SAT I (breakdown): 1590
ACT (breakdown): 35
SAT II: 800 (Math 2) Chemistry (780) Biology (800).
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.86
Weighted GPA: 4.53
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 4% I think I’m around 15 or 14/404.
AP (place score in parenthesis):
AP Bio (5)
AP Chemistry (5)
AP Physics (1) Horrid
AP Macro (2)Also horrid
AP Micro (3) Dang it
AP Government and Politics (2) Oops is all I can say.
AP Stats (3) Failure
AP Human Geography (5)
AP Environmental Science (5)
AP US History (5)
AP Calc AB (5)
AP English and Lang (5)
AP English and Lit (5)
AP Comp Sci (5).
IB (place score in parenthesis): Predicted 43/45.
Senior Year Course Load: HL Chemistry, HL Bio, HL English, SL Math, SL History, SL Spanish, AP Art History and AP Calc BC (online).
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
National Science Bowl (Founder and Captain)
Book club (Founder)
Varsity Tennis
Started a fundraiser to raise money for war veterans who lost their limbs to receive prosthetic.
Volunteer at animal shelter as animal photographer and created a video to give the animal shelter more awareness and volunteers.
Started nonprofit that uses stand- up comedy to raise money for kids with life threatening diseases. Unique or not?
Did lab research and wrote a paper. Haven’t published it yet.
Mu Alpha Theta
Schools:
HPYS
Columbia
Dartmouth
UPenn
Brown
Cornell
John Hopkins University
WashU
UC- Berkeley
UCLA
UChicago
GeorigaTech
Vanderbilt
Um… maybe, depending on the rest of your application. I’m not sure I could tell you anything you didn’t know already, especially because you didn’t say what your ECs are. There are thousands of students with strong resumés and the adcoms have to reject a whole lot of qualified applicants. I’d say your chances are best at Cornell, Dartmouth, Brown (based on acceptance rates), if you’re really set on the colleges in the Ivy League athletic conference. For the most selective, it’s anyone’s guess.
What are your ECs? What awards have you won? What income bracket? What ethnicity and gender? Leadership or volunteer experience? Do you have a job, and if so, where? What’s your passion and have you pursued it in such a way that it reflects on your application? Any hooks? Do you have legacy at an Ivy? What’s your essay about?
Your post is lacking information. Statistically speaking, you can get in, definitely. But so can thousands of other kids who have scores which are near yours or perfect. Ivy admissions says that getting in with good grades and testing is a crapshoot. That’s why other stuff plays into it so much.
Your test scores and academic record are strong enough that they will not in themselves debar you from serious consideration for admission to ANY college or university in the US.
Admissions at elite schools are heavily shaped by non-quantifiable factors--factors that might be peculiar to a given institution and, indeed, to a given admissions cycle at a given institution. This is where things like your ethnic status, interests, ECs, major awards, and essays come into play. The most selective schools can afford to pick and choose between candidates who have won national awards . . . though, obviously, not everyone admitted to a school like Harvard will have won awards at such a level. These schools also like valedictorians.
If your primary goal is simply to secure a spot at a school in the Ivy League athletic conference, then--statistically speaking--your best bet would be to apply ED to Cornell. However, be aware that there are excellent schools that field teams in other athletic conferences.
No Duke? Are you playing College Lottery? You know your stats are good (though your low AP scores seem to be an anomaly, but they shouldn’t be a deal breaker, especially if you don’t report them. Bad teachers? Hmmm.) Seems like you are hoping that by submitting plenty of apps, you are hoping to get lucky. That is not how it works. Every year in April, students like you create a post entitled something like “only got into my safety.” Except you have no safety. You don’t even have a match. Any college with an acceptance rate under 20% is a reach for all, regardless of stats. If you want to be sure you get into a college next year, find match and safety schools. Matches for you will have acceptance rates in the 25%-40% range. Show interest. Show interest at safeties too, unless you are auto-admit or applying to a college that accept nearly everyone.
@Lindagaf Thanks I have some safeties I just didn’t choose to list them. I just want to see how I stand against these particular schools. Anyone else? please my boys I need confirmation for my ego
Good stats and GPA will not be enough. It opens the door but doesn’t get you through it. Think about what makes you uniquely awesome and how you can convey it in a polished, interesting essay.
You won’t get confirmation for your ego from anyone who knows what they are talking about. As I said, you know your stats are good. You can look at the admitted student profiles of each of those schools and get a better idea of your chances. Look at their Common Data Sets. I know Brown goes so far as to publish percentages of vals and sals accepted. You will get to the gate, but it’s anyone’s guess as to if you will get through it. Offer them what they are looking for.
If you are premed then you should consider whether the schools on your list above are the one’s that will allow you to get an undergraduate GPA that is high enough to help you get into a top medical school, and that will allow you to graduate with a Bachelor’s and no debt. If you are not premed, then I don’t understand what the schools on your list have in common other than being famous.
Especially with match and safety schools on top of those 16, you are applying to way too many colleges. Whittle it down to 8-10 schools. 1-2 safety, 3-4 match, 2-4 reaches.
Your record doesn’t have anything that makes one particular reach school stand out as a better chance, so just pick your reaches based on personal preference.
I agree with @AroundHere, you are applying to way too many schools. In fact, I don’t think I can name one safety school off of that list. Yes, some schools have a higher acceptance rate than others, but don’t just assume that because it’s higher, you’ll get in.
Like what @Lindagaf said, “you are hoping to get lucky”. It looks like you are. I don’t mean to be rude, but it’s best to look at state schools and local colleges that can give you nice scholarships or even a full ride.
Your academics and ECs will definitely qualify you. What will push you through is what you bring to the table. What makes you different from everyone else? Who’s the person behind the numbers and the activities? Why do want to go to the school? What will you do to change the world?
As a piece of cautionary advice, you should read this book: David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell. One particular section you should read is about how academically talented high school students end up doing horribly in top-tier schools (Gladwell describes this as the small-fish, big-pond effect). I’m not saying you shouldn’t apply to big name schools, but you should be wary about what you’ll get yourself into.
I don’t understand your list. I am sorry, but it looks like you are applying to brand names more than applying to a place where you will spend four important years of your life. Do you know which major do you want to study? That is an important factor to consider. Do you know, for example, that engineering in Harvard is ranked #34, and economics is number 1 or 2?
Also, have you considered visiting colleges? The atmosphere, student body, and the philosophy of each university is unique, and the prospect student needs to make sure which place is the right fit.
My daughter applied to 12 schools. She was accepted in 8, waitlisted in 3, and rejected in 1, and when we looked retrospectively, we are sure that applying to 8 would be more than enough. She never would have gone to the other ones. My advice is to do research about majors, visit few schools, and make a reasonable list of places to apply to. Applications are time-consuming and you have to keep up your grades … Good luck.
Seems like some rough replies. Look, your stats are great (you know that), but I don’t blame you for looking for confirmation as you are going into the unknown territory of college admissions. It’s good that you have high goals and a list of safeties we have not seen.
Is your list long? I don’t know, it’s your list and if you have the time and resources to apply - fine. Hindsight is a luxury you don’t have. My son applied to 13, accepted at 9, wait listed at 2, rejected at 2. Will we do the same for our daughter in a few years? You bet.
Doing research to match your goals with your list is key. Harvard engineering is a great example. It may be #34 on today’s lists (lagging indicators) but they are making huge investments in engineering and should be considered a viable option to any engineering oriented student.
Do I have a chance? I have a 3.86 uw gpa, 4.53 weighted, I’m in top 4% of my class, got a 1590 and 35 on the SAT and ACT respectively and have pretty good EC’s. I also have taken 15 AP’s.
If I’m being honest, it sorta looks like you went down the US News Rankings and Copied/Pasted them here… Each university is completely unique, so definitely do your homework on each one! Look, I get it - nowadays, the Common App system makes applying to any university possible with just the click of a button. Make sure you’re a great fit at every single school on that list. Also, get some safeties/matches (as others here have mentioned) - maybe check out your state flagship?
As for your stats, the numbers side of the equation is fantastic. Well done! ECs definitely look focused, rather than BS and fluff like “President of the Free Hugs Club” or some crap like that. Since you’re into stand up comedy, definitely try and use your humor in an essay to make an admissions officer laugh - I’m assuming you have a good taste in comedy (but make sure it’s PG and lighthearted). Your essay is really going to push you from the BWRK pile to the “serious consideration” pile.
Only problem I see is AP scores. I feel you, I have four 3’s (mainly in English/Humanities-related AP’s) so my scores are weak as well. I’d either report all the 5’s or report nothing. Good luck!
@aneeshs17 If you have the AP’s in your school transcript you have to send the test scores, otherwise AO’s will think that the student got a 1 or 2 on the test, which is worst than a 3. (obviously, a 3 won’t help a lot either, but…)
@Abdulmalik142 AP classes are available for 9 to 12 grade, but not in every school.
If you are applying RD the school sends the transcript for the first semester in December or in the beginning of
January, and the second semester’s when school ends in June. You have to send the AP test scores to your college when they are released in the first week of July. It should not affect your acceptance (please do not get a 1 or 2!), but you can get college credits for the ones with 4 or 5.