<p>I have reassesed my school chioces and some info, please chance me...</p>
<p>Male
Junior
Caucasian
Attend a medium size and quality school in Wisconsin, class size around 350
GPA- 4.0 unweighted, 1st in class
SAT- n/a, might take it in June
SAT II- n/a
ACT- 34 on the first try, maybe a 35 in June?
Class Rank- first
Other- AP- in my entire high school career, I will have taken 6 AP classes: AP Psychology, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, AP US History, AP English, and AP German. I also have taken the AP exam for biology and will take economics next year.
Senior Classes:
AP English
AP Statistics
AP German
AP US History
Economics
Physics</p>
<p>Teacher/Counselor Recommendations, Essay- will all be exceptional</p>
<p>Extracurriculars-
-DECA President and state champion in individual and project events, competed at nationals
-FBLA President
-3 years on swim team
-Debate group
-Book group
-President of Political club
-President of German Honor Society
-Newspaper Staff/ political columnist/ copy editor
-Member of Key Club- 9-12
-Forensics 9-12
-Destination Imagination 11
-Volunteer at local hospital
-Badger Boys State
-National Honors Society member 11-12
-participated in German exchange program (hosted a student and went to Germany)
-State champion in essay contests twice, national competitor
-Cross Country Team, grade 10
-Track Team, Grades 9 and 10
-Marching Band, 9-10
-Math Club</p>
<p>Hooks/Extras-
-First generation college student
-Have had a job for a year, promoted to semi-management position
-Am seeking an internship in my desired field
-Multiple Student of the Month winner
-Semi-finalist in several scholarship competitions</p>
<p>Please chance me for the following schools:
University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
Georgetown
Northwestern
Harvard
Ann Arbor
Tufts
MIT
Washington, St. Louis
Princeton
Notre Dame</p>
<p>Can anyone give me some idea of my chances? I'd really like to know to help shape my application list. Quantitative results would be awesome. Please help me out...</p>
<p>You have as good a chance as any at the top schools, but nothing that indicates you'll definitely get in. I think mj93 has it about right. You'll want to add in a safety, or at least apply to UMich early on, which will both help you to get in, and ensure you have somewhere to go so you can just apply to the selective schools later on, instead of having to worry about a true safety.</p>
<p>uhh I agree mj93 is the first person with manners but his evaluation is WAY off the mark. Here's something more accurate:
Georgetown - reach (but you have a good chance of getting in)
Northwestern - reach (again, you have a good chance of getting in)
Harvard - tough reach (you don't have any passions or something special to make you stand out. You are definitely a great candidate but you could easily be passed over. most probably you will be rejected. doesn't mean you're not great. the fact is that harvard rejects over 90% of applicants, and that doesn't leave much room.)
University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) - tough reach (group it with Harvard, it's that hard to get in)
Ann Arbor - match
Tufts - match/reach (they don't like being a safety school--it is widely documented and supported with facts--and will reject a lot of top candidates...not an acceptance you can count on)
MIT - tough reach (it's really hard to get in here, especially without any demonstrated passion for math, science, or technology. if you can convince them that you have a really good reason to be there, like some unique passion or skill, they will take you, but you don't seem to have one on here?)
Washington, St. Louis - reach (they waitlist a LOT of people as good as or better than you. It's very very unpredictable so don't count on anything.)
Princeton - tough reach (group it with Harvard)
Notre Dame - match</p>
<p>Don't know what to think? Check out the decision threads for this year's applicants to each school on the school forums...you'll see what happened to people like you (where they got in, where they were rejected, etc).</p>
<p>Thanks for the evaluation. It's so unbelievable to think how many qualified people will be passed over by these top schools. I suppose you have to be a miracle worker to get into some of the Ivies.</p>
<p>Will being a first generation college student help me though? I think that's one thing that helps me stand out. I'm really not sure how much they count that for though.</p>
<p>In terms of a special passion, I really do have one, but I'm going to have to find a way to make it more expressed. Right now, it's just a bunch of EC's, but I want to highlight it in my essays. That's a really good point, though... you need to stand out!</p>
<p>bmw, ill have to agree with Mallomar here. I'm in the same boat as you, with all these top colleges (and second tier) now increasing standards making it tougher for applicants. </p>
<p>Admittedly though, I'd also agree with the albeit rude people that you should not mention the student of the month awards. It may be a big deal at your school, but the colleges you are applying to do not know that and most likely, it won't make any impact in their mind.</p>
<p>You're most likely right. Thanks for saying it politely.</p>
<p>So if we're all basically academically flawless, have high test scores, and tons of EC's, what can set a person apart? Essays? A focused direction to out of school activities? One stand out talent? I'm going to go out on a limb and say luck plays a big role at a certain point in any subjective evaluation.</p>
<p>Wherever you're headed, tintin (and everyone in the same situation), I wish you amazing luck, and if you get in, I hope to see you there.</p>
<p>First of all, you should have an idea where you stand. Hopefully the "academically flawless" haven't lost their common sense. College Admissions is a crapshoot. Different schools look for different things, which is why you don't usually see someone get into HYPS (all of them). I'm not trying to be rude, but you are the candidate that ADComs love rejecting. Academically, you are near perfect. However, it is too easy to reject you on the basis of EC's. Did you not have enough? Quite the opposite, you have too many EC's and ADCom's hate "laundry lists."</p>
<p>I understand that you want to be involved, but ADComs interpret that as "you don't really care about anything and just do these activities in order to get into college." I would focus your EC's and narrow them down to one or two passions that you may have. College Admissions is a game, but you just have to be yourself. Colleges want real people, this is where the luck may in. Sorry if this was harsh.</p>
<p>Absolutely not, skyhawk. You made a fair and possibly accurate statement. I do not have experience with college admissions, but if I were on a committee I would hate to see people who just do everything for the purpose of getting into college and not out of real passion/ interest.</p>
<p>By "I have no idea where I stand" I mean that I have not gone through this process and only one person I know has applied to the Ivies. I know my record, but not how colleges will interpret it, which is why I need advice from you guys.</p>
<p>Anyone else want to weigh in here? Should you trim EC lists down? Personally, I have a lot of EC's but I love every one of them. It's just expressing that passion to colleges that will be a real challenge.</p>