<p>I'm a senior. My GPA is an 89.4/100 (I think it's a 3.7). I'm an African-American male from Georgia and I'm in the IB Diploma program at my school. I'm wondering what my odds are of getting accepted to:</p>
<p>Dartmouth College, University of Pennsylvania, Harvard College, Columbia University, Boston University, Middlebury College, Syracuse University, and Temple University</p>
<p>**Also, if you have any other ideas for where might be a good fit for me, feel free to share. I'm really trying to figure out where I'd fit in this big ol' world of ours. I'm dead set on the New England area.</p>
<p>Honors:</p>
<p>Biology (9)
U.S. Government (9)
American Lit (9, 10)
Japanese 3 (10)</p>
<p>AP's:</p>
<p>AP Human Geography (9)
AP World History (10)
AP Music Theory (10)
AP US History (11)</p>
<p>IB's:</p>
<p>IB Japanese B HL/SL
IB 20th Century History HL
IB World Literature HL/SL
IB Business & Management SL
IB Economics SL
IB Math Studies SL
IB Environmental Systems & Societies SL
Theory of Knowledge</p>
<p>SAT I's:</p>
<p>I took it December 6, probably a 1900+.</p>
<p>SAT II's:</p>
<p>Japanese w/Listening: 710
Literature: 630</p>
<p>EC:
Varsity Lacrosse
Private Piano Lessons
Beta Club
National Japanese Honors Society; Vice President
National Business Honor Society
Modern Music Master Honor Society
FBLA
Model UN
Guitar Club
WOF Tech Ministry Director
Japanese Club/Anime Club</p>
<p>Majors:</p>
<p>International Affairs & Japanese Linguistics</p>
<p>Those are all fine schools in the northeast well worth taking some time looking into.</p>
<p>Also, if you’re shooting for the very top with Harvard, you might as well add Yale and Princeton. You might only have about a 5-10% chance of getting into any one of them, but applying to all three does increase your chances of getting into one of them.</p>
<p>I’m going to be honest, I was actually thinking that my applying to these schools could be a waste. </p>
<p>My family doesn’t have a lot of money to send applications (I already am using 4 fee waivers) and so I didn’t want to essentially waste the little money we do have if I did have even an iota of a chance, let alone an opportunity to be competitive.</p>
<p>Am I missing something exactly? Your GPA is relatively low for all of these schools, but that can be boosted a bit elsewhere on your app. Except you don’t report any official standardized test scores and your estimates are around a 1900, which is way below for any of these schools and doesn’t have any chance of balancing out your GPA. Your Japanese subject test is decent, but lit is definitely low. Your ECs are pretty general and don’t (as you haven’t listed any) show any leadership. You are going to be competing against people who have come just short of curing cancer (that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but you understand what I’m saying), so what value does being in the Guitar Club have that can outweigh the amazing ECs that those people will have?Yes I understand you are in the IB program and a URM, but that is only a part of the application. From what I understand here are your chances: </p>
<p>Dartmouth College: High Reach
University of Pennsylvania: High Reach
Harvard College: Super High Reach
Columbia University: High Reach
Boston University: Reach
Middlebury College: High Reach
Syracuse University: Target
Temple University: Target
Trinity - Reach
Holy Cross - Reach
Connecticut College - Reach
Bates - Reach
Colby - Reach
Hamilton - Reach
Vassar - Reach
Bowdoin - High Reach
Colgate - Reach
Amherst - High Reach
Tufts - High Reach
Williams - High Reach</p>
<p>Honestly I’m unsure of where people are getting the idea that you are a good academic fit at most of these schools. Granted I have no clue what your essays, income, alumni relation, recommendations, or really any extensive part of your application except for your GPA and estimated SAT. But from what I take from those, your chances aren’t “great” as @WhartonnotHYPS puts it. As always take my opinion with a grain of salt because at the end of the day, the admissions officers will be making the decision not me. But based on the statistical data available, you do not fall into the average admissions statistics that most of these colleges have. Anyway good luck!</p>
<p>edit: also as @prezbucky claims that applying to more Ivys increases your chance of getting in, that is simply not true. That is like saying putting more rocks into a bucket will increase the chance of me becoming a geologist (bad analogy I know, hard to think of one that relates to this situation). Most of the Ivys follow similar guidelines and standards for admission, so if you don’t fit into one you most likely aren’t going to fit into the other 7. The number of applications and your chances of acceptance are not proportional in any manner. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, I have to agree with @frig11, I’m not sure where everyone else is coming from. Given the fact that the Ivies and the elite LAC’s in New England all want to see at least 1400/1600 or 2100/2400, they all have to be reach to high reaches. As for the claim about applying to more Ivies increasing your chances, I can see how that might work for a 2250+, 4.0 applicant; but that’s about it. If I were you, OP, I would pick three of the (reach/high reaches) from @frig11’s list and focus on their applications. Any more reaches, considering the app fees, just doesn’t seem feasible. That being said, schools like BC, BU, Temple, and Syracuse are great schools that offer a fantastic education. You seem like a bright young man and I’m sure you will be successful wherever you end up. </p>
<p>@frig11 No problem, it’s my pleasure. Sure, if you want to make it one of your reaches then by all means go for it. However, if you have another school that you like just as much as Harvard but it’s only a “Reach” or “High Reach”, then I’d say apply to that one instead since you would probably have a better chance of getting in. </p>
<p>Let’s back up. First, an 89.4 isn’t a 3.7. And it means you have some grades less than A equivalent. You have to look at what those courses are- drivers ed, fine. A core? Not so good. Jr or Sr year, also not so good. Not for the tippy tops. </p>
<p>Then, ECs aren’t about club membership, it’s about what you did, your impact and whether it’s consistent. Third, as said, you have a whole app to complete. Most schools will also have supplements. </p>
<p>Then, it’s mid-December and you don’t have scores? Which schools did you send them to? This is really late to be deciding. Maybe some are thinking test optional, but the list still has schools that require scores. </p>
<p>Harvard is more than a high reach. Sorry, but the competition is fierce- imagine 35,000 apps and at least 15k have been working on this…well, if CC is any indication, forever. Do you know what makes you a match to H adcoms- and H a match for you, other than rep? You have safeties, right?</p>
<p>Plus, if you need finaid, you need to be looking at which schools may meet your need. My advice if you were my kid, wouldn’t be to pick 3 that “attract” you the most. It takes work.</p>
<p>It is good you can note an interest in Japanese linguistics, but have you looked to see what schools have what courses, including Penn and Dart? Sorry to be hard.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what the 89.4 is on a 4 point scale. The conversion was curiosity of the Princeton Review.</p>
<p>Yeah, no scores until next Tuesday. I took 3 months of prep courses, so I was fairly comfortable with the content. I predicted above 1900, but I’ll update everyone next week on it? </p>
<p>My dad is making me apply to Harvard because my grandfather went. I don’t necessarily know what admissions wants. The admit rate is a little under 6% to my understanding. The closest I have to safeties are Temple & Syracuse. </p>
<p>Well, other than Harvard’s generous aid you had better be on your game about finaid. Run NPCs for Temple and Syr.</p>
<p>Some on CC don’t receive it well when a kid says he doesn’t really know the school. If your father is insisting, so be it. </p>
<p>But when you look beyond that, at other Most Competitive or Highly, it’s on you to know the schools, how they meet your needs (IF they do) and how you meet theirs- that’s how one shows the level of interest, one’s energy- and the smarts- adcoms need to see. Plus, these schools are not just about admissions- they need to see you have the stuff to make it through their four years, their demands. </p>
<p>Get a college guide, fast, to help you narrow down. For a shorter list where your stats seem to match an average or higher, take a deep had look at what those colleges actually say. And the academics. </p>
<p>Wow, some people on this thread are definitely getting real with you! I just wanted to let you know Temple is a safety for you- you qualify for merit aid in fact. I got a full tuition scholarship there, I’ll tell you some of my stats if you want them, but for now I’ll let you know they’re a little bit better than yours. I definitely think you could get decent merit aid though! Good luck and I hope you have most of your essays perfected!</p>
<p>@coolfunkystudent Wow! That’s great to hear! I’d love to hear about your stats if you don’t mind. Any form of merit aid is always a good thing. And thank you.</p>