I would put your chances like this:
Reaches:
Low reaches:
High match:
Matches:
Low matches:
You are more than likely getting into at least a couple of these schools, but I’d add a true safety – maybe Merced, Riverside, or one of the schools where you’d get auto merit like Alabama, Ole Miss, New Mexico, or New Mex State.
@Happytimes2001 Thank you for the detailed response.
@aharpathan @prezbucky Thanks for the encouragement! I’m in the top 9% of my class at my school, so I would get auto-admitted into someplace like Merced, right? Unless I read wrong?
Here is what I can tell you. Your stats are better then my oldest, as are your ECs, and he was accepted to GTech and UofM on your list. He is a full pay Caucasian male with no hooks what-so-ever and OOS to both.
I think your safeties are good. Sure they all are under 50% acceptance rate, but that doesn’t mean YOUR chances are 50%. Take the entire application seriously and see where you get in.
I’m a Purdue grad and have nieces who attend and your stats are better then both of theirs. Finally, your stats are better then my second son’s who was accepted to UChicago, but he was an athletic hook and your scores are only a tiny bit better.
Make sure you pick great teachers (not at teaching, but at writing recommendations) for your LORs, Be yourself on your essays and in your essay let them know why you’d be great at their university.
I would agree with @prezbucky says except that GT and UM are matches for you, doesn’t mean you’ll get in but that it is more likely than not that you will.
No offense but the chances are very different for a white male vs. Asian male (ORM) in STEM. Is Penn your absolute favorite or are u applying ED to improve chances? I think you have a good shot with Penn ED maybe not to M&T. I believe u can choose ED for M&T only and can decline if admitted to SEAS only. Do visit before u apply ED anywhere. You should apply to CalPoly and other UCs too.
Care to meet in the middle (Diamond Rio!) and call them high matches?
For general admission I’d call them matches, but if Chem Engineering is the goal, that makes both (Mich and GT) more difficult, like most schools.
Sure, I guess it really is a matter of definition, seems that many people think they will get into all their matches, but that is what I call a safety. So I think that UM and GT are looking to admit exactly that kind of profile above, but yet they are constrained on the number of admits they can give out.
I also think that top public universities are much more sensitive to stats then top privates, so rejection from them with near perfect scores is more of an anomaly, where its more the norm for top privates.
Are you serious? Telling someone to organize a blood drive so that they can improve their admission chances to college?
@djbridjmurh Wow, so many people don’t read the entire post. If you re-read the post that is the example, it states do something for the community ( that is just an example) and yes, it does matter if you have done these type of things.
@Happytimes2001 Yeah I understand where you’re coming from, but personally I believe it’s in poor taste to do something medicinally oriented like a blood drive or caring for terminally ill people for the sake of getting into college. Plenty of other community oriented things you can do that are heartfelt and sincere!
@djbridjmurh Not if you are a kid with a genuine interest in medicine or helping people. In our area, some young kids did this. Not because they want to get into college but because they had limited time and wanted to help people. They did. It was a resounding success. Anything done on behalf of the community is helping the community, some might chose one thing or another but the basic premise is do something that helps people other than yourself. Community service mandated at many schools is done to give kids a taste of helping others. Kids can often chose what they like to do. The choices are usually very disparate based on interests.
@NCKris Penn is my first choice, that’s why I’m applying ED. I’m able to apply to either Wharton or SEAS as a single degree choice in case I don’t get into M&T, so I will apply Chemical Engineering single-degree as my backup.
Update: I had taken AP tests for all three of my APs (Stats, Che, APUSH) and fortunately got all 5’s. Does this help at all in my application?
PS. I’ve also been awarded “AP Scholar with Honor”. I don’t really think this is important at all (as so many people probably get it), am I right?
Is Penn affordable ? Just make sure to run the NPC and visit if possible. You have a good chance of ED admission as they fill 50% of class in ED round. OTOH, you have great UC options at in-state cost. So, you need to be sure before ED. Yes, add AP Scholar in your app, if there is space in activities.