Once upon a time I want to be chanced

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Applicant: White Male, 18, from Rhode Island Prep School</p>

<p>Transcript:</p>

<p>My Cumulative GPA is 4.2 (class rank=3/90) (our school doesn't do UW/W)</p>

<p>I've taken the most difficult course load offered to me by the school, and to-date I've taken 2 AP Exams:</p>

<p>AP Environmental Science (5) (Took as a Freshmen)
U.S. History (5) (Took as a Junior)</p>

<p>My course load this year is as follows:</p>

<p>English 12 (no honors English at my school)
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (History elective..no honors option)
AP Calculus BC
AP Biology
AP Spanish
Photography</p>

<p><em>My school doesn't offer many AP classes...these 5 are really the only my school offers in their main curriculum</em></p>

<p>Standardized Testing:</p>

<p>SAT I: 680 CR/690 M/720 W (12 essay)
SAT II: 800 Math IIC/780 U.S. History/660 Latin</p>

<p>ACT:
Composite=33
English=35
Math=35
Reading=34
Science=29</p>

<p><em>Will my SAT be weighed at all with a significantly higher ACT score?</em></p>

<p>Extra-Curriculars:</p>

<p>Mock Trial (4 years, Captain, 2006 State Champions,)
-I received a citation from the Rhode Island Supreme Court for my "Outstanding Achievements "in Mock Trial...as well as 8 or so awards for my high scores throughout the years.
Math Team (4 years, 2007 State Champions)
World Environmental Enigmatic Problems (3 years, President this year)
Fantasy Sports Club (2 years, President this year)
Tennis (3 years, Junior Varsity and outside of school)
Student Senate (1 year, elected Student Senator by class)</p>

<p>Work/Volunteer Experience:</p>

<p>Stop and Shop: Cashier and Courtesy Clerk (June, 2004-June, 2005)
The UPS Store: Sales Associate (May, 2006-Present)
Tutor: Elementary School Math, one student (Summer, 2007-Present)
Assisted Living Volunteer: Activities Helper (9th grade)
Hospital Volunteer: Histology and Pathology lab helper (10th grade)
Nursing Home: Activities Helper (11th grade-present)</p>

<p>Misc:
I was inducted into the Cum Laude Society as a Junior</p>

<p>Essays:
My common app essay is incredibly unconventional. I wrote a number of vignettes in the second-person showing who I am as an individual through baseball (T-ball at age 5, Wiffleball at age 10, Little League at age 12, Wiffleball again at age 17). My short response is also written in the second-person, describing Mock Trial in a very "in your face," pulling you into one moment, way. </p>

<p>Recs:
I picked great teachers to write them for me. I'm fortunate enough to go to a school where the teachers know me so well. I expect great recommendations, as one of my teachers said their recommendation was "glowing."</p>

<p>There's my life story in about a page or so. If it helps, I'm also a Sagittarius, and I like long walks on the beach followed by candlelight dinners. Now that I'm done with my application, what would you say my final chances are at the following schools:</p>

<p>Duke (Early Decision)
Tufts
Vanderbilt
Georgetown
UPenn
BC
Dartmouth
Emory
Anywhere else you might want to recommend</p>

<p>Much appreciated, everyone.</p>

2

<p>cmon u know you want to!</p>

3

<p>Duke (Early Decision)- Really depends on the prestige of your school IMO
Tufts- Good Shot
Vanderbilt- Good Shot
Georgetown- Good Shot
UPenn- Reach
BC- Probably not. They get so many applications that if its not your demonstrated first choice its ridiculously tough.
Dartmouth- Reach
Emory- Good Shot</p>

4

<p>Thanks for your input, rocafelton. I’m a little confused on a few points you made. Why would it depend on the prestige of my school? Duke really has little-to-no relationship established with my school…the last student to go to Duke was class of '98 or '99 I believe (ED)…but two were accepted RD to Duke from the class of '07 (both ended up attending other schools). </p>

<p>Anyone else have any opinions?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

5

<p>Emory - nice chance</p>

6

<p>Thanks. Keep em coming, everyone. I’d really appreciate some honest feedback, especially about Duke ED.</p>

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<p>rocafelton said that about Duke because it is a very hard school to get into to. The selection process there is rigorous. it seems like you come from a good school though, so i think you’ll have a good shot. dont get your hopes up though because i wouldnt be surprised if you were rejected from Duke and accepted into Dartmouth or something like that. Duke is just like that. good luck! and everything else seems like you have a good shot although Upenn is a reach and BC is too. BC is kinda like Duke with the selection process in a sense.</p>

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<p>I said it depends on the prestige of your school because your scores are below their average, so the fact that you finished near the top of your class may be a really big deal if your school has some name recognition. Remember the person who is reading your application WILL pay a lot of attention to this regardless of how many applicants they have or haven’t received from your school. School’s ask for your High School’s CEEB code for a reason.</p>

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<p>what’s the CEEB code for a high school?</p>

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<p>Duke’s middle 50% range is 29-34 for ACT. I have 33 composite.</p>

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<p>And yeah I don’t understand how my school’s CEEB code has anything to do with my chances. Can you please elaborate/clarify that point?</p>

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<p>haha we are so similiar i got a 1430/2120 on sat so slightly better. we both are captains of mock trial are applying to duke, tufts, dartmouth. we both volunteered at a nursing home. we both have 2 ap’s prior to senior year (both 5’s too)</p>

<p>haha i dont know why i mentioned all that but i just got interviewed with duke and my alumni really loved me and said she was giving me a glowing evaluation&lt;/p>

<p>good luck dude and i cant give chances since im in your shoes.</p>

13

<p>haha that’s crazy man. Best of luck. Hopefully I’ll see you in Durham in '08!</p>

14

<p>I would only send the ACT score if I were you, its much better than the SAT. Assuming you do this:</p>

<p>Duke (Early Decision): 55% Chance</p>

<p>Tuft: 80% Chance
Vanderbilt: 75% Chance
Georgetown: 65% Chance
UPenn: 50% Chance
BC: In
Dartmouth: 50% Chance
Emory: 75% Chance</p>

<p>In at many of these. Just send the ACT if you can</p>

15

<p>
[QUOTE=rocafelton]
BC- Probably not.

[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=slipper1234]
BC: IN

[/QUOTE]
</p>

<p>The above responses should show you how unpredictable the admissions process is and how little we know. The best that we can really tell you is that your application will be competitive. There are no guarantees, but certainly your stats are strong and you will not be immediately rejected. </p>

<p>Also, I think when rocafelton was talking about the prestige of your high school, that could have a slight bearing, but I personally don’t think it’s the vital factor. I think he/she was just saying that Duke wants to see that you have performed well against other strong students. That certainly is true. There are certain schools that typically send 10+ students to Duke a year, and if you were ranked #3 in one of those classes, obviously your chances would be extremely good. But since your school doesn’t have a connection to Duke, it is harder to say for sure. But, 2 people from your HS got into Duke last year so obviously the “prestige” of your school isn’t holding people back, so I wouldn’t worry about it. Also, being from a poorer underrepresented school can be helpful - but that is obviously not the case with you at a RI prep school.</p>

<p>Your scores are definitely in the appropriate range, so that wouldn’t exclude you. If your essays and recs are strong, I think your chances at Duke ED (Trinity, right?) are good - you’ll definitely be competitive and if you can convey to the admissions officer’s why Duke is a good fit and what you would contribute to the community, I think you’ll get in. Those schools on your list are all really strong, and I’d expect that you should get into at least half of them; but then again, what do I know? I personally think you should add one super safety to the list - none of those schools are easy to get into. I’ve heard stories of people not getting into any of their schools, and that’s the last thing you want to happen. Not trying to scare you, but the admissions game is unpredictable, so if you don’t get into Duke ED, I’d add one public school where it takes like 15 minutes and $50 to fill out the application to assure yourself a spot.</p>

<p>I went to Duke, but also applied to Illinois, Michigan, UPenn, and Columbia (all engineering). IL and Mich were my safeties and IL’s app took literally 15 min - got accepted in late September/early October to both of them, which eased my mind a bit…I heard Michigan added a more arduous essay recently, but for me, it was easy.</p>

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<p>slipper and (especially) bluedog-</p>

<p>Thanks for your insight and taking the time out to write a thoughtful response. Much appreciated.</p>

<p>bluedog, do you think you could read my Duke Supplement/Common App essay so I could get your opinion? It sounds like you really know what you’re talking about.</p>

<p>All other chances are definitely welcome.</p>

17

<p>bump bump bump</p>