On track for competitive schools?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I have been thinking about the issue of colleges for an extended period of time right now, perhaps from 8th grade until now. I am currently a freshman at an extremely competitive high school in Texas and I would like to know if I am on the right track for a series of acceptance letters from many elite schools.

My current weighted GPA: 4.62
UW GPA: 4.16
Class rank: N/a but most likely in top 10%

SAT: Have not taken yet
ACT: Have not taken yet

SAT 8/9 :1340

Future courseload (grade level in parentheses)

AP Calc BC (10), AP Chemistry (10), AP Chinese (10), AP Comp Sci A (10 or 11), AP Biology (12), Organic Chemistry (weighted course, 12), AP Physics AB, Multivariable Calculus (weighted course, 11), AP Statistics (12), AP U.S. History (11), AP U.S. Government (12), AP Macroeconomics (12), AP English Language and Composition (11), AP English Language and Literature (12).

EC: Varsity swimming, principal violin in orchestra. Volunteered at a community library for over 40 hours a semester.

I plan to have many more ECs in the very near future. Hopefully I have the following that is listed below on my application for the class of 2024.

Chemistry Olympiad Semi-finalist (currently working toward that now)
TMEA 3-time All-State Orchestra member (1/3 of the way already)
National Youth Orchestra member
University Interscholastic League Swimming Regional qualifier
Speedo Sectionals qualifier
200+ hours volunteering at a local hospital
2 time AIME qualifier
President of Mu Alpha Theta

These are my top choice schools:

Harvard, MIT, Caltech, Duke, Stanford, Vanderbilt, JHU, UChicago, Northwestern, Cornell.

These are my intended safety schools:

UT Austin, Rice, UMich, UCB.

Let me know if I am posing false hopes.

2

Your SAT 8/9 should indicate an associated percentile. If you choose to post that, this factor could be better understood.

3

You are off to a great start and building an impressive resume. Study hard, but also make sure you have fun and enjoy your friends. Balance.

Notes:

  • Good grades and challenging courses (e.g. honors & AP) matter…a lot. Keep it up.
  • Follow your passions on your extracurriculars. Depth is important - meaning 4yrs of involvement in an activity you are passionate about with increasing levels of responsibilities/contributions each year is more impressive than being a 1yr member of 10 different clubs.
  • Test prep for the ACT or SAT will be another very important data point for admissions to consider. Budget time for that when you plan your Junior year.
  • Your “safety” schools are not safeties. What state do you live in? Texas? Getting into a top-tier public university as an out-of-state student is very difficult, and Rice is just as competitive as your top choice schools. Don’t spend much time thinking about your school list for now…focus on your schoolwork. When you hit your Junior year, add college search to your list of commitments.

Good luck!

4

How is your unweighted GPA higher than a 4.0?

5

Your best shots are Cornell and Michigan unless you are top 7% then add UT Austin.

6

i used some GPA calculator and for some reason it registered my grades as above a 4.0. Currently my school only says you are in the top 10% and doesn’t give your actual rank until sophomore or junior year. I only said top 10% as a guarantee, I might be higher but my exact percentage is unknown.

7

Please come back when you are a junior. It is too early to target specific colleges.

For now you should:
–do as well as you can in the most rigorous curriculum you can handle;
–find ECs you enjoy and work towards taking on leadership positions as an upperclassman
–when the time comes study for standardized tests
–enjoy being with your friends and family.
–when the time comes have a talk with your parents to get a handle on any limitations they may have (ex. financial, geographic, anything else).

Don’t view HS as a four year college prep. It is an experience in and of itself – a time for learning and personal growth.

And while you are off to a fine start, alll of the colleges on your list thus far are reaches for pretty much everyone so I suggest you expand your horizons. If you live in TX and are an auto-admit to UT Austin that is your safety – if you are not an auto-admit I don’t see any sure things. The schools you have listed as safetys (other than UT-Austin if auto-admit) are not safety schools.

8

Rice is not a safety for anyone

9

^This. And I’m creeping back onto this thread to say: OP, you don’t need a “GPA calculator” to find your unweighted average lol. Ask for your transcript.

10

You have Rice and Cal as safeties? lmao
Your GPA is also definitely wrong as UW can’t be over 4.0 so idk what to say about that
You are “on track” enough, but certainly nothing special, and your safeties are delusional; that’s about all I can determine based on what you’ve given me

11

There are a lot of assumptions involved here so it’s a fruitless exercise. Just keep doing your best and come back in two years.

By the way how come your unweighted GPA is 4.16 on a scale of 4.0? I would like to know your weighted GPA scale as well? To me 4.62 seems very high for a conventional 5.0 scale. Is it 6.0?

12

You have a chance, but you don’t stand out. Try to find something unique, if not don’t stress it; just be consistent. Also just curious, what school do you go to? Rice isn’t a safety. Schools under 20% will never be a safety for anyone. UT could be a safety depending on your rank and prospective major.

13

You could have a perfect transcript all the way through and still not have Rice as a safety. Don’t put your cart before the horse. Focus on upping your test scores, keeping your GPA high (whatever metric you use for your GPA–for some reason your UWGPA doesn’t follow the laws of physics), and getting involved in extracurriculars you enjoy. Don’t worry about the schools yet.

14

Thank you for all of the advice. The advice helps offset the pressures of early college preparation. Most of my peer are worrying about stuff like this, making it difficult in focusing on what is happening currently. I truly appreciate everyone’s input.

15

Which High School do you go to in Texas? Carnegie Vanguard? You are pretty on track just need to keep up with it and do something that makes you stand out in tons of applications to your top choices.

16

Westlake High School in Austin, Texas.

17

The fact that you are thinking so systematically about college already puts you ahead of the game. Of course, the proof is in the pudding: It’s not enough to say “I’ll take these classes, and I’ll get such-and-such a score on the SAT”; what counts, rather, is how you actually perform in these endeavors. Still, to the extent that an internet stranger can judge from afar, you seem to be “on track.”

On note of caution, however: The fact that you live in Texas makes Rice more rather than less difficult for you to win admission to. Rice is gradually expanding its national profile, and as a result there seems to be a de facto quota that limits the number of admits from Texas. A fair percentage of the Texans at Rice have turned down Ivies and other “elite” institutions in order to remain “home” while attending college. In short, Rice ain’t a safety.