UC's+ super prestigious colleges I am in no way qualified for

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I think the title says it all haha. I have big dreams(hence the username), but I failed to take advantage of opportunities and get good grades until it was too late.

Stats
-ACT: 32C(35E, 30M, 34R, 29S, 10W)
-SAT Subject Tests: 690 Lit, 610 Math 2. Will be taking Math 1 this weekend
-AP Classes: Biology(3), APUSH(5), APES(5), Calc AB(3), Lang(4). Currently taking psych, Calc BC, and Physics
Honors: English 1, Chemistry, Alg II, English 2, Trig/Precalc
GPA: UW 3.55, W 4.08. After first semester, my UW should go up a little bit.

Extracurriculars
-Competitive figure skating for 13 years(USFSA Gold medalist, competed in several regional championships, won local competitions)

  • JV cross country team for two years(junior/senior)
  • Varsity track(hurdles) for two years(junior/senior). Received the most improved varsity member award
    -Probably 100 or so hours for volunteering. I have volunteered with a food bank, a program at my rink that teaches specially abled children and teens how to figure skate or play hockey, and a program where I tutor low-income highly motivated children and teens.
    -NHS senior year
    -CSF peer tutor 2.5 years
    -Had a summer job the last two years where I worked 40 hour weeks
    -I’m currently working as a figure skating instructor around 5-6 hours a week on the weekends.

Essays/Recs
-Common app is decent. It shows how I’m not afraid of making mistakes/consequences of my actions.
Teacher Recs: I didn’t see them, but my college counselor told me they were good.
Counselor Rec: 10/10. I know my counselor very well and have had a close relationship with her since freshman year.

More Info
-Family Income: LOL no way I’m qualifying for fafsa
Ethnicity: Applied as biracial/other for places
Residency: US citizen in California
Major: Neuroscience/psychology and history

Freshman/sophomore year I was dealing with an eating disorder. While I don’t blame it entirely for my sub par grades, I do believe it did have an affect on my grades. Junior year I started to see a psychologist and my grades improved from being around a 4.0W freshman and sophomore year to a 4.13W first semester and a 4.5W second semester.

Schools
-JHU: wrote my essay about my ED and how it introduced me to psychology
-Dartmouth: chose the name essay and wrote about my nickname Ratchet(!!!)
-UChicago: deferred EA, going to send in an LOCI and an additional rec
-Tufts
-UC Berkeley: got asked for the LOR’s

TL; DR
Basically I have big dreams and didn’t work hard and I’m hoping to find some sense of validation by posting my stats on this website.

Forgot to mention
For Dartmouth and UC Berkeley, if I got in I would join their figure skating team. Both have good teams and while I may not have made it to nationals, I am a pretty decent skater and could offer a lot if I were to join their teams. Anyone have any tips on “maximizing” this hook?

2

Those schools are reaches for most people, but your upward trend looks good. You also have good ECs. I think you have a slight chance at them, and a lot will depend on how they receive your essays.

3

“For Dartmouth and UC Berkeley, if I got in I would join their figure skating team.”

Have you gotten in touch with each school’s ice skating coach? You need their support in order to join the team, and most importantly, be admitted through that hook.

4

@QuiteAverage90 thanks for your input! Hopefully they’ll be taken well. Definitely took some risks on them, but I think they portrayed me well.

@goldenbear2020 I have not. I do have friends on the Berkeley team though so I can/will ask her for that info. As for Dartmouth, I filled out a potential skater form and emailed the president(?) several months ago. I’ll email her again asking for the coach’s info. My only concern is that figure skating isn’t considered a NCAA sport so I’m not sure how helpful it will be.

5

man, your gpa is almost like mine. messed up freshman year and did superb the next 3 years. such a waste considering freshman year is the easiest. But I hope your essyas and letters are good. otherwise, skating should get you places.

Also, ratchet? no offense, but I grew up learning that’s kinda derogatory lool. Maybe you depicted it as somethign different, but correct me if im wrong.

your schools are major reaches. sorry, but they are for everyone. just a luck of the draw, especially for you.
jhu-reach
dart-reach
cal-reach, low reach
tufts idk
uchicago-high reach

chance back? Also for ucla, vanderbilt, and washU please? thanks

6

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19195160#Comment_19195160

7

Hey!! I’m a figure skater too. I also applied for UC Berkeley, Dartmouth, and UChicago. Although I’ve been dealing with injury for awhile so I haven’t been skating much :frowning:

All of those colleges are reaches. I think your main deterrent is going to be your GPA, unfortunately, but who knows what will happen? But I have to say that your Dartmouth essay sounds really interesting.

Chance me?
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1846880-chance-me-i-will-chance-back.html

8

@ikim16 Thanks for your input and I’ll def chance you back. Haha yeah, ratchet. I used a positively and my whole essay for that was kinda different from my other essays(fashioned it as an dictionary entry and then as an essay if that makes sense).

@emilyskates Oh nice! Good luck with your injury, I know how those are haha.

9

For UChicago, speaking as someone who just got in, your essays are going to determine whether or not you get in.

10

^thats actually good for you. Since your grades and test scores are average, your essays will mean a lot

11

All those schools are very high reaches.

12

Act is average for those schools, GPA way low, sat2s way low, no hook, 5% chance.

13

I hope you applied to some safety schools (lower UCs?).

14

You could easily get shut out completely from these schools. Do you have safeties? You say you are bi-racial, what is your racial mix?

15

@NotVerySmart Yeah I did apply to some safeties/matches that I’m not too concerned about.

@intparent I’m half European/Vietnamese. It’s not really a hook.

Update: Just emailed Dartmouth’s skating coach and they said for me to send a video of me skating because their admissions department takes evaluations for the skating club. Does anyone have any idea of how long the video should be or just any tips in general when doing this type of thing?

16

Unless you can become a recruited athlete for skating, I would say the only school on your list that you have a shot at is Tufts.

17

@intparent thank you for your input! I’ll definitely try to get recruited at the schools I can, but I do understand that my outlook is bleak

18

As you are a senior, it is very late in the game. Most athletic coaches have identified their top recruits months ago. Do you have a safety school?

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@intparent Figure skating isn’t a NCAA sport but instead a club sport so I believe recruiting is a little different. The coach told me to send her a short video of me skating before Friday which is when evaluations are due. I do have several safety schools and I got into one of them already.

20

What that probably means is that the coaches have no pull in admissions.