<p>background: I just finished my junior year at a public high school in minnesota, i will be applying to colleges this fall and i want to know if i even have a chance at the schools I'm looking at. my ECs are mostly unofficial and my class rank is low :(, i need some help on getting in or advice in general, thanks!</p>
<p>GPA: 3.466 overall, junior year was about 3.85 with the last trimester being a 3.9
Class Rank: 53 of 141 but climbing rapidly
ACT: English:30
Math:32
Reading:31
Science:36
overall 32
SAT:730 on the math with a pair of 650s, 2030 overall
will be taking a math and science SAT subject test this fall along with an ACT retake
ECs- over the past two years i built my own car from an empty body shell, and now drive it around, rebuilt two motors that work flawlessly, i will be joining law team this fall, i (with another classmate) manage a small coffee business at our school that operates during finals days and donated all profits to a former teacher with cancer, this summer i am learning to code python and am reading and learning about quantum mechanics and nuclear energy, i also have a telescope that i use to look at planets, nebulae, whatever i can see in the sky often. i played soccer, baseball, and track & field winning a state championship in soccer one year and losing the final game the next year. thats all i can really think of atm</p>
<p>also taking AP chem, AP Literature, AP calc, and CIS college physics my senior year</p>
<p>i would love to make it into:
UC Berkeley
Penn
Dartmouth
Cornell
Columbia
Georgetown
Johns Hopkins
Uchicago</p>
<p>Am i just blowing smoke or do I stand a Chance?
any advice would be greatly appreciated</p>
<p>Although they are holistic and will look at your whole record, you should calculate your UC gap. But do your parent ok with spending $55k for Berkeley? UC isn’t as harsh on scores are the privates are (and you are low for those), except they might be sor out of staters. I’d work on your safety and match schools, fin ones you like a lot, because the others look like long shots to me.</p>
<p>my UC gap is 3.65 about</p>
<p>All of those schools are high reaches </p>
<p>You have to lower your expectations and hope for the best. All of the schools you mentioned reject 4.0 UW and ACT 35 students all the time. You have to basically get all A’s on your first semester of senior year. Meanwhile, I think you should look at UCD, UCSD, UCSB and UCI (especially if you’re in-state for CA). Try to get your ACT up to 34/35 in order to compensate for your “bad” gpa (notice the quotes). You also need to show some form of dedication in your ECs, which I just couldn’t see in a quick skim. The general rule of thumb for you right now is to look at schools that have an acceptance rate above 20%. Anything below is a reach. </p>
<p>thanks, i will probably go EA for chicago and georgetown, maybe if i like another enough ill use ED, i can pretty much guarantee ill get straight As senior year, i just had a heavy lack of motivation fresh and soph years due to being depressed but thats all over now. ill try to get my ACT as high as possible and hope for the best. any recommendations for schools around 20% range?</p>
<p>and what do you suggest in the EC area?</p>
<p>For the 20ish range and above, there’s Tulane, NYU, Tufts, Wesleyan and USC (some that come to mind). For ECs, just do something that you will dedicate to (in terms of hours). Just pick some of the ECs in your list now and build up on them and make them more in-depth. For ED, look at the school that you really want to go to, since ED is binding. Ideally, your ED should be your no. 1 choice. Get your ACT to 34/35 (I know you can do it!).
In terms of your GPA, make sure that your counselor writes about the problems you faced that hindered your academic accomplishment in your first two years. </p>
<p>@Classof2018app </p>
<p>Tufts acceptance rate this year was a little over 16%.</p>
<p>@gondalineNj oh thank you I should probably not rely on the result that google immediately spits out</p>
<p>@Classof2018app thanks you are very helpful, could you throw some specific recommendations for me in the EC area? I’m not exactly sure what they are looking for. I also have grown up on a farm, if that makes a difference</p>
<p>In the EC area, the only thing that colleges want is dedication. They couldn’t care less about what you’re dedicated to (as long as it’s something viable and productive). </p>