indian guy from jersey would like a chance

<p>Gender: M
Race: Indian
Location: suburban NJ (HS ranked 4th statewide recently)
SAT: 2370 (800 M, 770 CR, 800 W), 1 sitting, not superscored
PSAT: 226 (so should get semi-finalist before ED time rolls around)</p>

<p>-SAT IIs: 800 Chem, 800 US History, 800 Bio, 800 Math II, 800 World History
-GPA: 95.50 weighted, 4.1/4.0, top 10%, school doesn't rank </p>

<p>APs
-Chem 5
-Bio 5
-Stat 5
-US Hist 5
-Calc AB 5
English Lang 5
-I guess I would be "AP Scholar with Distinction", I know it doesn't mean much</p>

<p>Senior Year APs
-Calc BC, Physics C, English Lit, Gov + politics, Econ</p>

<p>-ECs: 4 year wreslter, JV sportsmanship award, no great awards/hooks (will try to spin wrestling in essays, not too many indian wrestlers)</p>

<p>-300hrs comm. service at local hospital
-3 yr Model UN and Youth and Government member
-Exec Council for Model Congress (club got funds taken away end of soph year, had to disband)</p>

<p>-spent summer between jr + sr yrs in EMT class (120 hrs class) + will be EMT for 3 months before applying ED to any school (4hrs/week commitment)
-summer jobs as lifegaurd (summer before sr year), 10 hrs/wk</p>

<p>What are chances at U Chicago RD as a bio major?</p>

<p>wow…</p>

<p>funny thing is I always thought I was smart and stuff but when I started looking around CC, that whole image went down the tube lol…</p>

<p>anyone else?</p>

<p>Look, you have nice test scores, something you undoubtedly know. You have taken a bunch of AP classes, probably about as many as possible at your school. Presumably you know that, too. You know more than you have told us about your GPA. At my kids’ school, 95 weighted would be pretty low, but it wouldn’t have been in the top 10% of the class, either. But without knowing anything really about your school, and how it does with ultra-competitive colleges, one can’t say much about that. And if the information about your school is coming from you, you don’t need people here to regurgitate it back to you.</p>

<p>Some students on CC (but not necessarily the Chicago forum) would sneer at your ECs because you haven’t won national competitions, etc., but they are absolutely fine for anywhere you want to apply. They won’t get you in, but they won’t be keeping you out, either.</p>

<p>So you seem like a fine kid, who ought to be a decent candidate anywhere, including Chicago. Unfortunately, at many of the colleges to which you will probably be applying, including Chicago, there are more applicants like that than the college is going to accept. In the absence of some killer hook – which only a handful of applicants have – the rest of your application – essays and recommendations, mainly – is what makes the difference between great candidates that make it and great candidates who don’t. You have to give people a sense of your personality, why you would be great to have around, something your resume doesn’t provide.</p>

<p>The only clear weakness I see is your feeling insecure enough to post this on CC, and/or your apparently not realizing that no one is going to be able to give you an accurate sense of your chances at colleges that don’t operate on a GPA/SAT matrix. You WILL get into those, if you apply.</p>

<p>Yeah, I’m wondering Why Chicago? Please don’t tell me it’s because of its reanking!</p>

<p>What’s with the new tendency of chance thread responders to press the OP on why he or she wants to apply to a given school?</p>

<p>^^^On Chicago threads in particular, or in general?</p>

<p>Whether or not someone is a good fit for a school has relatively little to do with the stats (at least as the game is played in the US college admissions system) and a lot to do with why the student wants to be there. This is where the essays and some disclosure can help. </p>

<p>Chicago is somewhat a self-selecting place. It’s good to see students acknowledge that and realize that even Bio majors take the Core – and that it is something they are willing to tackle. </p>

<p>For a Bio major like the OP (who may or may not want to be pre-med – that wasn’t disclosed), Chicago can be a tough place to rack up the kind of GPA med schools like to see. Not impossible, but tougher than other places.</p>

<p>yeah, im willing to take the core </p>

<p>im just trying to understand whether my chances would be average, above average or poor?</p>

<p>-im getting the vibe that essays will really be the make or break factor?</p>

<p>^Weird kind of obtuse statement.</p>

<p>Your numbers are great, so above average for that. You had to ask?</p>

<p>Your ECs are fine, no worse than average certainly.</p>

<p>“yeah, I’m willing to take the core” is way, way below average in a pool that pretty much defines itself by enthusiasm for Chicago’s educational program.</p>

<p>Who the hell knows how it averages out? If your application communicates “yeah, I’m willing to take the core”, I’d guess hardly any chance at all.</p>

<p>People like you make me rethink applying to certain colleges on my list. No offense intended. Great chance at U of C with solid essays and enthusiasm for the school.</p>