Real chances at college??

<p>Realistic chances of getting into college?
Its October 20th and SAT scores came out. i did not do to well (1830) Taking that into account what do you think are my real chances of getting into Cornell University, Boston College, Columbia, Drexel university or Carnegie Mellon. I was thinking of applying early to BC and Cornell.
My other stats are: B+ average at and East Coast Prep Boarding School (Exeter)
A unique and rather creative college essay (at least thats what the people that have read it say)
My EC's are good:volunteer camps in Africa, Siberia. Summer Job since I was 10 y.o. I speak 3 languages fluently, I am international (hispanic). JV swimming and semi-competitive golf and tennis. I am hoping for good college recommendations.Never had any discipline problem. Hold leadership position in my dorm. I have worked as an intern at a veterinary clinic, helping operate on dogs and cats for a couple years.</p>

<p>So thats that, what do you think are my real chances?
thanks</p>

<p>It sounds like your family could make a large donation to get you in</p>

<p>Your SATs are decent, but not great. Hence:</p>

<p>I would say try BU, not BC.</p>

<p>And NYU or Fordham, not Columbia</p>

<p>And Univesity of Pittsburgh, not Carnegie Mellon</p>

<p>Of course, I could be wrong, but I think you are being overly optimistic.</p>

<p>No harm applying to the schools you mentioned, but in my view, they are reaches. In fact, they are reaches even if you had a 2100 SAT, because of their low acceptance rates.</p>

<p>Look for more matches. For example, Drexel is probably indeed in range for you.</p>

<p>And perhaps apply to some top SAT optional schools. There is a list of them floating around out there somewhere.</p>

<p>A couple of points – 1830 is a GOOD SAT score. It may be light for the Ivy’s and 25 or so other schools but it is fantastic for the many thousands of other colleges in the US. I’m not saying don’t take it again, if you think you can do better, but don’t think that you didn’t do well on this test.</p>

<p>Next - The first place you should go with your list is your GC. Elite private schools are kind of a different beastie than public schools, and admissions patterns tend to vary a lot school by school. Plus, I would think that Exeter had college placement services that are really tops on giving advice. Honestly, their advice will be better than ours.</p>

<p>Taking this into account – you say you are international (Hispanic). There are different standards for US citizens than Internationals at all these schools, and different standards still if you qualify as an URM. I can’t tell from your post as to how you would be classified.</p>

<p>Assuming you’re not URM for admissions purposes, floridadad’s list is probably pretty close. I’d be a bit more optimistic about CMU and BC than he, but neither is a sure thing.</p>

<p>Bottom line, take advantage of your school’s college counselling services.</p>