I submit to tempation...Yale EA...

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>AAAAGHHH!! I swore that I'd never do a stupid chances post again, but I can't help it anymore, my guidance counselor isn't that good, so I'd really like to know where I stand...
I will apply to: Yale EA (or Princeton EA if they stop w/ the ED thing), Cornell, Columbia, Brown, Tufts, NYU, Boston College, U. of Rochester. Safeties: SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Buffalo (probably try for honors programs)
SAT: 2300 (720cr, 780m, 800w) will reading hurt me at Y/P?
SAT 2: Will take US and IIC in a week, literature in october, wish me luck...
GPA: uw ~98.5/100, w ~105/100... school doesn't give us cumulative GPAs
Rank: 1/190 (hardest courses available)
APs: US history, Calc AB, Bio, Music theory, spanish, English lit.</p>

<p>ECs:
-Tons of music: Trumpet-principal in youth symphony, section leader in band, accepted to all county and area all state band, NYSSMA festival, no conference all state :(, jazz ensemble, local paid perfomances, private lessons, 9 years by graduation. Piano-private lessons, jazz ensemble, a little accompanying for school stuff, 10 years by graduation. Guitar- self taught during summer. .... in all, about 20 hrs/week
-Peer leadership (reputable high school service group)... still haven't found out if I'm co-pres or not... ~4-5 hrs/wk
-Yearbook- co-editor, maybe e-i-c next year 2hrs/wk
-NHS- coordinator of study lab (tutoring program) next year...4 hrs/wk
Stuff I probably won't include bc I spend no time on them: Mathletes team and student council treasurer.</p>

<p>Will take psych course at community college and do volunteer work this summer...</p>

<p>White male, upstate NY, middle class, probably history major</p>

<p>Be brutally honest. I know I don't have much in the way of impressive, national ec's, but I'm active in my community and dedicated to the things I like to do.</p>

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<p>Princeton just announced that after flirting with the idea of going EA for class of '10 applicants, they are sticking with ED for now. But they are studying the issue so class of '11 might find Princeton returning to EA mode, but for you, jmarsh2006, if you are insisting on EA, you'll have to stick with Yale.</p>

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<p>oh, that's kind of disappointing, but it eliminates the question of where to apply ea, thanks coldcomfort.</p>

<p>Other comments?</p>

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<p>Oh, and I'm adding Duke and Northwestern, you can take Princeton off. I haven't really finalized my list, if you couldn't tell...</p>

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<p>your race will hurt you. if you were a URM, you'd get in.</p>

<p>you have NO hook. so you prolly wont get into yale.</p>

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<p>Are you asking for finaid?</p>

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<p>^ yea..dats a good point. if you can pay the full sticker price, you have a chance.(dats what my counselor said)</p>

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<p>actually you have a good chance at yale. someone got in w/ abt the same stats & ec's from my school.</p>

<p>I have heard Yale is more stats based (grades & tests) than H & P, but it is still a lottery school.</p>

<p>Yale: 40%
Columbia: 45%
Brown: 55%
Cornell: 65%
Tufts: 75%
Boston College: 80%
NYU: 85%
U of R: 85%</p>

<p>People forget that outside of HYP, valedictorian applicants w/ high scores almost always get in. Good shots at all...best of luck to you.</p>

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<p>honestly, I'm really only applying to yale because my parents want me to. I explained to them that the chances of me getting in are VERY slim, but they think I'm just trying to be self evasive, it's really sort of annoying. In reality, my first choice would be Cornell, but I'm not applying anywhere ED for financial reasons (I'm going to be requesting fin aid, by the way), so that's why I wanted to apply somewhere EA.</p>

<p>Any other comments?</p>

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<p>jmarsh,
I think you are in good shape for Cornell. Apply to Yale EA to make your parents happy, and make that your first application - they get better with practice, and you want Cornell to be your best. The thing is, you do have a shot at Yale even with finaid, so you may wind up with all sorts of difficult decisions! Just don't wait to hear from Yale to work on the others. Do Yale, send it off, start on the next. Do Cornell as your 3rd or 4th - you will be in practice for it, but not sick of them yet. </p>

<p>If some of your school do common app and their own, look at the the schools app. If you will look better on the schools app, do that. If you start early, you will have time. </p>

<p>I think you are wise to apply to a variety of schools. Your favorite now may not be your favorite next April. Best wishes to you!</p>

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<p>If you really want to go to Cornell, why not explain to your parents and apply Cornell ED?</p>

<p>You have a more than excellent shot @ Cornell ED.</p>

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<p>I'm a really indecisive person, and while Cornell is my first choice, I don't really lke the idea of being forced to attend a college. I could change my mind between November and May of my senior year, and I'm willing to give up the small boost in admissions for that reason. </p>

<p>Will I still stand a good chance at Cornell without ED?</p>

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<p>i think you have a good chance, on top of good grades, etc. you're also from an under represented part of ny, which definately helps. good luck!</p>

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<p>Wait, the fact that I'm from binghamton makes me underrepresented??? Wow, I always thought that just being from new york state was a disadvantage, I never knew that it differed by region. </p>

<p>Is this true?? If so that's would be great</p>

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<p>Do you really have a 98.5 UW gpa from 9th-11th grade? Did just about every teacher give you a 99?</p>

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<p>My school's grading is not very hard, and basically everyone in the top 3 or 4 has at least a 97, this years valedictorian had a 99, I know of a freshman (the valedictorians's brother) who rounded up to 100, but that'll probably change once he starts to take honors/AP courses. I have a 100 in precalc, spanish, music theory, band (yeah I know), and a 98 in physics, with a 97 in english, and ~96 in APUS, but those were only my five-week grades on my progress report, my actually grades will fluctuate by the end of the year probably. This isn't really uncommon though, a bunch of my friends have similar grades.</p>

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<p>I see, I see. Aren't you the valedictorian?</p>

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<p>I'm first in the junior class. In my last post, I was referring to this year's valedictorian (first in the senior class).</p>

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<p>So back to the question about being from an underrepresented part of New York state... Is it true? Does being from upstate really give you a boost in admissions? I find that hard to believe, but who knows... </p>

<p>Does anone know anything about this??</p>

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<p>jmarsh2006,
nobody has a crystal ball, but, assuming your rec's are good and you don't write illiterate and bizarre essays, you should be a good candidate for Cornell - and if you like Cornell, Northwestern is also a good choice. Places like P'tn that reject 9 out of 10 candidates look beyond stats, and are unpredictable even for excellent students like you.</p>