Hello to anyone reading, I’d like to hear from people already in college or in the process of applying who can give me a sense of where I stand when I apply for the class of 2017. I’m a junior at a school in Gwinnett County, Georgia that is below average overall and probably is guilty of some grade inflation, but I’ve consistently been in the top 1% ranking for national/standardized testing for the last 4-6 years. I’ve taken 9 AP classes (including this year): AP Biology (4), AP Human Geography (5), AP Chemistry (4), AP World History (5), English Language and Composition, Physics 1, Calculus BC, Environmental Science, and US History. I hope to make 4’s and 5’s on all of this year’s exams except Physics. I’ve taken all honors/AP classes with a couple regular electives (Intro to Digital Tech, Anatomy) as well as three years of French (and likely AP French next year). I’ll have another 3-4 AP classes next year, and dual enrollment at a nearby community college. My GPA is a 4.0, and class rank is first with a percent average of 101% through last semester (it has increased steadily since 9th grade). My ACT score this year was a 33 with a 35 in English, 34 in math, 33 in reading, and 31 in science. I’m taking the new SAT in a week and am aiming for above a 1520. I have only a few extracurriculars: a year in Key Club, a year in National Honors Society, a year in a new program called Student Judiciary, but no leadership roles (I applied unsuccessfully for a county leadership team called GSLT). I had 25 hours of community service at the local library last summer and plan to do the same this summer. I have quite a few teachers who will give me decent recommendations on my behalf, and I can write a pretty good essay for the application. Other than that, I don’t know what I have to add. Does this look like it has a 40+ percent chance of acceptance to Duke, Northwestern, Stanford, Notre Dame or others of that class? Does it look like a good lock for UGA and Georgia Tech? I’d appreciate your responses or advice on how to improve.
Something I can tell you right away is that no one has a 40+ percent chance of getting accepted into Stanford.
Nope.
Sorry for this, but you have time to fine tune. You need to look at what these colleges say they want. It’s not just stats and a long list of AP. You need more activity. Leadership isn’t just a hs club title. And depending on your intended major, the library may not cut it. What’s the rest of your story? You don’t need to say it here, but you need to figure out why you would be a match at D, NU, S. (Sorry, but you do have time to polish all this.)
@AcceptableName Not true! If you win the Nobel Peace prize as teenager you have a really good chance of acceptance…I don’t think the OP has that hook though!
No need to apologize for the critique, I understand what my major flaw is. The problem is I don’t really see much opportunity for me to expand my activities at this point, and I don’t know why exactly I would be a “good fit” for those colleges based on a ‘story’. It’s not that I don’t have specific interests or talents, I’m a big enthusiast of history and politics (I’m actually considering starting an activist group in my community), but I don’t know how that helps on an application at this point.
If I had to choose a major today, I’d probably go for either engineering or public policy since they tie in with my strengths and interests. I’d say I have a great desire to contribute to the country and world I live, whether by small or large means, and that while interpersonal skills are a weakness I’d like to interact with people on a regular basis in any career I pursue.
If you want engineering, why no science or math activs- in the hs is the start. Many kids then go for something outside the four walls. Many work on their collaborative skills. For PP, why no community involvement, something where you experience policy up close? It’s tricky to start an activist group. (And it takes seasoned adults quite an effort to make something of this.) Isn’t there any activism going on around you? Or local programs where you can get involved, something municipal or district? How about something related to the election campaigns?
Again, sorry, but lots of kids want to contribute. (It’s noble, don’t get me wrong. I’m a huge proponent of comm service.) But they don’t get out there and DO something. (Or they do something quite simple, easy, nice, but…) The phrase is, “Show, not just tell.” And in case anyone pops up with a “just follow your passions” comment, I’m referring to the level of colleges Duke, NU, and Stanford fall into.
So, besides what you suggested, I’m a pretty weak candidate in the eyes of those schools. I guess that’s better to know now than a week before I apply, so thanks for the honesty. I’ll go check out what political or community service opportunities are available for this year so I can get something that demonstrates active interest in public policy (not sure I can do much for math/science). Ultimately, if I come up short of Duke or NU or Stanford, it’s not the end of my dreams or anything but I will be disappointed I didn’t do more now.
I mean, I wouldn’t say “weak.” It’s just that every single applicant, besides the average noble peace prize teenager, has a tough chance at acceptance to the top universities. It’s truly a crap shoot and not one person can tell you a percent odds, for a lot of it is subjective and biased.
On another note, jw if the 4.0 is weighted or unweighted?
It’s unweighted, but to give some perspective I’ve had over 95’s (without any add-ons) for all my courses (most of them gifted/AP) except maybe 2-3 times freshman year (still 93-94).
I’d say your record is not particularly strong or compelling for those schools. Specifically, your extracurricular activities are a bit lackluster. They don’t stand out from the pack as “impressive” for these schools. This is not to say you won’t get in, but I’d not say you’re a “likely admit” - in other words, you have about the same chance as these colleges’ stated acceptance rates (5% for Stanford).
If I was using early decision, should I do so for one of these top level colleges to increase my chances if I feel like I have a good fit there, or should I play it safe and use it for an in-state school that I have a high chance of getting into?
You don’t need an early decision/ action for schools you already have a high chance of getting into though, right? Which schools?
I think typically public schools can be applied to early even if you apply early decision/ action to one more selective private. Just read the policies for the specific schools you are thinking of.
Stats are fine, you need to work on ECs. You still have some time to scrap a few in there. If you join a few this spring, you can put down on the Common App that those activities were for both junior and senior years. As well, plan something fabulous for your summer. Only then will you be competitive for those kinds of schools. I would recommend an ED at Duke or Northwestern.
I would recommend that you listen to @thetsaria
Definitely use ED for Duke orNorthwestern, and look into WUSTL. They have an incredibly high ED acceptance rate. Last year they accepted about 600 of their 1500 ED apps. The exact percentage was 42%
Do something now. And add some comm service where you work with the needy (some regular commitment, not a random club thing. ) You’ve worked hard and want to know you stepped up in addl ways. Don’t be defeated. Perfect time to rev it up. You can do it.
Thanks to all of you for the ideas and feedback, I now see what I need to do to give myself the best chance for admission and just being a better overall individual.
But I’m still open to any more suggestions you may have, because I don’t have many sources to go on.
You’re lacking heavily in EC’s: lacking leadership positions is killing you, and you are not in many EC’s to begin with. In addition, many of your EC’s are common in many Ivy applicants.
And only 25 hours of community service? It’s probably best if you can get at least up to 100+ hours. 25 is a drop in the bucket and makes it seem as though you’re only doing it to fulfill some sort of requirement.
I don’t know about your demographics, but from where it stands, you need to rev it up: join some more clubs, get some leadership positions, do more service at the library and do something meaningful and exciting this summer to truly round out your application.
Chance me? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19340090#Comment_19340090
As a current student at the sort of school you are looking for, I’d have to echo the above. Your AP load is probably a bit above average, but not exceptional. Keep in mind when you hear claims such as “Top School X students only have 5 AP classes on average,” that these statistics almost invariably exclude IB, or College in the High School programs (both community and four year). While I have no statistics to back this, anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that 8-12 college level classes is the norm for students bound for such schools (which still means you are expected to meet or exceed this, so again this is not a weak point so long as you are aware that by itself this accomplishment won’t equate to admittance). Your ACT score is in the low-average range for said schools, but is high enough not to cause any issue (there are certainly plenty who have been admitted with lower scores).
As others have said, the main problem here is extracurricular activities. First, much of these are very generic and don’t pertain to your interests. It is a tough sell to convince any school that the most interesting use of your time was Key club or NHS. In essence, these only demonstrate that you have a 3.5GPA, which they already know from looking at your transcript. If engineering is your passion, the ideal is to have demonstrated experience in the field (inventing something, however small, and marketing it, or an internship at an engineering-intensive company such as Boeing, Ford, etc.). Many students cannot do that, which is fine; it is acceptable to join generic clubs such as Robotics, which still highlight your interests (just remember that you need at least SOMETHING that is not generic in order to land an acceptance letter). Just to clarify, when colleges speak of leadership roles they are referring to actual evidence of leadership (President of a club, team captain of a sports team, etc.), not a “leadership class,” or a club with leadership in the name. Keep in mind that almost no “leadership clubs” actually lead anyone. The purpose of leadership is to show that you can work together with people to accomplish a goal (understanding what motivates people, delegation, establishing reasonable goals and the like are valuable skills not only for getting into college, but excelling once there).
The last component of your application is almost useless now, and may even be a mark against you; it can, however, turn into a large benefit if changes are made. I am referring to your community service component. 25 hours in a summer-about 2hrs a week, does not convey a passion for helping others. It smacks very strongly of “hmm, colleges like community service, so let me find something I can do once a week to look better…Hey! The library has an opportunity, I’ll do that.” Resume padding, while expected to an extent and arguably required for college admissions, is highly frowned upon. In my time here, I have met lots of people who never did more than a couple hours of service (who didn’t even put it on their application), and I have met plenty who have done hundreds to thousands of hours of service (and in a more meaningful capacity than library service). To date, I have not met anyone at this school who has done dozens of hours of service. Once again, while this is anecdotal, it is still telling. As a junior, you have one more summer to bolster your service record, which you can do by joining a group that you care about (and hence can spend 10 hours a week working for without tiring), and be prepared to explain why you chose to volunteer there. As my academic counselor said, “I don’t care if you’ve done 1,000 hours of service… if you can’t convince me that you did it because it meant something to you besides an acceptance letter, don’t bother to include it on your application.” If you do perform a significant number of hours at an institution you are passionate in, you will have no problem devoting one of your secondary essays to explaining why you did it, what you learned, and what you will do to continue the work (or similar) in college.
One last thing; you asked about your odds to a list of schools, treating them as though they have comparable difficulty to enter. The above advice is for the very top (like Stanford). Full disclosure, I was rejected from Stanford, so take this advice for what it is worth (though I was admitted and waitlisted into its peer schools). Your stats give you good odds for Notre Dame, but about 5% odds for Stanford as someone previously said. Consider that despite the fact that Stanford applicants have 100 point higher SAT scores (old) than Notre Dame, they accept less than a quarter the people (as a percentage) that Notre Dame does (SAT scores aren’t even close to everything but it is an indicator when the gap is this large). The other schools you list fall between these extremes, so it is probably best to analyze your prospects at each school individually for best results.
If you were to apply today, doing what you plan to do senior year, I would give you chances as follows:
Stanford: Very High Reach-Dream
Duke: High Reach
Northwestern: Mid Reach
Notre Dame: High Match
Georgia Tech: Low-Match, borderline safety
UGA: Safety (based purely on stats, I am not all that familiar with their admissions process).