NEED CHANCING-father doesn't believe I can get in! is he right?

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>So here's the issue...I really want to go to Brown and I believe that I have at least a slim shot at getting in, my father on the other hand...not so much. He is obsessed with telling me I have no chance, and thinks its a joke for me to even think about applying early. BUT I WANT TO! It would be GREAT to get a candid opinion from others.</p>

<p>I go to a highly selective (arguably the best) prep-boarding school in New England. It is very competitive and very difficult to stand out there. Thus, I am not at the top of my class by any means (we have quite a few of those 2300/2400 SAT genius types). But I have distinguished myself as a leader at school and am known in the community as a go-getter.</p>

<p>Next year (senior) my courses will be:</p>

<p>Functions and Statistics
Honors European History
Honors Literature
Advanced Dance Tutorial
French 5 Honors</p>

<p>I am Editor-in-Chief of the school's literary magazine, Head officer of Amnesty International, Proctor (big honor given to few seniors-living in underclassmen dorms), President of French Club, have been in Advanced Dance past 3 years, acted in several plays, a big in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, and 2 year captain of JV Lacrosse...the list goes on but obviously not all of this fits on the common app</p>

<p>This summer i've been working at a highly esteemed non-profit organization and can get a great supplemental rec. for that.</p>

<p>Now the nitty-gritty. I've been working on SATs all summer and I'm hoping to get them up...so i'll give you current and projected scores for oct:</p>

<p>CR--680 projected: 720-750
W--730 projected: 750
M--600 projected: 650-680</p>

<p>projected: 2100-2200</p>

<p>AP's--English Lit 4, AP US 4, English Lang 4</p>

<p>we don't have gpas, only number grades and the system is very complex. The highest avg in the school is probably a 94, but few students get above a 90 and honor roll is an 87. My freshman gpa was an 87.8, sophomore year was BAD. BAD BAD BAD. 83.8, Junior year was great 89.3.</p>

<p>Summary: my grades were GREAT junior year, bad sophomore year, and decent freshman year...</p>

<p>So i think it boils down to: how much will sophomore year affect me? and should I not apply early in order to get my senior fall term grades to help me out a bit?? WOULD LOVE THE ADVICE.</p>

<p>oh and I forgot to mention--our school has a great relationship with Ivies and about 30% of my class will end up at them, whether it be for sports, legacy, or brains all of those things are in the mix</p>

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<p>What is your class rank and how is your GPA calculated? A GPA in the 80's is not good at all, that would be a B average, but if you are still in the top 5% of your class, you'd be in better shape.</p>

<p>If you get your SAT score to your projected amount, I'd still say it's a reach. Mainly because Brown is ridiculously hard and no one is a shoe-in. So, do you have a shot? Yes. A very likely one? No.</p>

<p>Just apply early, write amazing essays, get good recs and hope for the best. That's about all you can do right now.</p>

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<p>I agree with sak08, it's difficult to judge a GPA without rank because there is no context to how rigorous your grading system is (especially because you are applying from private school).</p>

<p>I think that if you really have your heart set on Brown, apply early and hope for the best. </p>

<p>More than GPA, I think the fact that you only took 3 AP's is going to hurt you the most, since a lot of applicants to the Ivies take 10+ AP's.</p>

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<p>an average of 89.3 junior year probably puts me at least top 10% of the class if that gives you a better indicator. we don't rank for some reason, it's a pretty strange grading system.</p>

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<p>If you are within the top 5-1% of you school, then I wouldn't worry about GPA.</p>

<p>I strongly encourage you to take AP classes in senior year if you want to stand a chance.</p>

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<p>sorry I should've better specified. Honors Euro, Honors Lit, and French 5 Honors are our equivalent of AP classes</p>

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<p>bumpingggg</p>

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<p>Ok....So here is my advice... answer this question...
Why do you want to go to Brown?
Answer that question in your essay. Your stats are decent and you obviously have a passion for Brown, but why? Tell them in your essay...there are real flesh and blood humans who read those essays, show them your passion and why you have that passion. I would even be bold enough to tell them your father's opinion...there may be an admission person whose own parent doubted them and knows what it feels like and will offer you the chance!
Good Luck!
Chance me back, please. Thanks!
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/550823-valedictorian-needs-real-advice-please-should-i-even-bother-applying-hys.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/550823-valedictorian-needs-real-advice-please-should-i-even-bother-applying-hys.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Since you go to a great prep school, I would suggest talking to your GC and listening to what he/she says about your chances for Brown. They'll have the admission statistics of kids from your school and that should be an eye-opener. </p>

<p>Ivies like Brown will be unlikely to take you over other students from your rigorous school who apply with higher stats. Sad but true. Unless you have a compelling "bump"--national awards, contest winner, extraordinary athlete, etc, or are a URM or developmental admit, you will be judged against all the others from your top feeder school.</p>

<p>You sound like a wonderful, very intelligent student and there are many great schools who would love to accept you. But to be real here, it will be difficult for you to gain admission to Brown even if you are able to raise your SATs to the 2200 level. You can also look at the threads from last years' applicants and compare your stats to theirs and see their outcomes.</p>

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<p>yeah the GCs have this really cool program that graphs all the stats out for you, and basically most kids at my school past the 2100 SAT/87 avg. level on the graph have gotten in...it's just my dad still won't believe i have a shot...even if he sees the graphs. it's really hard to deal with the situation emotionally mostly. it's like im not ever good enough for him. you all have helped give me some more confidence though--so I'm thinking im gonna go ED. Thanks for all the help!!</p>

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<p>Just out of curiosity, where does your dad think you should go? Is he hoping you will go to the school he went to?</p>

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<p>yes and no. i'm expected to apply to his alma mater--washington and lee university. but he also thinks it would be a great idea if i applied early to the school which my sister attended--northwestern. i don't think he thinks i shouldn't go to brown...its more that he thinks im not capable.</p>

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<p>by the way--</p>

<p>if i didn't apply early i would probably apply regular to a whole slew of places that have been advised as "a range" from my college advisor:</p>

<p>barnard, bu, bowdoin, brown, conn college, dartmouth, hamilton, kenyon, northwestern, princeton, sewanee: university of the south, uva, w&l, wesleyan, williams, and yale</p>

<p>if i took the route of applying regular to all of these places i could be up for merit scholarships at some of them as well as looking into the w&l johnson scholarship...is it therefore stupid to forfeit myself to brown ED?</p>

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<p>It's very sad if your dad is giving you the impression you aren't good enough. That's crazy. You are more than good enough for any college!! But there are hard realities about how many really great students apply to these hyper-selective schools and how many get spots. It's a very competitive field, even though you would do very well there if admitted.</p>

<p>I'd suggest that your dad may think it could be a real leg up for you to get into Northwestern if you apply early there. Has he suggested doing this? If so, he might not want you to use that opportunity up by applying ED to Brown, a school with even harder entrance stats than NU. </p>

<p>The other thought is perhaps your dad has hopes you might be offered a merit scholarship elsewhere and doesn't like the idea of you locking into Brown early, on the chance you did get in.</p>

<p>Have you visited any of the other schools on your list? Have you visited Brown? Seems you have a lot of hard thinking to do and despite how you read your school's scattergrams, all ivies are reaches to most all students.</p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>

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<p>bump bumpingg</p>

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<p>Listen to your GC. He or she has a lot more experience dealing with your specific school (where I am assuming that your honors courses are harder than most AP courses, even though you say they are equivalent, and is very competitive/rigorous).</p>

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<p>I must be missing something becasue the solution seems obvious to me. </p>

<p>Apply to Brown, W&L, and some others then see what happens.</p>

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<p>Here are the middle 50% SAT scores for Brown: CR 670 - 760, M 680 - 770, W 660 - 760. Your scores, especially if they improve as you project, put you in this zone (with Math as the biggest question mark). I agree with others that it would help if your GC could say that you are in the top 10% of the class in terms of grades.</p>

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<p>Given the different issues you are dealing with it sounds like it would be better for you to hold off on the ED applications and apply RD to a relatively high number of schools. Do any of the schools on your list offer EA or rolling admissions? You might be able to get some early responses which will help to boost your confidence.</p>

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<p>thanks for all the advice--seems to me that most of you think i should go with regular decision. does anyone know if that would make me lose much of an edge at Brown??</p>