How Can I Increase My Chances at UPENN (Wharton), Hopkins, Cornell, UVA, and UNC

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Hello everyone,
Over the last couple of days I have posted several times asking about my chances at some top tier schools. Everyone seems to have some feedback on why I can't go here, or why I will get in there. Instead of focusing on the why not, I would love to get some opinions on the HOW TO. </p>

<p>My stats: </p>

<p>Personal: Caucasian male, Highly competitive private high school in KY.</p>

<p>GPA: 3.98 (One B+ freshman year)</p>

<p>ACT: 31, with a 10 on writing. This was my second attempt. I plan on taking the ACT 1-2 more times. I have not done any tutoring for it, and I am about to start a one on one ACT prep class focusing on math and science. (my subscores are 35 reading, 32 English, 29 Math, and 27 science). I think that with this tutoring, I will be able to raise my score to at least a 33/34.</p>

<p>SAT 2: 600 Chemistry, 700 US History..... Should I take more? I know that the Chem is kinda low....</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Volunteering/Shadowing at a local hospital (approximately 50 Hours) - 10,11,12
Started a charitable website(check it out: <a href="http://h2oworldwide.org/"&gt;http://h2oworldwide.org/&lt;/a&gt;) - 12
Baseball team captain (varsity player since 7th grade-- I go to a small school) - 12
Kids to Kids facilitator (A mentoring program within my school) - 11,12
School Honor Council member for 11th and 12th grade
Senior Class Vice President - 12</p>

<p>AP Scores: 5 AP US History, 5 AP English Language and Composition, 4 AP Chemistry</p>

<p>It would be absolutely awesome if anyone had any ideas on how to better my chances. But please don't say things like "work harder"... please try and be specific. </p>

<p>Thanks in advance!!!!</p>

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<p>Tbh I think they are all reaches for you. Your GPA is good, your ACT is within the range, but on the low side for all these schools, meaning you would still have an ok chance, but your ECs are weak. This can hurt you, especially at Wharton where you are competing with people who have started companies freshman year that have generated 100k+ in revenue. I’m assuming your major is business/econ/finance because you mention Wharton, but you also say you shadowed a doctor so I just want to be clear that it’s not anything science related, right? There aren’t a lot of options to strengthen your resume at this point, with only a few months left, but here are some things you can at least try to do. </p>

<p>1) Join FBLA at your school if they have one. Try to compete in the competitions they have. If they don’t have one, start it.
2) Possible try to start a Business Honor Society at your school, if they don’t have one.
3) Take an online class on a website like Coursera or EDx. These typically won’t count as college credit classes but you can add them to your resume.<br>
4) Study study study for the ACT. Improving it 2 points or higher will drastically improve your chances to the schools you’re applying to.<br>
5) Retake your chem subject tests or take literature instead (you got a 5 on the exam so I think you’ll do decently, though still study for it).
6) Start writing your essays now! Your essays can make or break your application. Try to get teachers and other adults to help you. </p>

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<p>@sumobats Thank you so much for the feedback! </p>