<p>Hi, I am currently a junior and just move here from Hong Kong last year. My dream schools are always Harvard, Penn and MIT. However, I just got 1720 in SAT (Math 700, Writing 560, Reading 460). Although my total English score has already improved by 240, it is still extremely bad. And I scored 25 in ACT (English 22, Math 30, Reading 19, Science 27). I feel really bad about my test score.</p>
<p>So is it possible to get into any of my dream school with such a low test score? Would they consider me as a weak candidate because the instruction language of my school in Hong Kong is mainly English?</p>
<h2>Below is my rough resume of Freshman-Junior years</h2>
<p>Varsity Volleyball x2years
Varsity Track x3years +several competition awards
Club Volleyball x1year
Volunteer for Red Cross, American Cancer Society
Class Council (with different leading positions for 3 years)
Founder and President of a club at my current high school
Starting my own business
Interning during the summer</p>
<h2>Low-income family</h2>
<p>Am I a really weak candidate? What can I do in order to get a bigger chance?</p>
<p>Can you also see how realistic(reach/safety/...) of the schools below? If possible, can you suggest me some schools that I have a high chance of getting it?</p>
<p>-Harvard
-Penn
-MIT
-Boston College
-Boston U
-NYU
-Stanford
-USC
-Cornell
-Georgetown
-Emory
-U Chicago
-UC Berkeley
-UCLA
-Notre Dame
-U Michigan
-U Virginia</p>
<p>no offense, but your scores AND your GPA are way below the average for all of these schools. for the very top schools, you should at least have a 2200+, 3.7+ UW, and remarkable ECs…</p>
<p>And your GPA…
I think you should try and lower your reaches a little bit. Almost none of the schools you listed seem plausible, except for U Virginia, Notre Dame, Mich…</p>
<p>I’m assuming you’re an Asian female, which puts you at a disadvantage for those schools even if you had, as northface said, “2200+, 3.7+ UW, and remarkable ECs…”</p>
<p>Sorry, but unless something dramatic happens, you may have to scale back your dreams.</p>
<p>I don’t want to be mean, but you should realize that you have almost no chance at the most selective schools (less than 1 percent chance at HYSP).</p>
<p>They all say you can’t do it, but who knows, maybe you can! But all they’re trying to say is, that according to statistics you aren’t the idealistic candidate for these schools. Maybe you should consider going to community college and transfer - sometimes, people become a lot more successful that way. Don’t just pick a college for its name - not trying to be racist, but I am Asian as well, and in Asia, the Ivies are looked upon highly without everyone exactly knowing why, except that they are highly selective. </p>
<p>Find the college that’s the best fit for your interests and needs. </p>
<p>I’ve never seen a non-URM get in with anything below a 2000, but I’m sure it’s happened for those with a truly amazing EC. Unfortunately, you’re not an URM, your unweighted GPA is 3.38, and your ECs are ordinary. Even if you raised your SAT to 2400, your chances at the most selective schools would be low.</p>
<p>I’m sure there are good schools you will get into, however. Good luck.</p>
<p>People do get into ivies with low test scores but they usually have something else phenomenal going for them. I would not spend time worrying about the anomalies in admissions though, just focus on improving you SAT. If you significantly improve your SAT it would be possible for you to attend some of the “lower” schools on your list.</p>
<p>First of all, I don’t think your ECs are at all bad, especially given that you’ve only been here in the US for the last year. A very good essay talking about your experience moving from a foreign country and trying to assimilate would be a big help. </p>
<p>The problem, as you know, is your SAT score, particularly the Reading/Writing score. The schools on our list are very competitive; they only accept students who they believe have a reasonable chance of succeeding at their schools. Without a strong command of English, you are going to be at a great disadvantage. </p>
<p>It’s possible that standardized tests don’t show your true command of English. You need to demonstrate to colleges, probably through interviewing or additional (TOEFL) testing, that you can handle the reading and writing workload that will be expected of you. </p>
<p>Even with demonstrating a command of English all of the schools on your list are reaches. Your scores are at the 25th percentile for UC-Berkeley and BU, which makes acceptances there possible, but not necessarily likely.</p>
<p>Try to find English reading/writing help at a local community college or adult education center. I think you have an interesting profile, if you can address the language hurdle.</p>
<p>No. It wont happen with these numbers. EVER! But listen, we’re here to help so heres my advice: start getting STRAIGHT As all of your classes. Pull the SATs up to a minimum of 2150. Write Stupendous essays… I dunno what else… Apply to some of these schools, just not all of them. Keep some of the schools on, but add easier ones.</p>
<p>Oh yeah I’m getting straight As right now. My Weighted GPA is 4.14 and I’ll take courses during the summer. Maybe I can have about 4.3~4.4 for my junior year.</p>
<p>your SATs are morbidly low… like NO kiding. Study your english dude. Your EC’s are weak, especially in the eyes of IVys. You aim way too high, MIT and harvard??? Better go with UC’s. SOrry if I sound harsh, but just trying to keep it real</p>
<p>if you keep shooting for those schools which are obviously out of your reach, you will exhaust yourself in HS, be rejected, and feel utterly worthless.</p>
<p>you do not need to go to one of those schools in order to have a successful life in America. If your parents decided to move here to send you to those schools, I’m sorry, but they were deluded. </p>
<p>You will not be able to pull off a 400-point SAT score improvement. You probably won’t be able to pull your grades up that high. Moreover, at this point, you would not be able to survive at those schools.</p>
</p>
^^</p>