PSAT: 200 no prep
(my tutor said I can probably get above a 2200)
GPA: 95.1 / 97.1
Rank: top 5
ECs (not going into detail):
Cheerleading (captain)
Softball
Tutoring
Elementary School Volunteer
Student Council
School Service Club
Awards:
Honor Roll
NYSSHS
Course Load:
All honors freshman and sophomore year (took all honors classes offered, skimped on the one ap class offered)
Junior year:
APUSH
AP chem
AP lang
Pre-calc honors
spanish 3
(hardest level of classes offered at my school)
Essays/Recs:
Essays will be good because i’m a good writer and have a good tutor, recs will be good
Where i want to go (not including safeties):
upenn
columbia
nyu
fordham
bu
bc
suny binghamton
penn state
georgetown
wake forest (maybe)
I know its hard to chance without concrete test scores but can you please give thoughts/opinions/advice.
Your GPA is pretty good, but keep in mind that the classes will get harder so you must put in even more effort to maintain the same grades.
For a rising Junior, your PSAT score looks pretty promising, I scored something along the lines of a 187 in my sophomore year and ended up with a 2280 on the real SATs. Needless to say, I don’t think the SATs will be a big problem for you.
However, depending on what major you want to go for, you’ll also have to take SAT subject tests and those tests matter to some degree too; so make sure you score as high as possible.
I may be a biased source, but I think your extracurriculars are a bit on the weak side. It’s nice that you are the captain of the cheer-leading team, but these colleges often look for strong dedication, promising talent, and prestigious or major awards. So continue being the captain of the cheer-leading team and see if you can score a few major awards with softball.
Overall, assuming you score 2200+ on the SATs and 750+ for subject tests, I think you could probably get in NYU without that big of a problem. Fordham, BU, Pennstate…etc should be no problem if you have the stats above^.
Columbia and UPenn are definitely reaches though. While a 2200 may seem pretty high to most, they are only average if not below average at the Ivy League schools (unless you’re an Under-represented minority). That’s why people must rely on extracurricular activities, which you lack a bit in, in order to stand out. But you still got a few years ahead of you (unlike me LOL) so spend some of that time building on your ECs, leadership, and major awards.
I agree with the above analysis. Weak EC’s, and if you plan on applying to upper level schools the sat ii’s are a must (Georgetown requires three). Best of luck
GPA is strong. SAT is average for top-tier schools. You’ll need to take some subject tests. ECs are the weakest part of your application. Captain of th me cheerleading team is great, but you need to demonstrate good leadership as initiative through either winning an award or starting something of your own. I would suggest starting a club that relates to your intended major to display your interest of the field to the schools your applying too. That being said, if you were applying now, these would be your chances.
upenn- high reach
columbia- high reach
nyu- high match
fordham- match
bu- match
bc- low reach
suny binghamton- safety
penn state- safety/ low match
georgetown- reach
wake forest- low reach
If your predictions are right:
upenn----reach for everyone
columbia—reach for everyone
nyu------match
fordham-----match/safety
bu--------match/safety
bc--------match
suny binghamton----safety
penn state------match/safety
georgetown-----high match
wake forest ------match
@a20171 I took a look at the EC’s you linked me and here are just a few thought that immediately pop into my head (not necessarily relating to your chances at various colleges)
Cheerleading- If your coach really likes you and is well aware of your prowess in cheerleading, it may be ideal for you to get a recommendation letter from your coach. Extra recommendation letters like these can really reaffirm (to the admission officers) the dedication that you put into the activity, which I believe, will be highly beneficial to your app as a whole.
To be honest, due to the fact that you have some leadership and dedication, your ECs would look stellar if compared to those of an average student. However, ivy league schools have acceptance rates of 5~10 percent so you really really have to stand out in order to gain acceptance to those schools.
I think you are pretty much safe everywhere (if you break 2200, so study a ton) besides Penn and Columbia, and you are definitely a good applicant for both of those, it is just that they reject practically everyone.
i had similar psat scores to yours (198 first time, 196 second time) and ended up with a 2240 superscore on the real thing. so i think youll do well. and i disagree with everyone else–your ECs aren’t weak and if you try to join a bunch of other activities your junior year, it’s not going to look good on your app. just try to increase your involvement in what you already are a part of, perhaps by trying to obtain leadership positions in some of your ECs (unless being captain of the cheerleading team is already too much of a time commitment). i have seen people with similar stats and ECs get into ivy leagues.
upenn- reach
columbia- reach
nyu- match
fordham- low match
bu- match
bc- high match
suny binghamton- safety
penn state- safety
georgetown- low reach
wake forest- low reach (probably even lower of a reach than georgetown)
Thank you guys! I took my first full length practice test the other day as an evaluation and got a 1900 which I’m proud of(: I’m confident I can get it up at least to a 2200.
@a20171 Don’t put a plateau on yourself. I started with a 168 PSAT sophomore year and had a 2350 by the end of Junior year after two tries. Simply familiarizing yourself with the test is the most important part. Improvement is certainly possible!
Someone said Georgetown requires three SAT subject tests, and they do not. They recommend them, but they don’t require them. Whether you think that not submitting them will be detrimental to your application is up to you, but they’ll still consider you without them.
I agree with @dennis052798, except for the ivy leagues you listed, you have a pretty good shot everywhere. Even though not required at some schools, I’d recommend you still take some SAT subject tests, but your gpa is on track with most of these schools.
I’d recommend maybe doing something more connected with your major, an internship or some sort of research/summer program?
@donewithsat I might do the summer program at columbia next summer. Georgetown recommends 3 subject tests, but I’m not confident that I can do well on three. Do you think only taking two would hurt me?
If you only take two, you could possibly run the risk of tipping off the adcom that you’re maybe not confident in your ability to do well on three. I would say definitely take 3 and see what happens. I’m planning on taking subject tests and applying to GT as a reach.
It certainly has happened, but it would probably chop your admission chances by a quarter at least. And I agree with the above statement about ECs. Summer programs always look good if you are lucky enough to afford it.
To be frank, It might hurt you a little because most of the people I know applying to Georgetown have 3 tests taken (some even took 4)… But I think as long as you do really well on the two you take I think you’ll be fine
