<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>I'm a rising senior (female, caucasian) looking into some highly selective schools. I'm interested in majoring in Journalism, Media Studies, English or History so if you know any other schools that would be fitting please let me know. </p>
<p>GPA: 3.8 unweighted, 4.5 weighted
SAT I: 2240 (2nd try)- 800 reading, 640 math, 800 writing
(would like math to be higher but do not want to take again as I can't see it improving that much)
SAT II: Haven't taken yet</p>
<p>ECs:</p>
<p>-4H Club President (2 years), Vice President for 1 year
-Freshman, JV, and Varsity (this coming school year) volleyball player. Was team captain last year. Have been playing for four years now.
-NHS member
-National Social Studies Honor Society member
-French Honor Society member
-President of the school's Charity Club
-Summer job at an embassy
-Model UN delegate (have won a few awards)
-Journalism, writer for the school newspaper
-Active participant in school UNICEF and Amnesty International clubs
-Actress in school plays
-Variety of academic + extracurricular awards</p>
<p>Recommendations:
-Teacher ones should be great and I have a fantastic one from my job</p>
<p>Also:
-IB Diploma Candidate (grade average is 6/7)
-Living overseas but I have in-state residency for Virginia. For my essays I'm planning on writing about my experiences abroad and how they have shaped me. </p>
<p>Schools:</p>
<p>-William and Mary (in-state)
-UVA (in-state)
-Vanderbilt
-Northwestern
-Emory
-Emerson
-Fordham
-Kenyon
-NYU
-Yale (may apply SCEA), legacy
-Columbia (may apply ED)</p>
<p>Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! </p>
<p>This is all good! Nothing stood out to me as lacking, but nothing stood out as amazing either. The 4-H is interesting. Do you live in a rural area? Compete in 4H with your ducks? (Just as an example.) Things like that can help you distinguish yourself from other applicants. </p>
<p>I think you have a good shot at UVA and W&M, especially instate. </p>
<p>Emerson and Fordham low or medium matches. Kenyon is a match. I think you’ll get into those three. NYU, maybe.</p>
<p>The rest are reaches, of course. I think it’ll come down to your personality and traits. Your stats are fine. Your ECs are fine. So what makes you special? Think about that, and try and answer it in your essay. </p>
<p>You seem to have an international tilt, with the Model UN, embassy work, living overseas, etc. So writing your essay about that could work to your advantage and showcase your passion. Or you might want to show another facet of yourself. It’s your decision. </p>
<p>Gpa and sat are good, ECs are somewhat cliche, except journalism because it’s your potential major. Columbia is a reach, Yale is a low reach despite the legacy, NYU high match, Vanderbilt low reach, UVA high match, William and Mary match, Kenyon match, Emerson match.
Good luck though!
Please chance me back: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1672761-chance-me-for-stanford-university.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1672761-chance-me-for-stanford-university.html</a></p>
<p>@glittervine Thanks for your input! This is really helpful! </p>
<p>@Dream0n Thanks for your response; I really appreciate it! </p>
<p>Looks like you got a really good application there 
but there are somethings I want to point out to you
- Do not go to NYU, its not worth the money
I live in NYC, so I know the most about the school. It’s a famous school because famous people went there, not because of its quality. the school has good business, pharmacy and other not-so-liberal arts schools. If you’re going to major in Journalism I suggest you not to apply for NYU, its really expensive too.
- Columbia is a really good school you should consider more, I would say it’s reach for you. I’ve seen people with even better application get denied.
- Your application is good but fancy. A college admission officer used to tell me that colleges DONT want well-rounded students, they want a well-rounded class. Colleges dont believe that you have time to play a sport and do all the other things well at the same time. They want special students; for example, two kids apply at the same time, with similar scores( thats what its like in the applicant pool, lots of people with similar scores) one kid plays four instruments and in the school orchestra, chorus, theatre plus lots of other clubs and sports. the other kid only plays piano, and he plays it really well ( because he devoted most of his time in piano). He won numerous awards and performed at many public events. If the college only wants to admit one of the two, the second kid is more likely to be accepted. (the exact example that admission officer told me) So just make your application stand out, tell them that you aren’t just doing everything without a goal, instead show them your passion in a particular field ( like journalism). Ivies like Columbia really value that.</p>
<p>Sorry, I can’t chance you for the rest, because I’m not familiar with those school.</p>
<p>Good luck though! </p>
<p>@bigfatcarrot Thanks for your input and for taking the time to give me this advice! I’ll really take what you said into consideration. </p>
<p>Your achievements are incredible. Your SAT and GPA are great, you have many nice extracurriculars, and your living abroad situation makes you unique. I would say you’re a match for all but Yale, Columbia, and Northwestern, but only because they’re reaches for just about everyone. I think you’re definitely in at William and Mary and UVa, especially since you’re in-state. As long as you have good LORs and you write great essays, I’d say you have a decent shot at all, including your reaches. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Finally, another IB student! Emory, the state schools, and everything below seems to be a match. Even though Emory is a good school it’s known well for its medical resources. I would choose a different school for liberal arts… Such as Vanderbilt and Northwestern! Which seem like high matches for you. I can’t predict too well (well bc I’m a high school student hehe) but also because you haven’t shared your classes. Your ECs are fairly good but even with legacy Yale is still a reach.</p>
<p>@jinx123445 Thanks! That’s really helpful and encouraging! </p>
<p>@jedmd97 Thanks for the advice; that will be really helpful!</p>
<p>I’m going to dive right into this by saying that regardless of what credentials you have, Columbia and Yale are going to be a crap shoot for everyone. I’d say they’d be reaches for everyone. As far as the others go, UVA and W&M seem like matches as does Emory. Northwestern and Vanderbilt are low reaches as is NYU considering your academic pursuits. NYU is well known as a more artsy/non-hard sciences school. From the little knowledge that I know of Emerson, I think you would be a match, a low reach at worst since I’ve heard some great things about their media and film programs. Kenyon and Fordham I have absolutely no input on since I know nothing about them. As for any tips, I’d consider retaking the SAT one more time to improve your math score. I think it’s possible to bring it above 700 if you work exclusively on the math section. GPA wise you look good, but the un-weighted may be slightly too low for something like Yale. ECs demonstrate your passions for your prospective fields of study. Lastly, look into SAT II policies to see when the latest date is to turn them in. I know that Georgetown is flexible about when the SAT IIs are submitted, so if that’s the case with the other schools, try to work them in soon. Also thanks for the chance!!!</p>
<p>Gonna agree with a previous poster and say you should be set for all but Columbia, Yale, or Northwestern. Id say you’d have a better chance at Northwestern than the other two though. (Not sure how much Yale likes legacy)</p>
<p>Yeah, I agree with what everyone said. You have a solid application from the information given, but with the Ivy’s it’s hard to really evaluate since they are so selective. I also agree with the other New Yorker, NYU really isn’t all that and they give crap financial aid. Of course, if you really like it I say go for it!
If I can give advice about Columbia, I was told by an admissions counselor that they have a pile of essays they don’t read bc it always starts with, “as I was standing on the steps of [insert place on campus]…” Since you’re a writer I’m sure you’ll be original and fresh with your writing supplements but try to not turn it into a travel piece because they really like the things that people wouldn’t usually write about.
I also heard that Syracuse University has a good journalism program but you should look into it to see if it’s something you’re interested in. </p>
<p>Hi there! Thanks for chancing me Overall you have a considerable shot at most of the schools you listed. You have great GPA and SAT scores, and a wide variety of EC’s + leadership roles. I’d say W&M and UVA are both matches, NYU is a high match, Northwestern and Vanderbilt are low reaches, Yale is a mid reach (with legacy) and Columbia is a high reach.</p>
<p>Ace those essays and you’re good to do. Best of luck in the college process!</p>
<p>@kevinjuan Thanks for the chance and the advice!</p>
<p>@contrametum Thanks for your input! </p>
<p>@19Kay97 Thanks for the help! </p>
<p>@lumile Thanks! I really appreciate the chance! </p>