<p>Hi, I'm a rising Junior and I just wanna hear what my chances are for reach schools, and what my match schools would be. </p>
<p>SAT: 1990 (CR: 710, M:680, Wr:600), took as a sophomore, going to take two more times, as well as taking ACT next year.
SAT II: none yet, will take US History, Math A/B, and either Bio/Physics
GPA: 90 average unweighted (not sure about 4.0 scale)
Extra-curriculars: expected to have 4 years Wrestling after senior year (2 Junior varsity, 2 varsity), journalist on an online technology website (expected 3 years), (expected) 2 years entrepreneurial club.
Volunteering: no hours so far, expected 50+ during/after junior year.
AP's: Sophomore: Euro
Junior: English Language, US History, US Government
Senior(expected): English Literature, Comparative Government, Physics or Bio, Calculus AB</p>
<p>Colleges I want:
NYU CAS
NYU Stern
Cornell
Cornell AEM
Columbia
CUNY Baruch
MIT
Vanderbilt
Macaulay Honors (in NYC)</p>
<p>Obviously I know most of the schools listed are a heavy, heavy reach, but i'm just curious what my chances are so far, if everything that is marked as expected is fulfilled? Also, I'm curious what my match schools/safeties would be. I'm white, and i live in NYC by the way. disregard spelling/grammar, i was in a rush :P</p>
<p>Its hard to judge without a definite SAT score, so I’ll judge based on your current one of 1990.</p>
<p>With that score and your other credentials, here’s what I think:</p>
<p>NYU CAS: Low reach
NYU Stern: Reach
Cornell/AEM: No chance
Columbia: No chance
CUNY Baruch: I don’t know enough about this.
MIT: Absolutely no chance
Vanderbilt: No chance</p>
<p>I’m sorry for being so candid, but I’d rather be honest than give you false hope. Your ECs are average at best. While quantity isn’t important, many applicants to these schools will have more ECs with more quality. Also, your GPA isn’t spectacular, and its on the low end for most of these schools. Finally, your SAT is going to kill you. You need to get at least a 2200 or more. Best of luck.</p>
<p>the reason i included schools like Cornell/Columbia/Vanderbilt is that there are people in my school with lesser GPAs than i currently have, with about the same SATs (give or take 50 points), and have still gotten into those selective schools.</p>
<p>No problem. But here’s some advice: junior year is arguably the most important year. Make the most of it. Figure out something you really truly love to do, and do it better than anyone else. Also, make sure you get the best grades possible so you can increase your GPA. And STUDY FOR THE SAT! Buy the official College Board book and take all the practice tests. Trust me, it helps incredibly. When I first took a practice SAT, I got a 1950. One month of SAT practice tests, and I got a 2240 on the actual thing. Its not hard at all. Seriously try your hardest this year, but also make sure to have fun while you’re at it. Just explore new things. If you do all of the above, I promise you that you will be a much much more competitive applicant and quite possibly get into the likes of Columbia, Cornell, NYU, or MIT.</p>
<p>Its possible that they might have gotten in, but it wasn’t because of their academics. They either had hooks (URM, legacy, development cases, first gen) or they had spectacular extracurriculars along with great essays and recs. With your current credentials, it will be very very difficult (read: impossible) to get into those schools.</p>