What are my chances at these colleges?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey guys, I'd really like to know what my chances are at the top three universities I'd like to go to. I'm going in undeclared no matter what, unless I magically realize my calling in life (which I guess is possible) within the next year. I'm just nervous that I have absolutely no chance at these schools and am wasting my time. I look on these boards, and most of the kids have taken like 20 AP classes and scored 2399 on their SATs. It's really intimidating. </p>

<p>1.) New York University
2.) Gettysburg College
3.) John Hopkins University</p>

<p>My current unweighted GPA is a 3.77, and I'm in the first decile (top ten percent) of my class. I rank 60th out of 602. I go to the third best public school in PA (or something like that). I haven't taken the SATs yet, which I know are a very important factor, but my PSAT equivalent was a 1790. 630 in Reading 550 in Math and 610 in Writing. I know I'm really going to need to up that to get into these schools, but I was incredibly unprepared for the PSATs. I'm planning on taking the SAT II's in June. </p>

<p>Here are all of the classes I have taken in high school(not including gym and some stupid ninth grade FCS classes):</p>

<p>Ninth Grade: Honors English, Honors American Cultures I, Honors Algebra II, College Prep General Science, German II College Prep, Microsoft Word and Powerpoint</p>

<p>Tenth Grade: Honors English, Honors American Cultures II, Advanced College Prep Geometry, College Prep Biology, German III Honors, Microsoft Excel and Access, Health, Driver's Ed, Cooking Lite and Easy</p>

<p>Eleventh Grade: Honors English, Honors World Cultures, College Prep Precalculus, College Prep Chemistry, German IV Honors, Advanced Microsoft Office, AP Statistics, Marketing, Money Management</p>

<p>Twelfth Grade(this is next year's schedule): AP Humanities English, Honors Political and Economic Systems, AP American History, College Prep Calculus, Advanced College Prep Physics, AP German V, Behavioral Science, History of American Film</p>

<p>I know it's not the most rigorous schedule ever seen by man, but it's got to count for something, right? </p>

<p>My extracurricular activities:</p>

<p>-I am in the National Honors Society.
-I've received an award for scoring above the 85th percentile on a statewide German exam.
-I'm the treasurer of the Student Historians Club at school.
-I won an award from Millersville University for reciting a German poem during the German Fallfest.
-I volunteer regularly to do Living History in Gettysburg.
-I did Quizbowl for a year.
-By the time I apply, I'll have been working part time at the same place for over a year. </p>

<p>Again, not the best ever seen, but it can't be worst either. </p>

<p>So far what are my chances at these three? Are they good, or is it impossible? I know it still depends on a lot of things I haven't done yet, but I want to know if I'm off to a good start or not. Thanks.</p>

2

<p>Johns Hopkins* ><</p>

3

<p>Let's see:</p>

<p>I had the same GPU as you, maybe a little lower, got into NYU and Carnegie Mellon two years ago, but I was pretty borderline for CM. </p>

<p>You also have about the same number of APs then I had, although I had all of mine in my senior year. Obviously, go for 4s/5s in subjects that you care about. Me: Calc: 5, Stat: 4, Eng: 5, Human Geo: 4, Psych: 3, APUSH: 3 (Damn!). 3s won't kill you, but you don't want too many of them. </p>

<p>Increase your SATs by A LOT (mine: 730M, 710CR, 670W = 2110), but I had an 1860 on my PSATs, so I know the feeling of nervousness beforehand quite well. If you can afford it, get a study prep guide and try to increase everything by as much as possible. </p>

<p>Especially important, depending on the school, is to put a lot of effort into the essays. The most important thing to emphasize is why those activities/classes are important to you, and that you're not taking them just to build up a curriculum (which you may be anyway). </p>

<p>Be genuinely passionate about something, anything, and reflect it in the essays. It's especially important if you're going for something like NYU Gallatin (where I am), or any other place with some sort of agenda in mind. </p>

<p>Emphasize your ECs in your essay, which seem to be diverse and geared towards history/culture/language, and highlight them in your application (not all of them, just the ones that are most important to you and what you want to do. Example: Me: Head of philosophy club, martial arts, tennis...that's about it. But I REALLY liked them, and it showed in the essay). Relax, don't overburden them with trivia, and try not to BS, its really obvious and doesn't look good. </p>

<p>Overall, a very decent mix of classes and unique ECs, a very good start. The essay will definitely be a tipping point for any other very elite schools you might be interested in. I'd say you're a match for NYU and Gettysburg, at the current rate; JH is a definite reach, and you'll have to try really hard to raise everything, GPA, SATs, an amazing essay, etc. Definitely possible however, so go for all three, and if you're gung-ho about one in particular, ED it. </p>

<p>Hope this helps</p>

<p>Edit: I read your other posts about financial aid. I've been at NYU 2 years and I still can't predict who gets what, the aid system here is weird because of the school location, population, endowment, etc. You seem like the type that could receive anywhere from 10-20K/yr (which is damn near the max NYU gives out to ANYONE regardless, and it still isn't much when compared to 50K+/yr tuition), but it's still never 100% certain, based on grades, circumstances, whatnot. Go for it, apply for aid, and see what you get. You never lose out by applying (aside from the application fee); you never know what you'll get. Good luck</p>

4

<p>Thanks so much for your feedback. It's nice to finally get some information on where I can go. I'm taking the AP Stat test, but I've got such a terrible memory for math (plus we're somehow reviewing the entire year in like two days in class) that I'll do somersaults if I get a 3. I know NYU wouldn't count it for anything, but my safeties would. It's sort of annoying that all the AP classes you can take at my school (except Statistics and Bio) are only available to seniors. </p>

<p>Anyway, I'm definitely buying an SAT book and studying like mad. As for financial aid, I know a kid, who applied for aid early and really needed it, being lucky and getting a 50k per year package(completely need-based). This, of course, was mostly made up of loans, but still!! It's not very common,though, and most folks probably only get about 20k. That's a shame because I'm gonna need hella more. I know you still haven't graduated, but do you think it's generally worth it in the long run?</p>

<p>Sorry to reply to your reply with another post. I'd die for any info about NYU from the folks attending it. Thank you!!</p>

5

<p>Personally, I think it's really deceptive of colleges to include a ton of loans with a financial aid acceptance package. There are a lot of kids here that will tell you, it's going to be hell trying to pay off 50K+ in loans after graduation, and assuming you do get some form of aid from NYU, most likely you're looking at minimum 20-30K in loans, which in 4 years = 80-120K! So be really careful when going for aid that includes loans, it's really tough being in debt afterwards. </p>

<p>My parents pull in over 150K+/year and they still wanted me to go to a state school so they wouldn't have to end up paying 50-60K/year. Fortunately, I was able to add a full semester's worth of APs to my pre-college credit count and I've been taking 18 credits/semester since then and a bunch of summer classes, so I'll be able to graduate early, saving at least 50K. It's a lot of hard work, and trust is especially important as well. I know exactly what I want to do in life and was able to convince them to have faith in me, that counts for a lot. Think about it. </p>

<p>It's a great school if you decide to go, but make sure it's worth it, that you won't be kicking yourself later for getting an education worth 10x more than a state school for little discernible benefit in the long run. Make it count!</p>

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<p>Based on your posts, your selection of schools does not seem to make sense. What are you seeking from a college or university? There is no way to reasonably assess your chances for admission to NYU or JHU without actual SAT I scores. You are a good candidate for admission to Gettysburg College, however.</p>

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<p>I know. That's what I asked if I was off to a start. I'm taking the SATs in less than a month and will probably post again once I get them. I know that these three universities don't have too much in common other than the price, but that's, for some reason, how I tend to be. I like a lot of different things from the schools, and I'm not exactly sure of what I want to do yet, in which case enrolling in a private school right away could be extremely foolish. </p>

<p>In that case, can anyone tell me how these schools feel about transfers and how easy it is to transfer?</p>

<p>Why am I a good candidate for Gettysburg?</p>

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<p>I think he/she means that your stats right now/as you're going are good enough for admission at Gettysburg.</p>

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<p>Hm, so in other words, Gettysburg doesn't rely as much on SATs? That might be a good thing.</p>

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<p>It's just raw numbers we're talking about, essays and stuff throw that sort of thing in the air.</p>

<p>For your reference:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.princetonreview.com/college/testprep/testprep.asp?TPRPAGE=295%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.princetonreview.com/college/testprep/testprep.asp?TPRPAGE=295&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>