Please chance me

<p>I see everyone here with such impressive stats and wonder what my chances are at the top universities.</p>

<p>Here are mine:</p>

<p>Caucasian Male (Jewish if that helps, assuming not relevant)
Small public school in Oregon</p>

<p>Class Rank: 1/130 (tied with 4 others)
GPA unweighted: 4.0
GPA weighted: 4.08, 4.2 next year</p>

<p>AP classes are weighted, honors are not.</p>

<p>AP classes taken/will take:
AP US History
AP Calculus AB
AP English (Language and Composition, I think)
AP Biology
Will take Calc BC as an independent study next year
May do the same for Chemistry (study the test, I took a regular chemistry class this year)
May also do the same for AP Government test (see below)</p>

<p>Honors taken/will take:</p>

<p>Math 1 and 2 (Geometry and Alg 2) (Honors 1 in eighth grade)
Math 111/112 (precalc through community college)
English 10 and 11
Accelerated science track (I'm not really sure this is honors, but whatever)
We the People (basically honors government, this would be related to taking the AP Government test)</p>

<p>My school doesn't offer more than four AP classes, so I assume the relative lack won't be an impediment. I took the hardest course load available, including a third year of Spanish.</p>

<p>Tests:</p>

<p>No scores for the AP test, since I took them this year. I feel I did well, so assume a 4 or 5.</p>

<p>SAT I: 2350 - 770 V 780 M 800 W
SAT II: None yet, Math IIC, Chemistry and US History in October. Range 760-800 on each
PSAT: 223, should be National Merit Semifinalist and Finalist, as Oregon cutoff is 215-217
ACT: Not taken. Should I take it?</p>

<p>EC's:
1 year Junior Varsity Track
3 years Varsity Track- Captain of track as senior</p>

<p>May do a year of Cross Country as a senior.</p>

<p>Mock Trial 2 years (11 and 12)</p>

<p>We the People competition as a senior. Although a class, it requires significant time outside the classroom.</p>

<p>A service club next year helping disadvantaged youths with medical problems</p>

<p>Played trumpet for five years. I still play occasionally.</p>

<p>Helped select fables, organize and produce a fable book for charity, intended to benefit children in Nepal.</p>

<p>Class council as a junior and senior. I should be the secretary and treasurer as a senior.</p>

<p>I am aware they are rather weak, but there is much less opportunity in a small town.</p>

<p>Awards:
Academic letter as sophomore and junior (min 3.75 GPA)</p>

<p>School awards for AP US History, AP Calculus, and Chemistry as junior</p>

<p>Work experience:</p>

<p>2 seasons at local ski area (bad job, conditions and coworkers) 100-150 hours</p>

<p>2 summers at local ice cream shop (not bad job, not bad conditions, only minorly bad coworkers) 400-500 hours</p>

<p>Various community service activities, I would estimate 50-100 hours</p>

<p>Countless hours of helping random people on internet tech forums (although I know colleges don't consider this, they should)</p>

<p>Built two computers for my family, assisted multiple classmates with the hardware aspect of theirs (changing video cards, adding ram, diagnosing problems)</p>

<p>Schools:</p>

<p>Chance for both early action and regular admission at each please.</p>

<p>Listed in order of choice.</p>

<p>Stanford
Caltech
MIT
Brown
Harvey Mudd
Cornell
Princeton
Colorado School of Mines</p>

<p>I would like to stay on the West Coast if at all possible, hence the preference of Stanford and Caltech.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>you have a shot at all of them...obvisoly princeton and mit, and cit would be reaches, but they are for everyobdy. The rest you should be a shoe-in with your SAT</p>

<p>You don't need to take the ACT, colleges generally look at one or the other and your SAT is great. </p>

<p>As for your ECs, the team captain status is wonderful and that Nepalese project sounds very interesting. Are you helping to start up that club to help ill children, or is it already an organization. </p>

<p>For the schools you would like to attend, I would definitely recommend starting up some more of your own service projects. Also, you may want to consider establishing residency in CA if you want Stanford, unless your rich that is some crazy expensive stuff for an out of stater.</p>

<p>Its already an organization, I think in a couple of states.</p>

<p>Doesn't Stanford had a financial aid package that basically paid the tuition of anyone under a mid-middle class income?</p>

<p>In at all of them in my opinion</p>

<p>.......bump</p>

<p>Good for you for taking the hardest courses available, and having the highest class rank. I'm not sure but I think being from Oregon may help your chances. SATs are great- don't have to take the ACTs. Ivies and MIT, Stanford, are a reach for anyone, but I think you have a good chance. I don't think being Jewish helps though.</p>