Top choices are Brown, Wesleyan, etc... Do I need a reality check??

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi, I'm a 17 year old high school senior girl (white) and am pretty far along in my college application process. However, I was recently looking at the colleges I'm applying to, and began to worry that too many of them are out of my reach. Please, be honest and tell me whether I'm right on track for college or need a cold dose of reality. </p>

<p>Colleges I'm applying to:
Boston University
Brown
Carleton College
Grinnell College
Macalester College
Indiana University
Muhlenberg College
Northeastern University
University of Rochester
Wesleyan University</p>

<p>(Brown is my dream school... Boston U, Wesleyan, and Carleton are my other top choices)</p>

<p>My Stats:</p>

<p>ACADEMIC
GPA: 3.974 (weighted if that matters)
SATs: 2010 - 650 math - 680 verbal - 680 writing
- top 11% in class of 300ish
- scholar athlete
- NHS member
- academic all state
- each year i've taken at least 2 honors or AP courses
- English AP Test: 4, US History AP Test: 3</p>

<p>EC
- 4 year varsity xc runner (competed at state level all 4 years)
- 3 year varsity track runner (competed at state level fresh and junior years) - i'll do track this year as well but the season hasn't started yet
- yearbook (member for 3 years) - section editor my sophomore and junior years
- worked as an assistant counselor at a summer camp junior year (paying job)
- volunteered at same summer camp fresh and sophomore years
- attended a 3 day leadership camp where local high school seniors mentor and help care for 5th graders </p>

<p>ESSAY
- this one is harder to describe because it's not as if I expect everyone to actually read my essay. however, I believe it's a very good essay (I am biased though... haha). i had my notoriously tough english teacher read it and critique it and he said it was "delightful" and he really liked it if that helps...</p>

<p>I realize of course that some colleges such as Brown and Carleton are very high reaches... But do I even have a chance? I feel like compared to some of the all-star kids on this forum I'm simply mediocre. Should I apply to some not-as-selective colleges? Thanks in advance for your input!</p>

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<p>SAT will be your biggest problem…so study hard and retake it</p>

3

<p>I would also recommend retaking the SAT. Especially your CR score is really close, if you could get it over 700 that would rock. I think if you were able to bump up your scores even a little it would help your chances a lot because your grades and ECs seem great.</p>

4

<p>yeah, you won’t be getting into brown without a single 700 and those stats. also see if you can at least be in the top 10%; 11% is not exactly decent. </p>

<p>my advice: sacrifice a couple weekends to study and retake the SAT in december.</p>

5

<p>yeah i wish i could’ve gotten my SAT a little higher. My subject tests were also pretty low… not sure exactly what happened there… But I’m not sure if retaking the SAT is an option. :/</p>

<p>Also, the top 11% thing was like a year ago. I think I may have moved up since then because I known at the time I was only 3 people away from being in the top 10%. </p>

<p>I also wish I knew how much Brown takes essays into consideration. Writing is definately one of my strong points and I think if they really took my essay into consideration it could help my chances of getting in a lot.</p>

<p>One last thing. I want to hear people’s opinions on my chances of getting into other schools besides Brown. It may be my top choice but it’s not my ONLY choice. What do you think about the other schools on my list?</p>

<p>thanks for all the input so far!</p>

6

<p>I would say that you’re into all of your schools with the exception of Brown, Wesleyan, and Carelton. Wesleyan and Carelton you might have a chance at, but you probably dont have that much of a chance at Brown unless you really increase your scores. Last year at our school we had a girl get into Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, all with money, but she didn’t get into Brown. Its a somewhat deceptively tough school to get into, because people regard it as a lower level Ivy when it really isn’t. It would have helped if you applied early but I guess thats out of the picture now. To have any chance you’re going to have to get your SAT scores up. Right now you’re barely in the median 50% and you don’t really have any other things that make you stand out as an applicant. It can’t hurt to apply, especially if its your first choice, but even if you had a much better SAT score you’re still mediocre compared to the types of kids that are applying to Brown. So my advice is to

  1. Get a great score on the SAT’s next time you take them(I’m talking above a 2200, the top of the median 50% at Brown is a 2310)
  2. Pray that whoever reads your application thinks that you’re a good fit for the school
  3. Do something incredible that will make you stand out
  4. If you’re really deadset on Brown, go to a state school and transfer after a year</p>

<p>I’m not trying to be harsh, but that’s just my honest opinion. Brown is looking for the best of the best and with your current stats I feel you fall a little short of that. Good luck in your college search.</p>

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<p>Boston University: yup
Brown: honestly, i dont think so :frowning: best of luck though!
Carleton College ??
Grinnell College ??
Macalester College: reach(ish)
Indiana University: probably
Muhlenberg College: probably
Northeastern University:yes
University of Rochester:yes
Wesleyan University: reach</p>

<p>chance me back! “Chance at swarthmore???”</p>

<p>Thanks and good luck!</p>

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<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/811378-chance-swarthmore.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/811378-chance-swarthmore.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>please chance me!</p>

9

<p>Tough call.</p>

<p>If you can retake SATs, do so. A private Kaplan tutor, though expensive, is worth it. They work with you based on your areas of strength and weakness. </p>

<p>Is your school a mega-hard magnet school? That might help assuage people uncomfortable with 3.974 weighted.</p>

<p>Are you looking to get recruited for track/xc? That might help you at some of the schools, also.</p>

<p>What are your interests? If you’re an international relations geek like me, then Macalester moves up on likelihood of acceptance, provided you can speak to your interest eloquently. If you are as good a writer as you and your English teacher think, speaking or writing about interests shouldn’t be too hard. </p>

<p>A good essay will help at Grinnell, too, which is all about the writing. Showcase your talent and get to know any interviewer/contact you can.</p>

<p>Everybody has a chance with Ivies. The only thing everyone applying to Ivies has in common is that it’s not likely that they will get in. So go for your dream, but don’t sweat it if you don’t make it, because there are so many reasons people get in and don’t get in that it’s very hard to guess. Applying ED could help a bit, but then again, you may want to do that with schools like Wesleyan or Carleton, which are slightly less ridiculously selective sometimes. </p>

<p>Shoe-in for Indiana, especially if you are in-state. BU’s supplemental essay is a place where you can show some funky writing talent. As their site says, “Go ahead and knock them out!”</p>

<p>As long as they personality-match you well, Northeastern shouldn’t be too hard to get into for you.</p>

<p>I know absolutely nothing about Muhlenberg and Rochester.</p>

<p>What is “Academic All State?”</p>

<p>Finally, beefing up the leadership and service always helps, and it’s never too late. Just make sure you can talk about it convincingly.</p>

<p>Best of luck. Can you chance me? Mine’s called Crossing My Fingers. Thanks.</p>

<p>Peace.</p>

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<p>Oh, one more thing. If you’re dead set on Brown/Wesleyan/Carleton and don’t get into anyplace you would be happy at, consider a gap year. It takes discipline and it’s a bummer to see your friends go to school while you don’t for a year, but you can do tons of service or start something amazing on one. Just make sure you make the most of it and be creative and unique with it. This could help especially if you were on a WL for a school and didn’t get in off the WL.</p>

<p>I am doing a gap year now, after getting into UC Berkeley and Michigan, but not being able to afford either due to being out-of-state. It’s all right, but I know my chances are better this year, even though having to apply again is no fun.</p>

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<p>As everyone else said, your SAT’s weak, so I’d re-take it. But quite frankly, I don’t know how anyone can give you a solid decision without providing an unweighted GPA, as most elite universities don’t care about your school’s personal weighting system. Also, what’s your class rank?</p>

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<p>sorry i don’t know unweighted GPA :confused:
and as for class rank i’m pretty sure we don’t rank.</p>

<p>and if it helps for GPA my grades have always been mostly As couple of Bs. haha. sorry I know that’s not very much help but it’s the best i can do. :)</p>

<p>p.s. thanks to everyone for not just being like flat-out “you suck you won’t ever get into brown/carleton/wesleyan.” i realize that i’m not the most perfect kid ever and it’s very unlikely that i’ll be accepted but it’s still nice to dream. haha.</p>

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<p>oh and sorry i almost forgot infos33k3r… academic all state is sort of like a merged academic and athletic award that’s given statewide in Indiana. </p>

<p>(from the IATCCC website)
"Nominees must meet the following criteria:

  1. Juniors and Seniors Only<br>
  2. On your Sectional (tournament) roster<br>
  3. Minimum GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale (please convert all other scales to 4.0)
  4. Seniors - minimum SAT of 1200 (Math & Critical Reading) or
    ACT composite of 26"</p>

<p>anyway I was in the top 10 girls in the state for cross country. which i thought was pretty good… i think… haha</p>

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<p>bummmmmppppppp</p>

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<p>Yea, get a reality check. Only un-athletic Asians get into the Ivy league. I thought you knew.</p>

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<p>very helpful loppyfoot. you obviously put a lot olf thought into that answer.
but thanks to everyone else haha</p>

<p>please can i get some new replies here!!!</p>