Rate My Chances (Stanford, Duke, Berkeley, Brown, etc.)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey guys, first post on CC. </p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>~ International IB Student (applying from the Middle East)</p>

<p>~ Predicted 44 Points at IB (7 History HL, 7 English HL, 7 Econ HL) (7 Biology SL, 7 Maths Studies SL, 6 Arabic Ab Initio)</p>

<p>~ 7 A*s and 4 As at GCSE</p>

<p>~ Lots of extracurriculars, especially community service eg. self organized a trip to India over summer to work as a volunteer at numerous organizations for 3 weeks, volunteered at multiple local centers for autistic children, member of the school Student Leadership Team (head of community service), etc.</p>

<p>~ Currently at 1990 for my SAT I (without much studying), resitting in November and aiming for a 2100+.</p>

<p>~ Doing SAT IIs for English, Maths and maybe Biology in December.</p>

<p>~ Generally good at writing essays.</p>

<p>~ V. good teacher recommendations. </p>

<p>Applying to: Stanford (top choice), Duke, Brown, Berkeley, UCLA, USC, UMichigan + some others. </p>

<p>Any ideas or advice would be appreciated :D</p>

2

<p>You have an above average chance of getting in. But I wouldn’t count on it too much. As for the SATs anything above 700 is seen in the same light by the admission officers.</p>

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<p>@thatindianguy‌: “As for the SATs anything above 700 is seen in the same light by the admission officers.”</p>

<p>That’s really fascinating information, and it certainly increases my understanding of standardized test results admission’s implications. Why don’t enlighten all of us by providing the basis for this astonishing conclusion.</p>

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<p>As per Barron’s: “The 2400 club includes the top 5% in the country.” It doesn’t mean you have to attain 2400 to get into this club. Anything above 700 (in all three that is) automatically puts you into that list. Since a difference of just a few points makes a vast difference in this score range. Moreover anyone attaining over 2100 already has an AI score above 210 - which puts him/her in the very competitive range of all applicants. And people attaining aboce 700 in all 3 are usually serious about their studies and aspirations.</p>

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<p>@thatindianguy‌: That’s fundamentally only slick journalism – and certainly anyone achieving all 700+ results on the SAT I examinations has performed VERY well – but I guarantee you that many most-selective universities’ admissions departments will not consider a (for example) 2175 aggregate score and a 2300 score identically.</p>

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<p>A medium to high reach, if you don’t have some other compelling life statement to be made.</p>

7

<p>@‌TopTier</p>

<p>Depends on how much emphasis the schools puts on grades/scores v ecs & essays</p>

<p>To put it simply:</p>

<p>GPA = work ethic
A person who gets high grades is putting work and effort into their courses.<br>
But the rigor at one school can be a lot different from another.
Enter standardized tests</p>

<p>SAT/ACT = verification
They prove the student actually learned sufficient material at school and didn’t simply slide by with extra credit or easy teachers.</p>

<p>With this in mind how big of a difference does an extra 50 points make on the SAT? Both a 700 and a 760 student learned more than sufficient amount of information. The ECs & Essays would say far more about the difference between students. </p>

<p>for scholarships it might be different tho. </p>

8

<p>I think you guys may have the right idea, but you are wrong about how colleges actually view scores.</p>

<p>I think that it’s hard to differentiate between 99th percentile scores since there is such a small margin of error (what information can you honestly glean from the difference between a 34 and a 35 on the ACT, or a 2280 and a 2350?), but larger differences can be used to judge applicants. A 2150 and a 2350 are both excellent scores, but one shows a greater degree of mastery. Between score differences of less than 50 points (or not even a single point for the ACT), it can be difficult to differentiate, especially at the higher percentiles of the SAT/ACT, but in general I think that larger gaps of 100 points or more can indicate some differences. Obviously a lot of faith is put into a single day of testing, but for the most part the better students <em>should</em> be getting more questions correctly, or at least retake the test if they feel that their first score is not reflective of his/her ability.</p>

<p>At the end of the day, most of the score differences between top applicants is splitting hairs. What can you really say about someone with a 2250 vs. someone with a 2320? They both have the potential to be successful at any school in the country, and after a certain point a lot of admissions decisions are made on other factors. Not to state the obvious, but a higher score is always better from an admissions standpoint, and there is no reason not to strive for as high of a score as possible. However, I don’t think admissions officers, at least not the ones I know, read too much into relatively minute differences that could honestly be the result of hundreds of factors, such as having to go to the bathroom during a section of the SAT, having a distraction in your testing center, or just filling out the test sheet incorrectly for one question.</p>

<p>For anyone that doesn’t want to read this basically redundant mess: Higher scores are better, but college admissions officers probably don’t read into differences a single correct or incorrect answer may create. Focus on the bigger picture and realize that small differences don’t matter too much.</p>

<p>And as for your chances, I think that you may need to increase your SAT to at least a 2150, probably closer to a 2200, to have a good shot at most of these schools. I think that for Stanford especially, it will be difficult as an international applicant. Try to improve your scores as much as possible, and make sure that you write as good of essays as you can. If your essays are stellar and you present yourself as someone who can bring a lot to Stanford (or whatever school of your choice), you could have an okay shot. Realize that all of these schools are insanely competitive, and that international applicants have poor chances as is. Good luck anyway though!</p>

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<p>@micmatt513‌ @bomerr @toptier </p>

<p>Thanks for taking the time to write your posts - but I created this thread on the 23rd of September. Since then I’ve retaken my SAT, and scored a 2180 (760 W, 730 CR and 690 M). Majoring in Political Science, so hopefully the lowish Math score won’t be too detracting. </p>

<p>So far I’ve applied to Duke, USC, Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD and UCSB. My essays for the UCs were average I’d say, but my Common App and Duke essays were crafted particularly well - for my standards at least. My Common App essay was about how working out at the gym has fundamentally changed who I am, and my optional Duke essay on how my diverse cultural background (I’m a German-born Iranian who has been raised in Bahrain) has affected me as a person - and how I hope to share my experiences with other students at Duke. </p>