Please chance me for the following schools?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Please give me insight into my chances for the following schools. I applied for bioengineering

UC Berkeley
Cornell
Dartmouth
Brown
Northwestern
Duke

Unweighted GPA as of Jan 1: 3.96/4.00. Expecting it to dip to a 3.9 when the semester ends. Not too sure how midyear reports are factored in, but I did not do great this semester.

Weighted GPA as of Jan 1: 4.75/5.00 (will probably drop to a 4.7 after first semester).

SAT: 2400 superscore. 2360 single sitting. (took it twice)
800 math 2, 780 chem, 760 bio.

APs: BC Calc, lang, chem, bio, us government, us history, world history

currently taking ap econ, ap physics, ap lit, ap stat

EC’s/awards:

Molecular biology research for two summers at local university.
Academic Decathlon National Finals 2x (team captain since junior year)
It’s Academic: didn’t really win much (team captain since junior year)
Science Bowl state top 10 2x (team captain senior year)
National Merit Semi-Finalist

Played clarinet since elementary school (all-state, all-county, some state/local orchestras)

science honor society, national honor society, part of a science committee that organizes science stuff for our community.

worked at local hospital 9th and 10th grade.

Over 1000 student service hours overall.

Took an MITx biotechnology course (took it for fun. not too sure if this is considered an EC).

Others:

Felt essays were really good (both common app and penn supplement)

Got a rec from my AP World teacher who I’ve known for 4 years. Feel like the rec was pretty good.

Got a rec from my BC Calc teacher who’s English is not that great. Feel like the rec was decent.

I got a supplemental rec from my lab mentor, which I looked at and can say was really good. I also submitted a research abstract.

Asian male from the Northeast.

Thanks!!

2

You have wonderful credentials that make you extremely competitive but the Penn early decision is not a good omen. Cornell and Berkeley are your best shots. I did grad school in Ithaca and liked it better than my visits to the East Bay. I hope you have some other choices. Good luck!

3

@Oregon2016 - I’m not following you on the Penn ED. Did he say he was rejected or deferred or are you surmising because he wrote a supplemental essay for Penn, which is no longer on his list? Can you please clarify @asapdan? It’s tough to know how good your essays were without reading them. Did they have a strong story? I think you’ll slam dunk Berkeley, Cornell, NW, and Duke. If you lived in Alabama you’d have a better chance at the others :slight_smile: but you are a strong candidate as is. Keep us posted. You are a star!

4

^^ According to his posting history, he was rejected from Penn Engineering. Hope you looked over your Common App essays and considered if your recommendations were as strong as can be before sending out your RD apps. You seem competitive for most of the schools above. Good luck!

5

@MamaBear97 @Falcon1 @asapdan
As I wrote the Penn ED decision may be a bad omen- meaning something in the application didn’t add up right for Penn AO. No ‘slam dunks’ in RD at these top tier choices. NW filled more than half its class through its binding ED so its RD will be brutal. I don’t know how many spots are left available at each NW School, but no reason to believe McCormick is an exception. Maybe I missed something in earlier posts, but what is OP’s fit with Duke that stands out and makes it a slam dunk? If there is anything extra you can do to beef up your Cornell application you should do it ASAP, asapdan.

6

UCB and Northwestern, you have a really good chance. Duke-probably. Cornell- possibly. Dartmouth and Brown- I’m not sure, but there’s a small possiblity. Excellent credentials.
Chance back?
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1854384-chance-me-for-these-colleges.html?new=1

7

Thanks for the input everyone.

I got my common app reviewed by some people who deemed it was too impersonal, so I wrote a completely different essay for my RD apps. I’m really hoping this helps. I did get into UMich and my state school, though.

My main concern right now is my midyear report. Due to some extenuating circumstances (I was unexpectedly put in charge of the house for a couple months) I am getting a 3.4 this semester, hence the expected overall GPA drop. UCB doesn’t see midyear grades, but would the other colleges understand if I get my counselor to send them a letter explaining what happened?

@Oregon2016 what exactly do you suggest I do to beef up my Cornell app? I sent them a research abstract and I sent all my colleges an explanation of my involvement with Academic Decathlon (essentially building up my school’s team from scratch).

8

@MamaBear97 My Cal essays were not that great tbh. Duke is my top choice, which I feel my essay reflects. I got my Cornell and Brown essays reviewed by current students, who said they’re very good. Idk about NW but I guess its decent and I have pretty specific reasons for attending.

Idk if this means much but for some reason Cornell consistently accepts around 15 people per year from my school. The other schools on my list accept 0 to 5 max.

9

I’m glad to hear you are being proactive on your application. You’ve done as much as you can (unless you know one of Ezra’s descendants or a major donor). The acceptance history from your high school to Cornell is favorable. Michigan is a great choice too. Take care of your family obligations. You sound like a great kid. Best of luck.

10

@Oregon2016 Unfortunately I am not related to any major donors haha.
Do you happen to know how much midyear reports matter, and whether schools will consider the extenuating circumstances resulting in my abnormally bad semester?

11

No, I’m sorry, I don’t know the weight an AO puts on the mid-year. I wish I did. Our high school hasn’t finished first semester yet so the transcript isn’t mailed out until mid-February. Seems like that puts my kid at a disadvantage because she will have a 4.0 UW (unless she bombs a final of course).

12

Ended up getting rejected from all the schools I listed except UCB and Dartmouth. Also got a full ride to my state school. It’ll be a tough choice.

13

Those are excellent opportunities. I hope you feel proud.