Hi everybody,
I’d like to get chanced for becoming a Questbridge Finalist as well as being admitted to : Wesleyan, Georgetown, Swarthmore, and Haverford. Categorizing them into low/medium/high reaches or matches would be helpful too.
(Rising Senior)
Objective :
SAT : 1430/1600 (Math 730, English 700)
SAT II’s : 710 Math 2, 660 Literature
GPA : 3.6 for 9th-10th grade, 3.85 for 11th grade. If I continue doing well in Senior year my overall GPA would be around 3.75 
My school does not offer AP’s or IB’s - it offers only a higher level spanish class which I have taken since 11th grade, (though it was offered since freshman year) and an honors trigonometry for 10th grade which I have taken. I also took Calculus in the second half of junior year (not sure if this is standard or impressive, or in between).
Subjective :
Red Cross 10-12 (treasurer, 11) I honestly don’t do too much lol
Varsity Soccer 9-12 (Co captain, 12) We were league champions in 10th grade
College Preparation Program 9-12 It’s a program that guides people through the college application process and also gives test prep
Church volunteer 9-12 I’m a member of a club that introduces newcomers to our church and helps them feel welcomed
(Christian) Summer Camp 9-12 Various volunteer activities like helping out in homeless shelters, renovating abandoned homes, etc.
Work at YMCA for 1 summer
My essays will be around 8-9/10
Concerning QB :
Income : 30k/yr
Hooks : First gen
Ethnicity : Asian-American male in Washington
Also, my teacher recs will be good too, not spectacular or anything though lol
Wesleyan-low reach
Georgetown-low reach
Swarthmore-mid reach
Haverford-high match
Also a side note-since my school is unranked, how would colleges compare a 3.8gpa at my school to other schools?
For example a 3.8 gpa is probably top10% in my school even though my school is unranked
Whereas a 3.9in another school that ranks might not even be top 10%
Is this a disadvantage to me? And also feedback on my original questions would also be helpful too
Wesleyan-reach
Georgetown- reach
Swarthmore- match
Haverford- safety
Cool, @writer80 I always thought swarthmore was the hardest to get into haha
Sorry to say this (really) but I do not think that Swarthmore is a match or Haverford a safety (for anyone). Personally I think they are all reaches, but not out of the realm of possibility.
For some more concrete info, you can check out each college’s common data set and see where your GPA and test scores fall in their admissions results. You can also check the page for each of these colleges here on CC – take a look at the acceptances/waitlists/rejections for these 4 colleges – there were some very strong applicants denied by them all, so nothing here is “safe.”
@MamaBear16 Yeah I was honestly thinking that too, and what do you think the weakest point of my application was? I’ll make sure to read the threads on cc too,thanks
I don’t think you have a weak application. I just think that these schools are not really matches and safeties for students who are very strong candidates. Also, LACs are small and accept a very few number of students, so their admissions seem more “quirky” and less straightforward than large state flagships. I know a kid who was not accepted to those two, but was accepted to equally amazing LACs. I don’t think you are a weak candidate at all; just wanted to add some reality into a “chance me” thread because often when posters are not familiar with a particular college they assume it’s easier to get into than it really is. And I definitely think you should apply – but to me a safety means you are going to get in and it’s just something you can count on with any of these colleges. I hope this helps.
Yeah, Haverford isn’t a safety.
Swat is a top-four LAC. Georgetown, Haverford and Wes are probably about even in terms of rep, among people who are aware of the LAC landscape. Haverford is a top-10 LAC, Wes is top-15, and Georgetown is a top-25 U.
Cool, so would those be medium reaches or high reaches? @prezbucky
Also, is it bad that my Ec’s aren’t centered around a certain passion? Thx
@mamabear16 totally agree, I was a bit confused myself when I saw the word safety lol…
And do you think my ec’s are fine even if they are not centered?
Well it depends on how you define each segment. I do it like this:
High reach: 0-5% chance
Reach: 5-15%
Low reach: 15-25%
High match: 25-40%
Match: 40-60%
…so on and so forth.
I don’t know how much of a bump you get for being in QB. I’ll assume there is at least a small one.
Swat: Reach/low reach
Wes, Hav, G’Town: Low reach/high match
All schools want you to show special interest, but Georgetown makes you “prove” it by taking three (as opposed to the usual two…) SAT subject tests. By making kids take that extra exam – and by not being on the common app – they help to ensure that all who apply are really genuinely interested, simply by clearing those hurdles. I think that’s pretty cool.
All four are really, really good schools and I wish you well in securing admission to (at least) one of them.
Thanks! And would you be concerned about my ec’s not being centered?
@prezbucky
I think your EC’s are good and given you are going into your senior year adcoms would pick out EC application pumping so I think it’s best to continue with your current ones. Make sure you that continue with the most rigorous courseload available in your school.
Swarthmore is a super reach for everyone; Haverford is essentially the same because it’s so small. That said being a First Gen will matter as that’s a great accomplishment - congrats as I can imagine that everyone is very proud!
I’m not really an EC expert. I would just say that kids should do things because they enjoy doing them, because they want to do them… not to impress anyone on an app. Life is too short to waste time being pretentious, IMO.
@Chembiodad haha thanks 
and yeah, my older sister is in college right now
How about the other schools mentioned? And qb finalist if youre informed about that
@prezbucky alright, thanks for the advice !
I don’t know much about Georgetown, but I think at Haverford, Swarthmore and Wesleyan being a Questbridge Finalist will be very meaningful; I would also add Amherst, Carleton and Williams into the mix.