Vanderbilt, Stanford, Yale, Harvard - Chance Me

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi everyone! I am currently a junior in high school. I have a 4.0 UW GPA and my school does not do weighted GPA or class rankings, but I know I am pretty well near the top. My parents are immigrants from Ukraine and neither one of them went to college. As ridiculous and cliche as it is, I’m a small-town girl with big dreams and I would really love to go to one of my dream schools: Vandy, Stanford, Yale, Harvard, or Columbia. I realize that I am not an exceptional athlete or a legacy, but if you could just humor me and give me your personal opinion on my chances of getting into these schools, I would greatly appreciate it.

Test Scores:
ACT: 33, Writing 32 (they switched over from the 12 pt scale) - am taking it again to get a higher score
SAT: 1990 (am DEFINITELY taking it again)
Haven’t taken any subject tests yet but plan on taking Math Two, Literature, and Spanish with Listening.
AP Tests: So my school offers very little AP classes, but I took Comparative and US Gov online this year and am taking the following tests in May: Comparative Government, US Government, US History, and Lang and Comp.

Extracurriculars/Awards:
President of Interact Club
Girls State Delegate (will try to make it to Nation)
Co-chair of the Speech and Debate Team (three time national qualifier/various placings)
Secretary of National Honor Society
President of Spanish National Honor Society
Vice President of New Student Ambassadors
FBLA (two-time state qualifier; first at regionals)
State Champion in Economics Challenge
State Champion in the We the People Competition sponsored by the Missouri Bar Association.
Piano: Superior Rating on Solos five years in a row, have won various competitions (have been playing for over ten years)
National History Day Two-time state qualifier (I plan to qualify and win nationals this year)
2nd Place at Constitution Project
Student Council Member
Field Director of MO Teens for Rubio (a grassroots political team of high school students campaigning for Rubio)
IPPF (International Public Policy Forum) Contest: ranked top 64 internationally two years in a row
Optimist Club Oratorical Contest - 1st at Zone, 2nd at Regionals

Volunteering:
-I volunteer at my local Boys and Girls Club and plan to have 500 hours by the time I apply for college
-Play piano for the choir at my church - also will have around 200 hours

Interesting things about me: First language was Russian, my parents are religious wackos…probably shouldn’t include that in my apps this fall lol.

Thank you so much in advance! If you chance me honestly, I will make sure to chance you back.

2

If you have a 33 ACT why would you retake the SAT?

3

Friend got into stanford with a 1800 on sat and 4.0 UW

4

Assuming you’ve taken a rigorous course load, you’re academically competitive for all these schools (Looking at your ACT and ignoring your SAT). You are rather strong extracurricular-wise, but nothing that would make admissions officers say “Admit her immediately!” What will really make or break you is your teacher recommendations and essays. I’m guessing you’re a junior, so make sure you really make nice with your teachers during your senior year and try to stand out as much as possible. Try to really make your essays unique. The bast way to do that is to write about yourself, and not the version of “you” that you think colleges want. Every student is changing themselves to look more appealing that being you’re real, honest self will be a pleasant surprise to officers. (Also, these are VERY competitive schools, so I hope you have a few safety’s to rely on)

(Also, you have a bonus for “Immigrant” and “1st generation” status)

Vanderbilt: 30 - 40% chance
Stanford: 10 - 15% chance (this sounds bad, but the admit rate at Stanford is only 5%)
Yale: 15 - 20% chance
Harvard: 10 - 15% chance (this sounds bad, but the admit rate at Harvard is also only 5%)