How am I doing so far?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi everyone!
I am a rising junior and I was hoping to get some feedback on my first two years of high school. Am I on the right track for the schools I am aiming for?</p>

<p>Schools:
Georgetown
Rice
Cornell
Brown
UChicago
Stanford (I know it's a reach :P)
Harvard (Just for kicks)
NOTE -> These aren't the only schools I plan on applying to, I obviously will have safeties</p>

<p>ME:
White male living in NJ :'(
I go to a catholic school in NYC, it's a very prestigious high school that sends about 10-12 kids to Ivies and around 10 kids to Georgetown every year out of a class of 135~</p>

<p>GPA: 3.78UW (Freshman=3.76, Sophomore=3.8) My school doesn't have weighted GPA
My school doesn't offer any AP or Honors courses</p>

<p>SATII's:
Bio - 750
Math 2 - 740
US History - 710 (I most likely won't be sending this, I'll probably take Lit or something next year and send that instead if the school requires 3 SAT II's)</p>

<p>AP Bio - 4 (I'll be taking more)</p>

<p>Awards:
Order of the Owl -> award for getting at least a 3.8 GPA (the general rule of thumb is that if you get at least a 3.8, you can get into the Ivy League or the equivalent of it.)</p>

<p>EC's:
-Debate team -> This is one of the biggest things on my application. The debate team at my school is in the top 3 in the nation and I devote a lot of my weekends during the school year to going to tournaments. Colleges know this because of my school's networking with them.
-Soccer Club
-Town's Soccer Team (9 years/captain)- State Semifinals
-Outward Bound School
-Church Reader
-Soccer Referee
-I've been accepted to be a student advisor for two incoming freshman my junior year
-I've been accepted to be a leader in the primary religious retreat of my school (only 10 are selected)
-Camp Rising Sun -> An international leadership camp that lasts for 7 weeks.
-I have my own blog (is that important at all?)</p>

<p>Random: I am most likely going to be going to China next summer (I take Chinese as a language) for a three week summer program. Can I list that as an EC? If not, where do I put it on my application?</p>

<p>Volunteering:
This is the area where I am weakest. I have a few 4-5 hour days of service at various soup kitchens. In addition, I am going to Camden through my school to help at a soup kitchen for a weekend.</p>

<p>If I can get a solid SAT score, decent essays, and good recommendations do you think I have a shot at the colleges mentioned? I know Stanford, UChicago, and Brown are high-reaches (especially Stanford and UChicago), but I am planning on starting my own tutoring business towards the end of the summer and donating the money I make to an organization that helps feed impoverished people in my area. From what I have researched, starting your own business is highly regarded by Stanford. </p>

<p>As a side question, will colleges assume that I am starting the business and donating the money simply because it looks good? I really enjoy helping out in my community, but I'm worried that colleges will think I am just trying to look good on paper. How can I put this on my application so colleges understand that I am genuinely interested in starting the business and in helping others?</p>

<p>Thank you SO much for reading this whole thing. I'm sorry it was so long...</p>

2

<p>Assuming you do everything you just said you will have a decent shot. Maybe not at Stanford or Harvard, but for the rest of your schools which are still incredibly difficult to get into. Your GPA unfortunately, isn’t quite at the same level that many of the applicants who apply are at.
Work on that during your junior year.
Just a tip: Don’t assume you’ll do great on the SAT (For schools like those I would assume 2250+ or better 2300+) I’m not saying you won’t do well, it’s just that I’ve seen too many people underestimate the test.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for your reply! A 3.8 GPA is actually a pretty good GPA for my school, but you’re right I do need to bring that up in junior year. I know that I shouldn’t assume that I’m going to do well on the SAT, and trust me I don’t. I just didn’t want people replying, “Well it all depends on your SAT score…”
Does anyone know how I can portray the tutoring business/donating money to the schools so that they understand that I have a legitimate interest in the subjects and I don’t just want to make myself “look good”?</p>

4

<p>I was waitlisted at Cornell and Rice and rejected by Stanford with a much better profile. But, then again, I didn’t go to some prestigious Catholic school. If you consider yourself one of the top 20 students at your school, then you’ve got a good shot at the ivies I guess.</p>

5

<p>@Pancaked - Keep in mind that I’m only a sophomore, so I have all of junior year to bolster my application. Can you give me some advice though? You said that you had a much better profile than me, do you have any suggestions that I can use to improve my profile?</p>

6

<p>I haven’t really thought about it… would that really make much of a difference?</p>