Please chance me.....!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

…for: Columbia, UPenn, CUNY Macaulay and Cornell.

Rising male senior in NY.

Subjective:
GPA: 96.4 (uw)
School does not rank
SAT: May administration – 2050 (670 M, 680 CR, 700 W, 10 E); awaiting scores from June administration
ACT: Started studying already for Sept. administration
SAT II: 630 World (probably won’t send); will take Bio, Lit and Math 2 in Oct. or Nov.
APs: World (4), Bio (awaiting score), US Gov (awaiting score), English Lang (awaiting score), US History (next year), Calc AB (next year), English Lit (next year)

Objective:
Activities: Editor in Chief and Founder of now-award-winning school newspaper, Founder and President of Journalism Club, Editor in Chief of Yearbook, EIC of School PR newsletter, Capt. of Science Olympiad, Capt. of Varsity Quiz Bowl, Peer tutor
Internships: Intern reporter at medium-sized newspaper (~150,000 circulation), Chemistry teaching assistant & lab fellow (next year).
Awards: First Place award in journalism from regional competition; NHS member
Volunteerism: Volunteer firefighter, mentor for special needs boy, President of Youth Board at local non-profit. I also do media relations/PR work (i.e. website, press releases) for the fire dept. and local non-profit

I would like to major in political science or journalism/communications.

Thanks in advance!

2

Columbia and UPenn will most definitely be reaches. Cornell might be a low reach/match. CUNY Macaulay is a match.

Get at least a 33 on the ACT for hopeful admission to any of the ivies.

3

A 2250+ will be good this time on June. On the ACT a 34+ will be enough. The SAT subject will help to give more weight to your app. Also, remember that these schools receive a lot of high qualified applicants. They do holistic admission so not only SAT/ACT scores and grades but also EC’s, letter of recommendations, personal statement. Do your best and best of luck!

4

Hey guys!

Thanks for your candid comments and kind words!

I know that the standardized test scores will be my weak point, but what do you guys and the CC community at large feel about my ECs? Strong/average/weak for the candidate pool at Ivies?

5

Just a quick update – on my latest SAT, I got 690 Math, 690 Reading and 700 Writing (10E), so 2080 overall or 1380 CR+M.

I’m taking the ACT in Sept.

6

AP Scores:
Last year: World (4)
This year: English Language (5), US Gov (5), Bio (4)

7

Your SAT test scores remain an obstacle for you getting into Ivies. Also, how does your gpa compare with other top students in your class? Your EC’s are good for at the HS level but don’t stand out at the state or national level. Good luck!

8

@Falcon1 Thanks!

I definitely concur re: the SAT scores.

My school does not rank, but my counselor told me I’m one of five students with a GPA above 95 in my grade.

I get what you’re saying about most of the ECs, but I don’t know anyone else in HS who interns or freelances for a professional newspaper.

What journalism-related ECs would you consider to “stand out” at the national or state level?

9

Thank you to everyone for commenting! I think I’m most interested in CUNY Macaulay (likely at Baruch). Just to keep my stats organized, let me make this post:

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2080 – 690 M, 690 CR, 700 W (10E) – retaking in Oct.
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 630 World History (won’t send)
Unweighted GPA: 96.8
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): World (4), Biology (4), English Language (5), US Gov (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP USH, AP Lit, AP Calculus AB, Chemistry Teaching Assistant, religious courses
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): First place award at regional newspaper/journalism awards ceremony
Common Awards: National Honor Society, Dean’s List (95+ average), Science Olympiad Bronze Medalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): School Newspaper (Editor in Chief/Founder), Yearbook (Editor in Chief), Journalism Club (President/Founder), School PR Newsletter (Editor in Chief), Science Olympiad (Captain), Varsity Quiz Bowl (Captain), Math Team
Job/Work Experience: Freelance reporter/editorial intern at medium-sized regional newspaper, Medical assistant, Chemistry Teaching Assistant, Camp counselor, Private tutor
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer firefighter, PR Director & Youth Board President at local non-profit, Mentor for special needs child
Summer Activities: Newspaper internship (aforementioned), Camp counselor, Medical assistant
Teacher Recommendation: My AP English teacher, who was my newspaper faculty adviser and founded the paper with me and my Chem teacher, who coaches the Science Olympiad team that I am the captain of, and I will be her TA next year.
Additional Rec: My desk editor at the newspaper

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Journalism, Political Science or Public Relations
State (if domestic applicant): NY
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

10

Columbia/U Penn: reaches (at least attempt a 2200 on the SATs and 34 on the ACT)
CUNY Macaulay/Cornell: I’d say match…(your ECs are excellent)

GPA’s good (try at least 710s on the subject tests)
The essay is a huge aspect, so pay close attention to that.

11

@labmedicine Thank you very much!

I know my SAT score is lower than I want, and I appreciate the complements about the ECs. I spent a lot of time on ECs instead of studying for SATs, which hurt me, I guess.

Either way, I’m most interested in Macaulay as opposed to the pricy Ivies at the moment.

Thank you again to everyone who chanced me!

12

Your GPA is stellar, but your test scores aren’t very good. For the Ivies, you should get at least a 32 or 2100 to stand a chance. I wouldn’t turn in SATs if your ACT is above a 33. Your ECs are definitely good because it’s focused around your major.

Columbia: High Reach
UPenn: Reach
CUNY: High Match
Cornell: High Match

I swear, the only thing holding you back are the test scores. At least get a 32. Don’t even bother with the SAT anymore. If you can’t get a 32, I say ED to CUNY or Cornell to boost your chances.

13

@Klee16 Thanks for chancing!

Are you familiar with the Macaulay program? They don’t have ED and the two students who got into Macaulay-Baruch from my school had lower scores that I did (1350 and 1370). They tend to focus a lot on ECs and aren’t as picky on the numbers as long as your score is “in their range” – at least that’s what my counselor told me.