Please chance a super concerned junior!!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey everyone,</p>

<p>White, Male, Junior
West Virginia resident</p>

<p>I just got my ACT scores back, and I'm kind of freaking out. I got a 32 composite, with a 35 in English, 34 in Reading, and a 30 in both Math and Science. I realize that these are good scores, but I'm not sure that they're up to par for the colleges that I've been planning on applying to.</p>

<p>The only other standardized test that I've taken is the PSAT, which I got a 207 on. This is low, but I live in West Virginia, so that will be enough for me to qualify for National Merit Semifinalist.</p>

<p>My classes so far:</p>

<p>7th: Algebra 1</p>

<p>8th: Geometry, French 1</p>

<p>9th: Algebra 2, French 2, Guitar, Gym, English 9, Science 9, American History, Journalism </p>

<p>10th: French 3, Honors English 10, Driver's Ed, Advanced Biology, Journalism 2, Media, American History 1900-00, World History</p>

<p>11th: AP English Language, AP History, AP Psychology, Environmental Earth Science, Chemistry, Media 2, College Algebra, College Trig (both through WVU)</p>

<p>12th: I plan on definitely taking AP Civics and AP English Literature, besides that, I'm not sure (suggestions here would be helpful)</p>

<p>I've gotten straight A's all throughout high school.</p>

<p>It may not seem like many, but I've actually taken all of the AP Classes available to me, and the only ones that I wont take next year are Calculus and AP Chem.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
-Member of Student Council, Student Council Executive Board, French Club, and French Honorary
-Class President sophomore and junior years, very likely for next year, too
-Member of Indian Insider Staff (school’s daily television show)
-Held minor leadership roles in French Club. for example, international banquet chairperson. Will most likely be an officer in either French Club or French Honorary next year.
-I interned for 3 months last year at a local television station
-I occasionally volunteer at the Salvation Army, it’s usually just around Christmas though (about 50 hours by next year)
-I just started volunteering at the March of Dimes. I really like it there, and I plan on doing about 5-6 hours a week until next year
-I played soccer freshman and sophomore years, but I’ve torn my ACL twice since sophomore year, so I no longer play
-My school doesn’t induct members into the National Honor Society until senior year, but I think that it’s very likely that I will be a member. I actually plan on running for NHS president.
-I just applied to West Virginia Governor’s Honors Academy, and i’m fairly certain that I’ll be accepted. I may also do Boys State
-I work 15-20 hours per week at Outback Steakhouse</p>

<p>Colleges I'm Considering:</p>

<p>Swarthmore (1st choice)
Amherst
Brown
Duke
Emory
Hampshire
NYU
Northwestern
Pomona
Reed
UC Berkeley
University of Pittsburgh (safety)</p>

<p>If you chance, I promise I'll chance back! :) Also, if you could give me any suggestions as to how to improve my chances of acceptance this late in the game, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks so much!</p>

2

<p>Considering your EC’s, I’m not too concerned about your scores. You might want to consider retaking though, just in case. </p>

<p>I think your EC’s are the strongest I’ve seen on the chances thread (job, leadership, and volunteer work), and your grades are fantastic. On top of that, you’re National Merit, and you’re from WV, so you’ll get a boost for geographical diversity. </p>

<p>In the end</p>

<p>Swarthmore (1st choice) - high match
Amherst - reach (it is for any unhooked candidte IMO)
Brown - reach (same as Amherst)
Duke - high match
Emory - match
Hampshire - I’m sorry I don’t know anything about this school
NYU - low match
Northwestern - match
Pomona - low reach
Reed - high match/low reach
UC Berkeley - match</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/873104-william-mary-notre-dame-other-top-tier-schools.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/873104-william-mary-notre-dame-other-top-tier-schools.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>Swarthmore as high match? Where have you been?
Swarthmore is ranked number #3 LAC. It’s NOT easy to get into.</p>

<p>EC is too much like a grocery list…
32 ACT is not up to par when it comes to schools in top 10.</p>

4

<p>^Agree. My friend was tenth in his class of 400 people, had a 3.8 and a 2280 and barely got in. Swarthmore is an extremely difficult school to get in to.</p>

5

<p>Ahh oops you guys are right. Swarthmore is a reach.</p>

6

<p>Also my friend from PA had a 3.8, not really the brightest kid, and had like a 1760 on his SAT and got into Brown. So anything can happen</p>

7

<p>I only know about a couple of those schools, but i’ll give you chances on the ones i am familiar with. UCB you’re probably in, NYU also probably in but you’re gonna need some kickass essays, and Brown and Duke are reaches but you definitely have a decent shot. Take the ACT again even though you already have a really great score, who knows maybe you’ll be one of those geniuses that gets 36 lol. good luck! you’ll definitely get into at least some of those schools.</p>

8

<p>Definitely retake the ACT’s, maybe even give SAT a try, you still have 2 SAT testing dates this year and a few next year. You have good stats, and a 32 is in range for most of them. But it’s always better to be at the high end of the range, not just in the middle. Classes/ grades in 7th and 8th grade don’t mean anything though. As far as senior year you can find out if your school works with colleges to take any courses there. Colleges do understand when schools don’t offer many AP’s though, and they will know how many your school has/ that you took all available ones.</p>

9

<p>Thanks to everyone so far! To nyc2013, I just included the grades from 7th and 8th because those were actually high school credits that are on my transcript. If anyone else has any more ideas to help me out, besides retaking the act, that would be fantastic. Thanks again!</p>