please be brutally honest (ivies and top schools)!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>thank you so much in advance – i really, really appreciate this! I’m thinking about early action (right now, Yale, if possible), but based on my junior year grades (2 B+), should I wait to apply regular so my senior year grades show all As? also, any suggestions for improvement or safety schools would be great =) </p>

<p>STATS:
Rising senior
School type: competitive suburban public school
GPA. 3.86 (5 B+, 1 B, rest all A's in all three years)
Top 10 percentish; all honors and APs whenever possible
Math: 740
Writing: 790
CR: 730
SAT I: 2260 (superscore), 2250 (no superscore)
SAT 2s Math - 750 Math II - 700 US (will retake in november, along with lit for first time),
APs : US History (5), European History (5), Psychology (5), Biology (5), Calculus BC (3)</p>

<p>EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES:
Published writer for nationally distributed, award-winning health magazine (also my job; published several articles, appeared on TV, written pamphlet – 10, 11, 12)
School newspaper (News Editor, Copyeditor – 10, 11, 12)
Literary magazine (Editor-in-Chief – 9, 10, 11, 12)
Student Government (Senior Class President, Junior Class Vice President – 10, 11, 12))
Model UN (some Delegate Awards – 10, 11, 12)
Amnesty International (President, Secretary – 10, 11, 12)
Cross Country (9, 10, 11)
Yearbook (10, 11, 12)</p>

<p>AWARDS AND HONORS:
AP Scholar with Distinction
Commended Student
National Honor Society
NCTE Writing Awards Nominee (will find out results in October)
Winner of national short story contest (name disclosed for privacy reasons, but it’s not that prestigious)
Published in various local and regional newspapers and magazines (freelance journalist…have own column in local magazine)</p>

<p>WORK AND VOLUNTEER WORK:
Health Magazine (mentioned above)
Volunteer at local hospital, community center etc. (10, 11, 12)
All my freelance writing for local papers and magazines (10, 11, 12)</p>

<p>INTERESTED SCHOOLS:</p>

<p>Harvard
Yale
Princeton
UPenn
Brown
Dartmouth
Columbia
Northwestern
Georgetown
University of Chicago
Stanford
Tufts
Duke
Cornell
Johns Hopkins
Wash U in St. Louis</p>

2

<p>Statistically, your in range for lower ivies given you are not hooked. However, your ECs are very, very good. If that health magazine as is as big as it sounds, that may be a hook that gets you into hyps. I’m not gonna go down the list and say match, reach, safety or w/e. Just know you prbly will make it into some mid tier ivies.</p>

3

<p>I would say you have a good chance of getting into many of these schools. Your EC’s and awards are very good. However, your SAT scores may be a bit low for HYPS.</p>

4

<p>INTERESTED SCHOOLS:</p>

<p>Harvard
Yale
Princeton
UPenn
Brown
Dartmouth
Columbia
Northwestern
Georgetown
University of Chicago
Stanford
Tufts
Duke
Cornell
Johns Hopkins
Wash U in St. Louis </p>

<p>I’d say you will get into Cornell but it is possible you may not get into any others. The reason you hear the “crap shoot” tag so often with Ivies/ incl. Stanford is because it’s true! I also like your chances at Wash U, JHU, Duke, Tufts, UChicago, Georgetown, and NU-- with Tufts and JHU being your best bets.</p>

5

<p>Four thoughts:</p>

<p>No one ever has a “good chance” at the super selectives.</p>

<p>Grades and test scores are a little on the low side.</p>

<p>Weave the journalism/writing into a single theme that is as powerful as you can make it.</p>

<p>Your list of schools seems dominated by schools that are prestigious rather than selected on fit. Some of them are different as night and day (e.g., U Chicago and Dartmouth.) I think the schools you will have best chance for are the ones with a good fit for you, and that you can write passionately about in your essay.</p>

<p>Ok, a fifth…
As a safety, ever thought about Kenyon? Amazingly strong writing tradition that I would put up against at least five schools on your list.</p>

6

<p>I can truly sense your passion in journalism, which definitely makes all the time you put into your lit. ecs worthwhile. Your leadership also stands out- another plus. Your test scores aren’t as bad as people make out, and your Writing section was almost perfect. You have a very strong chance to all your schools, assuming you make your common apps the best essays you ever wrote- probably a minor task given your talent.</p>