My chances at T20???

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey all! I am a new member new, and I have a typical “chance me” question.
Identity: White (Middle Eastern to be specific)
GPA: 4.56. No rank, but probably in top 10%

Coursework:
9: AP Human (4),
10: AP Biology (5), AP Chemistry (5)
11th: AP Physics C (didn’t take the test and got a b. Is it a red flag?), AP Calc BC, AP English, AP USH (no result yet)
Scheduled to take: AP Stats, AP Comp Sci A, AP Lit, AP Psych, and AP Gov

Tests:
ACT: 33; 35, 30, 34, 32
Will retake it next month

SAT Subject: None

Awards/Honors:
Math, Science, National, Music, and Social Studies Honor societies (almost everyone gets into them though)
1st place at regional chemistry olympiad, 2nd in HOSA, and 3rd in Science Olympiad.

ECs:
Tutoring on my own all four years in science and math. I love teaching!!
HOSA (3 years)
Science Olympiad (3 years), officer position next year
Science Bowl (2 years)
Biology Olympiad (4 years)
Volunteered at a retirement home (2 years)
Taught a class outside of school (1 as TA, 2 as a teacher)
Multicultural Club (2 years)
Two other clubs in which I have officer positions and in which I participated either three or four years of high school

Additional Info:
I go to a very competitive school, so will I be compared to others?

My dream colleges are Vandy ED1 (but everyone her applies from her, so idk if I will get in) and Cornell ED2. Can you chance me for them and T20? Also, can you help me create a list of reach, target, and safeties? I would like to go to colleges strong in sciences, humanities (history to be more exact), and research!

Thanks in advance!!

2

What is your unweighted GPA?

Did you take a world history or European history class at any level?

How many foreign language classes (in the same language) did you take?

3

I took 2 years of Spanish, but I am bilingual. No, I discovered my love for history during APUSH last year, so I may self-study for AP Euro this year, but I am definitely going to take classes in history in college.

4

@HFluoride, you seem like a top student and a reasonable contender (while realizing that these schools must be considered reaches for just about everyone). I read that Vanderbilt tends to be more stats-driven than schools favoring a more holistic approach, so maybe a little easier to predict.

So I hate to be the bearer of some bad news (bad, unless you can pivot a bit with your schedule next year). Competitive schools really want to see (as close as possible) four years each of the main core subjects of math, science, English, history/social studies and foreign language. They expect to see a course in world or European history (along with USH, which you have). They prefer four years (three at MINIMUM) of a single foreign language. I used to assume (like you) that being bilingual apart from high school classes would count (and actually be considered a boost) but I’ve learned that the expectation still stands for three to four years of high school classes in one foreign language that is not your family’s native tongue, in addition to English, of course.

If you can, I strongly recommend you taking Spanish 3 and World or Euro next year, instead of AP Psych, AP computer science, or maybe AP Gov (though AP Gov is a stronger class than AP psych). Did you take a history or social science class of any kind in 10th grade? Your math/science classes and ECs are impressive…but to go for T-20s, well-rounded classics in other areas will be important, too.

5

I don’t believe Cornell has EDII.

6

Self-study is not looked on very favorably by admissions officers, and you wouldn’t be able to report a score before they have to make admissions decisions anyway. If you can’t take the class at school next year, look for a dual-ed community-college world history class or maybe an accredited online class as the next best thing.

7

@HFluoride, you can google “Common Data Set” and the name of any college you’re interested in. (Not all schools publish this, but most do). Section C of the most current common data set will tell you general stats information of Incoming freshman, what aspects of an application is a priority for the school, and what high school classes are required and recommended. For the best chance of admission assume that the recommended number of are actually required (unless there’s no way for you to attain that).

Out of curiosity, I looked up Vanderbilt and was very surprised to see that only one history class was required OR recommended and the same for two years of foreign language. so you may be OK in that respect. On the other hand, a 33 ACT score is at the 25% mark for entering students of the 2019/20 class (most recent available, So admissions is far from a slam-dunk, though ED could help. So my advice still stands about the coursework, because MANY other selective schools will want to see those courses, but NOT taking psych or another computer science class won’t keep you out (unless you were going for a computer science degree).

if you could get that ACT up just a tad it would help. Better yet, look for a few less-reachy schools that you can afford and that you would really like at your current level. What can your family afford, and what state are you in?

8

What does your high school’s Naviance show about acceptance rates of applicants with your stats?

As @inthegarden asked - what is your unweighted GPA. If it’s above 3.9, you are competitive, though your ACT is on the low side. However, if your GPA is under 3.9 (say 3.85), I would recommend that you use your ED applications for a colleges in which you GPA and ACT scores are above average (there are a lot of really good colleges of this type)

If your GPA is below 3.9, by all means apply to Cornell and Vanderbilt, and even have one as ED2, but the boost that ED applications provides is only true for legacies, athletes, and students whose stats and achievements are relatively high for the college, and the college therefore wants to make sure that those students attend. If you are matching the average of the accepted students or below, they would often rather wait to see what the regular application pool looks like, before deciding whether to accept “average” students (who are usually well above average).

That being said, college which value “demonstrated interest” will look favorably on “average” students who apply ED, if those students have demonstrated interest in other ways as well. Unfortunately, Vanderbilt writes that it does not consider “Level of applicant’s interest” in admission decisions, with Cornell being the same.

Good luck, in any case!

9

I am in Tennessee. As for Spanish II, I will be taking that next year, so I literally have no chance of taking a third year of it unless I dual enroll next summer, but that will be after college admissions when everything is said and done. Do you think the lack of Spanish is detrimental? At my high school, we do not do a weighted GPA, but I got only one B, so my “Hope” Scholarship GPA is 3.98 (1 B in physics). Lastly, what is Naviance?

10

Admissions officers will typically compare students from the same high school to each other. So yes this will happen. If you are top 10% thats very good.

Cornell does not have ED2. If you can afford it, then Vandy ED1 sounds reasonable. But it worries me that you said that lots of people from your HS also apply there. You might instead consider a similar caliber school where not so many people from your HS apply. What about WashU, Rice, Emory, Northwestern, etc?

11

Hey all! I am a new member new, and I have a typical “chance me” question.
Identity: White (Middle Eastern to be specific)

GPA: 4.56

Coursework:
9: AP Human (4),
10: AP Biology (5), AP Chemistry (5)
11th: AP Physics C (didn’t take the test), AP Calc BC, AP English, AP USH
12: Scheduled to take: AP Stats, AP Comp Sci A, AP Lit, AP Psych, and AP Gov

Tests:
ACT: 33; 35, 30, 34, 32

SAT Subject: None

Awards/Honors:
Math, Science, National, and Social Studies Honor societies (almost everyone gets into them at my school though)
1st place at regional chemistry olympiad, 2nd in HOSA, and 3rd in Science Olympiad.

ECs:
Tutoring on my own all four years
HOSA (3 years)
Science Olympiad (3 years), officer position this year
Science Bowl (2 years)
Biology Olympiad (4 years)
Teaching a class in my community (1 year as a TA, 1 year as a teacher)

Can you guys chance me for Vandy ED1 (idk if I will get in, EVERYONE applies there at my school) and Cornell ED2? Can you also chance me for T20 in general? (Can you give me alternative universities that are strong in history, sciences, and research?

Thanks in advance!!

12

Please do not make duplicate posts. Your two threads have been merged. If you wish to move your thread up if it moves off the first page just write “bump” as a reply.

13

Naviance is an online program that many high schools use to help students select colleges, organize their resumes, set up college application checklists, etc. They also provide information about the stats of students who have applied to each college on their searchable list, and whether the students were accepted, rejected, deferred, and whether the student was accepted or rejected after the deferral.

Naviance allows students to compare their acceptance rates with students whose grades are on the same scale as their own, and it takes into consideration the relationships between GCs and AOs, as well as the reputation of the highschool at different colleges.

An unweighted GOA pf 3.98 puts you in a very good position at any college, though, in your case, I would focus on colleges which are test-optional. While it is far better to have a high GPA and a moderately high ACT than the opposite, it is better to apply in that case to colleges which only or mostly look at the GPA.

Because of COVID 19, Cornell is test optional for the 2021 application season, and there are a bunch of colleges that are similar to Vanderbilt (it is NOT test-optional) which are also test-optional, unless your heart is set on Vanderbilt.

You are competitive for colleges which aren’t test optional, but at those, you will be at a disadvantage compared to students with similar profiles but with ACTs around 35.