Non-Obnoxious Chance

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
1

<p>At the risk of completely douching it up online, I'm asking for an anonymous (and probably arbitrary) assessment of my chances to Dartmouth and some other schools listed below given the following profile:</p>

<p>Male 1/2 Hispanic (Nicaraguan), 1/2 White
small, public Suburban High School
Income: ~$90k
4.0 Unweighted GPA
4.7551 Weighted GPA</p>

<p>as of the end of my junior year, no B's so far. Thankfully. </p>

<p>Freshman: H Communications, H American History, Algebra I, Wellness 9, Computer Applications I, PA History, Algebra II, Spanish II H Environmental Science</p>

<p>Sophomore: Geometry, H World Cultures, Academic Decathlon, H Biology, Driver's Education, Wellness 10, H Trigonometry, H PreCalculus, H Communications 10, H Spanish IV</p>

<p>(summer classes for Wellness 11 and SAT Prep credit exemption)</p>

<p>Junior: H Chemistry, H Physics, AP Biology, AP Calculus I, AP Government & Politics, AP Statistics, AP Calculus II, AP Language and Composition</p>

<p>(summer program taking Calculus with Analytic Geometry II)</p>

<p>Senior: AP Literature and Composition, AP Chemistry, AP Physics B, AP Spanish V, H Psychology</p>

<p>Dual Enrollment Senior Year at Penn State Behrend:</p>

<p>Multivariable Calculus, Introductory Microeconomics</p>

<p>no rank, around 160 students in class</p>

<p>SAT I: 2110 CR+M+W
(1470 CR+M)
SAT II: Spanish: 720, Math Level II: 760,
Math Level I: 700 (sophomore year, if AdCom even considers that.)
(ACT and AP tests pending)
PSAT: 212
National Merit Commended (probably)
National Hispanic Recognition Program (probably)</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities:
Speech & Debate (10,11,12): vice president (11), Top 3 at Regional Competition, Top 25 at state competition (2012), multiple 2nd and 3rd awards locally, varsity letter (10,11)</p>

<p>Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (11,12): 1st Award Regional Competition, 2nd Award State Competition, Pennsylvania Science Talent Search Award Recipient (two recommendations from PA Science Academy)</p>

<p>Cross Country (11,12)
Track & Field (10, 11, 12)
Junior Engineering Technical Society Competition (JETS/TEAMS) (11,12)
Academic Decathlon (10): 4th best essay at local competition, (no medal)
Spanish Club (9,10,11,12)
Math Club (10, 11, 12): co-founder, co-president
Student Government: (prom committee by extension) President: 10, Vice-President: 11, 12
National Honors Society (11,12): Student tutoring program, and volunteering involved
Freshman Mentor 2012-2013 school year
Key Club/ Community Service Club (9,10,11,12)
Volunteering at Hospital summer of 2010, 2011 around 80 hrs</p>

<p>Summer Activities:
Cross Country training (2011, 2012)
Volunteering at VA Hospital (2010,2011)
Pending application at local grocery store for cashier position (2012)</p>

<p>Minority College Experience at Penn State Behrend
taking Calculus with Analytic Geometry II
Dual Enrollment Senior Year at Penn State Behrend
(probably Intro Microeconomics, Multivariable Calculus, and either General Chem or Physics)</p>

<p>Some other prospective schools:
Penn State University Park, Princeton, University of Pittsburgh, Harvard, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, Michigan, Dartmouth, Northwestern, UVA, Brown, Bowdoin, Middlebury, University of Richmond, Tufts, CMU</p>

2

<p>Here’s my strictly amateur take on your chances.</p>

<p>In the context of the most selective schools (an important distinction!), this is how I would evaluate what you’ve said here: Your standardized scores are in the zone, although not the strongest thing on your application. Your GPA is obviously great, and your course rigor looks good. Your ECs look respectable, but not outstanding. (It’s hard to tell without more description of what they actually entailed.) Similarly, you have some awards, but not at the state or national level, if I read it correctly. URM status, assuming you have it, will help. You are going to need to stand out in some way. Your recommendations need to be non-routine. Your essay needs to convey a spark. You are certainly a legitimate candidate at all of the schools on your list. I would assume that you are in at Penn State, Pitt, and Richmond. The rest are more of a crapshoot, the degree varying with OOS status and selectivity and size of the institution.</p>

3

<p>Thanks, what are your recommendations for making my extracurriculars stand out more? And does National Merit/National Hispanic count as a national award, also I have a state ranking in debate if that helps in academic distinction.</p>

4

<p>According to conventional wisdom, SAT-based awards are not a huge deal at the most selective schools, because so many have them. Not to be sneezed at, but not a tipping point, either. Other schools, of course, actively recruit NMFs.</p>

<p>I would think that the National Hispanic thing would depend on the applicant’s background. The standards for National Hispanic Scholar are lower because they are supposed to reflect a higher degree of challenge to be overcome in the student’s background. If one’s parents were both poor immigrants who didn’t graduate from HS and one grew up in a barrio, it obviously means more than if one’s Latina mother came from the ruling class in a small Central American country and one attended a prep school or Scarsdale HS. I would think that adcoms would perceive a distinction, wouldn’t you?</p>