Please, Please, Please Chance Me For My College List?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I know you guys see a lot of these posts on this website, but I’m getting paranoid about acceptances, so can you guys please chance me for these schools?

ACT: 34 Composite
33 Math
35 Writing
35 Reading
34 Science
10 Essay
This GPA is without my electives, it is only my core classes (World Language, Math, English, Science, Social Studies). After I did research online, I figured that schools usually strip your GPA down to your core classes.

UW GPA: 3.65
W GPA:4.21

AP Classes Grades and Scores

AP Biology: S1-C, S2-B-, 4
AP English Language and Composition: B+, 5
AP United States History, A-, 4
AP French Language and Culture, B+, 4
AP Physics C (Mechanics)- A
AP Chemistry-A
AP Statistics-B
AP US Government-A-

Tests I Will Be Taking On My Own:
AP Calculus BC, AP European History

Other than the AP classes listed above, I have taken only honors and two college prep classes. I am also three years ahead in math, as I am in my second year of Calculus in my senior year.

I have also moved 3 times in high school, from Idaho to California to Massachusetts. In my whole life, I have moved 7 times and have lived in 3 countries and 4 states. Moving around is why I have a few B’s on my transcript.

I have written my common app essay about living in Taiwan and how that showed me my true nature. I also have really good recommendations from my physics , calculus teacher, and DECA teacher.
My extracurriculars are as follows (once again, keep in mind that I have moved a lot, making it impossible to maintain continuity)

Opera Singing, 2 years
Orchestra, 1 year, Principal 2nd Violin
Student Volunteer for Musical Therapy for Children With Special Needs, 1 year
French Club+French Honors Society, 2 years
Theatre, Lead Actor, 2 years
DECA President, 2 years
Teen Mentor for Children from Below Poverty Line Families, 2 years
Historical Society Archives Volunteer, 1 year
Robotics Team Business Officer, 1 year

Awards:
Wellesley Book Award
National Merit Scholarship Commended Student
DECA 3rd Place District, State Qualifier
AP Scholar With Honor
1st Place Quartet (for Orchestra)

Boston College

Boston University

Brandeis University

Brown University

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Columbia University

Cornell University

Duke University

Fordham University

Harvard College

New York University

Northeastern University

Princeton University

Stanford University

Tulane University

University of Chicago

University of Massachusetts Amherst

University of Pennsylvania

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Yale University

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

UT Austin

MIT

I’m going to be majoring in Applied Physics or for schools that don’t have that I’m majoring in Engineering Physics

Thanks for all of your help!

2

Your GPA is low for the Ivies, Stanford, MIT, Duke, CalTech and UChicago. UT Austin and Brandeis might be hard. However, I think all the others you have a decent shot, especially with your excellent ACT. Be sure to have safeties too - also, this is a lot of reach schools and the work/app fees may be overwhelming. The Common App doesn’t even allow this many schools - I think you should narrow down your list. ED at a top choice would help you out a lot.

3

I disagree. @enjolras1832, I think you have a chance at your top schools. You may be below the average in terms on your GPA, but hey average means some above and some below. You got a good ACT score that demonstrates that you are smart, but you don’t have any sat subject tests. Be sure to take those as a lot of your schools require them. Colleges accept people, not numbers. You have to make sure you show the colleges why you are different and how you will add diversity to their campus.

That being said, I do agree in that you should cut down your college list and find more safety schools. Are you applying early anywhere?

4

I agree on the need for SAT II subject tests. Have you taken them yet? Given your interests, you should try Math II and a hard science of some kind, if you have not already done so.

What is your GPA with electives factored in? Are any of those elective academic in nature? Does their inclusion boost your GPA?

With a 3.65 unweighted GPA, your chances at the Ivies, Caltech, Stanford, are very low. The 34 ACT is a great score but consider, for example, that at Caltech, the middle 50% ACT score for the class of 2020 was a 34-36. Your ACT might get you in the door but your GPA would be unlikely to keep you there.

Also, if you are applying to engineering programs, be aware that admissions standards will be higher than to Arts & Sciences. So it might be easier to get in as a physics major than an engineering major.

Your best bets on this list seem to be U Mass Amherst, WPI, and Brandeis. Possibly Northeastern, Fordham, BC, and BU, although these are getting more competitive all of the time, so it’s hard to predict. If you don’t need to compare financial offers and have a strong favorite among these, an ED application might be worth considering.

Illinois and UT are going to be tough as an OOS applicant, especially for engineering.

You might want to take a look at Case Western, Rochester, and Syracuse as possible fits for your stats. Ithaca College has a 3/2 Physics/Engineering course that might be attractive to you.

Good luck!

5

Are you a senior? You can’t possibly be applying to so many schools! You have too many reaches and too many publics. What is your financial situation - are you full pay?

Are you an under-represented minority?

from your post this past June:

Why are you applying to so many selective schools. Your chances are very very low. Are you really applying to 23 schools? Pare down your list to 10 schools MAX. This is the 4th time you’ve posted chances threads and you are getting the same answer all the time - low chances at the most selective schools (Harvard, Yale, MIT, etc…) Have you begun your essays for these 23 schools?

6

@suzyQ7 that thread wasn’t me, my gpa isn’t that bad. As for everyone else, I have a final list and have considerable narrowed it down. I was just hoping that some of you could let me know which top schools I have a chance at. As for my gpa, I have moved every year of high school, so that caused some grades to drop. I’ve been asking people here because i thought that this was a community that would help, but it’s okay if you guys think that i’m being annoying. also, engineering physics isn’t engineering. i feel like my gpa has a lot of reasons for being the way that it is, but if colleges don’t look at that, then I’m fine with going to somewhere like umass amherst. also @suzyQ7 that’s really weird that you went through my threads and found one that wasn’t even mine