NYU, Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern...chances?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey, everyone! I'm a high school junior and I'm looking to go to NYU, Carnegie Mellon, or Northwestern for a double major in musical theatre and social work/psychology. One of these three would be a dream come true, and I'd also flip at the chance to go to Syracuse. I'm gonna apply to Ithaca and Marymount Manhattan and Montclair State just to be safe, but my ideal schools would be one of the top four mentioned. So, given my potential application, what are my chances?</p>

<p>SAT: 2060
CR 690
M 630
W 740
(I do plan on retaking the SATs in October before I submit my applications, any tips on improving my scores, particularly in math and possibly CR? How high should they be?)</p>

<p>I haven't taken the ACT yet or any SAT subject tests or anything like that. I plan on it, though.</p>

<p>GPA Weighted: 4.0
GPA Unweighted: 3.9
(These figures are estimates.)</p>

<p>Class Rank: I haven't received it yet, but I would guess somewhere in the top 10-15%.</p>

<p>Honors Courses:
Freshman year - English, global history, Spanish 2
Sophomore year - English, algebra 2, Spanish 3, US history 1
Junior year - US history 2
Senior year - None</p>

<p>IB Courses:
Junior year - English 1, Spanish 1
Senior year - English 2, Spanish 2, Psych</p>

<p>AP Courses:
Senior year - Bio</p>

<p>Syracuse University (SUPA) Courses:
Junior year - Forensics (Chem 113)</p>

<p>Concentrations:
Freshman and sophomore years - Vocal major
Junior and senior years - Drama major</p>

<p>Jobs: Aeropostale sales associate (+ Aero Ambassador, which is an extra leadership position-type thing) May 2013-present</p>

<p>Student Council:
Freshman year - Elected study hall and House representative
Sophomore year - Class president</p>

<p>School clubs:
Freshman year - International Club
National Honor Society (hasn't been sent out yet, but I imagine I will be eligible)
National English Honor Society - senior year
National Spanish Honor Society - senior year</p>

<p>Other Leadership Positions/Jobs:
Board of Directors at high school theatre productions center, costumes manager - grades 11 and 12
Local children's therapy group helping autistic and otherwise special needs kids, volunteering - grades 11 and 12</p>

<p>All-Shore Chorus grades 9 and 10, All-State Opera grade 10
High school chamber choir grades 10 and 11
High school concert choir grades 9, 10, 12
Church cantor grades 9, 10, and 12
Nursing home performances grade 12
Vocal lessons grade 6-present
My school shows: freshman year and sophomore year (1 in the fall and 1 in the spring each)
Local all boy's school shows: junior year and senior year (1 in the fall and 1 in the spring each) </p>

<hr>

<p>Thank you so much!</p>

2

<p>Also - I know it depends on auditions for MT whether or not I’d get accepted. I mean strictly based on grades.</p>

3

<p>Actually…weighted GPA may be slightly more.</p>

4

<p>The weighted implies a lack of rigor, is that the case or does your school just have a weird system for weighting GPAs?</p>

5

<p>Your GPA is fine but course load is weak. Also you SAT is at around 25%. NU, NYU, and CMU would be a low reach to reach for you.</p>

6

<p>@billcsho</p>

<p>How can I improve my courseload next year? Which classes should I take differently?</p>

7

<p>GPA, SAT, and ECs look great!
You may want to take some more challenging courses though. I know IB is a two year program, so it may be too late to add more for your senior year, but if your school offers AP or honors classes, definitely go for those! If your school doesn’t offer these, then not having them won’t detract from your application!</p>

8

<p>Try to add a couple more AP if you can.
Also, you mentioned you will retake SAT in October but also planned to take SAT2. You may want to schedule them carefully as you cannot do both at the same time. Particularly, you have not taken ACT so SAT2 is more important as you have SAT1 scores already. For top schools like Northwestern, you need all sections at or above 700 and 1500+/2200+ to have a better chance.</p>

9

<p>Your GPA and ECs are more than fine, but I worry about the rigor of course load for you. NYU is a match for sure, but Carnegie Mellon and Northwestern are reaches because of the lack of AP or IB courses in your transcript. If you can somehow boost your SAT above 2300, or get two SAT IIs above 700 (math and something else), or get a composite ACT above 32, then NYU becomes a safety, CMU becomes a Match (they don’t look as much at rigor, but they DO look at test scores with a lot more scrutiny), and NW becomes a lower reach. </p>

<p>Can you chance me please?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1517788-chance-johns-hopkins-ed-will-chance-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1517788-chance-johns-hopkins-ed-will-chance-back.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;