Stanford, Columbia, Brown, Georgetown...

<p>What are my chances for these schools?</p>

<p>This is a big list; I'll only end up applying to 2 reaches, 2 matches, and 2 safeties. I'm only listing the hardest ones that I like, and I already have 2 safeties. I posted a similar thread a little while back, but this is updated. Thanks in advance.</p>

<p>Stanford (EA)
Yale
Princeton
MIT
Columbia
UPenn
Brown
Georgetown
UChicago
Berkeley
USC
Emory</p>

<p>BACKGROUND</p>

<p>-Male caucasian junior
-Decent public HS in Utah.
-I have Corsican + Persian + American ethnicity.
-Family income ~ $14,000 / year. No assets over $1,000.</p>

<p>ACADEMIC</p>

<p>GPA: 3.6 unweighted, 4.1 weighted.</p>

<p>SAT Subject Tests:
800 French
750 Math I
730 US History</p>

<p>SAT: 2200 projected (taking this June!)</p>

<p>AP courses: 9 including senior year</p>

<p>AWARDS</p>

<p>-Questbridge CollegePrep Recipient
-Cross Country MVP, Most Improved awards.
-Honor roll many/most semesters
-High School Academic Letter I
-Nominated by teachers for "Keys to Success"</p>

<p>Teacher Rec's will most likely be excellent.</p>

<p>EXTRA CURRICULAR</p>

<p>-Cross Country (3 years) varsity.
-Track (4 years) 1600m, 800m, long jump
-French club (2 years) (president)
-FBLA club (1 year) went to state
-Debate Team (1 year)
Service Club (1 year) (raised awareness for drunk driving, funds for leukemia, raffles, assemblies, invited guest speakers. acted as the "Respect Campaign Organizer")
-Jr. Scholar's Academy (3 months) (was selected among 50 students in the district for a course on the founding fathers)
-Interned at Zion's Bank. shadowed one of the big dogs. (1 month)</p>

<p>WORK</p>

<p>-Educated an autistic boy for a family (1 year)
-I single-handedly made a website (e-commerce!) for someone else's product.
-I worked for a small real-estate company in Los Angeles and did graphic design work.</p>

<p>MISC</p>

<p>-My father took his life while he was a senior at Stanford. My mom discovered her pregnancy with me only a few days later. Her father had abandoned her, and without US citizenship she raised me from almost nothing. She then divorced step dad when I was 2, which is why I have a little sister.</p>

<p>-I had a rough sophomore year because my family went through a financial crisis and we were basically undeclared homeless for months. We stayed at a family friend's home. Sometimes I did my homework in our car full of newspapers, where I would then sleep. this brings my GPA way down, otherwise I have always been a straight A student...</p>

<p>-I educated a 9 year old autistic child, Spencer during all of 10th grade on my own time twice a week. I taught him how to speak correctly, write, think and express himself. Over the year, his family saw improvement, and I am very proud of this. In my essay I want to compare his obsessions with an elaborate train-set he built, to my obsessions of constantly thinking of how I could better teach him during my daily life, and help him "build" himself. I am considering neuroscience.</p>

<p>-Also, my father cared for an autistic black kid, Archie, at his high school. He would bring him home and clothe him / feed him for years. Surprisingly enough, he later apparently showed up to my parent's wedding, finding his way on a bicycle. I didn't know about all this until after my experience with the autistic boy I educated. He ran the 800m, like me, something I only learned afterwards as well.</p>

<p>Honestly, I think you have excellent chances at all of the schools you listed. Sure, your GPA is “low” by CC standards, and it’s hard to chance you with only projected SAT scores, but what with everything you’ve endured and the context in which you’ve succeeded… I would be surprised if you weren’t accepted into at least 1 of your 2 chosen reaches, whichever ones you end up applying to. That is, of course, assuming you can write very well and execute a great common app essay about what you’ve faced/overcome in your life… and assuming you have great teacher recs (which it sounds like you will). Good luck! I wish you the best.</p>

<p>thank you!
bumping for anyone else</p>

<p>bump 10char</p>

<p>your misc are very very good. Colleges like it when people battle through tough times.</p>

<p>GPA means nothing without a class rank.</p>