@Corbett I’ll definitely look into Reed! Do you think I have a good chance at that school, as well as Wesleyan, Haverford or Swarthmore? The only thing with reed is that I’d like to be close to home (east coast). Thanks!
You would probably have a very good chance at Reed. For one thing, Reed has a significantly higher acceptance rate than any of the other schools on your list (it was 31% last year).
If you are wondering why Reed has a relatively high acceptance rate, well, just look at your own post. Most people would ideally like to attend a college that is within a few hundred miles of their home. However, only a small percentage of the US population (basically the states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho) lives within a few hundred miles of Reed. To be nationally competitive, Reed has to fill most of its class with students that are located an airline flight away. Reed was recently ranked #1 nationally in the category of “Students Farthest from Home”, with the average student traveling 1,357 miles to get there.
https://ink.niche.com/top-25-colleges-students-farthest-home/
It’s much harder to recruit long-distance students than locals: in general, the farther away a student lives from a given school, the less likely they are to apply, or to visit, or to accept an offer of admission. So private colleges, which typically seek national representation in their class, commonly accept long-distance students at higher rates than locals. This would work to your advantage at Reed.
Schools like Wesleyan, Swarthmore, and Haverford are flooded with applications from local students in the Mid-Atlantic and New England states (i.e. people like you). Since they want national representation, their admissions policies probably favor students from other parts of the country, as opposed to locals.
Portland may be outside of your geographic comfort zone, but it might be worth your while to check it out. Many twentysomethings would regard Portland as a much more desirable location than Middletown, the Philly suburbs, or Hyde Park.
For chances I’d say yes to Haverford and Wesleyan and no to U.Chicago and Swarthmore. Questbridge is going to be a better route for you. Test scores strong enough, GPA you need to be able to explain what mental fog you were in the first 2 year of high school. In the broader applicant pool your GPA is a big liability, in the Questbridge applicant pool not so much
@Wje9164be Thanks! As for my GPA, I don’t really have any excuses so do you think it would be better not to offer any explanations? If I do, I’m worried that it’ll sound like an excuse.
If and when asked. The good thing is you have turned things around. Your unweighted GPA is looked at very closely in college admissions
I don’t know much about these schools, but I would say that UChicago and Swarthmore are high reaches, while Wesleyan and Haverford are low reaches. I predict you will get into at least one of these schools!
I can see you talk about soccer in your essay since you made co-captain and got scholarship on a summer program. However, I think having more information about what you want to major in and your course load would help. I believe your hook is great, but make sure u connect it well to your major (interest).
uchig is high reach (your academic is not at that level)
Haverford (50/50) liberal arts focus more on extracurrilar and personality and being asian won’t hurt u as much)
Swarthmore reach: top liberal arts college is not easy (make sure that personalityand extracurrilar really shine together)
Haverford (50/50) same reason as haverford
@ZenjuChan Thanks! What if I choose to write an essay that is not related to my EC’s? Will that hurt my chances?
that’s fine, it’s just not using what you have to the fullest potential. colleges want to simplify u. if u have alot of things pointing at difference direction, ur making harder for them.
but u seem to have something in mind. can u tell me the major and what u plan ur essay to be about.
Being a male at LACs definitely helps! I’d say:
Wesleyan: Accept, Haverford: Waitlist/Accept, Swarthmore: Reject, UChicago: Reject
Your EC’s seem very standard and I can’t see a clear passion. Your stats shouldn’t really hold you back, but your GPA might.
Best of luck! 
Chance back?
@writergirl0316 Thanks, I’ll chance back asap! And how bad is it that my EC’s aren’t focused?
@Pokeman1 being focused helps, but as long as you can communicate genuine passion, you’ll be okay! I’d say to concentrate on things most related to your major so that the ad-com can see that you’ll make a name for yourself in that field after you graduate.
@writergirl0316 I’m still completely undecided for my major (probably why my EC’s are all over the place), and what I’m hearing is that being undecided will hurt my chances - or it just won’t make me stand out much. Do you think this is true? And I have a few essay ideas in mind but they don’t really relate to a passion or EC that I’ve been involved in. It’s more of just my background and explaining where my motivation comes from (even if i am undecided)…
I’d do some soul-searching this summer! I just think beingg undecided may sometimes mean that you’re not entirely sure of your interests, which can weaken your app. It’s more about your own certainty than the actual extracurriculars that appear on paper.