Please help me, I don't know where I belong :(

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Hello!:) I'm new to CC (I just joined about thirty minutes ago just to make this post), and I'm hoping to get some feedback on which colleges I might have a chance at....
I honestly have no idea where to go, where I belong, or who on earth would want to accept me :(
I've always dreamed about going to an Ivy but with my stats that's highly unlikely..... sooooo these are just a few of the schools I'm currently looking at:</p>

<p>Johns Hopkins
University of Chicago
Rice</p>

<p>.....I also have two safety schools
...and I don't have much a chance at these dream schools; (Georgetown, cornell, yale) but a girl can only dream ;)</p>

<p>anywayyyy, here are my stats as of Junior year:</p>

<p>SAT: 2100
math: 660
reading: 640
writing: 800</p>

<p>took subject tests for math 2 and us history but haven't gotten scores back</p>

<p>PSAT: 208 (still don't know if this qualifies for national merit commended yet)</p>

<p>ACT: 31
math: 29
reading: 31
English: 32
science: 32
combined English/writing: 31
essay: 10</p>

<p>AP: Art History (5), World History (5), Chemistry (3)
(I took four AP tests this year also- APUSH, english language, environmental, and Ap art)- but we haven't gotten scores back yet
- AP scholar award</p>

<p>GPA: 103.931 (our school does a scale of 100...I'm not sure what this equates to on a 4.0 scale)....also, we haven't gotten our new GPAs yet but after I self-calculated my new GPA from my junior year classes, I got 105.9 </p>

<p>rank: 2/487 large public school</p>

<p>as for extra-curriculars, I have a bunch but nothing really stands out:
3 different UIL's- 4th and 6th place in ready writing and social studies
academic decathalon (i never got to compete though because of the weather)
HOSA, art club, Science club (president), Drug-Free club, Anchor club (it's like a volunteer club....treasurer), NHS (president), and I co-founded a diversity-type club at our school so technically I'm 'president' of that</p>

<p>the only real awards I've gotten are 3 local awards for my art work...
summer of my ninth grade year I went to the National Youth Leadership Forum on medicine and the following summer I took a Stats class at my local community college and volunteered at art camp, and this summer I'm planning on volunteering at my local hospital!</p>

<p>whew now I think that's it! I realllllllyyyyy appreciate the time anyone takes to read all this and give me some honest feedback, thank you so so much! If I work really hard this summer and somehow manage to improve my SAT score to around 2300/2350, do I have a shot at the Ivies? My mom said I'll never get into Yale so I might as well stop wishing lol.... but I can't help it! Thank you again for any feedback :)</p>

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<p>additionally:
I’m planning on going the premed route in college…so if you have any college suggestions that are good in this area please suggest them! I’m open to anything :)</p>

<p>I also thought about doing international relations but I’m not so sure about that yet… I’m still researching and finding out what I want to do but I’m so indecisive…:/</p>

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<p>Yale would be a reach at this point, but you never know. The main thing is I think you need to distinguish yours;elf in your application and essays. What are you interested in studying?</p>

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<p>that was a quick answer haha thank you! Do you think if I try studying really hard and raise it to a 2300ish it would still be too much of a reach? and I’m incredibly indecisive and have no idea what I want to do really… but as of now I thinking of majoring in biochemistry</p>

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<p>yeah… but you do know. The writing score is the least seriously considered of the SAT subscores. Sorry, but the OP doesn’t have a snowball’s chance at Yale. Even with a big score boost, I don’t see the ‘pop’ on the EC side that gets her into Yale. With current scores:</p>

<p>Johns Hopkins - Reach
University of Chicago - Reach
Rice - Reach
Georgetown - Reach
Cornell - Reach
Yale - Reach</p>

<p>A 31 ACT isn’t going to get you into any of these without a hook that you don’t have (at least aren’t mentioning). You can’t count on raising your scores fall of senior year, too. You need to find more match schools. I think what you really need to do is drop your expectations a notch to a more realistic list. There are TONS of great schools that are ranked a bit lower than the ones you mentioned that could be a good fit. Leave a couple of the reach schools on you list, but focus your attention on finding 4-5 schools where your scores are more in range. I think your ACT looks stronger, so look for schools where that is in the 50-75% range. You also would probably fare pretty well at test optional schools (eg, Bowdoin). </p>

<p>What are your safeties? What is your financial situation? What state do you live in?</p>

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<p>Thank you for your honesty! I figured the majority of the schools I hope for are reach:( I live in texas so my safeties are a&m and UT…maybe Baylor also because all of these schools pretty much grant you an automatic acceptance if you’re in top 8%. And I have no hooks at all… I’m an Asian female lol
Financial situation is upper middle class… My dad is a doctor</p>

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<p>Are the schools listed above really thaatttt unattainable? I thought I might have a chance at university of chicago at least :(</p>

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<p>Well, with those stats if you can’t get into a top 20 school, then I might as well just give up too. TBH though, your ECs aren’t all that spectacular. But! your GPA is…wow. I almost have the same SAT score as you (2160). You should be fine if you bring up that SAT.For me, I’ll be banking on my senior year to bring me up from the hole that I have dug for myself this past year. With a 4.0 in my senior year, I’ll have a 3.71 accumulative UW GPA. And I’m applying for top 50 schools. Best thing to do now: Go talk to your counselor and ask his/her advice on college selection. Get off CC since you’ll end up taking everyone’s advice seriously. And work hard this summer in preparation for 1st semester senior year and the SAT. good luck! </p>

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<p>That is definitely some uplifting advice haha thank you so much! There’s so many incredible people on CC that coming here to see my possibilities in top schools probably wasn’t the best idea for my spirits lol. I will definitely be working hard this summer to boost my SAT scores… and best of luck to you as well! I’m sure you can boost your GPA with no problem if you set your mind to it!:slight_smile: lets hope we both find wonderful colleges that will accept us ;)</p>

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<p>My kid got into U of C last year, but she had a 2380 SAT and 800 subject tests in both Math II and Lit, and was the sort of intellectual student (clear from ECs, recommendations, and essays) that has always been the U of C type. The valedictorian of her class did not get in… U of C went to the Common App a few years ago, and the number of applicants has exploded. The admit rate this year was 8.4%, I believe. </p>

<p>I agree that some(not all) of these move to low reaches if you can bring up your SAT. But what if your fall scores aren’t better? Then you are scrambling to build a new list of schools fall of senior year. And that is not where you want to be next fall.</p>

<p>You need to stop worrying about the concept of “top 20 schools”. You seem too concerned about school name and prestige, and not worried enough about strength of majors, size, vibe of student body, urban vs suburban vs rural environment, ECs available on campus, etc. Focus on fit. A copy of the Fiske Guide to Colleges can be a great place to start. </p>

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<p>@intparent yea I guess I never really realized just how difficult these schools are; I definitely needed a reality check :confused: I’m going to focus on changing my college list for better fits… do you have any in mind that would be good fits for me if I’m thinking of majoring in biochemistry and going the premed route? And thank you, I will check out the Fiske Guide!</p>

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<p>UChicago is one of the top universities in the world, not just the US. The average SAT scores of admitted freshmen is very impressive – above Stanford and just below HYP.</p>

<p>If you applied to all of these, you might get into one or two, but all are reaches.</p>

<p>You mentioned UT, aTm and Baylor. I’d definitely apply to those as well.</p>

<p>For something in between, and still in Texas, Rice is pretty strong.</p>

<p>And if you are willing to look at LACs, there are some very good schools that would be matches for you, and in pretty much every region of the nation… wherever you wanted to go.</p>

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<p>@prezbucky do you think I have a chance at Rice? I thought it was pretty difficult to get into as well! hoping for a miracle wherever I apply lol</p>

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<p>Okay, stop hoping for a miracle. Do a college search based on the stats and finances you’ve got. Make sure you are willing to attend your safeties, that your admissions is very certain, and you can afford them. Then find some schools that match your ACT score (31 in the 50-75% range). Even if you bring your scores up next fall, apply to 2-3 of those match schools so you are sure you will have some good choices in the spring. Then go for 2-4 of your reaches, depending on your test scores. I do think that due to lack of “wow” in your ECs, of your reaches JHU, Cornell, Rice, and maybe Georgetown are your most likely admits even if you get your test scores up.</p>

<p>It is pretty generic to ask for schools that are good at biochem and good for pre-med. For pre-med the most important things are:

  • GPA
  • MCAT preparation
  • Opportunity for medical related ECs (but you can do that in the summer, doesn’t have to be on campus)
  • Ability to come out of undergrad with little or no debt. Med school is very expensive, so if you are serious about it, you should not take out much debt for undergrad – you will be taking out plenty later on.</p>

<p>There are many schools that could be recommended. What I still don’t know is what size you prefer, geographic preference, city vs. suburb vs rural, political vibe of campus, and what your parents are willing to pay for college (upper middle class doesn’t mean they will spring for $60K/year…). All I can tell from your current list is that you looked at the top 20 ranked universities to select them. Need more than that to give good recommendations.</p>

<p>Honestly, an hour or two spent with the Fiske book and a pack of post-its to mark interesting schools would do you a world of good. You need to start seeing the differences between schools and thinking about what is important to you. We can randomly recommend. But it seems like that is sort of like going out and looking at the rankings again. You need to look more deeply and figure out what the culture and fit are of the many colleges that could be options for you. There isn’t a good shortcut to this.</p>

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<p>You’re right, thank you</p>