Good school, bad grades?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi. I've got another "What are my chances" thread here. Any thoughts would be appreciated.</p>

<p>Background:
Middle-class, straight, white male. 11th grade.
I'm not merely "interested" in math and physics; I have a passion for them. I hope to study them extensively in the future. My hobbies include tinkering with linux, coding, and electronics. My least favorite subjects are definitely biology and literature.</p>

<p>Standardized tests:
PSAT: 232 10th grade; 238 11th grade
SAT: 2260 11th grade (800 M, 760 CR, 700 WR [6/12 essay... :( ])
SAT II's: to be determined... I'll be taking physics, math 2, chem, bio; I'd bet on 700+ for each of these.
AP's: Calc AB (5), Biology(5) [expecting 5's on all others I'll take]</p>

<p>Classes:
I took AP Calc AB and AP Biology last year. This year I'm taking BC Calc, AP Chem, and AP Physics C. Next year I'll be taking AP Econ, AP Stats, Multivariate Calc, ODE, and Organic chem (those last three are university courses). Along with these, I've taken the usual: english, Latin, history, etc.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Swim team (I swim summer league, in the fall to prepare for the high school season, and the in the winter for my school. I'm not very good, but I'd like to swim for a DIII college.) , math league, programming club (ACSL)</p>

<p>Notables:
USABO semifinalist, 10th grade (teacher didn't register for the open exam this year)
USAPhO semifinalist, 11th grade
AMC12a/AIME this year (did miserably - 112.5/5)
AMC10 school winner, 9th grade
JETS TEAMS engineering competition: first place state (DE), first place division nationally, 11th grade
Math League first place team 9th grade, third place region (our school has so many people, though, that we each could only do half the meets; I got all the problems I did right)
National Latin Exam (for latin 2) silver medal, 10th grade
Thats about it, but I just took some state chem test. Perhaps I will be the winner :).</p>

<p>Grades:
Well... I've saved the worst for last. My grades are MISERABLE. I'm not sure exactly what my GPA is, but I think its 3.67 weighted (that might be unweighted - not sure). I did well (mostly A's) freshman year, but last year, my final grades in British Literature and AP Biology were 81 and 79 (C's) respectively. So I had a couple of D's some quarters. This year was even worse: In the half year elective astronomy, my final grade was 81, and I had a 75 and a 76 for the two quarters (the final exam brought that grade up some). My AP Chem grade has gone from 97 to 81 to 70. I've held consistent B+/C-'s in English, but I expect it to be worse this quarter (perhaps an F). All these bad grades are due to my laziness and not doing homework. I'm going to buckle down next year, even though it'll probably be to late, but I'd like some shot at college. My other grades are generally A's with some B's.</p>

<p>This summer:
I'll take Linear Algebra via CTY Distance, and I'll self-learn Java and the AP CS curriculum. I've started the USACO training pages (I code in C), so I hope to get a chunk of that done and . Also, I'm going to study physics intensively, so that I might make the Physics National Team next year (I've got a good shot at that: I know some kids who made it), and I'm going to work on my math and proof writing skills in preparation for USAMTS and USAMO next year.</p>

<p>I'd like to major in either math or physics, and some of the colleges I'm interested in include Harvey Mudd, Rose-Hulman, Carleton, Wesleyan, Grinnell, Carnegie Mellon, and Rice. However, I don't think any of these schools will accept me. I've long since abandoned the notion of going to MIT or Caltech, and I'd like to know what other schools I should cross of my list (Rice, for example). So, what are my chances at these colleges, and what are some schools that I might actually be able to get into?</p>

<p>Thank in advance!</p>

2

<p>Hey I am not sure about the others, since I don't really know them very well, but I think you at least have a chance at Wesleyan. </p>

<p>My test scores were pretty similar to yours. I had a 2240 SAT, 800 US History, 790 World History 760 Biology. My grades were okay, like A-/B+ ish. One thing if you apply to Wesleyan, or I guess any college, is try to show them your passion for physics/ math. I had a similar passion for history and I took every possible social studies class in my high school, went to summer things on history, and wrote my personal statement about what history class meant to me. I think if you can show them that you are truly passionate for a subject, that will definitely help you stand out among the crowd. And if you try contacting the swim coach, he might be able to help you somehow.</p>

<p>Start pulling those grades up. To be blunt, Cs and Ds are not going to cut it at the schools you are looking at, even if they are in biology and English and not the hard core sciences. At Wesleyan, you still have to fulfill "general expectations" meaning you will probably be taking a significant amount of humanities, literature, arts classes in addition to your science courses, so if you are struggling in those courses in high school, it's not going to get any better in college. </p>

<p>Good luck. I really don't know what I'm talking about, I don't have any formal training as a college admissions expert, I just know a little bit more about Wesleyan than the other schools. So take my advice with a grain of salt.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the reply. Its good to know I at least have chance :). My ideal school is Harvey Mudd, so if anyone can comment on my chances there, I'd appreciate it.</p>

4

<p>i don't understand how your test scores can be supurb but your grades horrible there is a huge gap and i would think even if you were super lazy , you could probably still get like A's and b's in school but your chances seem pretty fair.</p>

5

<p>your chances are "okay". your SAT's are around average for the incoming class. if your SAT II's and AP's are great, then you have a decent chance of admission to mudd. right now you're floating in the 40% range. hopefully, you'll move on up to 60% or so.</p>

6

<p>is mudd still your ideal school even though you know that they (we) only offer a general engineering degree?</p>

7

<p>I think you have a great chance at Wesleyan and Rose-Hulman. You probably stand an OK chance at Grinnell, Carleton, and Carnegie Mellon. Harvey Mudd might be a little more of a reach than G, C, or CM, but probably not by too much. </p>

<p>Admissions are quite unpredictable. Perhaps if you bring up your grades a bit, you'll be right in the running (and by that, I mean perhaps a 50% chance for Grinnell, Carelton, Carnegie Mellon and HMC). </p>

<p>As for physics and math, I would argue that HMC is perhaps the strongest amongst the above choices; Grinnell, however, has quite a distinguished science department, too. CM is typically better known for computer sci/engineering, but they are also strong---RHI is similar. </p>

<p>Also, don't rule out schools like Rice, MIT, and Caltech so quickly. I know people (myself included) who got in to such schools with lower SAT scores than you, though my grades were considerably higher. Consider such advice though...you never know.</p>

<p>Good luck in your college endeavors. I currently attend MIT, but I am a strong advocate of liberal arts colleges that are notably strong in the sciences, like Grinnell, for example. I'm sure you'll have a choice of some sort in the end. </p>

<p>All the best!</p>

8

<p>an almost creepy mirror-image of myself. theres nothing like failing a quarter and getting a 'c' for the year in physics right after nearly qualifying for usamo!</p>

<p>anyway, there are essentially two 'keys' to your application: one, you need to make sure that it plays up the fact that you love to learn; two, your recommendations need to basically say that youre amangingly brilliant and will be successful if challenged in school. in short, youre essentially asking for your schools to take a risk on you with the recommendation of your teachers.</p>

<p>will every school take that risk? probably not, but you only need one 'reach' to bite. as such, you are one person for whom it does make a lot of sense to apply to a dozen or more schools. obviously, throw in a safety or two, preferably a rolling admissions school with a strong math department. perhaps also consider cornell, chicago, swarthmore, haverford, bucknell and georgia tech.</p>

9

<p>I find it amazing how many smart lazy people there are around. I had a very similar situation to yourself this past year with my applications. </p>

<p>Anyhow, I believe how have a great chance at admission to Rose. I had worse grades than you and similar test scores and was accepted. I really believe the passion helps alot at Rose. Just the fact that you took the AIME is great for your cause.</p>

<p>Also, go ahead and apply to either MIT/CalTech. If you have the time/money to invest in the application you can at least feel better about trying. I applied to both MIT and Columbia with the full expectation of being rejected but I think I would have always felt odd not knowing if I would have been able to get in.</p>

<p>I suggest posting your stats and situation in the Cal Tech forum as Ben is likely to give you some insight at your chances at these schools.</p>