New to being chanced so I would appreciate opinions!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>SAT: 680- math
710-critical reading
720- Writing
Want to retake in October for obvious reasons/:</p>

<p>SAT ll 770- US HIST
750- W HIST
Should I take physics or math ll to be more well rounded. I think I can get at least above a 700 for these two areas. </p>

<p>Rank - 5/607 (might go up to 3 after a good junior year but the 607 will go down to maybe 550 because a lot of students at my school drop out junior year)</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA- 98.7/100. I guess a 4.0 (my school doesn't do it that way though but my lowest grade is one 95)</p>

<p>AP Scores- 5 US HIST, 4 Eng Lang, 4 Psychology, 4, Environmental Science, 3 world HIST (not sending) </p>

<p>I will have taken 11 of the 20 offered AP classes by the time I graduate which is as many as my schedule allows. I'm in an arts magnet program as a creative writing major that I had to audition for and am required to have two honors g/t courses each year in my schedule for my creative writing major. I took four classes last summer to have space for AP electives which also means I'll take an online class this year. These were all in core requirement areas such as pe, speech as health. </p>

<p>ECs: film appreciation club- highly informal and not school related in which a group of people watch a few movies and analyze them in depth for an hour or so afterwards, might initiate it at my school this year)
social studies UIL ( academic team since 9th grade.
Model UN since 9th
Animal society- 11th founding officer and treasurer
Gay straight alliance- member since 11th (it's first year in existence)
National Honor Society member since 11th.(first year available to students)
Spanish Honor Society- historian also only available to juniors and seniors
Hoping to create a political activist club this year for students passionate about politics since its an election year
Temporarily a Texas highschool aerospace scholar participant through online NASA program which required nomination by my congresswoman </p>

<p>Community service- maybe 100 hours freshman and sophomore year through church groups
As I became more secular most of my community service has been through clubs and at book fairs, writing workshops or volunteering to usher plays with occasional nursing home visits maybe about 50 hours this year total </p>

<p>Awards- National Hispanic scholar
AP scholar with distinction
Silver key in poetry through scholastic alliance
Four poems published in 84th city library anthology. 80 chosen out of over 2000
Nominated for NCTE achievement award by English teacher
Directors award at Alamo regional science fair in physics category</p>

<p>Summer Experience:
National Student Leadership Conference theater program at Fordham university
Going to Dartmouth Bound in a few weeks
Might get an internship when I come back</p>

<p>Work:
Secretary and Internet advertising for my dads real estate business since he's self employed.
This year though I worked from April to early July as a server at this restaurant called Souper salad but I quit because of inconsistent pay and a bad working condition. </p>

<p>I'm very worried about how I will stand in the college admissions process because of my low test scores and less than stellar ECs and community service. Most of my time is eaten away by chores (its just my dad and me) and my magnet school's creative writing program. We do public readings every month an submit monthly to our departments literary magazine that is run by the seniors. Next year I'll be co editor-in-chief with another student. However last year our magazine won the highest award given to lit mags by NCTE, the only one given in Texas. </p>

<p>Last Hooks (?)- Female Hispanic, writing ability maybe (?), go to a large inner city public high school that hosts three magnet programs
Anti hooks- will need financial aid desperately because our family income is under 40,000 a year. </p>

<p>So please have at the chances. Sorry for an obnoxiously long post and thank you if you got this far. Here are the schools: </p>

<p>Brown
Dartmouth
HYPS
UChicago
Amherst
Wesleyan
Swarthmore
Williams
Georgetown
Vanderbilt
UCLA
USC</p>

<p>Any and everything's appreciated.</p>

2

<p>Wow that was way too long. Sorry. I’m clearly new to being chanced haha.</p>

3

<p>Oh! Additionally, I promise to chance back. :)</p>

4

<p>I’d really try and get those SAT scores up. History subject tests are both good but you need to take a math and also maybe literature if you’re looking at Ivies.</p>

<p>Your ECs look alright but try and get some leadership positions.</p>

<p>It will also really, really help that you’re hispanic. </p>

<p>We’re applying to similar schools! :slight_smile:
(these are my estimations with your current SAT scores)</p>

<p>Brown - high reach
Dartmouth - high reach
HYPS - don’t know this school
UChicago - medium reach
Amherst - low reach/level
Wesleyan - level
Swarthmore - level
Williams - level
Georgetown - medium reach
Vanderbilt - medium reach
UCLA - level
USC - level</p>

<p>Chance me back please:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1364629-please-chance-me-ivy-leagues-scholars-programs.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1364629-please-chance-me-ivy-leagues-scholars-programs.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>Sorry but I’d like more feedback. </p>

<p>Bump…</p>

6

<p>Did you say you wanted to major in creative writing? If so, just make sure to follow this one piece of advice: make sure all (or most of) your EC’s reflect your passion for creative writing. Colleges will often reject someone with good scores because they didn’t show passion by focusing on one area. I think if you raise your SATs and write good essays, you have a chance for financial aid. Keep up the good work! :)</p>

7

<p>Well I’m already a CW major at my magnet program and will probably be an English major. Do all the extra English classes I’ve taken count for something?</p>

8

<p>Check admissions requirements of individual schools. Many that ask for SATII ask for specific ones, or something like “1 math and 1 in any area”</p>

9

<p>Last attempt. </p>

<p>Bump bump bump.</p>

10

<p>I honestly would say that you have a great chance. however, like ayerfair said, those SAT scores need to go up. for most of those colleges listed though, you have a good chance</p>

11

<p>Thank you raca111.
I’m gonna take a course and some more practice tests and hopefully it goes up.</p>

12

<p>Testing</p>

<p>Hey Alvalde4! I think that you’re in a competitive range for some of these top schools, and being hispanic will help. If you can, get test scores up a little bit. (If you could get critical reading and writing at least above 740ish each, that’d be awesome… Even higher = better. Colleges love a good humanities student.) And get math up above a 700, and you’ll be in a good competitive range.</p>

<p>SAT II’s are in a good range. Try to get either a literature or mathy/sciency SAT II as well, especially if you can get over a 700 on one of those.</p>

<p>Work and Family Background</p>

<p>What will also help is the work experience. Make sure you put that down on your college applications, including the work you do for your dad. Colleges will actually give you some kudos for working and will understand that twork takes time away from extracurriculars (EC’s). Your EC’s are still pretty strong despite that fact, but do play up the work experience as colleges value that possibly even more than extracurricular experience.</p>

<p>Be careful how you label your dad’s profession on the common application. There are a number of well-paid real-estate agents out there, so you don’t want to give colleges a false impression that you’re living an incredibly cushy lifestyle. Colleges love a hispanic kid who’s coming from a background such as yours (not too much family income, having to work for your dad to help him out), so play that up. Even if you don’t write an essay about that, just be careful when filling out parts of the common application on your family background. You want colleges to know your true background because they will give you kudos for doing all you’ve done despite having to work for your dad and despite living in a family that makes less than 40,000 a year.</p>

<p>By the way, needing financial aid shouldn’t be a problem at these schools (or at the least, most of these schools). All the schools you have listed are top schools, so they have larger endowments and can afford to give you a lot of financial aid. As a result, they have “need-blind” policies, which means that they will admit you without regard to your family income (except for Wesleyan and UCLA, I believe… Those schools are not need-blind, if I am correct). In fact, this actually helps you, especially at schools like HYPS. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford… All of these schools have fantastic financial aid, so they have enough money to cover your college expenses to the full if you are accepted.</p>

<p>In fact, coming from a low-income background, this should help you in the college admissions process. Even though admissions officers won’t see your income, if the fact that you come from a low income background can permeate through to the family background, work, and other sections of the common application, your admissions chances will be much, much greater. Admissions officers love a good success story of a minority student from a low-income background. They LOVE it. It shows that the student has the passion and perseverance to pull through, even when times have been rough. If you can let that background show through your application, your chances will be much better.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars and Awards</p>

<p>Looks like you have some good extracurriculars going… Remember to list them on the common application according to how important they are to you. Put the extracurriculars that are closest to your heart and that you are most passionate about the most towards the top of the list. Relegate small, one or two hour/week activities towards the bottom.</p>

<p>Also, play up clubs that you’ve had a four year commitment to, as long as you spend a considerable amount of time on them (like Model UN).</p>

<p>I thought the city poetry award/publication was pretty cool. Mention how it was out of 200 entries (and if adults were included in the competition, mentiopn that: it makes it even better!). Nice awards!</p>

<p>The Essay</p>

<p>Write fantastic essays. Don’t write about how “dedicated” or “hard-working” or “motivated” you are. Give the admissions officers a slice of your life… A moment or activity or event… And show them (don’t tell them) what that moment says about you. Your writing and your choice of topic should highlight your personality… How optimistic, humble, passionate, intellectually curious, etc. you are. But don’t tell the admissions officer that you are those things. Show her or him through the story you are telling. Take the lessons from your creative writing class… Write descriptively, utilize the senses (“The sweet aroma of the pine needles caught my nose…”), use metaphors and literary devices… Write well. The essay is a chance to show 1) How well you can write, and 2) Your personality. </p>

<p>To show this, write about something that you would like to tell the admissions officers about; write about an experience that means a lot to you (while avoiding cliches like dying pets or grandparents, that trip/vacation that opened your mind, your heroic saving of a cat, autobiography of your life in 500 words, etc., unless you have a unique spin on one of those topics). Your style of writing (which should be informal, like your telling a story or experience to a group of adults) should display your personality: your quirks, your wit, your humor (though don’t use humor if you’re not a funny person), your maturity, how you think and react to situations… It should show how you are likable, but avoid trying to come across as blatantly attempting to flaunt how dedicated, hard-working, etc. you are… Even though those are good traits for colleges, the admissions officer are using your essay more to get a read on how much they like your personality… How much they, if they were a college student again, would want to live in a dorm with you and would want to hang out with you. Be lively and colorful, not dull and mechanical. And remember: show, don’t tell. Show how an experience felt and how you reacted through appeals to the senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell) rather than make a mechanical statement about how you felt. Doing this is what makes writing interesting (as I am sure you have learned). Put your writing skills to good use.</p>

<hr>

<p>Well, I’m certain I’ve bored you at this point, but I hope this information helps. I apologize for any typos… I didn’t feel like proofreading the whole bulk of this message I just conjured up. Feel free to ask questions if you have any, though keep in mind, I’m in the exact same position as you: a terrified rising senior staring blankly into the gaping throat of college admissions, waiting to be swallowed and digested by this process.</p>

<p>I hope this helped for you, and best of luck!</p>

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<p>HYPS: you’re definitely qualified, but only 1/10 qualified applicants actually get into these schools. without a major hook, you’re in the 5-7% boat. that’s just the name of the game. </p>

<p>Other ivies: same stuff, but general admissions chances are higher so you’ll have a better chance.</p>

<p>other schools: i’d say you’re in a good place. some of those really small liberal arts schools are tough just because of how small they are, though, so those might be tough.</p>

<p>but then again, what do I know - i’m just a fellow high school student in pretty much the same boat as you.</p>

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<p>I see you as a fairly good candidate. It definitely helps that you’re Hispanic! I think it would help to have things that stand out (ex. nationally recognized in some way, internship (at an important place: political office or fortune 500 company, very difficult life ex. low income, live with one parent, death of someone close to you etc). </p>

<p>Don’t rely on getting accepted to any of the Ivies because honestly, they are a reach for even the most qualified candidates. It’s not rare to hear of valedictorians with 2400 SATs get rejected to the Ivies. UCLA and USC seem to be more realistic but you have to write good essays! I’m going to be a senior so i’m in the same boat (stressing!!)</p>

<p>Anyways, write some good essays and you may get accepted to an Ivy but the other schools seem to be more realistic :)</p>

<p>Please chance me back!
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1365837-help-me-out-chances-cal-upenn-others.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1365837-help-me-out-chances-cal-upenn-others.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

15

<p>Brown - low reach (for Brown and Dartmouth I’d actually say target)
Dartmouth - low reach
HYPS - This would depend on your new SAT score I guess. For now Just a reach (probably besides Stanford).
UChicago - Great Chances!
Amherst - Should definitely be a target.
Wesleyan - Target.
Swarthmore - Target. ( I currently go to school in Philadelphia, and know many people who get accepted to Swarthmore).
Williams - I don’t know anything about this school!
Georgetown - Target
Vanderbilt - Considering my family lives in Nashville ,and I actually use to live there I would think that currently you have an amazing chance at getting in. And trust me when I say that the majority of the people I knew in TN ended up going to Vanderbilt.
UCLA - Remember that even though it’s not considered in the UC system, it’s California, so surely there will be URM Hispanic female students with similar stats or “better.” I’d say now, target. But that could change depending on the applicant pool of the 2017 class.
USC - Target! Great Chances </p>

<p>Yo haria decir que la mayoria de sus escuelas, tu tienes unas opritunidades gran!!! Just make sure to solidify your distinct individuality, because your ECs tel me that you have a very good sense of what it means to contribute to society. You seem to be a very cultivated/well rounded person!!!</p>

<p>Buena Suerte!</p>

16

<p>You will definitely get accepted into Amherst and Williams. You can get into most of the colleges on your list if you just raise that SAT score. Try and aim for 2300. If you reach that you will definitely be accepted to the majority of your list. :slight_smile: UCLA will still be a definite reach though since the number of applicants keeps going up.</p>

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<p>Thank you all for the feedback! Haha @churchill Me encantaria que usas espa</p>

18

<p>I’d say
HYPS- probably not. It’s a crapshoot in which even the most qualified applicants often don’t get in.
Brown- Decent Chance
Dartmouth- Decent Chance
UChicago- Low chance
Amherst- Decent Chance
Wesleyan- Fairly Good chance
Swarthmore-Decent-Good chance
Williams- Idk
Georgetown- Good chance, But it doesn’t really strike me as your kind of school.
Vanderbilt- Low chance
UCLA- Good chance
USC- Good chance</p>

<p>I think you have a better than average chance at a lot of these schools.</p>

19

<p>Another bump. Any takers?</p>

20

<p>I would really appreciate any more chances. Applications will start shortly and I may have to pay for some of the app fees myself if my dad and I don’t qualify for financial aid a my school. Even though we don’t make much were only two people legally (not including his girlfriend that’s always there) so I need to know what is realistic or worthy of applying to. Yale is my dream school even if it’s a big reach. Oh and btw to add on to the subjective stats. In August I’ll start an unpaid internship 40 hours a week at this non profit arts organization. Thank you guys!</p>