The dog days are over so CHANCE ME for Dartmouth !

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>User Name: xrednailpolish
Gender: F
Location: VA
College Class Year: 2011
High School: Public
High School Type: like never sends grads to top schools maybe one a year.</p>

<p>Academics:</p>

<p>Unweighted: 3.95
Weighted: 4.3
Class Rank: No rank but I'd say top 3%
Class Size: 505</p>

<p>Career Interests: Engineer
Testing:
SAT I: (720,660,650) 1380/2030--> very high score for my school, >25% for Dartmouth HOWEVER, retaking in January and practice tests are 2150+. Do you think I need to retake the SAT are my scores that much of a deal breaker? It's higher than the 25% for Dartmouth so if 25% of the people at Dartmouth aren't failing out and they have a score lower than mine, then shouldn't I be okay?</p>

<p>SATII: 740 Math 1 , 650 Physics (had to take it for engineering programs, currently in AP Physics B, didn't even cover all the material for the test in physics honors, this is explained in my app BUT is the score really that bad?)
AP Scores: 5 AP World History, 5 AP Statistics, 4 AP English Language and Composition </p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Significant Extracurriculars:
I LOVE TO RUN
-Varsity OUTDOOR TRACK (all 4 years)(MVP, ALL-REGION, state qualifier,coaches award,district champ yeaa...,
Varsity INDOOR TRACK (3 years)(MVP, ALL-district)
Varsity CROSS Country( 3 years)
Sports are a real time killer 25 hours a week</p>

<p>Spanish Honor Society member (tutor/celebrate cultura latina)( all 4 years)-->4 hours per week</p>

<p>Math Honor Society(tutoring society)( only juniors and seniors can join)--->4 hours per week</p>

<p>That is a grand total of 33 hours per week
I've dibble dabbled in a few things too, but they aren't super notable.</p>

<p>Leadership positions:
Captain for track (kind of, explained in my app)
Spanish honor society vice president (11th grade)
Spanish honor society president (12)
Math honor society officer (12)</p>

<p>Work:
Tutoring for the money (currently tutoring a teacher in math-related things)</p>

<p>Honors and Awards:
AP Scholar
National Achievement
Top Physics Student
Top Stat student
Scholar-athlete award
girls state</p>

<p>Additional info:</p>

<p>[Live with dad (he doesn't make too much either), mom can't support me financially, don't see her often
recently lost her home]</p>

<p>Mom didn't go to college, dad went to college in Africa (first gen?). No one really reckons with his degree and schooling is different in my parent's country.</p>

<p>I'm a big fish in a small pond. I've made the most of the opportunities I've been given.
It's funny, when I tell people from my school I'm doing ED to Dartmouth they're like "Dart-who? Why are you applying there, you could go to Harvard?!?! (they're not too knowledgeable of the selectivity of some of these places" but Dartmouth is the best fit. At my school, there are a lot of people rooting for me. Teacher said I was in "the top 1% of all the students he's ever taught in his teaching career (25 years)"</p>

<p>I didn't know about USAMO, AIME, INTEL or FIRST until I came on College Confidential. I know I don't have a ton of super cool ecs but I pursued things I loved in high school (running). So my SAT scores are low for Dartmouth (and some of the reaches), I still think I could handle the workload. It can't be that much of a deal breaker. </p>

<p>I am no ones charity case so BE BRUTAL.</p>

<p>ALSO, could you comment on my ECS? </p>

<p>Ethnicity: I'm Black but I put other on my application to Dartmouth.....</p>

<p>So chance for
Dartmouth ED
Cornell
MIT (went on fly-in program)
Upenn (engineering)
UVA (in-state)
V-tech engineering</p>

<p>THE CHANCE I'M MOST INTERESTED IN IS FOR DARTMOUTH ED</p>

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<ul>
<li>I’m black but I declined to state my ethnicity on my application. I didn’t put other.</li>
</ul>

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<p>this years AP’S are AP Calc , AP Spanish , AP gov, AP LIT, AP Physics B
(most demanding schedule at my school)</p>

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<p>You should only retake the SAT if you honestly feel you can improve. Otherwise, be happy with what you have. If you are right about your scores being in the top 25%, then there should be no reason to retake them anyway. You have as good a chance as anyone else applying. Good luck!</p>

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<p>no they’re in the bottom 25, only 25% scored lower than I did ~75% scored higher than I did</p>

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<p>Unfortunately, considerably more than 25% of every class at Dartmouth has a hook. Being black is a hook. You may want to reconsider putting down your race, though I’m guessing you’re a National Achievement Scholar which would of course identify you as black.</p>

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<p>If you are in the bottom 25%, then you need to make sure you have safeties (where your scores are in at least the top 25%). Also, are you sure you want to go to a school where 75% of the scores are higher than yours? Don’t forget to consider “fit”.</p>

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<p>being black is an advantage & hook. you can send an additional e-mail to state it.</p>

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<p>Yea I have safeties. I wouldn’t have a problem going to a school where 75% of the students have a higher sat score than I do. I answered all the questions on the SAT, and I missed 17. I don’t think someone who missed 10 or 5 is that much smarter than I am.</p>

<p>so the general consensus is that I should leave out my African American status (I guess i’ll put it on future apps)</p>

<p>Thanks guys</p>

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<p>Dartmouth ED is unlikely. I think you would have a much BETTER shot if you put down your ethnicity, but your SAT score is only about mid-range for dartmouth, and your only major extracurricular is varsity running. If you are planning on running in college, this could be much more crucial. You will get into UVA because its in state, but I have no clue about VATech’s engineering program. The rest are up for grabs, but MIT and UPenn are also unlikely. Cornell you have a pretty decent shot at.</p>

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<p>^To OP: State your race, it may give you a decision changing boost in your application because your are a URM. It may also open the door to other scholarships. Stating your race can only help you. And im not sure if female+engineering could also be a hook? Maybe somebody else on CC can help you with that. Are you being recruited by Dartmouth for Track or do plan to walk on? Most of those 25% percentile and below SAT scores at Dartmouth are due to recruited atheltes. I like how you picked a couple of activities and were extremely committed to those; I hope Dartmouth sees it that way. Just to reiterate, stating your race, because of affirmative action, would raise your chances into Dartmouth by a good amount. good luck :)</p>

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<p>UPDATE:
I was rejected from Dartmouth ED. Hope this is helpful.</p>

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<p>Sorry to hear that. With a 15% increase in applications, Dartmouth is a reach for almost everyone.</p>

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<p>You should have put your race in the application…</p>