Help! Chances at these schools, very worried!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm really worried that I'm not going to get into any of the schools that I'm applying to. </p>

<p>I go to a small private school in CT, I'm a white female, and I've applied ED to Cornell but am curious about my chances at Columbia, Brown, Yale, NYU, Vassar, and maybe Tufts and Penn as well. </p>

<p>I rank 3rd in my class with an UW GPA of 3.8, I'm the captain of my schools Quiz Bowl team, am on 5 other teams and have been consistent since 9th or 10th grade with all of them. I'm the editor of our two school newspapers and the literary journal, won a Book Award from Columbia and have all the other typical awards (school subject awards, honor roll, NHS, etc). I also played one JV sport. I've worked every summer and worked every Saturday of my Freshman year. Also, all I'm in all honors and all APs.</p>

<p>My SAT scores aren't stellar, I got:</p>

<p>Verbal - 790
Math - 660 (that's the not stellar part)
Writing - 760, 12 on essay</p>

<p>SAT IIS -
Literature - 760
US History - 750
Bio - 720</p>

<p>What's I'm really worried about is my math score, the fact that my volunteering hasn't been that good (last year I had a steady volunteer job, but the years before that I just did things here or there, not like a weekly thing), and also, here's the really big thing. I really like languages so I've taken both French and Spanish for 3 years, but I'm not the best at them, so I've been getting mid to high 80s or low 90s in both of them. I know I should have dropped one but I really didn't want to, since I really want to speak a lot of languages. Now, though, I'm afraid that this will make my application seem really bad. </p>

<p>Any advice would be absolutely fabulous. I'm applying to two safeties, but do you guys think I'll have any chance with the schools that I listed above? Thank you all so much.</p>

2

<p>well i think it might depend a little bit upon what you are planning on majoring in. your 790 in verbal is amazing, and would be more important that a 660 in math if you are majoring in something like history etc etc. However, if you want to major in sciences/math than it could hurt you among the colleges you are looking to apply to.</p>

3

<p>Ooh thank you, history is actually exactly what I'm hoping to do. Well, either history or archaeology, depending on what the college offers. Thank you!</p>

4

<p>not sure....do you have anything to make you stand out?....so far, seems pretty average compared to normal applicants at columbia or brown....</p>

5

<p>Yea, I'm afraid that I don't have anything to stand out. I used to be a gymnastics instructor, if that counts for anything, and I interned with my favorite Congresswoman, and like, I volunteered a bit with my local historical society since I'm really into history. Also, for the Columbia app, they ask which books you've read, and I read <em>a lot</em>, so I got to put down like lots of crazy stuff, from Nietzsche to Allen Ginsberg to Bertrand Russell to Ocatvio Paz, if that helps. Umm, my essay is pretty good. Does any of that help? Bleh, this is all so scary.</p>

6

<p>bumpity bump</p>

7

<p>well....unfortunately....i dont see anything too spectacular that would make an adcom say, "we've got to have her here next year"....the books you listed off, while you may have read them word for word, im betting the adcom takes that list of books with a grain of salt; most applicants are going to use that list as an opportunity to show off their intellectual curiosity...and from what it looks, it just seems like you read famous titles and well-renowned authors...the adcoms may think you're bull ****ting a bit to make yourself look better....if you did really immerse yourself in all those authors (which you very well may have), im sorry, and pay no attention to my comments</p>

8

<p>Your verbal score is off the chart. A 790 in Verbal is definately a much harder to achieve than a 800 math score. I believe adcoms would be fairly impressed by that.</p>

9

<p>I think that you will be admitted to Cornell ED, so the rest will not matter. Vassar and NYU would definitely admit you without a second thought. You would have a shot at the other Ivies, it's just really competitive. Tufts- it would depend on whether you looked like a safety applicant to them or whether you had expressed a strong interest.</p>

10

<p>Aw, I really have read those books though, I'm honestly an incredible dork, lol. Like, I really just love love love reading, I go through several books a week. Right now my main obsession is the Beat authors, I just have waaay too much fun with Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burroughs, Ferlinghetti, all of those fun people. I'm actually kinda worried over if I should put down Naked Lunch, by Burroughs on my Columbia app or not, since, well I don't know if you've ever read it or not, but it's not exactly your most wholesome family-fun. I have it listed now, though, mainly because I figured why the heck not, it's an insane book and has a fair amount of respect, even if it's all about heroin and homosexual affairs. Ahh I really am a dork, I could go on about all of my favorite authors and philosophers for so long. But yea, I realize that they might not believe me or will think I'm just trying to impress them, I wish there was some way that I could prove that I'm not. Oh well, thanks for your help though!</p>

11

<p>Thank you sympathy and onemom! I always thought it was easier to do well on Verbal than on Math, but I probably just think that cause the verbal section's always been my easier one. </p>

<p>I have to visit Tufts, I still haven't yet but I really do like it, mainly because I checked out their history department and fell in love with it.</p>

12

<p>u've got a good shot at cornell ed....so yeah, i'd contemplate contingencies, but dont get too set on the idea of submitting applications after december....</p>

13

<p>which college are you applying within Cornell?</p>

14

<p>CAS, she said history major</p>

15

<p>Yep, CAS. I'm absolutely in love with the school. Is CAS harder to get into than the others?</p>

16

<p>ur math is kinda low, but i think you are in. You are at like the 25th percentile for math, but your verbal is like 95th percentile.</p>

17

<p>You have a good chance at Cornell ED (~70%) even in the CAS, which is a bit more competitive (and prestigious) than the state-affiliated sections. I think "OneMom" is exactly right with her predictions, so I'm not listing your chances for the others - it would just be repetitive.</p>

18

<p>You are not a dork. These schools will be excited about someone who loves books the way that you do. Too many kids are just grade grubbers. You would fit in well at Columbia and University of Chicago (I know, not on your list). All of your choices are good. If you want to apply to one more, how about Barnard-gives you the resources of Columbia and would be pretty much a safety for you. As long as you aren't worried about financial aid, I think that your list is fine.</p>