UVa, UPenn, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, W&M, Cornell, Pitt, UMich

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Please chance me for these schools!

School of Engineering, Biomedical/Bioengineering

All are regular decision

UVa (early action, deferred) - School of Engineering and Applied Science
UPenn - School of Engineering and Applied Science
JHU - Whiting School of Engineering
Northwestern - McCormick School of Engineering
William&Mary - Engineering (3:2 Program)
Cornell - College of Engineering
Pitt - Swanson School of Engineering
UMich - School of Engineering

[B]Objective:*
SAT I (breakdown): 700 Math/760 CR (1460 Total)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 620 Math II, 660 Biology M
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Weighted GPA: 4.37
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 out of 205
AP (place score in parenthesis): 8 APs so far, and 4 more this year (12 in all)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics AP US Govt and Politics, AP Comparative Govt, Discrete Math Honors, DE English 111/112, Honors Physics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar, won a bunch of awards at district level (science fairs, etc.)

[B]Subjective:*
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS, BETA Club, FBLA (Historian), Mu Alpha Theta (Treasurer), Scholastic Bowl (Captain), Medical Club, FreshSTART Mentor, VEX Robotics (Captain), SeaPerch (Vice Captain), DECA
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: 250+ hours of community service through various volunteering activities
Summer Activities: Leadership Intern @ Camp Invention, Volunteering at hospital, NASA VSCS Summer Academy, taking courses at local community college (around 30 college credits accumulated w/o APs)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (rating 1-10, details): 7
Teacher Rec #2 (rating 1-10, details): 8
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 10
Interview (if any) (rating 1-10, details): N/A

[B]Other:*
Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Biomedical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): VA
School Type: small competitive public school
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: male
Income Bracket: N/A
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

Thank you!

2

SAT adequate for Pitt… likely on the low side for JHU/Penn. Strong GPA, course load looks vigorous. Weak SATII MATH (in general, anything less than 760-770 in this test for E. major is weak). Bio subject test also weak in the 600s (basically 50% rank). Essay will be a big factor. I’d say Pitt is reachable, UVA potential due to strong GPA. The rest could be more challenging, all depends on your essay quality. JMHO

3

@BigflowerSusie thank you! yeah my SAT II’s were pretty low, I hope they don’t hurt me too much. I think my essays were pretty good, I worked on them A LOT.

4

Yeah, I’ll agree with the above. Your test scores are what is likely to hurt you at these places. A 1460 is pretty below the averages for a lot of these top places, especially in programs like engineering. Further, the fact that math is your low section won’t help, and your SAT 2’s will hurt you as well, they’re almost 50th percentile which is not what these schools are looking for. Being asian won’t help either. So while the rest o your application looks well on track, I’d guess your scores will hurt you at most of those top places. I’d say you’ll still get in to pitt, and possible UVA or Umich. The rest I would consider unlikely.

5

@Plumbus really wish I did better haha, thank you though! I just hope I get into at least one.

6

@exoheat11 Yeah, it kind of sucks because you obviously know what you’re doing in math/science stuff from everything but test scores, but sometimes those tests just don’t click for people.

7

@Plumbus Should I have even sent my SAT II scores? I’m kind of regretting it now.

I thought my SAT was good because I scored in the 99th percentile nationwide. This was for the March 2016 (first administration of the new SAT).

8

@exoheat11 Don’t get me wrong, your SAT score is really good. But, for these places, really good is average. If you’re applying to somewhere with engineering, they want to see demonstrated talent in math/science. That’s the reason I was concerned; that while they were both good, your math and science scores seemed consistently lower than your english/language scores. While I might have otherwise advised you not to send SAT IIs, I think it’s required by engineering schools, so it was inevitable. I think you’ll still have a good shot at some of these places, although I wouldn’t think you’ll get in to the top, top places on your list. (Especially Hopkins BME that program is just ridiculously hard lol) Good luck regardless though

9

@Plumbus I appreciate your input! What do you think my chances are for UMich? I got deferred from UVa (which was my first choice ig) so I’m not feeling too confident.

What are your thoughts on my chances for UMich?

10

So, your SAT is actually roughly average for their accepted class for engineering. While again, you’re going to be hurt by your SAT 2’s, and slightly hurt by your SAT math, your GPA and rank are very strong, and can, I think, give you the boost you’ll need. I might say something like 60%?

I’m confident you’ll get into pitt, 90%+

For other places on the list, I think your chances would drop to more in the 20% range. So maybe you still get in to one or two of your reaches, but it’s not certain.

Could you chance me back? I’m looking at similar majors to you, in biomedical engineering or computer science things.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1958057-chance-me-for-ucs-ivies-and-engineering-will-chance-back-p1.html

11

Yeah, I just looked it up, and michigan engineering’s average admitted SAT is 1440. http://www.engin.umich.edu/college/about/facts
So that means really your only weakness will be SAT 2’s, but I think the rest of your application can overcome that.

12

@Plumbus let’s hope so! thanks for your help! I’ll chance you.

13

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14

UVa (early action, deferred) - School of Engineering and Applied Science - I think you will be accepted or waitlisted.
UPenn - School of Engineering and Applied Science- most likely a rejection since your stats are low, and UPenn is very difficult.
JHU - Whiting School of Engineering- rejection
Northwestern - McCormick School of Engineering- rejection/wait list
William&Mary - Engineering (3:2 Program)- acceptence
Cornell - College of Engineering- rejection
Pitt - Swanson School of Engineering- acceptence
UMich - School of Engineering- acceptance

15

@bubblepop12444 Thanks! I’m hoping I get into at least one of the top schools I listed. I think my essays were pretty strong, so maybe that will make up for my lack in standardized test scores.

16

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18

You will hopefully get into one of the top schools you listed.

Since you already applied, I just didn’t want to write accept on the thread to disillusion you if you don’t end up getting in.

Remember, chance me threads don’t really mean anything in the end and don’t reflect the holistic nature of admissions. Good luck! :slight_smile:

19

@bubblepop12444 makes sense, but do you think my app could give me a good chance? I know it’s a low acceptance rate, but I’m just wondering if I do actually stand a chance.

20

Of course, you have a competitive chance at all these colleges. You’re in the mid 50% score range of all the schools, and your rank of 1 puts you at an advantage over all the other applicants applying from your school.
All you can do now is hope for the best.