What are my chances at brown university?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey there,

I’m a long time lurker but this is my first ever post. Brown is my dream college partly because of its open curriculum and partly (although I hate to admit this) because it’s a high-ranking Ivy League university and I was wondering if you guys could tell me what my chances are. I’m 15 and I’m entering the 10th grade in september btw.

So, here we go:

Grades/ Classes:

-I finished the 9th grade with a 3.93 GPA (mostly As and A-s but my GPA got dragged down by an art class that I’m dropping next year)

  • taking 3 honors classes and no APs next year (that's all my school offers) but I am taking 2 APs in the 11th grade (AP Pre Calculus + AP World History) and 3 APs in the 12th grade (AP French+ AP Calculus+ AP Macroeconomics) in additions to any honors courses that are offered

-I haven’t taken the SAT yet although I am taking the PSAT in march but I have started studying for the SAT to ensure that I get the highest score possible (my older sister and I usually get about the same grades and she managed to get a 2070 with only two weeks worth of studying and she still managed to get into cornell)

Personal Info+ Plans:

-I’m an Egyptian/ American female which I’m hoping can give me an edge

-I’m applying as African American because since I’m Egyptian I’m technically African, my skin color is a tan brown also your chances improve if you are African American

-I’m planning on studying Applied Maths or Statistics

  • I'm a closeted bisexual in a community that prosecutes members of the LGBTQDIA+ society so I think that could make for a good essay+ maybe an edge?
  • A revolution broke out literally underneath my apartment complex back in 2011 so that could also be an interesting essay subject

-I’m fluent in 3 languages (Arabic, French, English), intermediate at Spanish and have recently began learning American Sign Language

-I’m not a first generation college student or a legacy

-Although my parents can’t afford to make a donation to Brown, I don’t think they will need financial aid either

-I’m a vegetarian and have been for quite a while now but I don’t think that counts for anything (not many Arabs are vegetarian tho so maybe it shows that i’m not afraid to go against the crowd? idk)

-My school’s not very competitive (as in there’s about 2 other people in my grade who have grades similar to mine, everyone else is at a B- C+ average) but that’s good because it means that I will most probably have a high ranking in my class when I graduate

Activities/ECs/Sports:

-I wrote a 40 000 word manuscript for a middle grade novel and am currently working hard to get it published (there’s one agent in particular that’s a bit hesitant to take on my project but i think i might be able to persuade them, wish me luck)

  • I participate as a cast member in my school's musicals every year although I am never a lead

-I did JV basketball last year and will continue this year and hopefully all throughout high school (I’m pretty bad honestly but like I said my school’s not very competitive)

-I was class president all throughout middle school but idk if that counts for anything

-I’m part of my school’s first ever Mathletes club and we’re travelling to a tournament in Beijing this winter)

-I’ve spent 2 summers in Spanish Immersion camps in Barcelona and Madrid

-I’ve been playing the piano since I was about 8 and I’m taking a pretty high level piano exam this December

-I got 3rd place at a track meet if that counts for anything

-I’m part of my school’s NJHS and I’m applying for the NHS this year

-I did 19 hours of community service last school year alone and will continue to do at least 15 hours of community service every following year

Awards:

-September 2014 9th Grade Student of the Month

  • 2013/14 Arabic Student of the Year

-2013/14 Drama Student of the Year

-2014/15 English Student of the Year

Future plans:

-I’m going to be a writer for my school’s magazine throughout the next year and hopefully throughout high school

-My friend and I are joining my school’s marathon team in September

-I’m going to be doing a 2 week internship at a local roofing company sometime this school year

-I’m going to do a 3 week backpacking program this summer

So yeah that’s everything. I would really like some opinions about what my chances of getting into Brown are. I would truly appreciate your honest opinions. Also please let me know if there is anything I need to add, remove or do differently in order to ensure that I have the best possible chance at admission.

Thank you so much!!

(Sorry for the long post)

2

Until you get actual SAT / ACT scores it is impossible to know if you are even “in the ballpark” for admission at Brown

3

yeah that’s what i’ve been told thanks for your reply

i was wondering however if my gpa and ECs are brown material

thanks in advance

4

To be honest, come back in two years and people will be able to chance you better. Chancing on hypotheticals generally means bad/unhelpful advice.

5

Tough to even guess until you have an SAT or ACT score. Just keep working hard in the classroom, practice those SATs.

6

“I’m applying as African American because since I’m Egyptian I’m technically African, my skin color is a tan brown also your chances improve if you are an African American”

If you don’t consistently identify as a BLACK person, you can’t apply as an African American. Just because your from Africa doesn’t mean your black. For example, there are a ton of white South Africans, but that doesn’t mean that they can just check the African American/Black box to get an extra edge in college admissions. If you’ve never had to deal with the institutionalized racism and discrimination of being a true black person, you can’t check that box. It would be dishonest to do so, and that is not the type of student Brown is looking to admit. Affirmative Action is in place for a reason, as a means of increasing diversity and providing more opportunities for groups that continue to be discriminated against. You might not agree with it, but thats how it is. If your skin is “tan” as you described it, then you have obviously not had to deal with the same institutionalized racism against dark skinned people. Race is not something you can turn on and off whenever it may benefit you.

Sorry for the rant, it is just a pet peeve of mine when people try to claim they are black or hispanic or another URM, when they don’t generally associate with that group.

7

@Brownnnnnnn @CCuser528 -It should also be noted that if OP’s ethnicity is Middle Eastern, applying as an African-American instead is lying to schools, who may well reject her application on that basis. OP, you must tick “White” in the common app and other forms, and then choose “Middle East” from the dropdown menu that will appear. Applicants with a Middle Eastern background are officially categorized as white under this system.

8

Agree with above on your race. You can’t really accurately chance someone until junior/senior year when you have all their stats. Overall I think you have a great start on your college app, but I’ll give you a few tips to improve your application. Also there is no such thing AP Pre-Calc so you might double check the class title.

  • Study for the SAT! You want to aim around 2200 for a solid shot at the Ivies. I know your sister had less than that, but it is usually what is recommended around here
  • Volunteer! 20 hours isn't really considered a lot around here. I would aim to have around 100-200+ by the time you apply to show you have a commitment to helping others.
  • Publishing your book would look very good, so continue trying to pursue that.
  • Also obviously keep your grades up!
9

@CCuser528 I agree with your point of view about not applying as African American and I can understand where you are coming from with that remark. I will most likely end up applying as white but please do not tell me that I have not had to deal with “institutionalized racism and discrimination”. As an Arab American I have dealt with my fair share of racism. I can’t tell you the amount of times my family and I have been “randomly” selected at US airports and sometimes even taken in for extra investigation for no apparent reason other than having clearly Arab names. I can’t tell you the amount of times the media has portrayed us as savages and terrorists and how much that kind of portrayal affects the public’s perspective of Arabs and how that translates into our daily lives. Being Arab means sometimes waking up to Facebook pages urging for a genocide against your entire race. Being Arab means having hundreds of your people locked up in Guantanamo for no apparent reason other than being “suspicious”. Being Arab means having hate crimes committed against people of your race on a regular basis. I could go on for days. So again please do not tell me that I don’t have to deal with racism and discrimination. Although I don’t have to deal with racism because of my skin color, that doesn’t mean that I have all of the privileges that white people do. Arab Americans go through all of the same shit as any other minority, the only difference is that the media chooses to focus on the mistakes of a few of our people instead of focusing on how these mistakes affect the lives of the rest of us.

10

@Brownnnnnnn I do feel for you, but the answer is not to label yourself an African American. Why don’t you list “Other” and then explain? I’m sure that would be more accurate than White or African-American. Or can you not do that? By the way, what you said could make for a good topic to write about.

11

Pull a 33+
and a 2200+
You’re chances should be in the Brown ballpark
It is a strange school, though.
Don’t neglect your application but don’t assume you could easily get in

Also applying to an Ivy

Chance me back

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1797562-changing-one-thing-p1.html

12

Too soon. As has been said, come back with GPA and test scores after your junior year for a more realistic chancing.

13

@jarrett211 -The common app doesn’t havean “other” option. OP is hardly the only Arab American applying to colleges. That’s why, as per my post above, the common app has a category for people of Middle Eastern ethnicity. Here’s a picture of the options as they appear once “white” has been selected.

http://iranian.com/data/images/op19r3ug72ax.JPG

The last time I checked, Egypt was still in the Middle East.

IMO it’s silly that Arab Americans are lumped in with whites, who definitely aren’t underprivileged beneficiaries of affirmative action. But colleges aren’t about to ask “Are you a sheik’s son or are you a regular Arab American who has to deal with bigots on an everyday basis?” So this is what they’ve chosen to do.

14

@Brownnnnnnn
When in my post did I say that you’ve never had to deal with discrimination? I simply said that you have not had to deal with the SAME discrimination as black people, and therefore cannot claim to be black. Of course, racism is not exclusive to blacks, hispanics, and native americans. But throughout history and in todays society, these are the groups who have been impacted the most and are the most underrepresented in US colleges and universities.

15

@NotVerySmart Maybe there is no option there, but you could explain that in the Additional Information Section.

16

There’s no such thing as “AP Pre Calculus”

17

Yeah why don’t you just explain your ethnicity…you technically aren’t black/ African American. You’re middle eastern. “AP Pre-Calculus” is not an existing AP class. The only time the fact that you’re a vegetarian will ever matter is when you’re looking at dining hall options in your college. We simply cannot chance you at this moment. If you want a standout application, get off of CC until your admissions cycle is here. Go do something. You certainly don’t want to get caught up in these forums.

18

@NotVerySmart Thank you so much! I was not aware that that was an option I will definitely pick that.