Please chance me!! I'll chance back

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Hi everyone! I'm a junior who is obviously starting to worry more and more about college as this process begins. I'd really appreciate it if you'd chance me for the following schools. Can you just tell me which are reaches, matches, and safeties along with any other feedback? Thanks in advance! </p>

<p>I don't know if this helps but I am an Indian girl (not international though), go to a very competitive high school in California, pretty well privileged (I'm not bragging just saying that I'm not going to be applying for financial aid anywhere), and my intended majors are either comp sci or statistics. </p>

<p>I already know that the following are probably reaches: Stanford, Cornell, CMU, UC Berkeley, USC, UCLA, Johns Hopkins</p>

<p>The rest of my list: UT Austin, UIUC, UMich, UW Seattle, U of Wisconsin Madison, all the other UCs except for Riverside and Merced, Santa Clara, Pepperdine</p>

<p>I know that these are a lot of schools, but this is my list right now and I will probably end up cutting it down once I see where I am after this semester. </p>

<p>Ok now here is my profile: </p>

<p>9th grade courses:</p>

<p>Honors Physics A- / B+
English 1 B+ / A-
Study of Music A / A+
Speech and Debate A / A +
World History 1 A / A
Honors Algebra 2 A / A-</p>

<p>Summer between 9th and 10th: Honors Geometry A / A-</p>

<p>10th grade courses:</p>

<p>AP World History B+ / A- AP exam: 5
Honors English 2 A- / A-
Advanced Speech and Debate (not for credit)
Honors Precalculus A- / A-
Research A / A
Honors Chemistry A / A-</p>

<p>Summer between 10th and 11th: Advanced Programming (1 semester) A</p>

<p>11th grade courses:
(grades listed are only for first semester)
AP Chemistry B+
AP Calculus AB A
AP Computer Science A
Honors English 3 A-
Honors Biology A-
US History A-</p>

<p>GPA:</p>

<p>UW: 3.94
W: 4.1 (this is according to my school where we only get +0.5 for honors/AP classes instead of +1, so it is much higher according to how many universities calculate it) </p>

<p>SAT:</p>

<p>Subject Tests: Math 2 - 800; planning on taking Chem in June
SAT1: 2200 - planning on retaking because I still have time to improve my score
breakdown: M: 800 // W: 770 (essay: 9) // CR: 630 - hoping to improve that CR score...any tips would be appreciated!</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>CTY (John's Hopkins Center for Talented Youth)
Future Problem Solving (it is a club at many schools; I have a leadership position at my school - head mentor)
I have gone to the state championships 2 times and international championship once (at states I got fourth and then
first the following year. I got first at internationals)<br>
Volunteering hours: ~150 as of now, hoping to get more in the summer - I volunteer with a medical charity that provides surgical tools and medicines to hospitals in third world countries so that they can perform surgeries for free. I help sort this equipment
I am also part of a Scoliosis support group (I had corrective Scoliosis surgery before my freshman year).
Tutoring: I tutor middle school students in math. These are students from underprivileged families.
Research:
I did an internship at IBM last summer and am planning on going back this coming summer.
I am applying for university research programs for the summer as well.
I did a research project in computer science in 10th grade (what I worked on during my research class) and submitted it to a science fair (although I didn't win anything, that still got me exposed to the field I want to go into).
I am currently working on a project with a mentor at IBM. I am going to submit it to the Siemens science competition next fall.
9th grade - JV Swimming
10th and 11th grade - Varsity Lacrosse (planning to play next year as well)</p>

<hr>

<p>Hopefully I didn't forget anything, but that's everything! Sorry in advance, I know that this is a really really long post, but I would be so grateful if you would help me! I'll chance you back if that's something you would like, so let me know! </p>

<p>Thanks! :) </p>

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<p>You’re certainly academically competitive for all of your schools. And your ECs are also very impressive so dont be afraid to shoot for the top-tier schools. Definitely retake the SAT and aim for a 700+ on the reading and you’ll be well on your way. </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;

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<p>@sloth83 Thanks for the feedback! I’m definitely trying to improve that CR score as well. </p>

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<p>You may find the ACT easier, i certainly did</p>

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<p>I was actually considering the ACT. I am thinking of taking a diagnostic test just to see if that is something I might do better in. My only concern is that I have heard that time is an issue. Is that true? I also hope the science section isn’t too bad - I love science but I don’t know how good I’ll be at it in such a context. </p>

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<p>I’d say you have a good chance at all of the schools you listed there, and also for the reach schools you listed, although those are never a guarantee. </p>

<p>I’ve only taken the ACT so I can’t speak on how it compares to the SAT, but my problem was definitely time. I didn’t time myself properly and ended up having to guess on some of the questions during the last minute of both the math and science sections. Time is a common complaint with the ACT. </p>

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<p>@michelle21 thanks for your input! :slight_smile: </p>

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<p>I’m a senior and I’ve applied to several schools on your list too! But you have much better stats :stuck_out_tongue:
I’d say you have a great chance of getting into these schools but of course Stanford is probably a reach for anyone. Also from what I’ve heard, Berkeley’s CS is pretty hard to get into.
Good luck!
Chance me back?</p>

<p><a href=“Please chance me for Stanford, Cornell, UCs, USC, UW and more! - #4 by MBenz23 - Chance Me / Match Me! - College Confidential Forums”>Please chance me for Stanford, Cornell, UCs, USC, UW and more! - #4 by MBenz23 - Chance Me / Match Me! - College Confidential Forums;

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<p>@joann0510 Yeah Stanford would definitely be a dream come true but it’s not realistic unfortunately! CS at Cal is too hard so that’s why I’m applying there for stats most likely :slight_smile: haha</p>

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<p>In terms of ACT vs SAT, people usually say that the ACT is more straightforward and less abstract than the SAT, but that it also has stricter time restraints. Definitely take a practice ACT and see how you do! Honestly, getting your CR score from a 700 to a 750 is a matter of like, three questions. Practice the hell out of it, and I’m sure you’ll see improvement (although that’s advice no one wants to hear :D).
I think (in my limited knowledge) that you’re a match for all your schools, except for Stanford, which is a reach even for child prodigies who cure cancer. That being said, I think you’re still a very competitive applicant. You’ll be even more competitive once you bring up your SAT a touch (although honestly, a 2200 is a good score).</p>

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<p>I never took the ACT, so I can’t really speak to it, but I think that the SAT is not bad at all, as once you have taken a few practice tests, you “figure it out”. The first time I took the SAT, my score was similar to yours (2210) with a lower score in CR (660). I felt that that score was an aberration and retook it a few months later. I got a 730 and, while my goal was not to improve my math score, I raised it to an 800, giving me a 2310. A similar outcome is definitely possible for you. Good luck!</p>

<p>Also, I would say that only Stanford and Cornell are true reaches for you.</p>

<p>CHANCE BACK: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1616814-chance-me-for-some-southern-eastern-schools-will-chance-back.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1616814-chance-me-for-some-southern-eastern-schools-will-chance-back.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>You have a chance at all of the universities except Stanford I believe
thanks for the chance</p>

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<p>@MBenz23 thanks for the chance!</p>

<p>@SurvivorFan thanks for the feedback! do you have any advice on how to improve my CR score? are there any strategies that helped you? i’ve already done ALL of the tests in the blue book but my score is still not going up … it’s pretty ridiculous </p>

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<p>@2015er I had the same issue with the SAT. Thats why I shifted to the ACT. the ACT has much simpler Reading section</p>

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<p>Part of it was that in practice tests, I was consistently scoring in the low-700s, so I thought that it was not really indicative of me. But, it would be helpful to go to an SAT Prep professional if your family can afford it. Time can also help, as I was at a 590 on my Sophomore PSAT and well into the 600s when I took my first practice test the next summer (I would score a 710 on my junior PSAT and a 730 ultimately, though I was sometimes around a 780 on practice tests).</p>

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<p>@MBenz23 maybe i’ll try the ACT then thanks!
@SurvivorFan i’ve tried SAT classes - they didn’t help me … I think I just need to be patient and keep at it LOL and do vocab! thanks for the help! </p>

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<p><em>bump</em> </p>

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<p>I know this is slightly old, but I would really appreciate it if I could get some more advice! Thanks in advance :slight_smile: </p>

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<p>Not bad! your SATs and grades are decent. I mean you can always improve them, but not gonna help that much. IBM internship is awesome! Wow! If you are going for CS, I would highly recommend you to take advanced math classes - skip AB and take BC (I guess you already took AB, but that is okay). At least from now, try those AMC tests, USACO competitions more inline with your interests and you will definitely stand out. Take my word with a grain a salt, because I am just an aspirant in majoring in CS as well and waiting for several decisions. Thanks for posting on my chance thread BTW.</p>

<p>Also just curious since you are from CA. I heard UCB is pretty easy to get into for in-state students. Is that actually true? Well, I mean is getting into EECS as an in-stater easier?</p>

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<p>@agg999 Thanks for the feedback! Looks like there is some overlap in our interests haha</p>

<p>I know quite a few people from my school who have gotten into UCB EECS program, but they were very competitive applicants who gotten into ivies as well. Being in-state is a benefit because Cal picks more students who are in-state, but it is not necessarily easier, so I think that may be a rumor. The college process is so unpredictable so you may be right, but I think most people would disagree and say there’s little to no edge in being an in-state EECS applicant. Some people here in California actually say that it’s harder to get into Berkeley being an in-state applicant. Sorry for the vague answer! </p>