What are my Chances? Brown, Yale, Bowdoin, Chicago, Pomona, Carleton, Penn

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi I’m a Senior caucasian, girl from the northeast looking into colleges and I would like to know what my chances are for some of the colleges I’m looking at :slight_smile:
Any feedback would be welcomed, Thank you!
GPA:
3.99 unweighted
4.21 weighted
No rank

Course Load
Freshman: Humanities I, Biology, Algebra II, World I, Spanish III + electives
Sophomore: Humanities II, Chemistry, Pre-Calc, AP World, Spanish IV + electives
Junior: AP Spanish, AP Biology, US History, Internship, AP Lang, AP Calc AB and Psychology Class at local university
Senior: AP Lit, AP Stat, AP Physics 1, AP Spanish Literature, US Gov,

Scores:
1500 on the new SAT (740 english, 760 math) will take again
700 on SAT II World History
740 on Biology (Molecular)
5 on AP World, Calc AB, and Spanish
4 on AP Lang and Bio

Extracurriculars:
Student Council Treasurer (Sophomore Junior and Senior)
National Honor Society
National Spanish Honor Society
Started a nonprofit that provides technology tutoring to senior citizens in the neighborhood (Community service), we got an article in the local newspaper which I am attaching to my application
Senior member of a Jewish Philanthropist Organization
Founder/President of Marine Science Club
I intern at a biology lab at the local university

Awards:
2015 Regional NCSE Science Fair 1st Place
2015 National NCSE Science Fair 1st Place
2016 Regional Stem Fair 2nd place in Environmental Category
Published an article in IHSJS (Dec 2015)
2017 DC Stem Fair 1st Place
INTEL ISEF 2017
Science Fair Award from Society for In Vitro Biology
Best Student in AP Spanish

Summer Activities:
Shoals Marine Laboratory- Took a Marine Environmental Science Class for Cornell Credit
Spent three weeks in Ecuador, got 70 hrs of community service
Camp counselor this past summer at a sleepaway camp that I’ve gone to for seven years

Recommendations:
History teacher who I’ve had for three years and sponsors student government, we are super close and I’m sure it will be a great recommendation
AP Biology teacher who I went to LA with for Intel ISEF 2017
A lady I’ve worked with on my community service project

Essay: I’m answering the prompt about transition to adulthood and talking about being a counselor at the camp I went to, and how it was a coming of age experience. I really like it.

My one problem is no athletics but I’m hoping extracurriculars will make up for it. Also I have legacy at Carleton and uPenn

Thanks again!

2

Without a hook, as a white female with outstanding stats and ECs, no sports, I think it’s anyone’s guess at these top schools. If you were URM or particularly quirky I’d say better esp for Brown. From the NE, your best shots will be Carleton for sure and Chicago.

3

Agree on Carleton; I think Chicago is a reach for every nonhooked ORM applicant as are the others…

4

Being a legacy for Carleton and Upenn can help. Penn likes legacies to apply ED, though I have seen legacies apply RD and get in. Your gpa and rigor are strong - is your high school highly regarded? That will be a factor.
Not having sports is not going to hurt you.

5

Thanks so much!

6

The ECs are decent, but the test scores are not the tops You have a shot at all of these except Yale. However, I would apply to some at a somewhat lower level.

7

@dc4235 Penn gives a considerable boost to legacies applying ED. If you would be happy committing there early, you should consider doing ED. If Penn is not one of your top choices however, it is probably not worth it.

8

@Penn95 At first I was considering it, but a bunch of other people from my school are applying early there, and I also am not sure it is my top choice (more my mom’s idea for me :slight_smile: )

9

@dc4235 which one is your top choice? If you have a top choice or even 2-3 top choices where you would be equally happy, applying early can boost your chances considerably.

10

Do you have a safety?

11

@Penn95 Brown was my top but I just visited Yale and really liked it too (but I feel like my only chance of getting into Brown is ED)

12

@intparent My safeties right now are Michigan, Wisconsin, and Macalester

13

Only Mac is probably in the safety category for you, since you are OOS for Michigan & Wisconsin. They (Mac) care about interest – have you visited or done anything else to show interest?

14

@intparent I visited over the summer and had a really great interview (went way longer than it should have), I’m also planning on meeting the regional counselor when they come to my school.
Wisconsin usually takes a lot of people from my school, that’s why I thought of it as a safety. Michigan is probably more of a target for me (I have legacy there too).

15

@dc4235 Yale is the toughest on your list, and they do not give much of a bump to SCEA students. But if it is your very top choice it might be worth the risk. Brown ED will be significantly easier, and Penn ED with legacy status will be probably even easier. But still ED in any of these is a reach. So the Brown ED vs Yale SCEA decision depends on how much risk you are willing to take. Yale, Penn and Brown RD are complete crapshoots.

16

@penn95 thank you so much! This helped me a lot

17

Just a warning, my kids were double legacy at Michigan (both parents, and that doesn’t count both grandparents on my side as well), and the one who applied still got a courtesy waitlist. You can’t count on it.

18

@intparent good to know! Do you have any suggestions for more safer choices! I like the small/medium size colleges with liberal arts focus (tho I do like Michigan residential college and wisconsin)

19

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20

How about Scripps? Has the benefit of the Claremont Consortium (so mid-sized for some things like sports, dining options, classes to take, etc), but also the benefits of a smaller LAC.