Should I bother applying? Chances at Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and Georgetown

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hello CCers, I have never posted one of these chance me threads, but I genuinely need an outside, unbiased opinion in this process. I'm having doubts about applying to Ivies, but I need to sort this out very soon since the RD application deadlines are quickly approaching. I am looking for realistic opinions on if I should even bother applying to these schools. I just want to know if I am competitive applicant and should try my chances, or if I don't stand a chance and applying is not worth the fee. Any and all feedback is appreciated. </p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2250 (CR: 760, M: 720, W: 770)
SAT II: I took Lit, Bio E, and Math II this weekend. Studied hard and expecting in the 700s for each.</p>

<p>GPA: 3.86 UW, 4.44 W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5% (large public school, rarely sends any students to Ivies)
AP (Scores): Gov't and Politics (5), Calc AB (5), Calc BC (4), English Lang (4), World History (4), Biology (4)</p>

<p>Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP US History, AP Psychology, AP Physics C, AP Stat, Comparative Religion, Honors Health, Internship</p>

<p>Awards:
We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution District and State Champion
We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution National Finalist
Top 30 at County League Debate Finalist
County Mock Trial Playoff Finalist
U.S. Senator "X" Certificate of Special Recognition
Washington College Book Award Recipient
Principal's Certificate of Achievement (2012, 2013, 2014)
AP Scholar with Distinction
Most Likely to Work at the Smithsonian (from the Smithsonian Institute staff - a humorous addition to my app/ sort of a joke)</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities:
We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution: (11, 12) Student Coach, Outreach and Advocacy Intern, Head Speechwriter
Mock Trial: (9, 10, 11, 12) Lead Attorney
Debate: (9, 10, 11, 12) Secretary, NFL Member with Merit
Ambassador Program (10, 11, 12): Co-Vice President of Signature Programs
National English Honor Society: (12) Secretary, Communications Director
Martial Arts: (9, 10, 11) Brown Belt Candidate, Placed 3rd in Forms at Regional Tournament
National Honor Society: (11, 12)
French Honor Society: (10, 11)
Key Club: (9, 10, 11, 12)
Young Democrats: (9, 10, 11)
Black Student Union (12)
LGBTQ+ group: (9, 10, 11)</p>

<p>Volunteer Experience: Over 330 service hours
Youth Teacher Assistant at Smithsonian Institute (120 hours)
Youth Volunteer at County Libraries (100+ hours)</p>

<p>Essays: Good (still working on these)
Recommendation Letters: Excellent (one is also from a teacher who is an alumni at an Ivy I am applying to)</p>

<p>Intended Major: Political Science and International Affairs
Financial Aid: Yes
Income: <$65,000
State: Mid-Atlantic Region
Race: African-American (first gen American if that helps)
Gender: Female </p>

<p>Now for the colleges...
Should I even bother applying to:
Yale
Princeton
maybe even Harvard </p>

<p>Already set on applying to and would appreciate feedback on:
Columbia
Georgetown
Brown
UChicago
NYU
Northwestern
Cornell </p>

<p>If you have any other recommendations on schools that I should look at or apply to in regards to my academic profile and passion for polisci and international relations, I would love to hear it!</p>

2

<p>I’d worry less about the prestige and more about a safety at this point – do you have one you can both get into and afford? </p>

3

<p>Yeah, I applied to the University of Maryland EA. It’s very affordable if I live at home and is always a fallback option. </p>

4

<p>yeah, pretty sure you will get into hyp + all the other schools you applied to. you’ve worked very hard and i would be very surprised if you got rejected from any of these schools!! as long as your essays are from the heart, you have amazing chances.</p>

5

<p>Good SAT score, below average GPA (for HYP), a school that rarely sends students to the ivies, good ECs, no really prestigious awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.), URM, no other hooks.</p>

<p>Ignore hitgirl. HYP can reject anyone they want.</p>

<p>However, your stats are good, so you have a decent chance to be accepted by HYP. I think you should apply.</p>

6

<p>Thanks for the feedback! </p>

7

<p>Hey, Your academic scores look pretty solid and competitive. What I would personally suggest is that you achieve something unique extra curricular wise. Your scores will definitely get you through the entry level, but after that it’s your EC’S that will differ you from those 25,000+ applicants. Every year more than 30,000 students apply to the ivy leagues, now keep in mind that not all of them have perfect SAT scores or GPA’s but STILL some get accepted. For example, my cousin got accepted into Cornell, which is again an ivy league. She had an SAT score of 1850 and GPA of 3.8 unweighted. Her friend got rejected who had everything perfect and was top 1% of her class. This clearly shows how the admission officers are not JUST considering the grades. Think about those 30,000 more applicants who pretty much have the same EC’s as you and are even presidents of NHS and etc etc. My cousin was not even a member of NHS. The main reason she got accepted was because of her interest in women’s rights. Which not many students think about. She travelled to Asia and observed all these factors and states of Women in different countries. This made her stand out of those 30,000 applicants. I am not saying that you don’t have a chance, but just find something UNIQUE and achieve excellency on it. Trust me, admission officers couldn’t careless about all these popular things that namely each and every applicant out of those 30,000 has. Most of these schools, already have a team/club like that. I visited Harvard this summer and even talked to the admission officer, the first thing she told me was ‘what can you bring to Harvard?’. In your case, you can talk about your martial arts experience in your essay as not many applicants have that kind of EC. Hope this helps you! Good luck and keep up the good work! Also could you chance me back to my only thread? Thanks! </p>

8

<p>Wow, thanks for your advice!</p>

9

<p>Any other opinions?</p>

10

Did you apply?

11

I’ll be very terse in my assessment. As said before, no real hook. Decent SAT score, but the splits aren’t great as you’d like a higher math. Really Solid ap count and scores. Ultimately, due to your solid yet unspectacular stats among Ivy League contenders, I’d predict you get into a lower Ivy League like Brown or Cornell. I think you should still apply to HYP, but I would have low expectations. Realistically out of your list, I think NYU and Georgetown locks and you have a good shot at Brown, Cornell, and Northwestern. Others are reaches especially HYP. Good luck!

12

Never mind. Missed your ethnicity and income. Now that I see that, you’re within reach of everything. Good luck once again.

13

Sorry, no real hook??!But, black females with these SATs are statistically fairly uncommon. And in fact, most elite institutions are in a very competitive environment to obtain such students. Further, I would say, from a financial perspective, outside of a merit scholarship from her home state universities, the upper Ivy schools, plus Stanford/MIT/Wash U, etc…would probably yield the most comprehensive net financial aid package. For instance, at 75K annual family income, Yale would cover the total cost of tuition and room/board–or about 63K+. So, while she certainly has no assurances of acceptance, I would say you have a better chance, than most, in regards to admission.

14

Your stats and ECs are pretty good for these schools, then I saw you were a African American female. I’m pretty sure you’ll get into a HYPSC

15

Did you get in? I’d be surprised if you didn’t!