Paranoid about chances. Opinions welcome!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey. Here's the lowdown on what colleges will know as "me".</p>

<p>GPA: 3.7 W, roughly 3.6 UW
SAT I: M 700 V 660 W 650 Essay 10
Intend on taking ACT this October
AP US History Exam: 4
School does not release class rank</p>

<p>Background:
Male
Latino/White, fluent in Spanish, mother from El Salvador
Arizona resident
Parents attended Amherst, University of Arizona, and University of Michigan</p>

<p>Extracurriculars/Activities:
Licensed Private Glider Pilot/Tucson Soaring Club member, 5 years.
Playing Trumpet for 8 years
Marching Band, 2 years
Regional Band, 1 year (likely to be two, soon)
Jazz Band, 4 years (Don't know if this is considered extracurricular)
National Honor Society, 2 years (in my 2nd year)
Vice President, co-founder "Sound!" Club
While in El Salvador, volunteer work for Enrique Figueroa Lemus Education/Environmental fund (2 years during summer, approx.)
Ultimate Frisbee Club
Freshman Football, 1 year
Varsity Pole Vault, 1 year</p>

<p>Notable stuff:
Although my GPA isn't spectacular, it has been getting consistently better since Freshman year. Most of my classes have either been Honors or AP, and this year (my senior year) I am taking 3 AP courses, Calculus, Physics, and English. I took Calculus my Junior year as well, though our school has one of the best math programs in the state due to incredibly difficult teachers. I did not fail the course but am retaking it for my own benefit, deeper understanding, better grades, and a good AP Exam score.</p>

<p>I also plan on taking the ACT, as my SAT scores were decent but not as great as I'd like them to be. I will actually be preparing for the ACT, however.</p>

<p>I am Latino and speak fluent Spanish, although my physical appearance doesn't quite express that. My middle name is Enrique, however, whether or not either of these things make a difference I'm not sure.</p>

<p>I held a job for a few months last year, and left due to being out of town for most of the summer. I am currently seeking employment again. I have also done some minor volunteer work recently for the Pima County Democratic Party, such as putting up political signs around town.</p>

<p>Some colleges I've been thinking about include Tufts, Boston University, Carnegie Mellon, University of Pittsburgh, University of Michigan, University of Rochester, Rensselaer, Northwestern, Brown, Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, UC Berkeley, and University of Washington. I will be visiting many of these this October. My intended major would be Engineering, though I'm not exactly sure which branch at the moment.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance! Any insight would be greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>For the schools you posted with the stats you posted, here are your chances:</p>

<p>Tufts--Slight Reach
Boston University--Match to Slight Reach
Carnegie Mellon--Slight Reach
University of Pittsburgh--Pittsburgh--Safe Match
University of Michigan--Ann Arbor (out-of-state)--Slight Reach
University of Rochester--Match
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute--Match
Northwestern University--Reach
Brown University--Reach
Johns Hopkins--Reach
University of Maryland--College Park (out-of-state)--Slight Reach
UC Berkeley (out-of-state)--Reach
University of Washington--Match</p>

<p>Your biggest problem at these top-ranked schools is either that your GPA is slightly low (3.6 UW versus 3.8 UW for Northwestern, Brown, John Hopkins, and UC Berkeley--and that you took only a few honors/AP/IB courses prior to your senior year)</p>

3

<p>3.7 and out of state and engineering at berkeley....</p>

<p>that is like literally no chance. </p>

<p>berkeley is numbers oriented and most people that get in are instate and have 4.1 or more. also engineering is the most difficult to get in...</p>

4

<p>Tufts is also a reach. But def try! ED would help you.</p>

5

<p>theuberpig:</p>

<p>UCB: Super Reach (out of state, Engineering)</p>

6

<p>Well, that's alright. I didn't really want to go to Berkeley anyway, I'm trying to avoid California, really.</p>

<p>Couple of questions, though. First of all, what kind of odds would you give a "slight reach"?<br>
I personally think that my extracurriculars are a little slim. What do you all think? Also, which ones could be considered EC to begin with? For example, being in the school's Jazz band is almost entirely in-class, though there are also outside activities/concerts/competitions held every so-often. Would that still be considered extracurricular? Also, would further volunteering at say, the Democratic Party office be of any use?</p>

<p>Calcruzer: I didn't take many AP courses before senior year (2), but I did take mostly honors every year. That make a difference?</p>

<p>Anyway. Thank you all very much for your responses, they're greatly appreciated!</p>

7

<p>Two more things:
A. Uhh. Bump. Heh.</p>

<p>And B. I expect my 7th semester grades to be quite good, and help out my GPA, as well as justify my retaking Calculus (last year, B, this year A+). Will they be too late?</p>

8

<p>Slight Reach to me means someone with a 40% to 50% chance of acceptance. </p>

<p>Oh, and I was presuming you hadn't taken many honors/APs/IBs since you said your UW GPA was 3.6 and your W GPA was 3.7. If you took a lot of honors courses, the difference between these would be more than .1</p>

9

<p>Including this year, I will have taken 5 APs, 6 Honors, and 4 Standard courses in the core subjects, so overall the majority is AP/Honors. My fine arts/language courses are weighted as standard. My standard courses were typically in writing classes, though I should have been in honors, I chose to focus more on other subjects. I did have one standard physics class, but that was not my decision but rather there were no honors classes available that fit my schedule, and I'd rather take physics than (standard) marine biology or field studies.</p>

<p>Anyway. My UW GPA is probably closer to 3.58, and my W GPA is exactly 3.71, so there is a difference of slightly more than .1.</p>

<p>Thanks a lot Calcruzer, you've been very helpful.</p>

<p>edit: boo, no html :(</p>