Please evaluate my chances for Barnard, Middlebury, Pomona, Dartmouth and Yale.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>White, Female, No hooks, Public for freshman + soph years, Very competitive (no, seriously) private school for last 2 years</p>

<p>Average GPA: 90 or 91%
Unranked, but highest UW GPA is 94%.</p>

<p>Note: At my old school, my guidance counselor encouraged me to enroll in the easiest courses so that I wouldn't be stressed... and so I had no clue that taking all Honors classes was so important until sophomore year. Before 9th grade, I'd always been in the highest-level classes. Anyway, I tried very hard to accelerate during my freshman and sophomore summers but my school would not allow credit from any summer enrichment courses. This is why I am a year behind in math and science :(</p>

<p>I truly love learning but that love diminished at my former school where the teachers did not care about the subject they taught and their students, and/or were completely uninspiring/just plain bad at teaching. The administration continuously stood in my way of excelling for they were focused on simply graduating the students. All of that along with the fact that I was going through family-related trauma and had just lost my best friends caused my grades to take a fall. My grades were excellent last year because my teachers were wonderful - passionate and supportive. Oh, and my classmates were amazing. I finally found peers who I could relate to. I rediscovered my focus and energy.</p>

<p>Freshman:
Ancient World H- B+
English 9H- B+
Algebra 1- A-
Physical Science- B
Spanish 2- A
Fashion and Design- B+</p>

<p>Sophomore:
English 10H- A-
H Modern World/H Civics- B+/B+
Geometry H- B+
Biology H- B+
Spanish 3H- B+
Speech (Public Speaking)/Contemporary Issues- A-/A</p>

<p>Junior:
AP Enviro- A
APUSH- A
English 11H- A
Spanish 4H- A
Chemistry H- A
Algebra IIH- A-
Photography 1- A
Poetry & Playwriting/Astronomy- A/A</p>

<p>LOL Projected Senior:
AP Modern European History- A
AP Spanish- A
AP English- A
AP Biology (Maybe)
Independent Study in the Sciences
Bioethics/Black Gold - Oil- A/A
Photography 2- A
Composing & Arranging- A</p>

<p>ACT: 35
SAT II: Biology: 800, Literature: 800, Spanish: 780, World History: 770
APs: Environmental Science: 5, U.S History: 5, Psychology (self-study): 5</p>

<p>ECs: I LOOOOVE my extracurricular activities. I'm so, so passionate about writing and environmental policy/activism. I also adore photography, theater, traveling, history, and working with children.
-I write for about 2 hours/day for fun. I have published an award-winning children's book. I also won two National Gold Scholastic Awards and a State Young Writers Award. I was published in Scholastic's annual anthology "Best Teen Writers of 2010" I will be submitting a writing portfolio to the Scholastic Comp. this year. I am Short Story Editor for my school's Literary Magazine (meetings take place during school)
-I do media relations and outreach for a sustainability-focused NGO run by and for youth ages 13-26. I am a national and international young delegate for environmental policy...I've attended and spoken at the U.N's Commission on Sustainable Development, the Convention on Biological Diversity in Japan, Mexico and Denmark and will be a delegate at the Rio Earth Summit 2012. I am Founder and Chair of a youth environmental activism group connected to the city government. Meetings take place 1x/week, more when we’re close to an event. I'm currently expanding the group to cover my entire county. I created a composting program utilized by all district schools and parks. I visit these schools often to garden and compost with the kids. I'm Green Team Leader next year. This year, I helped lead the Team to victory in the Green Cup Challenge and placed 2nd in the Siemens National Sustainability Challenge. Club meetings take place in school
-I tutor low-income kids 2x/week.
-This will be my 6th year dancing ballet and 3rd year studying guitar.
-I take kickboxing and yoga in the winter after school (required)</p>

<p>This summer, I did marine biology research with a scientist for 3 weeks, I'm taking Precalculus and starred in a community theatre production (I'm also writing A LOT, reading A LOT, playing guitar, teaching myself how to play piano, and traveling)</p>

<p>Next year, I'm doing an independent study in school with my environmental science teacher/mentor.</p>

<p>Please let me know if I am shooting too high :]</p>

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<p>Oops, forgot to talk about photography… I do a shoot about once per month and have won some national competitions. I’ve been into photography since I was about 12 years old.</p>

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<p>No one?? :/</p>

4

<p>Probably in Barnard and Middlebury. Pomona might be a match/slight reach. Dartmouth slight reach. Yale is a high reach, as always.</p>

<p>Definitely work on that GPA, that’s the only thing hurting you. All I gotta say is you better make sure you bust out some amazing essays. Pretty solid ECs. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

5

<p>Thanks for your opinions :slight_smile: although I don’t agree that Yale is always a high reach.</p>

<p>Congrats on your acceptance to Smith btw!</p>

<p>Oh, and I’m planning on applying RD to Yale so that they see my A’s in senior year.</p>

<p>I also forgot to add to my original post that my intended major is either Environmental Policy or Environmental Science/Studies.</p>

6

<p>I’d love to hear from some other peepz.</p>

7

<p>Well, none of the Ivies are ever a definite match - that’s what I meant by saying “high reach, as always.”</p>

<p>Good plan applying RD to Yale. Depending on your income, have you considered doing QuestBridge?</p>

8

<p>I agree, Ivies are never matches, but I think that for some (not me), some Ivies can be low to mid-reaches.</p>

<p>Thanks! Well, my mother is considered low-income… She was making about $20k for many years then about $30k/yr but she just lost her job. I live with her. On the other hand, my dad is considered upper-middle class. I used to live with him part-time but now I spend time with him about 2x/week.</p>

<p>I just took a look at the website and I learned that the National College Match is designed for students who come from families experiencing long-term economic hardship. Well, after my parents divorced when I was about 7 years old, my father lost his job. I believe that he was jobless for 3 years or so. My mother had 3 jobs at one point while raising my brother and I. My mom definitely still faces economic hardship. We have a tenant living in part of our house so that she can make an extra $1k/month. I’m not sure if I qualify… I know that many kids have it much, much worse than I do.</p>

9

<p>Most likely acceptance at Barnard, Middlebury, and Pomona.
Most likely rejection at Yale and Dartmouth due to relatively mediocre course load for an Ivy bound applicant and a low GPA.</p>

10

<p>^I see what you mean by ‘mediocre course load’. As I discussed in my original post, my former school did not let me accelerate in math and science therefore I was not allowed to take AP Bio or AP Chem in my junior year (Chemistry and Alg.II were pre-requisites). At my private school, we’re recommended to take a maximum of 3 APs/year. Oh, and APs were not offered to me as freshman or sophomore. AP English is not offered to juniors so I only took the ones that interested me in addition to self-studying one. </p>

<p>I wanted to devote most of my time to my extra curricular activities.</p>

<p>I appreciate your opinion.</p>

11

<p>

If it was because you didn’t take Chem and Alg II in your fresh or sophomore year, then that is not an understandable excuse at Ivy League. Of course you have to take pre-reqs to take upper level classes… What you are saying there sounds like whiny excuses to me just like the below quote.

</p>

<p>

But obviously you could have taken some more since you are not RESTRICTED from taking more APs.</p>

<p>

Usually competitive Ivy League bound applicants take every rigorous course available to them. </p>

<p>

Good for you, but your academics are more important than ECs. Mediocre academic records and stellar ECs won’t necessarily get you into top schools.</p>

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<p>1.In my freshman year, I was clueless which is why I only took 2 Honors classes. I had no guidance or support from my school or family. They all discouraged me from challenging myself. I was a freshman…give me a break.
2. My school would not allow me to take summer classes. I fought extremely hard to be able to, for 2 YEARS, to no avail and I can have my current GC allude to this fact in her rec.
3. Lol, whiny? I’m just stating the facts. I was clueless about college admissions and the like up until the end of my sophomore year.
4. Whatever. I’m happy with the choices that I have made. I would hardly call my academic record ‘mediocre’… I earned straight As last year at one of the top private schools on the East Coast. </p>

<p>I stand by the belief that passion and personality is more important than perfect numbers.</p>

13

<p>

Haha what a joke. Tell that to the admissions committee and see if you get in.</p>

<p>

Because you didn’t take rigorous courses during your fresh and sophomore year? It doesn’t seem like an acceptable excuse for an Ivy to me.</p>

<p>

Too bad other top students across the nation weren’t clueless. Also, your so called “facts” sound somewhat whiny, trying to make up for a sub-par course load.</p>

<p>

Haha ok. I’m not going to prevent you from deluding yourself. </p>

<p>

So does majority of the top students with perfect/near perfect numbers…</p>

14

<p>Your extracurriculars are fantastic and so are your test scores. Your GPA is definitely on the low side, but I would think you are much more likely to be admitted to all of these school than most people because of your EC’s.</p>

<p>But your schedule is definitely weak.</p>

15

<p>rOadTo3b - you are coming across as a delusional jerk. she wasn’t allowed to take some classes because she didn’t have the prereqs - it’s not her fault, dang.</p>

<p>and i think you have good chances at barnard, middlebury, and pomona. but, as you probably know, ivies are always reaches! good luck!</p>

16

<p>

You are suggesting that I provide false opinion. Elaborate.</p>

<p>

Exactly. She didn’t take pre-req classes. As simple as that. Everyone knows that you have to have certain prereq classes in order to take upper level classes such as APs. Therefore, that is merely a pathetic excuse to make up for a sub-par course load.</p>

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<p>okay, if you actually took the time to read you would see that she tried to take the pre-reqs needed for chem over the summer but was not able to. so what if they weren’t able to take an AP or two? it’s still an impressive courseload and many schools would be happy to admit a student like the OP. you just need to get off your high horse.</p>

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<p>Which parts of my schedule make it so weak ? I wish that I had been allowed to take classes over the summer. Most schools in the U.S let their students do this. If I was allowed to, my schedule would have been much stronger. I’m not making excuses. </p>

<p>Again, my former school’s administration prohibited me from taking the pre-req’s needed for some APs in my junior year. </p>

<p>Thank you both for your opinions. </p>

<p>I would appreciate it if you, rOadTo3b, would refrain from replying.</p>

<p>Thank you, vivalife, for restating my situation for the umpteenth time to him… Jeez.</p>

19

<p>

I have, unfortunately.</p>

<p>

Why couldn’t she during her fresh or sophomore year? </p>

<p>

I admit the course load is something that can be highly subjective. I am merely providing my opinion based on my experience here on CC, reading Ivy League accepted students’ stats and course loads, as well as other admissions guide books. Having said that, her course load does not seem rigorous.</p>

<p>

haha keep humoring me.</p>

<p>Anyway, good luck, OP. You will need it.</p>

20

<p>haha sorry veggieburger i just kind of wanted to find a reason to argue with rOadTo3b (as bad as that sounds) because he really seems like such a jerk. anyways, good luck.</p>