Stanford, Columbia, Duke

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I am applying to 8 schools but Stanford, Columbia, and Duke are the ones that are on the reach end so I was wondering what you all thought of my chances.
-GPA:
Unweighted-4.0
Weighted-4.597</p>

<p>-Class Rank
1 of 300</p>

<p>-SAT:
Composite-2190
Reading-730
Math-780
Writing-680</p>

<p>-ACT
Composite-34
English-36
Math-36
Reading-33
Science-32
Combined English/Writing-32 (8 essay)</p>

<p>-Significant Extracurriculars
NHS president
Jazz band
Volunteering at hospital
Volunteering at food pantry
Boy Scouts (Eagle scout)
Home Goods Employee
Student Council</p>

<p>-8 AP courses throughout high school</p>

<p>-3 SAT subject tests
Math II-800
Chemistry-750
US History-780</p>

2

<p>SAT is a little low but you don’t have to retake it if you don’t want to (I’m not sure if you can send just your ACT instead since it’s a better score). ECs are lackluster but Eagle Scout will help. Your grades are obviously fine. Stanford and Columbia are really unlikely but you have a shot at Duke.</p>

3

<p>No hook</p>

<p>Stanford: High reach
Columbia: Reach to high reach
Duke: Reach</p>

4

<p>your grades and scores are very impressive, but I would say your ECs are a bit mundane, so I would say its wisest to go for ED Duke since your chance will go up dramatically. Stan/Columbia are high reaches since you don’t have much of a hook. chance me if you have a minute? Good luck and I’m sure you will end up somewhere great</p>

5

<p>You guys say that I do not have a hook and I see that, but how was I supposed to get a hook. I looked at Hind2015’s chance me and she went to Somalia and taught English to villagers from her home country. I am just a regular kid who has never gotten a chance to do something like that. Does anyone have any other examples of hooks that I might find more relatable?</p>

6

<p>hooks: urm, recruited athlete… or very very special talent</p>

<p>You don’t have hooks. So, they are automatic reach schools.</p>

7

<p>Ok, thanks. </p>

8

<p>@brianb299. Schools like Stanford don’t really care whether someone spent money to do “community service” in a far flung country like Somalia (admissions call these trips “feel-good” expensive vacations)…they care more for students who have consistently volunteered to make an impact in their local communities where they actually live…</p>

<p>…and looking at your credentials it looks like you have done that. Having a part-time job is also note-worthy. Now get off CC and start working on your essays and getting the best possible recommendations. Good luck!</p>

9

<p>@gravitas2‌ thanks so much, I was getting a little self conscious seeing all the crazy good ECs some other people have and was getting a little nervous even for the match schools I have, and don’t worry, I am almost done with my common app essay and have two great recommendations on the way. Thanks for the input!</p>

10

<p>Most Ivys are based on luck. You should aim to get into Duke since it’s probably the best match for you out of the three of them. ACT is good, a 35+ would be better, but SAT should be about 2250+. Try to find an internship that you could put on your college app in time for RD if you’d like.
Good luck, thanks for the chance. </p>

11

<p>If you guys could also chance me for UVA, UCLA, and UNC that would be great. Thanks</p>

12

<p>And I would be out of state for all the schools I’m looking at</p>

13

<p>I think your grades are really good but your EC’S are lacking. So they all will be a reach except Stanford is a high reach. Might sure to write killer essays! Good luck!</p>

14

<p>@Jay2631‌ would unc, ucla, and uva also be reaches?</p>

15

<p>UVA, UCLA, and UNC - match, maybe high match/low reach
Duke - low reach
Stanford/Columbia - reach
Chance me back? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1680594-chances-for-harvard-early-action-will-chance-back.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1680594-chances-for-harvard-early-action-will-chance-back.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

16

<p>I recommend you apply ED to Duke. Unlike other schools, they specifically say that they give ED students a big advantage. Here’s an actual quote from their website:</p>

<p>Is there an advantage to applying through the Early Decision program?</p>

<p>There IS an advantage in the admissions process to applying Early Decision. In 2012-2013, we admitted 30% of students who applied Early Decision and 10% of students who applied Regular Decision. There is no financial aid advantage or disadvantage in applying Early Decision, but students who wish to compare different schools’ financial aid packages should apply Regular Decision.</p>

<p>If you have your heart set on Stanford and/or Columbia then go for those, but you would have an excellent shot at Duke ED. Here are your chances from me:</p>

<p>Duke ED- Match, RD- Low Reach
Columbia ED- Low Reach, RD- Reach
Stanford REA or RD- Reach</p>

<p>Chance me back please:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1662544-chances-at-harvard-yale-princeton-mit-brown-columbia-dartmouth-tufts-duke-amherst.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1662544-chances-at-harvard-yale-princeton-mit-brown-columbia-dartmouth-tufts-duke-amherst.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

17

<p>Thanks a bunch, the problem is I don’t think my heart is set on Duke enough to apply to it binding ED</p>

18

<p>@brianb299‌ Fair enough, that’s completely reasonable. You have a shot anywhere you apply, odds will just be better at some than others. Best of luck!</p>

19

<p>All are reaches if you apply rd but that doesnt mean you have no shot! Your gpa is fabulous and standardized tests only need minimal improvment. Your Ec’s are a tad lackluster though so maybe try and do something cool between now and application time. Chance back please?</p>