Want to chance a Hispanic kid? I will chance back!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Here is my high school info so far.</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0 unweighted, 4.6 this year for AP's</p>

<p>SAT I:
2110
(770 CR, 660 math, 680 writing; essay: 9)
I'm going to retake it in October. I got this score without studying.</p>

<p>SAT II:
730 World History
790 Spanish
750 Biology</p>

<p>APs:
10th grade
World History- 5
Spanish Language- 5</p>

<p>1th Grade
Biology- 5
US History- 5
English Language- 5</p>

<p>12th Grade (just began two weeks ago)
English Literature
Calculus AB
Environmental Science
Self-studying Psychology, Human Geography</p>

<p>EC's:
3 years in Key Club (officer this year)
3 years in Newspaper (editor this year)
3 years in CST (the school's quiz bowl; officer this year)
3 years in CSF (California Scholarship Federation)
2 years in MUN (Model United Nations)
1 year in NHS (National Honor Society; started this year)
Assorted clubs: Guitar Hero Club, Math Club, Multimedia Club
100~ hours of community service (KC events, working at library)
Qualified for Jeopardy! Teen Tournament Tryouts
Member of NBIA Association (a group that raises money for curing a rare disease; my friend is inflicted with it); managed Recycling Fundraiser
3 years of JV Tennis (hopefully Varsity this year; also might join soccer or basketball)</p>

<p>Other Info:
Hispanic origin (born in Argentina, immigrated in '96, citizenship last year)
Tall (6' 4"); I don't think this matters...
Currently below $50k income due to my dad's unemployment
I have assorted middle school awards.</p>

<p>Schools:
UCSD
UC Berkeley
UC Davis
UCLA
Santa Clara University
Stanford (just for the hell of it)
Harvard ^same as above
Princeton ^same as above
Cornell (maybe)
Duke (maybe)
MIT (maybe)
Cal Tech (maybe)
John Hopkins (maybe)</p>

<p>Can anyone tell me my chances for the above universities as well as any other suggestions you might think of? Comments? Criticisms? It would be greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>Well, being an URM helps you out a LOT. And your scores are fantastic (I’m sure you will improve the SATI with studying :P). SD, B, Davis, LA and Santa Clara are ins. I think you would have a decent chance at the other schools as well, if you improve those scores. Solid applicant–good luck!</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/775406-being-recruited-but-chance-me.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/775406-being-recruited-but-chance-me.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>i say you have high chances for most of them harvard and the other ivies are reaches for everybody raise your SAT more and i think you should be ok, english is not your first language and 770 on CR is impressive becuase of it.</p>

<p>chance me back <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/776076-chances-bu-ed.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/776076-chances-bu-ed.html&lt;/a&gt; (tambn soy latino)</p>

4

<p>Wow!! You have wonderful chances at every college in the nation. You should get into at least one of HYPS, especially if you could raise your SAT even though it is great at it is right now. Your subject tests are great and your gpa is perfect. Good luck!!</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/775369-chance-me-please-columbia-early-decision-2.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/775369-chance-me-please-columbia-early-decision-2.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>Why are you planning to self-study Psych and Human Geography?</p>

<p>Are you applying to anywhere ED or EA?</p>

6

<p>You have a great chance at all of those schools.</p>

7

<p>@entomom: I wanted to self-study Psych and Geo because I felt I was fairly solid in these subjects, but seeing as I now have my hands full with many other things, I think I’ll just leave these classes until college.</p>

<p>And I am not currently planning to apply anywhere ED or EA, though I was considering Stanford. Do you think I should consider applying EA at some of the private schools?</p>

8

<p>Small chance for ivies. They reject people with perfect SAT Scores. You do however have an amazing record. The height doesn’t really matter (this isn’t a dating site bud) but the foreign aspect and being hispanic helps. I suggest a school that gives a really good scholarship package to a prestigious school. Look up state schools or second tier schools and try Ivies for your graduate degree if that’s what you seek. Prestige is good but not at the sacrifice of your health (stress, panic, etc.)</p>

<p>On another topic this bio really freaked me out because i myself am hispanic (Panama and Spain, moved to America in '98) and am planning on majoring in Geography (Im in AP Human Geography now and its not very hard). I am huge on geography (2006 Oklahoma Geography Bee Winner, 15Th Nationally) and have gotten fives on all my AP Tests as well (Gov’t, Psych, World History, English Lang, and US History). We also have similar weighted GPAs. Your SAT score destroys my ACT Score however.</p>

<p>PS-Class rank is very important. Are you Top 10%, Top 5%, Salutatorian, Valedictorian, etc. And since you are Hispanic, did you get National Hispanic Scholar?</p>

9

<p>@Anthony: That’s really strange that we have similar stats. Small world.
And to answer your questions, I am on track to be Valedictorian, I’m in the top 5% for my class, and I received my National Hispanic Scholar certificate today.</p>

10

<p>haha i saw this hispanic thread and i couldnt help by commenting and saying that im also a hispanic with upper tier stats like you guys… Ill make a chance thread eventually too lazy right now…</p>

<p>as for you… if you have california citizenship deff in at all of them… even if you dont id still consider them safeties</p>

<p>HYPS/MIT/Caltech i would say reach, however being a URM you never know apply only if you would actually go</p>

<p>As for Cornell/Duke/Hopkins I would say theyre a low reach for you, so I would apply to them and hopefully youll get into at least 1 of them</p>

11

<p>Alright, thanks for the feedback.</p>

12

<p>Hope you get into a top school. Remember that California schools doesn’t have an affirmative action bonus like most other schools. I still advise a second tier school to help boost your rank so you can be in tip-top shape to apply to an Ivy for graduate school (if you’re looking at graduate school). As for class rank, dont overestimate your chances. I’m in Top 3% with five AP Classes and might not even get Salutatorian. The reason people are in front of you is because they focus a lot (even more than you do) on grades. And no senioritis bud.</p>

13

<p>

</p>

<p>A good choice, you will likely get much more out of taking a class in college than to self-study them now. Also, they will have no impact on admissions as you don’t take AP tests until May, after decisions are in.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>As far as S, it’s a little dicey due to their tendency to defer relatively few in the EA round, read this thread from the Hispanic forum:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/hispanic-students/778226-chance-me-please.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/hispanic-students/778226-chance-me-please.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The other possibility is to do EA for both MIT and CalTech, I don’t see any downside there. The rest look like ED schools, though I’m not familiar with Santa Clara. I’m assuming you’re a CA resident. Those are the top UCs, so I’m assuming you have a good idea of the numbers you need to be competitive and that one of those is a safety for you??</p>

<p>One other general comment on your list, which seems rather heavy to math/science schools (MIT & CalTech in particular, and JHU, UCSD & UCD to a lesser degree). Except for math club, I’m not seeing too much in your profile that says you’re a math/science/engineering person. Your Math SAT is your lowest section and you haven’t taken a Math SAT II or AP (until sr yr); and Bio is your only science SAT II/AP, except ES which is generally considered AP-lite. Is there a specific reason why you’re looking at these schools?</p>

14

<p>@entomom: I am a CA resident, living in Silicon Valley, which is also where Santa Clara University is located.</p>

<p>About my selection of math-oriented colleges, the truth is that I really don’t know much about the major league colleges in general. I chose those because they were the most elite I had heard of, and I hoped that even if I didn’t get into those, I would still be able to learn more about them.
That’s why I’m on CC, to learn more about this whole admission process. Do you think you would be able to recommend any colleges based on my rank and stats? I know it’s a very general question, but it would help me out if I had some suggestions.</p>

15

<p>Good luck Argentina ( that’s what people call me, since I’m 50 percent), and it’s weird we’re the same height too… haha</p>

<p>But anyways, I think you should be in at all the California schools and the Ivies and such will be a crapshoot ( mostly because they are for everyone) but best of luck man. I hope we both end up at Harvard or Stanford and we can kick it and eat some jamon y queso empanadas. SI SE PUEDE!!</p>

16

<p>Sure, I’d be glad to help you out with some suggestions, I’ll need some information:</p>

<ol>
<li> Financial. I’m assuming that you’ll need either good FA or merit aid??</li>
<li> School size. Small LAC (1-2k), mid-sized (3-10k), large (20-40k).<br></li>
<li> School personality. Sports oriented, intellectual, laid back, strong community, etc.<br></li>
<li> Fields you’re interested in. This will be most important if you are looking for a field that is not at all schools, like engineering, architecture, etc.<br></li>
<li> Location. Rural, small town, suburban, large city? NW, SW, E, mid-West, S? </li>
<li> Any other special considerations, things that you want/don’t want in a college?</li>
</ol>

17

<p>@entomom:
I’ll definitely need a place with good FA or merit aid. My parents cannot afford to pay anything for college.
I’m fine with any school size expect large, because I want the people at school to be close to each other.
The school personality should be either intellectual or laid back; I’m not too much for sports schools because it detracts from the education.
I’m not settled on any one career, but I’m interested in architecture, urban planning, animation/digital arts, and something biomedical or in the medical field.
I don’t really care about the location, though I would prefer CA because that’s the state I live in and supposedly tuition is cheaper for in-state students.
I’d like the college to be bike-friendly, because I haven’t gotten my license yet.</p>

<p>I know there’s no perfect colleges, but these are some things that would be nice.</p>

18

<p>That’s a great start, believe me, you’re not very picky at all. </p>

<p>I don’t actually think that the bike-friendly criteria is a big one anywhere, as unless you’re at a commuter school, many kids don’t have cars. That’s not to say there aren’t some schools that are better than others in that regard, particularly when it comes to weather.</p>

<p>Your interests are however a more important criteria than if you were interested in something like English, history or math. Do you know about the various routes to becoming an architect? This is very important when it comes to the selection of schools to apply to. For instance, my older D was possibly interested in arch, but not enough to apply to 5-yr programs (BArch) where you submitted a portfolio and had to be accepted as a fr by the department as well as the college in general. Instead she targeted schools that had 4-yr degrees in arch studies, which you usually applied to with a portfolio at the end of soph year. This would have given her the option of trying other fields, but would also have necessitated that she go on for a Master’s in Arch to get certified to practice. You can also get a MArch with a non-Arch UG degree, but it will usually take you longer to complete the program. I’m don’t know that much about urban planning, but arch and UP are often in the same departments; I don’t know anything about animation/digital arts; biomedical is better in some places than others, but is available at most colleges; premed coursework you can do anywhere.</p>

<p>Only public schools are cheaper if you’re in state, COA at privates will be the same whether you’re from that state or not.</p>

<p>MIT and CalTech, while wonderful schools, are not for everybody. IMO, if you don’t have a very distinct idea of what you want to do down the line, you might not want a tech school. MIT does have good arch, but CalTech doesn’t have any.</p>

<p>Another thing that strikes me about your current list is that there aren’t many schools with much merit money. The in-state publics will hopefully be affordable, but they are all large. I’m not sure about SCU, and JHU has a little merit, but the rest are need based FA only. There are two stumbling blocks, the first is getting admitted to these very selective schools, the second is being sure that you can afford what THEY determine is the amount your family can afford. I would suggest considering some match and safety level schools with decent merit aid possibilities.</p>

<p>There are a few initial thoughts for schools you might want to check out:</p>

<p>Rice - 3k students, residential colleges, big city, good FA and moderate merit scholarships, 4 & 5 yr programs in arch.</p>

<p>Yale, Princeton & Columbia have 4 yr arch studies programs; Harvard has only Arch History; Brown has Arch History or a combined program with RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) which is just down the street; Cornell has a 5 yr BArch; S has no arch. All of these schools are need based FA only, HYPS will most likely give you better FA packages than the others. Of these, Brown is though of as the most laid-back.</p>

<p>Cal Poly SLO has a very good BArch program, I don’t know about merit.</p>

<p>WUSTL has a 4 yr arch studies, OK FA and some very good merit scholarships (Rodriguez for Lationos and the Danforth), nice location in big city, mid sized.</p>

<p>CMU has a very good BArch, OK FA and some merit scholarships.</p>

<p>UVA has a 4 yr arch studies and has good FA for OOS students.</p>

<p>Tulane as a 5 yr MArch and USC 5 yr BArch and both have good merit scholarships.</p>

<p>UMiami has a BArch and arch engineering and has good merit scholarships.</p>

<p>*Other laid back but intellectual schools without Arch, need based FA only: Amherst, Pomona, Dartmouth.</p>

<p>*Intellectual, but no so laid back, without Arch: UChicago (has good merit, but not many awarded), Swarthmore</p>

<p>More with good merit possibilities without Arch: Emory, Brandeis, UNC-CH (Pogue for URMs), Grinnell, Vandy, BU.</p>

<p>Also, don’t forget the WUE (Western University Exchange) schools, where you’ll pay 1.5x in-state tuition to participating colleges in western states:</p>

<p>[WICHE</a> - Student Exchange Programs](<a href=“http://wue.wiche.edu/]WICHE”>http://wue.wiche.edu/)</p>

<p>*Not exclusive, just off the top of my head. Just common perceptions, no flames please.</p>

19

<p>i saw tons of hispanics posting, so i thought i should too. I think you have pretty good chances because of the good sats + urm status. yeah, nobody knows with ivies, but we all apply anyway right?</p>

20

<p>Leon, don’t be afraid to look at some of the eastern/ New England LACs. In this case, the “LA” doesn’t stand for Los Angeles, but for Liberal Arts College. They share very similar styles and market niche with the Ivy League. Just to give you some idea: while someone with your bio might still find Harvard, Stanford and Yale a crapshoot, or High Reach, the LACs might only present you with Low Reach obstacles (as opposed to High Match, Match, Low Match and Safety.)</p>

<p>Starting with The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) and continuing through New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, you have:</p>

<p>Amherst (MA) - probably the best known of the bunch; it’s rich and appears at the top of every alphabetical list. Its reputation is for being preppy, but, I give it credit for trying to change. </p>

<p>Bates (ME) - Bates, Bowdoin and Colby are generally referred to as “the Maine Colleges”; Bates is the least preppy of the three; probably the most “laid-back” in the conventional sense.</p>

<p>Bowdoin (ME) - probably the most like Amherst in superficial ways: once very preppy and WASPy, now trying to dial it back a bit.</p>

<p>Colby (ME) - it would be a High Match for you.</p>

<p>Connecticut College (CT) - ditto.</p>

<p>Hamilton (NY) - the only NESCAC college not in New England, shares the same pretty campus, snowy isolation of all the others – if not more so. </p>

<p>Middlebury (VT) - has come on very strong recently; lots of new construction, satellite programs; very strong in languages.</p>

<p>Trinity (CT) - prettiest campus in an urban neighborhood you will ever see; probably the most jocky, preppy, conservative of the bunch. You would have no trouble gaining admission, should you apply.</p>

<p>Tufts University (MA) - At 8,000 students, including grad students, Tufts is the only true-blue university in NESCAC (although Wesleyan also has a few hundred Ph.D candidates); it probably has more in common with neighboring schools in and around Boston, but, no one else would play football with them.</p>

<p>Wesleyan University (CT) - the most liberal college in NESCAC, thousands of students apply to Wesleyan every year as a back-up for Berkeley, Brown, Harvard and other politically active campuses; huge indie rock scene. </p>

<p>Williams (MA) - generally paired with Amherst in terms of history and difficulty of admission, but, as you can see – it takes a while to scroll down to the "W"s.</p>

<p>NEW YORK LACs -</p>

<p>Colgate University - a mid-sized LAC, like Wesleyan, but, jockier, more conservative and colder in the winter. Play Division I opponents, many of them in the Ivy League.</p>

<p>Vassar - a former extremely prestigious women’s college (Jackie O and a bunch of other wealthy women attended there.) Also considered very liberal and laid-back.</p>

<p>PENNSYLVANIA LACs -</p>

<p>Bucknell - See, Colgate, above. But, even more conservative. As with Trinity, you’d probably have no trouble getting in by dint of your URM status alone.</p>

<p>Haverford - small, attractive campus on the Main Line (named for the railroad route that extends from Philadelphia), generally associated with neighbors Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore who share similar Quaker heritages.</p>

<p>Swarthmore - probably one of the brainiest colleges in the country. Seriously, visit their College Confidential forum, these people love arguing with each other.</p>

<p>OHIO LACS -</p>

<p>Kenyon - doesn’t get a lot of publicity, but, ask any geezer and the first thing they will associate with it is their literary review which goes back ages.</p>

<p>Oberlin - generally matched with Wesleyan in terms of “fit”; similar size, liberal politics; a definite music scene, thanks to its magnificent conservatory. A High Match for you.</p>

<p>Ohio Wesleyan - a neat little college with solid academics and an unfortunate name.</p>