Middlebury, UChicago, Swarthmore, Brown...

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I just finished my sophomore year of high school and started searching for colleges. I really love Middlebury because I want to double major in two foreign languages (probably Russian and German). Middlebury is my number one choice, but I also like Swarthmore, the University of Chicago, and Brown University. I just want to know if I have a shot at making it into one of these colleges.</p>

<p>I am apprehensive about the college admissions process after reading a couple other chance me threads for these schools. Some of those applicants have crazy credentials that just make me feel inferior. I know I am a qualified student, but I am unsure if I will stand out to admissions against all the other heavy weight applicants. </p>

<p>Gender: M
Entrance Year: 2012
High School: Public, most kids go to local state universities or the community college
Location: Suburb of St. Louis, MO
Race: Caucasian</p>

<p>Academics
GPA weighted: 4.167
GPA unweighted: 4.0
Class Rank: my school does not calculate it for sophomores, but probably 1 or 2 out of 250-300 kids</p>

<p>Classes</p>

<p>Freshman Year:
Honors English 1 (weighted)
Geometry
Biology
Orchestra
German 1
Government (required)</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
Honors English 2 (weighted)
Algebra 2
Personal Finance/ Health (required)
World History
German 2
Chemistry</p>

<p>Junior Year:
Honors American Lit. (weighted)
Accounting 1
Pre calculus (weighted)
German 3 (weighted)
U.S. History
Adv. Chemistry (weighted)
Sociology/ Psychology (weighted)</p>

<p>Prospective Senior Year:
Advanced Composition (weighted)/ Advance Literary Survey (weighted)
Calculus (weighted)
Adv. Physics (weighted)
German 4 (weighted)
Accounting 2 (weighted)
Western Civilization (weighted)
FIlm Studies 1 & 2</p>

<p>(My school only offers one A.P. class and I cannot take because of a scheduling conflict. My counselor said it was because I wanted to take too hard of classes. My school focuses more on the students who need to pass and not so much the ones who want to learn.)</p>

<p>Scores:
ACT Comp: 32, 31
english:35, 32
math:28 (I know), 30
reading:33, 34
science:32, 29
I did take the SAT and did not like the test at all, so I will probably send the ACT and the SAT Subject Tests in German and World History.</p>

<p>EC:
-Varsity Tennis #2 singles (9th grade- placed 2nd at conference and 5th at districts) (10th grade- placed 1st at conference and 5th at districts) will be #1 singles next year
-Positive Peer Influence member since 6th grade (helps with school functions and promotes a positive environment)
-NHS-just had inductions this spring so only for juniors and seniors at my school
-Will be a manager of the girl's tennis team
-Over 35 hours and counting for tutoring children in my community who cannot read or have difficulties. I will be doing a lot of tutoring this summer.</p>

<p>I really want to get into Middlebury because language is my passion (my bookshelf has everthing- Russian, German, Chinese, Finnish, Icelandic, Italian, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (if I learn Bosnian, I could help at a local hospice center with translating for new immigrants in the area) Thanks for looking over my stuff and please be honest. And if you think there would be a better school for me, please let me know.</p>

2

<p>bosanskijezik - Do not feel inferior. I promise you, many of these posters are not on these forums because they’re truly worried about their chances, but because they want compliments on how great their stats/extracurriculars are so they can feel better about themselves. Also, many of them lie and exaggerate about alot too, if that makes you feel any better.</p>

<p>Okay. This is a personal question, and you don’t have to answer. But to help me chance you… do you come from an economically disadvantaged background? If your family has a low income or neither of your parents went to college, or if you’re simply from a bad area, less weight will be put on your test scores and, if you have great essays, your chances of admission to Brown, Swarthmore, Middlebury, and UChicago will increase significantly. I only ask this because it seems like your school is lacking in challenging classes.</p>

<p>You have a <em>decent</em> shot at all four schools you listed. What this means is that, as of now, your stats are average in the applicant pool. Unfortunately, these schools are reaches from what you’ve given me, which means you’ll need to apply to a few safety schools that you’d be happy to go to if they turn you down.</p>

<p>You still have two years of high school, that’s why no one else has posted. Just keep your grades up, develop your passions, and communicate them in your essays and such when it comes time to apply. But it’s really too early at this point for me to give you an accurate chancing. I’d try again at the end of 11th grade. That’s usually the best time to be chanced.</p>

<p>Hope all this helped, good luck!</p>

3

<p>You listed UChicago. Just FYI, if Middlebury doesn’t pan out, UChicago is VERY good for languages.</p>

<p>Ever wanted to learn Uzbek?</p>

4

<p>To decrescendo: my parents did not go to college, but i live in a typical American suburb with average test scores and grades. Like I said above almost everybody goes to the community college or a state school, not the east coast. Thanks again for your comment about the other posters. It makes me feel better.</p>

5

<p>Okay, bosanskijezik, since neither of your parents went to college, you are a first generation college student. Because of this, you are a “hooked” applicant. What this means is that your chances significantly increase to all schools listed. This is a BIG deal. Since you have a hook, as long as you maintain a high GPA and get some <em>leadership</em> in your extracurriculars, you’re probably going to get into at least one of those four schools, maybe more: it’ll come down to your teacher recommendations and essays, probably, so make sure both are stellar when it comes time to apply. But once again: still too early to be thinking about essays & recs.</p>

6

<p>^^ the guy above is right on, first generation college student is a BIG deal.</p>

<p>you still have a long ways to go since you’re going in 2012, so I would recommend you study really really well and take the ACTs again, I’m sure you’ll do much better as you progress in high school.
The sports ECs are a plus, but have you looked into any sort of language competitions? I know i sound vane by saying this, but winning awards can actually boost your application significantly.</p>

<p>Anyways you’ve got a long ways to go in terms of time, so thats good that you’re getting a head start on the process already. I wish you luck in all your future academic endeavors :). </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/954601-hypsm-hopeful-chances.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/954601-hypsm-hopeful-chances.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Now does the first generation thing matter if my parents actually make a decent living when they grew up lower class?</p>

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<p>Because admission at top college is need blind, they will not know that your parents are making “x” amount of money. All that matters (and all that they’ll see) is that you’re first generation, which is an advantage in the process.</p>

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<p>Okay, thanks. That will make my parents feel better. They thought they had nothing to really help my application.</p>