I know I need improvement...

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Currently I'm a junior, and my top school is USC (I know, big reach) and I'd like some advice on what I should improve. Also, I would like to know my chances at getting into my other schools</p>

<p>My Info:
Ethnicity: White male</p>

<p>PSAT: CR - 590; M - 700; W - 590 (I'm definitely studying before SATs)
SAT: Will take on Jan. 23 (Hoping for at least 700 in each subject)
ACT: Will take sometime in the future</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0 (When the semester ends my AP grades will change it, but so far I have had no full semesters of weighted classes)</p>

<p>AP Classes: AP US History, AP Language, IN THE FUTURE: AP US Government, AP Calculus AB, AP Literature, maybe AP Micro/Macroeconomics
Honors: Honors 9 English, Honors 9 World History, Honors 10 English, Honors 10 World History</p>

<p>EC: Varsity Cross Country 9 grade; Varisty Soccer team 9,10,11,12 grade; Varsity Football 11 grade; Academic Games 11 (and possibly 12) grade; Volunteering around Community (church, post office, holiday celebrations) 50 hours and growing; Middle/High School Band 9,10 grade (top percussionist in school); NHJS 9,10 grade; NHS 11,12 grade (I'm treasurer this year)</p>

<p>Work Experience: Summer job at local supermarket 9 grade; Burger King (year-round) 11,12 grade; probably taking Career Practicum next year</p>

<p>Will be applying for financial aid
Household income about $80,000; two siblings already in college</p>

<p>Good chance at Valedictorian (my current junior class is 28 kids)</p>

<p>Also, keep in mind my whole high school is about 83 kids (I attend a DODDSE overseas school in England) Will mentioning this in my applications be a good idea? I've lived overseas my whole life (16 years)
Most likely will receive good-to-great reccomendations
And let's just assume I write a really good essay </p>

<p>Colleges:
University of Southern California
Claremont Mckenna
Pitzer College
Santa Clara University
Loyola Marymount University
University of San Francisco
University of Redlands
University of the Pacific</p>

2

<p>any chances?</p>

3

<p>USC is your top school and assumiing that you will get your sat to at least 2050 you should have a legit chance at it. You may want to try to get more leadership ecs to boost your chances…assuming that everything goes to plan you should have a good shot at all your colleges</p>

4

<p>thanks for the reply and yea im planning on running for NHS President and Student class vice president next year
I guess being at such a small high school has its perks haha 4 kids in NHS and 28 in entire grade</p>

<p>And I’ll be taking the SAT in jan, june, and sometime in the fall next year so with a decent amount of studying I’m pretty confident I can hit at least 2050</p>

5

<p>Woot woot! Pitzer and CMC! Definitely got a chance at all schools, but Pitzer, CMC and USC will be pretty hard.</p>

6

<p>lol i put Pitzer up there since thats where my sister goes but I dunno if I’d really want to go there :P</p>

<p>but Claremont Mckenna seems like it’d be really good, if I was able to get in</p>

7

<p>I’m only familiar with a few of the California schools, but here goes. I’m going to go under the assumption that you have a 1320/1950 type of range when it is all said and done.</p>

<p>USC - Mid Reach
Claremont - Mid Reach
Pitzer - High Match/Low Reach
Santa Clara - High Match
Loyola - Low Match/Match</p>

8

<p>I submitted my apps to Pomona, CMC and Pitzer yesterday. Now the wait…</p>

9

<p>good luck, from what I’ve heard, Pomona is super tough to get into
And from when I visited, Pitzer has a really pretty campus and nice weather haha</p>

10

<p>does anyone have any tips about what USC looks for in an applicant? Do they look for strong EC’s particulary? Or are SATs/ACT really important? Or do they just basically look for an overall balance of everything?</p>

11

<p>you will pretty much get in anywhere on the list for sure except USC and Claremont Mckenna as two reach schools. When I took the PSAT i scored 200 points below my real SAT score and that case happened to all my friends as well, so expect to increase 200. But everything else on the app is exceptional, I recommend adding Univ. of Washington to your list as a match. They have a 60 percent acceptance rate. Maybe even add another reach.</p>

12

<p>USC - Low reach-you need to improve your GPA, takes more APs/challenging classes, improve SAT or ACT score, and improve in your extracurriculars…as in, get more leadership experiences in.
Claremont - I don’t know this college.
Pitzer - I don’t know
Santa Clara - High Match
Loyola - Mid reach
University of the Pacific-match
University of the Redlands-match
University of San Francisco-match. <– I just got accepted yesterday with a 20k scholarship offer…lol. You can message me for more details on that. : )</p>

13

<p>yea well I really wanna get into USC so I’m gonna try and get some more EC’s and do more volunteering and do lots of studying for SATs and more AP classes lol
I’ll look into Univ. of Washington, thanks</p>

14

<p>To mynameisb0b:
Well I’m taking 2 AP classes this year, might take a third next semester, and will take 2-3 senior year
and I’m gonna try for NHS President and student class vice president next year (not too hard in such a small school ;)</p>

<p>And I like USF, my brother actually goes there, he’s in his junior year now. I’ve visited the campus several times and love the city, but they dont have engineering there which bums me out, but I might end up there if I get a big enough scholarship lol</p>

15

<p>I’m not really familiar with the California schools, but I know that if you get your SATs up, you have a great shot @ USC. Since your still a junior, I would recommend taking the ACTs. I found them to be much better than the SATs. I think with some focus, you could get around a 30+. Also, definitely try to get some more leadership positions. I had a friend who had some really strong EC’s and was extremely dedicated, but low tests scores and received and acceptance to Pomona. Take more AP’s your senior year, and try to end this year on a high note. After all, colleges, if you’re apply EA/ED will see your senior schedule and your final junior grades. Good luck!</p>

16

<p>How do you manage to play three fall season varsity sports?</p>

17

<p>to Jersey13:
well I only play in the fall and spring seasons, and next year if I’m taking 3+ AP courses, I’m only gonna do 1 season of sports lol
juggling my 2 AP classes with work and sports this fall was kinda tricky but managable</p>

18

<p>to ch0iminy</p>

<p>Yea I plan on taking the ACT sometime, whether it be this spring or next fall
And I’m taking 3 AP courses this year and probably going to take 3 more AP courses next year
And thanks for all the advice!</p>

19

<p>does anyone know about my chances into getting in to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo?</p>

20

<p>also, what would my chances be for getting into UC Davis?</p>