My case is somewhat strange. Could someone please chance me?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I've got a bit of a weird situation. Normally, I don't think my chances would be awful, but I go to a very strange school. It's an obscenely competitive predominantly immigrant (Asian) school that for the most part funnels into the UC/CSU system. (Out of 500 students, it only sends around three dozen or so to private schools). Competitive to the point where students are expected to dedicate six hours to homework/studying/etc (to the point where most students sleep four or so hours a day).</p>

<p>As a normal human being (as opposed to a insomniac studying machine), I don't quite cut it. My grades are much better than I really deserve (comparing how little relative effort I put in). I think I'm a good student (I do all the work, read all the texts, and get decent grades), but I don't match up to the other students. I'm definitely ranked below the 50% percentile, I think I'm around the 25-40% percentile range. Last I checked, that's around where I was. This is obviously very bad for me, and probably the Achilles' heel of my transcript. That and ECs.</p>

<p>I'm a junior, but I've taken all of my SATs, and my grades for second semester are mostly set (because we really stop school after AP testing and none of my grades can really conceivably change at this point). </p>

<p>I'm also worried that I'm applying to places WAY out of my league. My school limits the numbers of schools you can apply to, so if I get rejected from everywhere, I'm in for a WORLD of hurt.</p>

<p>Affirmative action won't help at all, and my family is fairly high-income, so I'll have to get in solely with my rather flimsy resume. No legacies either or any familial connections (not applying to my parents' alma mater or the schools where any family friends teach) </p>

<p>==Statistics==</p>

<p>Applying to: Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Emory, USC, Rice, Georgetown</p>

<p>SAT I: 2200 (or 1500 excluding writing)
PSAT: 219 (probably National Merit since last years was 217 and they're already sending me stuff)
SAT II World History: 800
SAT II United States History: 800
SAT II Chemistry: 700
GPA: 3.7ish (unweighted, used to set class rank)
Class Rank: (300-425?)/500 </p>

<p>==Freshman Year==
Geography/Health: A/A
Biology (Honors): A-/B-
English (Honors): B/B
Algebra II/Trig (Honors): B/A
Mandarin I: A-/B
Concert Band: A/A
Jazz Band: A/A</p>

<p>==Sophomore Year==
English (Honors): B-/C- (my teacher was kind of a pothead...)
Geometry (Honors): A-/B
Chemistry (Honors): B-/B-
Mandarin II: B/B
Concert Band/PE: A/A+
World History: A/A
Marching Band: A</p>

<p>==Junior Year==
English (Honors): B+/A-
Pre-Calculus (Honors): A/A
AP World History: A/A
AP Statistics: A+/A+
AP Psychology: A/A
AP United States History: A/A (only an A/A if I get a 5, but I score 90-95% the practice tests, so this is more likely than not)</p>

<p>==Extra-Curriculars=</p>

<p>Not much. I do JSA, MUN, used to do a lot of band stuff, and a lot of quizbowl. 40 hours of community service, which kind of sucks.</p>

2

<p>Hi!</p>

<p>Your grades and SATs look good (but why did you take two history tests instead of something more varied? maybe you could take one more SATII to show your diversity?), and your situation IS strange ;-)</p>

<p>Definitely try! - and also definitely add some safety schools to your selection. Here’s a suggestion - write one of your essays about your situation. Make it funny and intelligent, to show that while you don’t study for six hours a day, you are a dedicated and ‘human’ student.</p>

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

3

<p>Everybody needs a safety school, it’s not just you. So if you can, add something that’s a little easier. I don’t see that you’ve got a state school on your list, like, oh I don’t know, Fresno State (if there is such a thing)–you can transfer from there to a UCal, right, if you do well, plus save some$$$? I think you’re being very modest about your accomplishments. At some of these schools, the quality of your essay and the “package” you create about yourself will definitely make a difference. Even in the short intro you wrote above, you revealed something charming and modest about yourself. Spend some time just thinking about what you like and who you are this summer. I agree with the idea of what the person above wrote. I agree there’s something interesting and different about you.</p>

4

<p>If the schools can put the rank into perspective, then you should have good shots at those schools.</p>

5

<p>That is one insane school where a 3.7 UW is less than 50th percentile. Those grades and test scores ordinarily would make you competitive at the schools on your list. I hope you are applying to UCs as well.</p>

6

<ol>
<li><p>I didn’t take other SATs because I honestly really had no chance of doing well on them. The 700 in Chemistry was a lucky fluke. Despite it being the lowest score in my chemistry class. The second lowest score was a 740, forever granting me a rather unflattering intellectual reputation among my peers. </p></li>
<li><p>I can’t have a safety school because my high school intentionally limits the amount of universities I can apply to. If you try to apply to more than six schools, they’ll just refuse to give you your transcript. If I get a safety school, I’ll have to take another school out. It’s pretty awful because there are a significant number of individuals who fail to get into any university and simply end up not going to a university. Some of them rank higher than me. Somewhat worrying.</p></li>
<li><p>UC’s really aren’t an option. My parents graduated from UC Berkeley (and my aunt, uncle, cousin, and brother) and we’ve agreed that UC’s are bad news. They’re filled with the kinds of students who make it impossible for students at my school to both do well in school and have a life outside of school. Not to mention both my parents and other UC alumni have testified that getting a job coming out of a UC is almost impossible unless you’re at the top of the class (which considering some of the psychos who go there, such as my classmates), or in certain majors in which the school is well-known for (all in which I would be completely annihilated). We’ve come to the consensus that sending me to a UC is just a suicidal waste of money, time, and effort since we’re all certain I’ll just flunk out within the year. Our school sends almost 7/10ths of our graduating class to a UC (Split relatively evenly between Berkeley, LA, SD, and Irvine. And a smaller group to Davis. And almost none anywhere else). If they kick my butt as badly as they do now (I am consistently at the bottom of almost every single one of my classes; if I was old enough, I might have dropped out), I’ll probably just get put on academic probation and given the boot.</p></li>
<li><p>I hope they’ll look at the difficulty of my school, but chances are, they won’t even know my school. In all the years I’ve looked at the graduating classes (the past three years), we’ve never sent anyone to any of those schools except Rice (around two I think out of three classes of 500), and USC (a few). A few try for Georgetown, but I’ve never heard of anyone getting in. And nobody except the football fans know Notre Dame, and nobody except the quizbowlers know Vanderbilt and Emory.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>It actually irritates me, because a huge number of people at my school apply to USC and then turn them down (choosing to go to a UC of all places), even though so many of them get scholarships. USC is looking like my best chance, because they look like they factor the difficulty of my school into because they accepted most of my friends in the '10 (even though all of them turned them down, angering me).</p>

7

<p>Also, what school would you recommend for early decision/early action?</p>

8

<p>This is actually a typical CA high school with runaway grade inflation. There are also many, many that are very competitive and majority Asian spread throughout the state.</p>

<p>Most colleges on your list have 85% plus from the top 10% of their HS class. This includes many, many kids who go to very competitive public and private schools. Your rank will make these schools major reaches. Rank is the most important factor in admission at most colleges.</p>

<p>where I think you will catch a break is at mid tier UC’s where scores can make up for GPA. I would throw SB, I and D on your list as realistic reaches.</p>

9

<p>hmom, what makes you believe that rank is the most important factor? I know it’s up there, but I haven’t seen any college state is as the single most important.</p>

10

<p>Wow, you are hard on yourself! And your parents are hard on you! I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing. On the one hand, you might get ulcers, on the other, maybe you’ll be a fabulous success. I hope you take time to be at least a LITTLE proud of yourself–many students would be thrilled to have your grades/stats, etc.</p>

11

<p>The problem with mid-tier UCs are that they’re clogged with students from my school. Which will likely equate a non-healthy environment. However, most of those students are students like me who don’t really match up to the insanity of the rest of the school. My parents are confident that I can make it into UCB (because my family is heavily associated with the university and some faculty: my brother made it in with barely a 3.3), but they’re also pretty confident that I’d flunk out there. I’ve heard good things about the course-load and academic atmosphere in the mid-tier UC’s, but I’ve heard rather mixed things about their social, cultural, and moral atmospheres, which worries me. Plus, most of the kids I’ve seen go to UCI/UCD have GPA’s that hover around 3.0 and 3.1, so they’re probably ranked even worse than me. (Though their rank can’t be that much worse, since our GPA distribution is so obscenely skewed left making the difference between a 3.0 and a 3.7 smaller than the difference between say, a 3.9 and a 4.0.) </p>

<p>I don’t think my school has severe grade inflation (since everyone puts their entire lives into school and many still get poor grades, there might even be grade deflation), but I’m worried that colleges will naturally assume grade inflation is rampant since I have a relatively good GPA although an embarrassingly low rank. </p>

<p>I figured that most of those schools were reaches, but applying to many of them at least gives me a small chance of getting into at least one (and any of them would be great to go to), especially since essays are unpredictable. Throw enough darts at a dartboard, and maybe one will hit the bullseye if you’re lucky.</p>

<p>I know a lot people, albiet with better GPA’s, who got into USC with a scholarship. My GPA is obviously shoddier then theirs, but that at least gives me the hope that I could get in, sans any financial aid. But I definitely do believe the others are complete and total reaches.</p>

12

<p>Applying to more schools where your stats don’t put you in the running does not help you to get into one. This isn’t about luck and essays matter little if you don’t have the stats. When a college takes only 15% not in the top 10% of their class you have to ask yourself why you would be one of them. Are you one of the 17% of recruited athletes the’ll take with lower stats? One of the 12% of legacies or 15% of URMs? You can see quickly that there’s little room left for an unhooked candidate without the stats.</p>

<p>Frankly, if your school limits applications you need to get real sooner than most. Does your school have scattergrams? A lot of kids believe a good SAT is going to make up for a weak GPA but it doesn’t at most schools. College success best correlates with high school grades, high scores and low grades usually suggest a slacker/underachiever.</p>

<p>IMO if family connections can get you into Cal, start pulling those favors because I believe it’s by far the best school you’ll get into. Then determine to do what it will take to make it there, your scores suggest you can.</p>

13

<p>^^^ I completly agree, I remember hmom5 giving me advice similar to the one she is giving you back in november of my senior year, but I didn’t listen, lol, I regret it now…</p>

<p>This was my thread and I was in your situation kind of, I had a better class rank, higher gpa, and same Sat Scores, but I wasn’t top 10 perecent, only top 20 percent…</p>

<p>-----------For those not in the top 10 percent------- </p>

<hr>

<p>Rejected-UPenn(Relatives went here), Columbia(Dad used to work here), Cornell, Brown, Vanderbilt, University of Texas Austin, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, and RICE Early Decision…</p>

<p>Waitlisted- Washington University St. Louis, Emory(I got off the waiting list in mid april), Boston College</p>

<p>Accepted- Texas A&M, and Emory(I got off the waiting list in mid april)</p>

<p>Asian Male from Texas…</p>

<p>Sat Scores- 1500/1600 (Critical reading and math), 2200/2400
GPA-3.8 Unweighted, 4.1 Weighted
10 A.P.s + 7 Honors Classes/28 total classes</p>

<p>Class Rank- Top 20 percent(Main reason for all of my Rejections, if your not top 10 percent, and don’t have a hook, don’t apply to too many top schools)…!!!</p>

<p>ECs-
Fencing ----6 Years
Fencing Club at School - All 4 years
Youth Club Mentor—6 Years
Pre-Medical Club—All 4 Years
NHS- All 4 Years
Journalism Club–All 4 years</p>

<p>Recs were great(teachers let me see them), Counselor Rec was badass(she let me read it)
essays were average</p>

<p>CLASS RANK KILLED ME…until I got into EMORY(they don’t “look” or “consider” class rank)!!! If you are top 50 percent, they might put some weight on it…I was waitlisted for being top 20 percent, even though they “say they don’t” look at class rank…</p>

<p>I don’t know If I am going to Emory, see how much aid I get first…</p>

<hr>

<p>^^^ I think your best chances lie with your state schools…I was rejected from the University of Texas(my state school), because they only take kids from the top 10 percent…My rank was higher than yours but your going to have to be realistic(I wasn’t, please try to learn from my mistake)…My results are on “Graduated Seniors do more actual results” thread that is on the top of “What Are my Chances”</p>

14

<p>You got into Emory. That’s pretty impressive. Finance and money usually poses a threat to a lot of people applying to private schools, but my parents are willing to pay for my tuition and boarding out of their pockets, so that might give me an edge over others individuals, especially if I get onto a waitlist.</p>

<p>I’m going to see if I can edge over the 50% mark. My ranking was from Sophomore year, and it might go up because I’ve done a bit better in Junior year. (and a lot of people have done a lot worse).</p>

<p>Do most of these colleges look at weighted GPAs or unweighted GPAs? My school ranks with unweighted GPAs, so that to deflates my rank. I’m partially riding on the hope that colleges take that in consideration. My unweighted GPA is a 3.7, but my weighted GPA is almost a 4.3.</p>

<p>The only reason I even go to school right now and plan to apply to college is to go a school outside of the state. There’s honestly not much difference to me between feeding into the UC system and not going to university at all. I don’t really mind if I go to a school that’s more realistic, but if my only choice is the UC system, I’m probably just not going to go to a university.</p>

15

<p>If you’re dead set on going out-of-state, start expressing a lot of interest in a college you want to go to. I can’t accurately gauge Emory because of your GPA, but from your SAT and grades you could take a shot at the Emory Scholars program. If you can get to Semifinalist status (350 out of 2500), you get automatic acceptance; even if you don’t get into the scholars program, at least you showed increased interest. Since it doesn’t seem you can do much with your rank, work on ECs and interest instead, show colleges you’ve got real passion for something that isn’t a test…unlike those other kids above you.</p>

<p>And your school is crazy. As an IB student (exams next week, woot), I know what it’s like to pull all-nighters and things like that…but our IB program in our school is only about 30 kids and we all support each other. I can’t imagine being in a high school with that sort of competitiveness.</p>

16

<p>The Emory Scholars Program looks solid, but the problem is that it runs through my school. And that pretty much kills my chances. We probably won’t have counselors next year, and even if we did, they’d probably throw out the nominating form (assuming they’d get them) because there’s never been any interest in Emory from anyone in our school. But if we have them, I’ll go ask them about it.</p>

<p>It’s not that hard; just imagine that everybody is in the IB program. Most parents tend to push their kids into taking the most advanced classes, whether the kids want to or not, and most kids are raised by their parents here with an absolute faith in the Almighty Grade, and a fear of eternal academic damnation for the slightest twinge of academic hesitation. </p>

<p>My parents were always kind of laid-back, so I never got raised into that kind of mindset. Never had to go through the infamous B+eatings or anything. Parents move here because the school ends up getting a reputation for all of this, and because they WANT to put their kids into that kind of school. </p>

<p>In all honesty, even though most of the kids are miserable and pathetically unhealthy (I’m considered tall and I’m not even 5’8), we do pretty well on college admissions. Unless you flunk all your classes, you’re more or less guaranteed into a mid-tier UC or better. It’s when you get to people like me that you get a problem. </p>

<p>It’s not really about going-out-of-state. If it was about that, I’d not have thought of USC. It’s about not going to a school that gets clogged by psychos from places like my school. I’m considering switching out Georgetown for Santa Clara University (a local private university), as a safety school. I’d probably get some kind of scholarship, and I could essentially commute from home.</p>

17

<p>Santa Clara is a good match.</p>

<p>What’s odd about your school is how few go to ivies, MIT, Caltech, etc. Most shools that are very competitive in CA have lots of kids applying to top private schools.</p>