Please chance me!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
1

<p>Hi! I really need some help to figure out how big, or small, are my chances to enroll in one of America's top universities. I'm planning on focusing in philosophy, international politics and law. </p>

<p>These are the colleges that I'm considering:</p>

<p>Yale - Harvard - Stanford - Berkeley - Columbia - Georgetown - Dartmouth - Brown - UChicago - Princeton - Washington St.Louis - Northwestern - Wesleyan - Williams - Amherst - Duke - Cornell - Penn - Rice - Vanderbilt - Emory - UCLA - NYU (all suggestions are welcome, as always!)</p>

<p>My stats:</p>

<p>Age:19</p>

<p>Graduated: May '10, valedictorian with a 1.0 Abitur average and honors in the field of Science, since I was the school's best student in every scientific subject, although I also ranked #1 in every humanistic studies class.</p>

<p>School: German School of Oporto (from Kindergarten to Gymnasium) - it's a German state-funded bilingual Gymnasium in Portugal's second-biggest city, Oporto.</p>

<p>What have I done since then?: Studied/ying Medicine at Portugal's top med school</p>

<p>Languages: Portuguese, German, English, French, Spanish (every single one fluently), Italian (basic knowledge), Latin (basic)</p>

<p>SAT scores: 790 Writing - 800 Reading - 760 Maths
SAT Subject scores: World History 800 - US History 800
TOEFL:119</p>

<p>Extrac's:
President of the GSO Student Government for 2 years
Member of the School Counsel for 2 years
President and founder of the Student's Association of the German Schools of the iberian Peninsula
President and founder of the Student's Association of the International Schools of Oporto
Class delegate for 5 years (don't know if this counts, but it is relatively important in my school)
Member of the GSO varsity volleyball team
Member of the GSO middle school basketball team
Coach of the GSO middle school basketball team
Active at my local parish for about four years - I've been doing some work with homeless people and I'm also a monitor at the local Catholic Youth group - we have about 400-500 kids over there, it's the biggest religious group for teens in Oporto.
Participated in the Schleswig-Holstein Model UN
I was responsible for an initiative on Health Awareness at a primary school from one of the city's poorest neighbourhoods.
Founding member of the Debating Society of the GSO
Played the violin for about 7 tears
Played tennis for about 6 years
I'm also thinking of doing a summer internship at the EU or at the International Court of Den Haag (don't know if that is possible, though)</p>

<p>About my Abitur:
I graudated with a 1.0 - my grades are extremely high in the humanistic field. I had the highest possible grade in every single history semester, in all the others my average is about 14.something or higher - 15 being the highest possible grade in the German system.</p>

<p>Scholarships:
For my valedictorian status I received a scholarship, which is essentialy a free-pass for an internship at any German firm.
When I was 16, I got a scholarship from the Robert Bosch Stiftung to pursue a Bachelor in Engineering at the University of Heidelberg and procede with my Abitur studies at the same time. </p>

<p>Recommendation letters:
History teacher, English teacher, Philosophy teacher, German teacher, Headmaster.
My headmaster has said, that the German ambassador to Portugal was very interested in writing a recommendation letter, too! Which of these should I send? </p>

<p>Financial Aid:
Needed. My parents earn about $160.000/year, but they have a big mortgage in their hands and due to their financial capabilities and my country's financial outlook (Portugal is in very very very deep s***), my parents simply cannot afford paying more than 10.000-15.000$ year. I'm going to sell my car (worth about 30-35 thousand euros) and do some work at a local hotel as a bag carrier/receptionist to see if I can make some extra money. I'm also looking at the Portuguese Harvard Club for some kind of financial support.</p>

<p>About my background:
My father's a surgeon and my mother's a lawyer, both have very humble origins (first in their families to conclude the 12th grade and to pursue college studies. Both enrolled at the best schools in their respective fields.) They're not fluent in any foreign language, but they knew, that the GSO is very demanding and provided an extremely vast palette of subjects (I took everything from Physics to Arts).
I was pushed towards Medicine, because of my very high grades in the scientific field and, also, because of my social surroundings. After one year and a half of Med School I decided to pursue my dream, which is to attend an elite university in the United States, so that I can deepen my interests and enrich my personal life with one of the world's best educational experiences. I also love the fact, that most US universities want to develop the entrepeneurial side of their students and their leadership qualities, which fits me perfectly, since I want to work at an international organization figuring out ways to improve international relations, political systems and society as a whole. </p>

<p>So, how do my chances look like? Do you have any suggestions? I'm looking forward for your answers, thanks for your help!</p>

<p>"Abra</p>

2

<p>The stats are impressive. You’ll do well in America.</p>

<p>One thing you should consider, however, is what you’re looking for in a college. You’ve provided the names of more than 20 colleges; this is simply too many to apply to. Williams and Amherst are very different from Northwestern and Duke; Vanderbilt and Rice are different from UChicago and Columbia. Though the colleges are listed are all elite, they are not identical. Isolate the traits you want in a college, as right now it seems as if the only criterion you used was ranking.</p>

<p>Another thing to consider is the sentence you said about “developing the entrepreneurial side of students”; this is not true of every American university. For instance, the Ivy League schools, by and large, have focused on admitting students with strong leadership qualities who will get rich and then give that money back to the University, but this has never been Chicago’s policy. Chicago, for better or for worse, has focused on admitting students with a high academic capability. This makes me think that even though UChicago’s philosophy and international studies departments are very strong, UChicago is not the place for you (though I could be wrong).</p>

<p>I don’t know very much about the other Universities beyond that. Do your research and find the places where you really fit in. (You have about a year to do so before the next application season anyway, so you’ve got time.)</p>

3

<p>Thanks for your reply!</p>

<p>I’ve already looked up, most of them offer different things, but I’m kind of an all-rounder myself, although I’m more tilted towards a leadership oriented program, but the intelectual elite of the UC is so stimulating :stuck_out_tongue: </p>

<p>Well, but I’m planning on attacking the Ivies/Stanford and maybe the UC, those are, definitely, my first choices.</p>

4

<p>Your Abitur grades are really good. Your sat too. Im going to have a ~1.5 Abitur which translates into a 4.0. I’m going to Stanford next year. Well it’s easier for me bc I’m an American. If you can pay full price you’re def in at UC Berks and probably many other private colleges. If not then it might be trickier. Your EC’s need to be stellar as well. </p>

<p>Oh and apply as a freshman! The transfer acceptance rate for Stanford was 1.5%</p>