through MD Simulations on the Effects of the Y88C Mutation in B. stearothermophilius MutY Adenine Glycosylase on its Repair of 8-oxo G:A DNA (12)
- Semifinalist in the Siemens Westinghouse Competition <em>contest in progress</em> (12)
- Participant in the Siemens Westinghouse Competition (11)
- Participant in the Intel Science Talent Search (12)
- Participant in the <strong><em>place1</em></strong>Science and Engineering Fair competition (11)
- Placed with Honors in the Senior Division of the <strong><em>place1</em></strong>Science Congress (11)</p>

<p>In-School Extracurricular Activities:
- National Honor Society (12) [President (12)]
- Computer Club (9, 10, 11, 12) [President (10 + 12), Vice President (11)]
- Mathletes (9, 10, 11, 12) [President (11), Vice President (12)]
- French Club (9, 10)
- National French Honor Society (11, 12)
- Brainstormers(Academic Quiz Bowl Team) (10, 11, 12)
- Science Olympiads (9, 12)
- Chess Club (12 [just created this year])
- Marching Band (9, 10)
- Media Club (12 [also just created this year])</p>

<p>Non School and Community Activities:
- <strong><em>place1</em></strong> Young Scholar of Mathematics from the Institute of Creative Problem Solving for Gifted and Talented Students (10)
- Volunteer at <strong><em>retirement home</em></strong> (11, 12)</p>

<p>I'm a white male who lives in the suburbs of New York. <em>sighs</em></p>

<p>Major - Computer Science and/or Biology. I actually want to pursue research in bioinformatics or computational biology.</p>

<p>Recommendations - I waived my right to see them so I obviously don't know, but I hear that they're excellent.</p>

<p>Essays - Still working on them -_- . . .they're not too good right now. I'm trying my best to improve them, so just ignore these for the time being. . .</p>

<p>Well. . .here is my college list, in no particular order of preference. . .I know, its quite a list. . .hopefully I'll get in somewhere:
MIT (EA applicant, got deferred -_-)
Yale
Harvard
Princeton
Caltech
Columbia
Brown
U Penn
Dartmouth
Duke
Johns Hopkins
Cornell
Wash U in St. Louis
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute</p>

<p>So yes. Feel free to destroy what little shreds of confidence I have. You know you want to. :)</p>

2

<p>My goodness...you have excellent stats and I'm confident you will get into at least one of your reach schools, but may I recommend applying to more match schools?</p>

<p>Yale - big reach
Harvard - big reach
Princeton - big reach
Caltech - major reach
Columbia - big reach
Brown - reach
U Penn - match-reach
Dartmouth - reach
Duke - match/reach
Johns Hopkins - match
Cornell - match
Wash U in St. Louis - match
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - safety</p>

<p>May I suggest CMU, Northwestern, Rice, or Berkeley?</p>

3

<p>Hmmm. . .I see. . .well, the thing with Caltech is that they probably don't get too many applicants from New York, so was hoping it wouldn't be that impossible to get in. I was hoping for more match schools in that list, but I know how selective they are. Thanks for your help.</p>

<p>Any other takes on my situation would be very helpful. Thanks in advance.</p>

4

<p>I have to concur with asdfTT123 on chances.</p>

<p>May I suggest the University of Chicago? It's certainly one of the top institutions in America (#14 in U.S. News) and you have a good shot. The key to getting into UChicago is your essays. They have to be top-notch. Other than that, you've got two weeks before most deadlines. Go for it!</p>

5

<p>I predict into 4-7 schools on the list</p>

6

<p>i suggest U of Chicago, U of Mich, Cal Poly SLO</p>

7

<p>Can I just say, you have amazing ECs, you are a genius, and you are my idol. GOOD LUCK!</p>

8

<p>You know that you are an excellent applicant for almost any college. However, because you posted the way you did, consider your hopes crushed.</p>

9

<p>I think Ren, Cornell, JHU, WUSTL are a lock, and one-three of Duke, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia should come in. HYP Caltech might be tough.</p>

10

<p>marebare5 - Wow. I can honestly say that I don't believe I've ever gotten a compliment as enthusiastic as that before. You have no idea how much your words mean to me. Thank you again for brightening an otherwise miserable day (ugh, I won't even get into it), and I wish the best of luck to you too.</p>

<p>jamminjb5 - Eh, I think you know I'm just being facetious here in my own desperate attempt to attract people to my topic. Then again, I know, realistically, I have pretty slim chances at a couple of the places I chose because of certain factors. But a slim chance is better than no chance, and it isn't going to stop me from applying to my dream schools.</p>

<p>Still, its always nice to know where you stand ahead of time, and you all seem to be in relative agreement. Its also nice to have some additional colleges to look into, although the due dates for most of them are on January 1 or earlier and are at this point going to be pretty impossible to apply to. I'll keep the other ones in mind once I'm done with my Early January applications. So yes. . .I thank everyone who provided their perspective on my situation for their efforts, and let's hope for the best.</p>