Please Chance me at Harvard or any other Ivy?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm a URM and First generation college attendee.</p>

<p>SAT:2100
GPA:3.8 unweighted (Problem is that I go to an average high school) :(</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: I love helping people and the world so I do volunteering a lot.</p>

<p>Summer: stony brook research program
Went to Africa to build houses
Went to different states to build houses
Swimming lessons
Lived with a host family in Italy for the summer </p>

<p>Job experience: -Chop't Salad
-Tutoring
-nursing job internship
-intern at my schools library</p>

<p>Clubs:
- fashion cares
- fashion with a purpose
-humanitarian club
-cosmetology class
-national honor society (president)
Sports:</p>

<p>-bowling team
- martial arts</p>

<p>Languages: fluent in English, Spanish, and italian.</p>

<p>Instruments: piano and guitar </p>

<p>I'm in a Junior ROTC program.</p>

<p>I help a lot throughout my school such as with making posters for the school, selling at the school, and I also participate in the school store and help redeem items.</p>

<p>I also am involved with religion. I volunteer at my church, do blood drives, alter service, clothing drives, etc.</p>

<p>Do I have a shot?</p>

<p>Please tell me how to improve my r</p>

2

<p>Try taking the SAT again, I think most ivy league schools would want a 2200 at a minimum. Keep working hard though!</p>

3

<p>If you had read this thread first many of your questions would have been answered: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1420290-chance-threads-please-read-before-posting-one.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1420290-chance-threads-please-read-before-posting-one.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>I think Harvard is out of reach, however some other Ivies are possible. Darthmouth, Brown, maybe Cornell.</p>

5

<p>You are in the running for the Ivies but you need to find a way to present yourself. Your chance me stats are boring (not that you are but it presents boringly). Present it in a way that makes adcoms interested and see your uniqueness. The issue you have is presenting a compelling story about you.</p>

6

<p>Well, I got 2130 and got in. Nothing wrong with taking the SAT again, though.</p>

7

<p>SAT 1: 2200
ACT: Didn’t take
SAT 2: French 740, French with listening: 750, Math 2C: 780 World History: 740
Unweighted GPA: 3.85
Rank: 17/250 (top 6 percent)
AP: 6 Exams (1 self study) all 5’s except for two 4’s
Senior Courseload: my courseload has always been the most rigorous </p>

<p>Extracurriculars;</p>

<p>extemporaneous speaking-president (4 years)
Student government-class speaker/rep (3 years)
Helping youth club-4 year member, vice president (1 year) president (1 year)
Football (JV 3 years) Varsity 1 year
Baseball (varsity 4 years)
French Club (president 2 years)
French tutor-4 years
run my own tv show on local tv station
fusion music
have fundraised about 2000 dollars
have taught french in france for two weeks.
started my own foundation (internationaly helping children)
have written research paper (relating to my foundation) I would say this paper is very good (comparable to intel papers)
Run a very small business (like VERY SMALL, don’t even know if i can call it a business). </p>

<p>Volunteer: soup kitchen, summer counselor, small yet consistent things</p>

<p>Major awards: none
reccomendations: 8/10 on both
counselor rec: generic. probably 7/10
additional rec: one from a northwestern professor. probably decent </p>

<p>State : CALI BABY!!!
School type: public (doesn’t send many to ivies)
Gender: M
Ethnicity: ORM
Hooks: none (except a weird major for an ORM if that counts for schools that do acceptance by department)</p>

<p>oh yeah, and I am fluent in 5 languages</p>

8

<p>i feel like chance threads are silly. You are definitely in the “range” academically speaking. But there are so many students who are very qualified and the cc community will chance them and say “yes, u are an amazing applicant” and they will get rejected…in short, its a crap shoot. Do as many activities and as in depth as you can (make sure you actually enjoy them) and you will stand as good of a chance as anybody.</p>

9

<p>derek1 start your own threads rather than threadjacking others’. And I agree w/Knight. Chance me threads plus a dollar will get you a sweet tea at mcdonalds.</p>

10

<p>“i feel like chance threads are silly.”</p>

<p>They’re silly once someone has gotten the feel of the admissions process at highly-selective universities. Which most every long-time poster here has. But for folks just starting the process, I don’t think the chance threads feel quite as silly.</p>

<p>“You are definitely in the ‘range’ academically speaking.”</p>

<p>I think this is what most folks are looking for - a friendly (or at least semi-friendly) voice with more knowledge and experience to weigh in - am I in the ballpark? Do these schools accept kids like me? Or is my application to them ludicrous? </p>

<p>For a kid with great scores, great grades, wonderful ECs, little encouragement to shoot for the moon, attempt to climb Everest is all he may need. A pat on the back, an “atta boy,” a word of cautious encouragement are what most are looking for, I think. Tell me if you disagree.</p>

<p>For a kid with a 2.8 GPA, a 1650 SAT, and modest ECs, a gentle word suggesting that the most selective schools are likely not such a good fit is a kindness.</p>

<p>I think most of these young folks understand that even well-qualified students aren’t shoo-ins at any of the very selective schools. That’s why they’re counseled to apply to a few safe schools and to treat the very selective schools as reaches.</p>

<p>But the golf ball must fall on some blade of grass. The fact is, a well-qualified student has a much greater chance of getting into Harvard than winning the Powerball.</p>

<p>In the case of the original poster, yes, you’re in the ballpark. If one or more of the Ivies are an aspiration to you, it’s worth the few bucks to apply to the ones that best fit you. It’s more likely than not that you won’t get in, but you’ve got as good a chance as most and better than many.</p>

<p>How to improve: Keep doing what you’re doing, but make sure you’re doing what YOU want to be doing, not what you think others expect of you.</p>

11

<p>^^ @notjoe Best post I’ve read in a while. I took a break from CC because I got tired of reading replies from veteran posters that were either condescending or downright discouraging. Also, the perfunctory “why haven’t you read this first?” comment after anybody asks about their chances. The answer is because they are not interested in hearing that nobody can accurately predict their chances. </p>

<p>While some kids are just looking to self-congratulate themselves, the vast majority are hoping to tap into the wealth of knowledge most of the long-time posters have about how their current profiles might be viewed by adcoms and in what areas they can improve upon themselves. I totally agree with notjoe that these kids, even while needing to be reminded about how long the odds are, can use some kind words of encouragement along with some helpful advice. Most of us adults on this site have either attended an Ivy or similar school, have kids who attend/attended, or both so it obviously can be done and we can share what we collectively know about the process to help others - especially the ones who are working hard to help themselves. Some veteran posters are getting increasingly cynical if not downright cranky. I keep wondering, why keep compulsively posting if that is the case? Also, asking kids to stop posting Chance threads because they are meaningless is a waste of time because it is never going to happen. That is a major reason why the majority of kids come onto this site - either to put themselves up for scrutiny by baring their souls (read: statistics and achievements) or to remain in the shadows looking to see what others say about kids who have similar profiles to their own. </p>

<p>Here’s a few things that also bother me:</p>

<p>Ironically, EVERY kid has a shot at an Ivy when they are in ninth grade and yet they are all too often told to come back in a few years and not waste their time on CC (okay, there is some merit to this advice). However, by the time they are juniors, the die is pretty much cast and for MOST it is too late for the Ivies because they wasted their time doing things that they thought would look good on college applications but that most highly selective colleges no longer or never did care about (veteran posters can easily fill in the blanks). Now that i think about it, I feel that a thread could be started as an evolving roadmap for ninth graders on how to be a successful applicant and by the time all the people on this site who are in the know have weighed in and refined it, it would easily rival the advice charged by $50k college “consultants”. </p>

<p>Next, everyone touts the MIT “Applying Sideways” piece (better known as “Do what you love and the rest will fall into place”) as the gospel on how to have a meaningful high school experience that will lead to future happiness. While it contains nice prose, how practical is the advice really? Yes, “do well in school” and “be nice” can’t be argued with but the proverbial " pursue your passion section" needs work. Baking, napping, hopscotch. Really??? For kids interested in going to MIT, indulging in these activities to their heart’s desire is a worthwhile use of their time? Seems to me, these kids’ apps are the first ones heading to the reject pile. I’ll put my money on the kid who built the nuclear reactor over the napper any day of the week. Even the advice to play sports sounds great if you love sports but most veteran posters know it won’t help one iota in getting into the most selective schools unless you are recruitable (MIT ironically caring the least even if you are). So even if you played varsity basketball, football and lacrosse, if you aren’t recruitable, then you might as well have been a tiddlywinks, badminton and ping pong player. This is stuff that veteran posters know about and can share with HS students who think that they must join the cross country team, even though they will sit on the bench, so they can be viewed as well-rounded. If you love sports but aren’t good enough to be a superstar, by all means, go ahead and join the teams but do so knowing that the Sideways police are going to take the kid who successfully worked on the bioremediation of oilspills over you no matter how much you loved what you were doing and how nice you were doing it.</p>

<p>I could go on and on with this missive but my point is why don’t more senior posters stop dismissing Chance threads by quoting the impossible odds and offer real advice on the merits and drawbacks of the resumes being presented? Help the kids increase their odds. I know they know what’s good and what’s lacking when they read them. Even if it is too late for some of the kids asking about their chances, younger readers can always benefit from applying the advice given to the chance poster. Also, how can the tone of the replies be improved? I guess it should start with mine.</p>

12

<p>“why don’t more senior posters stop dismissing Chance threads by quoting the impossible odds and offer real advice on the merits and drawbacks of the resumes being presented?”</p>

<p>Once a student’s test scores are within a college’s range, it all comes down to how an Admissions Director “feels” after reading a student’s essays and teacher recommendations and compares them to all other applicants. That’s true for Harvard and all selective colleges. It’s the reason students with perfect test scores sometimes are rejected, while other less-than-perfect students are accepted. It’s also the reason why veteren posters, like myself, cannot give better advice on how to improve a student’s odds.</p>

13

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>FWIW: There is an entire section of “Chance me” threads on CC, which is sometimes where the moderators of this forum move these kinds of threads. I think they do so because they understand that by the time a kid is a junior in high school, there isn’t much they anyone can say that will improve their chances, other than to be glib and say, “You need to write a really powerful essay” or “Your teachers must present a compelling argument on why you should be accepted to Harvard over anyone else from your high school or the world.”</p>

14

<p>“It’s also the reason why veteren posters, like myself, cannot give better advice on how to improve a student’s odds.”</p>

<p>You actually just gave some very useful advice that would greatly improve a student’s odds, but I can’t help but feel that you could give even “better advice” beyond the pretty well-worn knowledge that is out there. You probably have a good understanding of what your children did to set themselves apart from their peers in order to be accepted at the prestigious schools they attended. I know what I did back in the Medieval times - which was a heck of a lot less than what my kid recently did who was fairly highly sought after (she actually had some professors and in some cases their students emailing her encouraging her to apply to their top school). Yet, she had no national standing other than a few minor awards. Also, as I believe was the case with one of your kids, my kid did next to no community service. That certainly goes against conventional wisdom, doesn’t it? </p>

<p>If we really delved into the profiles of the Chance posters, assuming we got them early enough, I still feel confident that there is enough collective successful college student and parental wisdom out there to guide the poster to increase his/her chances. </p>

<p>Using your example, if someone has perfect scores, he/she already is starting with at least a 30% chance of acceptance at HPYSM (dislike that anachronistic acronym but nonetheless) assuming grades are also in line. Layering in your comments about recs and essays being up to par and the odds go up even further. Focused extracurriculars that show true leadership raise the chances even higher (here’s where a lot of kids fall down on in their chance threads - see my sports comments above as an example). Beyond that, there are still things kids can do to boost their chances. I’ll throw a couple out, knowing how to visit colleges correctly (most kids have no idea and waste their opportunities) and of course there is dedicated passion which could be the subject of an entire thread, if not book.</p>

<p>I certainly am not looking to get into a spat with anyone. Least of all you, Gibby, who I respect tremendously for the tireless research you perform in trying to provide useful information in response to the many different kinds of questions prospective students have. You always seem to rise above the fray and rarely have anything but a positive and helpful attitude no matter how “immature” some these kids’ comments can get. Your factual answers are virtually always correct. However, on rare occasion, i do disagree with some of your subjective opinions about the importance of high test scores etc. The most recent time being your comments to a high achieving poster minimizing the importance of his 13 5’s on AP’s without knowing the context of the achievement but that is a whole other discussion. Still, you are one of the best out there today. Keep posting, you have helped countless students and parents already.</p>

15

<p>FWIW: There is an entire section of “Chance me” threads on CC, which is sometimes where the moderators of this forum move these kinds of threads. I think they do so because they understand that by the time a kid is a junior in high school, there isn’t much they anyone can say that will improve their chances, other than to be glib and say, “You need to write a really powerful essay” or “Your teachers must present a compelling argument on why you should be accepted to Harvard over anyone else from your high school or the world.”</p>

<p>We just cross-posted and I couldn’t agree more with what you just said.</p>

16

<p>Falcon1,</p>

<p>Great, great posts.</p>

<p>I’ll try to comment in a little more detail later.</p>

17

<p>^^Oops I guess you posted two hours earlier than me but I was writing my response and got busy with something else in the middle of it.</p>

18

<p>“Beyond that, there are still things kids can do to boost their chances. I’ll throw a couple out, knowing how to visit colleges correctly (most kids have no idea and waste their opportunities) and of course there is dedicated passion which could be the subject of an entire thread, if not book.”</p>

<p>Admissions Officers learn about dedicated passion through teacher recommendations and essays. I’ve posted this before, but I’ll repost:</p>

<p>After my daughter was accepted to Harvard, she was invited to a congratulatory reception at the Harvard Club in New York City. In attendance was Harvard’s Regional Admissions Officer, Sally Champagne, who has since retired. As Sally went around the room and introduced herself, she looked at each student’s name tag and recounted a bit of their common app essay. She did this for my daughter and for EVERY student in attendance! Admissions Committee’s get to know each student by their essay – it’s what they remember; not your grades, test scores, EC’s, or community service. I’m convinced that after all the comparing of transcripts, test scores, etc, it all comes down to the essay and teacher recommendations!</p>

<p>If a student wants to know what they can do to improve their chances . . . IMHO, it’s all in the essay and the teachers they pick to write their recommendation letters! But, even if a kid posts their essay (which they shouldn’t do because it invites plagiarism) it’s impossible to guess what am Admissions Director is going to think because a student’s essay isn’t judged in a vacuum – it’s being compared to all other applicants. So, one year, a student’s essay might blow an admissions committee away, but in another year, that same essay might not get the attention of the Admissions Committee because another group of student’s might write a more compelling story and therefore an Admissions Committee will give the nod to someone else.</p>

19

<p>“You probably have a good understanding of what your children did to set themselves apart from their peers in order to be accepted at the prestigious schools they attended.”</p>

<p>Actually, I don’t know. My kids wrote great essays and had veteran teachers with thirty/forty years of experience write that they were one of best student’s they’ve had in their entire teaching career (a teacher gave my son a copy of his letter of recommendation – I’m assuming their other letters gave them equal praise). Beyond that . . . I have no idea what they did to set themselves apart – my daughter was very involved with her high school theater program, appearing in 8 plays/musicals and my son played varsity baseball for 4 years (not at a competitive level). Besides being top students at their high school, neither of them did any research, community service, or were Intel winners etc. What made them stand out? Essays and teacher recommendations!</p>

20

<p>Yes, I’ve read your story several times and it is impressive but which comes first the passion or the essay and recs? I would actually argue that my daughter’s passion was self-evident and did not really require essays or recs to confirm it. i support this by the fact that people who she met with were interested in her attending their schools well before she asked a teacher for a recommendation or thought of an essay topic to write about. So there isn’t a one size fits all approach to successfully handling college admissions. But yes, I grant you in general having well-written essays and teacher recommendations that follow the MIT model are crucial pieces of the puzzle for most.</p>

<p>Lastly, remembering snippets of essays is a nice parlor trick but the students would never even be standing there if their grades, tests scores, ec’s and other achievements weren’t of the highest caliber. When I used to teach as an adjunct prof. I would memorize the names and complete profiles of 50 students before the first day of class. My friend just did this for class of 150 so it’s no big deal.</p>