Princeton and Columbia Chance

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hello, I am a current senior from a small town school located in southern Alabama. I recently decided to apply to these schools after much support from my teachers and family. In my town a 24+ is considered an excellent score, since our school system does not teach up to par with other state school systems.</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0--4.67 Unweighted and Weighted Respectively
Class Rank: I am either Valedictorian or Salutatorian--Class Ranks have not officially came
out. I jumped from number 5 to one of those positions. 1 or 2/366
ACT: 27 With a Writing of 10--It is considered really high in my county.
SAT: Not sure but my teacher said it was around the same as my ACT if not higher.</p>

<p>Now this is where the application is going to kill me especially since I was not prepared and my teachers had no former knowledge of how to take these tests.
Literature: 580 (It is alright from some people I have talked too)
(Now this subject test is bad.)
Chemistry:.......490 I thought I was prepared for it; however, I had not taken Chemistry in nine months.</p>

<p>Class Courses: AP Physics B, AP Calculus AB, AP English and Composition, AP Literature, AP Chemistry ( I wish I could retake that Chemistry Subject Test Now)
I have taken every AP Class at my school that I could. I believe there was one more I wasn't able to take because my schedule was filled up. Also, I have taken every other College Prep course available since my school does not offer many AP Courses.</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities: Hi-Q Member, French Club Member, Young Republicans Secretary, National Honor Society Member, Varsity Swimming Captain, Marathon Runner, Community Volunteer (5 or more hours on weekends), Lifeguard for two separate swimming pools, Relay for Life Volunteer, Festival of Flowers Volunteer, National Honor and Merit Scholars Society Member, National French Honor Society Member, Geometry Award in 10th Grade, Science Fair Applicant (Chemistry Division)--I won the county Chemistry Division and I am expected to win Regional and possibly State, Red Cross Blood Drive Volunteer</p>

<p>Recommendations: Three: One from my Chemistry Teacher--This one was written really well. One from my Anatomy and Physiology Teacher--This one was written really well as well. Finally, I have my AP Literature teacher write me one. She had the most outstanding recommendation by far.</p>

<p>Essays: I believe these are always my strength in everything I do. First essay written really well. Princeton essay was again written really well describing how I work with mentally handicapped people of the community.</p>

<p>Interview: The interviewer was really nice, and he was really interested in my community service as well as my other accomplishments. He seemed as if he was interested in me.</p>

<p>Talents/ Abilities: I didn't apply to join the swim team at Princeton; however, I have always been told I have a knack for research and I am always able to thrive academically under stress.</p>

<p>Finances: Parents are divorced. Income is less than $35,000 a year. I had to go through a rough time for a couple years because of some things that caused the divorce.</p>

<p>Weaknesses: Standardized Test Scores by Far especially the SAT subject tests
Strengths: Extracurricular Activities, Rigor of Course, Class Rank, Class GPA, the desire to do my best in all areas</p>

2

<p>no chance lol, ACT way too low… Sorry if its your county that you lived but there are people who self study multiple AP classes all by themselves and get 5’s and 800’s on subject tests…</p>

3

<p>Maybe if you weren’t a young Republican then you could be a little smarter and would have higher ACT/SAT II scores.</p>

<p>Everything else is great but those two would obviously kill you; unfortunately SAT/ACT does play a huge role and it is rare that someone could get in with such poor standardized scores even if the ECs and grades are great. Normally low standardized with high GPA indicates that the school is not very rigorous or that there is grade inflation, thus standardized tests provide a fair way for colleges to compare people with equal grades. I would look into schools with optional SAT/ACT (Bowdoin and Wake Forest are the best ones I can think of, Bowdoin is an amazing school).</p>

4

<p>Definitely look at Bowdoin! Test scores are optional and I know lots of people that go there that love it. Its a great school and the people are really nice. As for Columbia and Princeton, I just don’t know if you have the same kind of credentials that the other applicants have. You have great EC’s, but your test scores might be too low to be admitted. You never know though, sometimes there are outliers and exceptions based on achievement and character. Good luck!</p>

<p>Chance me?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1102501-chance-columbia-upenn-cornell-cmu-umich-northwestern-georgia-tech-rpi.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1102501-chance-columbia-upenn-cornell-cmu-umich-northwestern-georgia-tech-rpi.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>Yes, I am afraid that my scores are holding me back; however, I think that I was able to prove why my scores were so low on the application. I had a lot blocking me that I was able to overcome successfully. Really, other than the standardized test scores, my application really does stand out to many people I talked too.</p>

6

<p>You may have a geographic advantage, as they do have to accept someone from alabama however in no way at all does your app stand out from anyone who applys to like the top 30 schools at all. You want to stand out you see national level recognition</p>

7

<p>you may have some geographic and unique advantages going for you, but they are just not enough to overcome that testing background. your gpa is great, but when it is compared to your test scores, people might wonder whether or not you will be able to keep up with other applicants who are simply better prepared academically for college level work.</p>

8

<p>Yes, I was actually wondering that myself. I wanted to know how many applicants from Alabama actually apply to Princeton? I noticed on some sites, it says the average ACT score for Columbia is 29-35 and on other sites it says it is a 31-34. I just wanted to know on average do a lot of qualified students apply from Alabama, or do any students really apply from Alabama?</p>

9

<p>Dear Mates,</p>

<p>I am an applicant to Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Duke, Dartmouth, Northwestern and Columbia.</p>

<p>I have a number of international achievements:
In 2006, I initiated a student organization to connect youth and channelize their potentials positively. It was an effort to fight for Education, Environment and Child Rights. By 2008, recognized for my work and ideas, I was invited to a number of international conferences to talk about the success stories of my organization and how to make this world a better and greener place to live in- this included trips to Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and invitations to a number of other countries as Norway, Pakistan, USA, UK, China, Turkey and more. </p>

<p>Also, I have International titles under my belt- as Sharpest WizKid Asia, Best Speaker at a number of national level Debates, best quizzer at a number of national Quizzes. Also have state level participation in Martial Arts and Athletics.</p>

<p>my sat scores are 1940 in SAT I and 670 in Math, 590 in Lit., 630 in physics.
I intend to take up international relations.
have been ranked 1 in class always.</p>

<p>CHANCE ME! Please, honestly(for all these colleges in general. thanks)!</p>

10

<p>rmayes,</p>

<p>Unfortunately, as already stated, your standardized test scores are very low for these schools. Your low scores are a double edged sword as they will probably take legitimacy away from your GPA and class rank (what I mean by this is that being number one in your class with a 27 ACT shows that your school is VERY weak). However, keep your head up and hope for the best.</p>

11

<p>Thank you. That was a better response than the first person in the thread. I happen to find my lifeline at the moment are with my recommendations and essays. I took the SAT in March and my projected score would be around a 700 CR, 610-660 Math, and a 700+ Writing. I am just hoping that it gets to the schools before admission decision. :confused: Also, I am still wondering how many people apply from Alabama every year? It can’t be many from what my teacher said.</p>