So I hear this college thing's pretty important...

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>All right, so I'm trying to figure out some prospective schools to which I want to apply. I'm almost certain Georgetown is my number 1 choice. I spent the summer there taking Microeconomics and Fundamentals of Business. I loved EVERYTHING about the school - its size, campus, location, etc.</p>

<p>So here I am writing this thread.</p>

<p>BASICS:
Gender: Male
Residence: NJ
Ethnicity: Indian</p>

<p>SCHOOL:
School: Public, Ultra-competitive (100% graduation rate, almost everybody goes to college)
GPA: 3.36 / 4 UW, 6.17 / 7 W (School uses a weird system)
Class Rank: 72/566 (Top 12% of class)</p>

<p>OK, so I have some explaining to do. I'm not going to lie; my study habits were basically nonexistent for the last three years. Procrastination was a massive problem for me. I tried to get by on cramming and late nights alone and that method didn't cut it. I've gotten my mind in gear over the summer and I plan to buckle down for the first semester of this year; that's why I'm not applying early, I guess. I want my senior grades to come in so that I can show them what my grades can be when I actually try. I'm thinking I should address this in my essay, what are your thoughts?</p>

<p>All of my classes have been honors/AP (weighted equally and equally hard at my school)</p>

<p>STANDARDIZED TESTS:
SAT: 720 Math, 800 CR, 800 Writing
SAT II: 650 US History, 700 Biology - E, 720 French
AP: French 4, Statistics 4, US History 4</p>

<p>EXTRACURRICULARS:
Orchestra (9-12): Concertmaster 9-10
Mock Trial (9-12): Co-captain 11-12
Model UN (11-12)
Tennis (9-12)
Hindu Youth Group (9-12): Leadership Council</p>

<p>I guess I do more but these are my important ones.</p>

<p>AWARDS:
- Rotary Youth Leadership Awards: Got sponsored by my local Rotary Club to go to a 5-day leadership conference
- National French Contest – 5th, 4th, 6th Nationally from 2006-2008</p>

<h2>- Selected for All South Jersey Orchestra</h2>

<p>SUMMERS
- Summer 2007(10-11): Business and Science Classes at BU for two weeks, non-credit
- Summer 2008 (11-12): Fundamentals of Business & Microeconomics, 6 Credits Total</p>

<p>SENIOR YEAR SCHEDULE:
European History AP
English 4AP
French 5AP
Calc AP
Forensics H
Orchestra (unweighted)
Lunch
PE</p>

<p>SCHOOL / INTENDED MAJOR
It’s sad because this is apparently Georgetown’s toughest school to get into, but I want to go to SFS and study International Economics with a possible minor in French. Other schools, I want to just do econ.</p>

<p>RECS / ESSAYS:
- My recommendation will be written by my French teacher, who’s known me for all four years. She loved me and I did very well in her class so it should be good.
- Essays should be very good as well</p>

<p>PHEW. Damn, that’s a lot of writing. So what are my chances at… (in order from more reach to more safe)</p>

<ul>
<li> Columbia (for the hell of it)</li>
<li> Cornell (see above)</li>
<li> Georgetown</li>
<li> BC</li>
<li> UMichigan – Ann Arbor</li>
<li> NYU</li>
<li> Villanova</li>
<li> Rutgers</li>
<li> BU</li>
</ul>

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<p>im from nj as well. </p>

<p>very amazing sats. Will help you a lot. </p>

<p>Villanova, Rutgers, BU, you're in. From rutgers, you may also get quite a bit of money. </p>

<p>Georgetown I think you have a decent chance. The ivies, well definite reaches. I don't really think Columbia will accept you since UW is bit low, but cornell if you're lucky.</p>

3

<p>You look pretty good. I say you've got more than a 50-50 shot at Gtown and, while Columbia and Cornell are reaches for you, it wouldnt be shocking to me if you got into one of them. Good luck.</p>

4

<p>Hi getsilly!</p>

<p>Welcome to the admissions game ... no ... it's not very important at all! If you game over, you can always give Mario a second chance with a mushroom!(JK) </p>

<p>Anyways, I see that you're a new member here on CC, so I would like to say welcome to this wonderful site. You will find alot of useful advice (and not so useful advice) here on this site. </p>

<p>Now onto your eval. Your GPA is somewhat weak at a 3.3 out of 4. Most schools do judge you based on your UW GPA. While I do think that it is important for you to come out honest in your essay about your procastination problem, I really don't think that it'll save you in the long run, because generally when you have you're wake up call by now, it's too late, because everything that college admission officers see by now is set in stone. If you really wanted to do a turn-a-round, I think a great time would have been in your sophomore year or junior year. But yes, please try your hardest this semester for your senior year --- and make sure that your guidance counselors address this ... I will note that most prestigious schools like to see students to have a desire to discover and learn which is something you apparently didn't have at first. Another thing to note about your performance in school: Was there something important that occured during HS years that could have adversely impacted your performance in school? This can include family issues (death of a loved one or divorce) or personal issues (brain surgery). These cases are unique and college admission officers will definitely account for your cases that caused hardship for you. And, as in any case, you should talk to your guidance counselor about it and mention it in your essays ... show them what you did to make your situation better and what you could have done to make it even better if you had a second chance. </p>

<p>Your GPA can also be explained for with a competitive HS and a relatively rigorous curriculum with 3 APs and 7 by the time you graduate. This number of APs for the schools of your caliber is about average compared to most prospective applicants. Your SAT I is very strong at a 2320 -- however I do not think that this alone can help you in college admissions ... admission officers do not use a calculator to judge how well you've done in high school, so it's not like that your SAT score can help "bring up" that "score." Your SAT IIs are also pretty fine. Your AP scores will generally earn you credit more at state schools, but your chances of getting credit at the top schools are not very good. Top schools like to see 5s, but your 4s are consistent with your performance in school. For your ECs, they are pretty few in number, but they demonstrate considerable dedication to them because for most of them you have done throughout your HS career. You also demonstrate leadership and interest in your own culture. If you especially like participating in the Hindu Youth Group, please reveal your passion to admission officers in your essay. Reveal to them what it really means to you ... to work with and include your culture in your everyday life. How is important to you? Show them your thoughts and be genuine (yourself). When you are done with your essays, you can use a section known as "College Essays" here on College Confidential. Here, you can ask other CCers whether they will critique on your essay or not. Actually, you can also PM me your essay and I'll be more than happy to read it.</p>

<p>For your summers, I do like how you've taken classes at Boston U and Georgetown. If possible, ask your profs at Boston and Georgetown to write a rec for you. If they are good enough, that can help boost your chances of admission ... good words from profs at prestigious schools is always a good thing. </p>

<p>Overall, you seem to be a pretty smart kid who finally had the wake up call that it's time to work hard ... but don't worry! It's better late than never. </p>

<p>Chances:
Columbia: Reach (It is for everyone)
Cornell: Reach (They prefer to see higher GPAs)
Georgetown: Reach
UMich Ann Arbor: Reach (To be honest with you, I've never seen UMich accept people with less than a 3.5 ... and UMich does take out all your freshman grades and non academic courses so it's possible your GPA can be lower at UMich ... OOS admissions are also more difficult ... Boost your chances by applying before Oct 31 and don't blow off essays .. demonstrate interest by campus visiting them)
NYU: Slight reach
Villanova: Slight reach
Rutgers: Match
BU: Match</p>

<p>Good luck and I hope this helps! If you have any questions, feel free to email me.
-ab2013</p>

5

<p>Nice SAT scores, but your SATII's and AP scores are a bit low. Your UW GPA is low and will likely hurt your chances at the elite schools you're applying to. I'd say Cornell and Columbia are reaches, with Cornell being less of a stretch. If you loved everything about Georgetown, why not apply ED and improve your shot even more?</p>

6

<p>Looking good. What has been the history of kids getting into schools like your reaches at your gpa? Ask your GC. Your class rank is pretty high given your gpa which makes me think you may be in a danged tough school. GT will be tough even with your phenomonal test score. A kid at our school was not accepted with a very similar profile and a 3.45 gpa unweighted with the very toughest courses. I;ve seen kids get into UMich from our school with your gpa. As large as that school is, it seems to take time to assess the transcript by school. Which school are you trying for at Cornell?</p>

7

<p>Hey getsilly, I sent you a PM regarding some stuff.</p>

<p>I have to admit that the UW GPA will hurt you tremendously. However, your test scores are pretty good. I don't want to stereotype, but your SAT Math section seems a bit low for what I know of Indians. Haha. Just saying.</p>

<p>I'm actually concerned that I might know you IRL.</p>

<p>Your SATIIs and APs are good. Your ECs show dedication, and quite scarily, I might've seen you numerous times depending on what school you go to because of your ECs. I also live in SJ and attend Model UNs and play Tennis. (And play Viola, but I never bothered for ASJOrch)</p>

<p>Anyway, back on topic.
Your chances are looking good for most of your schools.</p>

<ul>
<li>Columbia - Reach/High Reach (All Ivies are), but if you're applying for the hell of it, why waste your time with the application?</li>
<li>Cornell - Low Reach/Reach (Easiest Ivy to get into), also note above, although this is CommonApp, so why not, just an extra essay in the supplement.</li>
<li>Georgetown - Reach/High Reach (This is hard to tell, I agree with the above posters, apply ED to this school to improve your chances.)</li>
<li>BC - High Match/Low Reach (Your UW GPA is killing you right now, but you're looking alright.)</li>
<li>UMichigan – Ann Arbor - Low Reach</li>
<li>NYU - Low Reach</li>
<li>Villanova - Match</li>
<li>Rutgers - Match (In-State? Maybe some merit scholarships? DO THAT OPTIONAL ESSAY FOR THIS SCHOOL LOL.)</li>
<li>BU - Match</li>
</ul>

<p>For all of the schools besides 'nova, RU and BU, I had to give you a 1 level up rating because of that 3.3 UW GPA. If it was just slightly higher at 3.5 or 3.6, those reaches might prove to be low reaches. However, it's killing you.</p>

<p>Reply back to that PM if you're willing.</p>

<p>Chance me back, if you can? <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/566096-typical-thread-forum.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/566096-typical-thread-forum.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Just got my grades from Georgetown: I got a B+ in Microecon and an A- in Fundamentals of Business. Also forgot to mention I'm a second-degree black belt in karate. I haven't been to classes since March, though..</p>

<p>Any more opinions?</p>

9

<p>2 week bump? Thankssss</p>

10

<p>Mad late bump, I got a 790 on Math II this December.</p>

<p>These are the places I applied to:</p>

<p>Georgetown (still #1)
Penn
UVA
Cornell
UNC
NYU
Notre Dame
Michigan
William and Mary
BC
Villanova
BU
Rutgers - In
Drexel - In
Penn State - In</p>

<p>Thanks people!</p>

11

<p>Final bump, got 5’s on AP exams in Calc BC, English Lit, and European History. I’m going to William and Mary OOS this fall!!</p>

<p>So low GPA people, keep your hopes up.</p>

12

<p>W&M has always looked at more than just numbers. Best of luck. you will love it.</p>