I am really busy with school most of the time and so I would rather not apply to colleges that I have no chance of getting accepted to. So please let me know what you think my chances are of getting admission to any ivy league schools, thanks!
race:black
GPA:3.295/4.0 (I transferred to an extremely difficult school and it took me a long time to adjust to the workload)
ACT: 33 (36M, 30R, 30E, 35S)
SATII: math2: 800 physics: 780
ECs: vice president of amnesty club, vice president of weightlifting club, precalculus tutor, conducted research at Clemson University and currently working on my research paper and presentation, varsity track and field for the past five years.
Intended majors: math and physics
I’m pretty sure my supplementary essays would be good and I should have very strong recommendations.
What school is it you have a 3.3 at? Is it a private or elite public school? Was the school you transferred from very weak? Ordinarily, the GPA would be a problem. Might be worth applying to lower Ivies though.
GPA could throw you out, maybe try getting your counselor to explain that. Other than that you are competitive, but your GPA will likely hurt you a lot.
@sattut It is an elite public charter school but I will likely have nearly all A’s at the end of the semester so that might show an upward trend in my senior year. @sattake my counselor did say she would explain that.
All Ivies are reaches for any person, but remember your comparing yourself to 4.0’s and 2400’ers (and 36’ers) with lots of leadership positions and EC’s. Your chances of getting in are incredibly low, but I would never say you don’t have a shot. For your sake I hope you apply to more match and reach schools so you can actually have a college to go to if you are denied. Apply anyway while writing an essay as to why you chose those colleges. Make sure to write about yourself and why that school is special to you. DO NOT write about prestige. Admission officers won’t even finish reading the first sentence of your application if you do. Good luck bud, and remember that grad school is another option for Ivies so don’t give up or slack in any college you go to.
OP has an 800 and 780 on SAT IIs and is black. OP’s ACTs are average for Harvard, 75th percentile or so for low Ivies. Probably transferred to elite school from one not so good and has improved. I would apply to low Ivies and some lesser top 30 or so schools, then add safes and safer safes. I think OP has a shot at Ivies.
Are you not reporting because you didn’t take any or did not do well?
Doing well on AP tests and poorly in AP classes is another way to show that your school is just plain tough and colleges will be more forgiving of your GPA if you see that.
The reason I ask if your school ranks is because if you’re somewhere in the top quartile or so (better yet top 10%), then colleges will also see that your school is really tough and give you some leeway there. If your school doesn’t rank, do you know how a 3.3 stacks up against the rest of the grade?
I think it’s impossible to predict. Your math and physics scores are very high and black students are particularly under-represented in areas like that, so if you did well in your upperclass STEM courses and they were rigorous, I could see you having a good chance at any of these schools. Make sure to address how you went from a less demanding to a very rigorous school. I think seeing you doing well at the new school is exactly what they would be looking for. No guarantees but I would try if I were you.
I agree that not submitting AP scores doesn’t look good. It sounds like OP may have initially been at a pretty weak high school, and this should be explained. I think OP should at least get into a top 30 or so school. The test scores are really good.
People on this forum can be negative. I would spin it that you came from a weaker school, at first didn’t do that well, but improved every year. You want to imply that you will do even better in college.
I remember reading some interview with a Rockefeller where they asked him about doing badly at Harvard. He replied that he followed the typical path of Exeter men at Harvard, doing well the first year, because they are so well prepared, but worse and worse each following year.
In the British system, admissions is all based on A-levels, which are sort of like AP exams. It is less based directly on money and connections as here. However, that approach gives private school graduates a huge advantage, and makes it extremely difficult for students from schools in bad areas to get into top universities.