Junior at Small School- Please Chance Me!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I go to a small high school in Illinois with less than 150 students. Everything is limited here- classes, extracurriculars, etc. I've been exploring the chance threads on here for the past couple of weeks, and it was clear to me from the start that a lot of the students who apply to the schools I'm looking at have had more options and opportunities available to them. They have huge resumes. That being said, I've done what I could with what I had.</p>

<p>Also, I am a URM. I'm Hispanic. I'm not a permanent resident, but I've been given lawful status through Obama's deferred action program for undocumented students and my parent has already applied for permanent residency as of a really long time ago.</p>

<p>Weighted GPA: 4.2143
Unweighted GPA: 4.0 (on a 4.0 scale)
ACT: 30 (Taking it again this spring. I'm hoping to raise my score.)
PSAT: 183
Class Rank: 1/30 </p>

<p>9th Grade:
Algebra II/Geometry H: A
Chemistry I H: A
English I H: A
French I: A
Health: A
Physical Education: A
Religion I: A
World History H: A </p>

<p>10th Grade:
American History H: A
Biology I H: A
Chemistry II H: A
English II H: A
French II: A
Religion II: A
Trigonometry H: A</p>

<p>11th Grade (first semester):
Biology II H: A
Computer Literacy: A
English III H: A
French III H: A
Physics H: A
Pre-Calculus H: A
Religion III: A </p>

<p>12th Grade:
I am planning on taking the three AP classes that are available here (AP English, Calculus and French) as well as an honors advanced biology course (if it makes it into the scheduling.) </p>

<p>Extra Curriculars:
Chorus for 3 years now. Not really a big thing due to lack of student interest.
Theatre my Freshman year. I got a decent part in the production.
Cross Country for 3 years now. (I suck, so no athletic scholarships haha.)
Track for 3 years. (Ditto CC)
Cheerleading my sophomore year.
STAND for 2 years now. (Basically a community service organization select students are invited to.)
Academic Challenge this year (got 2nd place in the regional competition for English)
Student Government (VP my freshman year, secretary my sophomore year.)</p>

<p>I've done 200+ hours of community service and will probably graduate with around 300 hours. </p>

<p>I'm hoping to do something involved with writing or medicine. </p>

<p>Schools I'm looking at:
Harvard
Duke
Stanford
University of Southern California
UC Berkeley
Columbia
Brown
Princeton
UW-Madison
University of Iowa
Tulane
LSU
UNC-Chapel Hill
University of Chicago
University of Kansas
Transylvania University </p>

<p>I realize the list is long, so any input on any of them would be appreciated! </p>

2

<p>Well academically you are fine if you can get that ACT up to at least a 32. Class rigor is important in the admissions process and unfortunately you dont have much. HOWEVER colleges contextualize your transcript based on your school, so if you are taking the hardest courses YOUR SCHOOLS OFFERS then you’re fine.</p>

<p>My thread (chance please): <a href=“Chances for Vanderbilt, UNC, NYU, UF, and Duke? - Chance Me / Match Me! - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1610985-chances-for-vanderbilt-unc-nyu-uf-and-duke-p1.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>Well your GPA is flawless (I’m honestly very jealous haha). Just focus on the ACT now and you’ll definitely get into many of those schools. Try the SAT if you’re struggling in the ACT. Be careful with your senior year courseload though. It is really easy to get carried away when picking classes and senior year grades matter a lot so be careful (just considering you’ve never taken an AP class before, and then taking 3 all at once can be a bit too much along with college apps). Also, have you taken any SAT subject tests yet? If you haven’t, make sure you take at least 2 because that is a requirement for most of the schools you’re looking at. </p>

<p>Good luck!! :slight_smile: </p>

<p>I’d really appreciate it if you’d chance me here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1616663-please-chance-me-i-ll-chance-back.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1616663-please-chance-me-i-ll-chance-back.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>I’m taking all of the hardest classes my school offers. </p>

<p>I’ve considered taking the SAT and will look into it to see if I prefer its format! Same for the SAT subject tests. I’d totally forgotten about that. </p>

<p>Three AP classes won’t be easy, exactly, but I don’t think it will be too bad. The teachers are helpful and I know several people who have taken all three at once and managed just fine. </p>

5

<p>Raised my score to a 33 when I took it this spring! </p>