Unique Applicant Top Schools Chance (Edited, will chance back)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey guys,
I just wanted to know what my chances are for these schools. Feel free to post any advice and stuff like that, I could really use the help. If you could chance with things like "match" "reach" etc, I'd also appreciate that. (By the way, you may have seen that I have already made one of these a while ago, but <strong>this has been updated</strong>) Thanks! I'll try to chance back</p>

<p>Here are the schools:
Cornell University (will visit and most like apply ED)
University of Virginia
University of Miami
Penn State UP
Uconn
UMaryland CP (visited)
University of Notre Dame
University of Texas at Austin
Emory University (visited)
University of Southern California</p>

<p>Maybe: Georgetown, Lehigh, Columbia (dad went to graduate school here), Dartmouth (will most like apply early action to whichever schools apply)</p>

<p>I would say my top choices are Cornell (in-state Early Decision), UVa (oos), and USoCal; and Im interested in Business. I will be needing some financial aid.</p>

<p>Stats/Info:
-Upcoming Senior, Black/African-American male, underdeveloped country but US Citizen</p>

<p>-GPA: 3.85 UW (no weighted at my school)
-PSAT:191
-SAT: 2030 (CR: 660, Math: 630, Writing 740---Essay:8)
(Composite-2040; CR 670, Math 630, Writing 740)</p>

<p>-Honors Geometry, Honors English 9, Honors Global History, Honors Biology
Next year: AP Bio, APCalc, AP Eng Lit</p>

<p>EC's:
-Chess Club
-Excellence Awards in French, Physics, English
-Varsity Soccer--Captain (3 years)and also on a Nationally ranked and globally recognized soccer team
-Future Business Leaders--(Treasurer 2 years)
-Model UN
-National Achievement Scholar Award
-National Junior Honor Society (does this count?)
-Volunteered at an African village of Azope in Ivory Coast to help reconstruct homes and other community services (around 30-50 volunteer hours)
-Made a Tutoring business and made an organization out of it
-Honor Roll for all years
-Emory precollege program
-I work on my father's rubber tree plantation and will soon take complete ownership of it
-Won First Place award and a second place award in the schoolwide science fairs
-Schoolwide History Fair
-I taught myself to speak fluent French in about a year
-Taught myself to play cello, clarinet, xylophone and african djembe, member of the Advanced Orchestra</p>

<p>Background: Well I'm a US citizen from NY, but when I was 15 (10th grade) we moved to the Ivory Coast in West Africa and that's where I live now; it's one of the poorest countries in the world, but it's our families home. (I'm planning on writing my essay on this experience.) At my old school I did honors classes and stuff but here at my new school they don't offer such courses. There's also a lack of clubs and activities here. I also coached myself to take the AP English exam, since there are no AP classes here. It is also my goal to be the first student my school has sent to an Ivy League Institution (no one has been accepted from here or has even applied in about 10 years, I want to make my school proud!)
Thanks for reading this, and any of your messages/advice will be appreciated!</p>

2

<p>Also I’m an African-American New York resident, if that matters at all.</p>

3

<p>Have you ever tried the ACT? It may be more suited to you. </p>

<p>Are you applying internationally?</p>

4

<p>Um, no I’m not planning on taking the ACT. And I don’t think it counts as international since im a US citizen/NY resident…right? Anyways chances… :)</p>

5

<p>Bump…</p>

6

<p>Georgetown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Cornell, UVA, USC, and Notre Dame will be a high reach with your SAT score. You should look into retaking the SAT if you want to get at least deferred from these colleges. Aim for a 2100+. Your close. You should also think about taking the ACT. Don’t strike it out yet. </p>

<p>Idk Lehigh. The other schools are matches. (Great ec’s btw)</p>

7

<p>All of your maybe schools don’t have early action, possibly Lehigh, but the others do not, Cornell is an excellent pick for your ED and I think you have a great chance at getting in, they have a high acceptance rate ED 1.</p>

8

<p>Thanks @SWeLLT‌ and @jkpascale16‌ , extremely helpful!!! But the thing is I can’t take the ACT in my country, and I’ve taken the SAT twice, so I don’t think I can increase my score (I’ve increased by 250 points since the first practice test) so this is pretty much all I got. :confused: Anymore chances guys???</p>

9

<p>Try one more time to take the SAT, go for perfect writing score, you just need essay help, I’ve gotten 10 everytime Ive taken it with this, and you seem to have the grammar part down well. Also for math study up, its doable, Math can be mastered by doing a lot of practice using programs like this <a href=“http://learn.testive.com/”>http://learn.testive.com/&lt;/a&gt;, this one actually costs money now but look for similar ones that have X free questions a day, because they have solutions in case you dont understand a problem.</p>

10

<p>Okay @SWeLLT‌ , I’ll look into it. Hopefully it will help.
…Anymore chances?</p>

11

<p>You have a fascinating personal narrative, but nobody can say whether that will be enough for the very competitive schools you are applying to. Are you interested in any smaller American colleges, like Reed, Swarthmore, or Haverford? They might also be very interested in someone like you.</p>

12

<p>I’m more into the sports scene though, so the schools you listed, although reputable, aren’t really known for their sports in my opinion. But thanks!</p>

13

<p>1- “we moved to the Ivory Coast in West Africa and that’s where I live now”</p>

<p>2- “Also I’m an African-American New York resident”</p>

<p>With Cornell contract schools, CALS, ILR and Human Ecology, it’s unlikely that someone can be classified as a NY resident living in Côte d’Ivoire. One has to have an immediate family member paying NY taxes to qualify as a state resident.</p>

<p>“I work on my father’s rubber tree plantation and will soon take complete ownership of it” This will increase chances at Cornell CALS. One note of warning - AEM/Dyson School within CALS, is one of the most difficult programs to be admitted at Cornell.</p>

<p>McGill?</p>

14

<p>Your application is very interesting, to say the least. However, Cornell, Columbia, and Dartmouth are reaches for anyone. Georgetown, UVA, UTex, and USC are also reaches. You’re a good shot at all the others, though! Good luck and Godspeed to a fellow first-generation American! :)</p>

<p>Chance me back: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1662008-2-8-gpa-2000-first-time-sat-urm-umass-amherst-others-ea.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1662008-2-8-gpa-2000-first-time-sat-urm-umass-amherst-others-ea.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

15

<p>I’d encourage you to contact soccer coaches at the schools. Applying as a recruited athlete could improve your chances significantly.</p>

16

<p>@rhg3rd‌ My parents do still pay NY taxes, so can that still count as residency? And thanks so much for the helpful information, just what I needed!! @lbad96‌ Thanks, and I dont think I will be applying to Georgetown or Columbia anymore. @Sue22‌ I was planning to start contacting the coaches this summer actually. Is there any advice you have regarding this procedure and how it works? Thanks everyone!!!z‌</p>

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<p>I do think that you could still apply to Georgetown. Georgetown and Notre Dame, both Catholic schools, would be very interested in your very unique journey. </p>

<p>I would also add Boston College, too, as it would be interested in your journey as well, and is also a big sports school. All 3 schools are excellent in business.</p>

18

<p>@busyperson Yeah I really liked Georgetown and felt it was a great fit for me, but unfortunately, its incredibly difficult to get a subject test at my school, which Georgetown requires 3 of. Same exact story with BC except they require only 2 Sat II’s :confused: Also scratch Lehigh off the list, and UTex is now a maybe…</p>

19

<p>IVCUSA11-
The best way to do it is to fill out the on-line recruiting forms for the schools you’re targeting and also look up the names and email addresses of the coaches and email them directly. Give them your basic academic information-GPA, test scores, etc., as well as soccer information such as position, team, awards or tournaments won, etc. If the coach is at all interested you’ll probably get an email back from whoever handles recruiting for the team. I would do it TODAY. Many coaches at highly select schools have already formed a roster of possible recruits. Head on over to the CC “recruited athletes” sub-forum for more help.</p>

20

<p>Thanks a lot @Sue22‌ ! I’ll definitely start this today.</p>