Hiya! I’ve turned in my application and Match Agreement Form, and now I’m curious as to what people think about my chances when it comes to getting anything out of it, whether it’s through a Match or just regular decision.
Gender: FtM Transgender
Race: White
ACT Composite: 31 (Superscore: 32)
35 and 36 in English, 27 and 29 in Math, 27 and 30 in Science, and 30 and 31 in Reading
I opted out of using my SAT score since my ACT score was better.
GPA: 3.9 weighted. My grades aren’t straight As over the years, having a rare C, but if I get straight As this semester, I’ll finish high school with a weighted 4.0.
APs: AP Human Geography (4), AP U.S. History (3), AP Psychology (3), AP Language and Composition (4). The last two were taken online; I admittedly don’t know what happened on the Psych one, since I felt good about it, but that doesn’t really matter now.
Senior Schedule: AP Literature and Composition, AP Statistics, AP U.S. Government and Politics, Literary Magazine, Spanish IV, Personal Communications, Economics, Forensic Science I and II, Folklore and Mythology
Household Income = Around $14,000. My grandparents own our house, and my mother is the beneficiary of the Social Security death benefits from my dad’s passing.
FAFSA EFC: 0
Honors:
- Silver national placement on National Spanish exam in freshman year
- Silver national placement and gold state placement on National Spanish exam in sophomore year
- Received State Seal of Biliteracy in junior year
- AP Scholar with Honor Award in junior year
- National Honor Society induction in senior year; I’m part of the Induction Committee. (I’m also in National English Honor Society and National Spanish Honor Society, but confirmation for these didn’t come until after the application deadline.)
As for academic and athletic extracurriculars…
- Literary Magazine: A student-led staff class at our school in which we turn in weekly writing, photography, or art submissions and encourage the student body to do the same. We review these pieces, and at the end of the year, the ones that are approved are compiled into an award-winning Literary Magazine entitled Connotations. This is my first year on staff.
- Color Guard/Winter Guard: I’ve been doing these activities since second semester of eighth grade. We don’t have assigned captains, but I’m often tasked with leading sectionals and helping new members.
- National Honor Society: Being in NHS encompasses not only my grades, but since I’m an active member, I gather volunteer hours on behalf of NHS. This includes thrift store help, tutoring, etc.
- Tutoring my sister: This is more of a personal one, but due to COVID, my sister has had a hard time adjusting to virtual schooling. I’ve been helping her with her work and teaching her things that haven’t been communicated well online.
I wrote my biographical essay on my experience being transgender and working through that with my mom, which is an ongoing thing. I wrote my topical essay on the prompt asking what I admire about my community and what I would change. I included my pride in my community’s open-mindedness and entertainment/engagement areas for the public, as well as how I’d like to improve the education system and maximize the voices of the students.
My Match Ranking List:
- Columbia
- Princeton
- Yale
- Colorado College
- Northwestern
- UIC
- Rice
- Notre Dame
Obviously, the schools on the list (like most of the partners, really) are very, very selective. I understand how low the chances of matching an Ivy League can be, but I figured it didn’t hurt to put them down, haha. How do you guys feel about my chances? I know my education isn’t super perfect, but I still consider myself highly achieving, and I’m certainly in a low enough income bracket. In addition to Match chances, what kinds of numbers can be expected when it comes to being granted regular decision scholarships out of Questbridge? If you read through all of this and replied, thank you so much!