Please chance me for Brown, Stanford, and Yale!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I know. I know. Ivies and schools like Stanford are reaches or high reaches for most applicants, but I couldn't help posting this just to receive some feedback on my stats, extracurriculars, and whatever. It would be appreciated if people would chance me or give me feedback! Thanks!
I'm a senior and come from a Title 1 school in Michigan that lacks a lot, and I mean a lot, of resources that would benefits one's intellectual curiosity and don't really offer support or experience in dealing with applicants that actually apply to Ivies and the such since most students here go to the local community college or neighboring colleges/universities.
I definitely think I'm at a big disadvantage. My school also doesn't participate in national/regional/state competitions and do not offer any information or support for it and also doesn't offer AP classes unless you want to take them online, which is the worst thing. I also think my school inflates the GPA a lot too and offer too many asinine honors classes. It really takes away from the initiative to want to learn and just motivates the student to get the 5.0 rather than learn. Okay, I'm going to stop rambling and start with the information.
My major of choice is also biology or biochemistry. </p>

<p>Test Scores and Grades:
-- ACT: 31 (34 E, 29 M, 31 R, 31 S)
-- Weighted GPA: 4.3 W
-- Unweighted GPA: 3.95 UW
-- Rank: 2/156
-- Senior Year Course Load: AP Biology, AP Chemistry, Anatomy & Physiology II, Calculus Honors, English 12 Honors, and Symphonic Band Honors -- Semester grades are five A's and one A-.
-- Junior Year Course Load: Anatomy & Physiology, Chemistry II Honors, English 11 Honors, Pre-Calclus Honors, Psychology, and Symphonic Band Honors
-- Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): n/a (Just some school awards)</p>

<p>The Extra:
-- Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Marching band (4 years, section leader), Varsity Soccer (4 years), Theatre (2 years, lead set & costume design), National Honor Society (3 years, president), Rocket 30 (3 years, student leader)
-- Volunteer/Community service: Mentoring middle school students (36 hours, 1 year), Tutoring (108 hours+, 3 years), various NHS sponsored events (blood drives, shopping for families, can drive, community garden, etc.)</p>

<p>I do wish I went to a more rigorous school, but it can't be altered now. I do worry that my school's lack of rigorous classes will put me at a big disadvantage against other students with like 10+ AP classes throughout their high school career and I'm sure my EC are a little weak perhaps? Do colleges /really/ look at the situation and courses offered at your specific school? If you want some more info that's not too revealing, I will gladly do so. Thank you again! </p>

2

<p>Stanford: reach
Yale: mid reach
Brown: low reach</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1614961-chance-me-please.html?new=1”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1614961-chance-me-please.html?new=1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>I think that SYB are all reaches for you, but worth applying to.</p>

<p>Chance me back:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1613053-chance-me-what-schools-would-be-reaches-matches-and-safties-for-me.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1613053-chance-me-what-schools-would-be-reaches-matches-and-safties-for-me.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>your ECs unfortunately dont stand out enough for these schools. and your ACT score is a little low for them too</p>

5

<p>Well yes, they’re all reaches, but i think your biggest problem is lack of outstanding ECs and a good ACT score. However if you wrote amazing essays i can see you having a chance.</p>

<p>My thread (chance please): <a href=“Chances for Vanderbilt, UNC, NYU, UF, and Duke? - Chance Me / Match Me! - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1610985-chances-for-vanderbilt-unc-nyu-uf-and-duke-p1.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

6

<p>Yes, I totally agree with the extracurriculars. My school doesn’t really offer many interesting EC and my surrounding area doesn’t offer it either, so I was at a lost trying to find EC I find interesting. Thanks for the feedback! I’ll chance back.</p>

7

<p>Your ACT score is below the mid 50 range. Unless you have a very strong hook or get recruited, your chance for admission at these schools would be very low.</p>

8

<p>Thank you for your feedback! & What kind of hook would constitute as a strong hook?</p>

9

<p>Under-represented minority, first generation college student, legacy, etc. </p>

10

<p>No hooks, very low ACT for these schools.
I realistically don’t see it happening. </p>

11

<p>Ah, I see, bodangles. Thank you!</p>

<p>& soze, thanks for your feedback too! I know it’s nearly impossible for me to get in, but I never know unless I try.</p>

12

<p>I have to agree with the previous comments. It is very unlikely. ACT score is good, but too low for these schools. 31 is around the 25th percentile score for accepted students at these schools, but that includes those who get in with legacy or as a recruitment. ECs are mediocre, not enough for these schools typically. However, class rank is important, and they also view your transcript comparatively. What this means is that they don’t care about the number of APs you took on its own, but the amount you took compared to the amount offered. If they are only offered online, then that will help you and prevents you from instantly being rejected. (This policy applies to ECs too). </p>

<p>At the same time, however, that only leaves your class rank to get you in, which is really not enough. Not impossible, but I would say very unlikely. </p>

13

<p>ACT is pretty low
Yale and Stanford are reaches
You have a chance at Brown though
chance
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1617855-chance-me-at-these-universities-aspiring-anesthesiologist.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1617855-chance-me-at-these-universities-aspiring-anesthesiologist.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

14

<p>@dmully: I have to agree my chances are wicked slim. My school doesn’t officially offer ANY AP classes, so they’re all online. & for ECs, my school doesn’t compete at regional, state, or national level, even district level for anything except for sports if we even get that far. I really hope they take in consideration that I took advantage of my environment! Thank you for your feedback, dmully!</p>

<p>@MBenz23: Yeah, my ACT is low for these school. Hopefully I’ll have a chance at Brown, though I would rather go to UMich at that point tbh. I’ll chance back later!</p>

15

<p>Maybe I’m just from a different area, but I think your circumstances give you a much better chance than if you were at some private academy. It looks like you’ve done the best you can with what you’ve got. If your school is as bad as you claim and you explained those circumstances in your application, I could see an acceptance! How captivating do you think your essays were?</p>

16

<p>@losagna: What general area are you from? & thank you for your input! I really appreciate it! I tried to be as involved as I can. Do you think the school profile sent from my counselor would show them my circumstances?
& It’s not necessarily bad; I like the small school atmosphere, but I think my school just doesn’t focus on the academically achieving students but rather the struggling/athlete student. Science Olympiad recently got cut from funding this year, not that we won or anything because our funds consisted of just the fee to register, & other than that, my school doesn’t have any other academic team :frowning:
I’m honestly a bad judge of my own essays. When I wrote them & reread them, I thought they captured what I wanted to say. Captivating wise, I don’t know. Would it be a bother if I sent you some of my essays?
Sorry this was so long. </p>

17

<p>^ From what I understand that’s the one of the main reasons they want the school profile. It shows course offerings, EC offerings, and average grades, so they can compare their applicant to the school rather than just to other applicants. In that regard you are not really at a disadvantage. </p>

<p>If you have the time please chance back
<a href=“Chances at Harvard, UPenn, Stanford, Princeton.. (Ivy League-levels)? - Chance Me / Match Me! - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1617097-chances-at-harvard-upenn-stanford-princeton-ivy-league-levels-p1.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

18

<p>I know it won’t happen until awhile, but could you please tell us when the decisions come in :)? Thanks!</p>

19

<p>@dmully: Oh, I see! I think, compared to my classmates, I’m taking the most rigorous course offered & do more EC & volunteering than the vast majority. Do you think I can request to see the school profile from my counselor?
& thank you for replying to my question! I’ll chance back later today!</p>

<p>@Newdle: All Ivies, I believe, are releasing their decisions on March 27 @ 5 PM & Stanford is on April 1. I may be incorrect.
Here’s a thread that lists a lot of notification dates: <a href=“Admissions Notification Dates 2014 - Applying to College - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1614800-admissions-notification-dates-2014.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

20

<p>I don’t know for sure, but at my school they freely give out the school profile. It’s not like asking for your transcript or anything. </p>