What are my chances for these schools (Penn, UChicago, etc.)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Heyoooo! I would love to hear what you guys think my chances are for the following schools: UPenn (ED to CAS), UChicago (EA), UVA (OOS, EA), Duke, Vanderbilt, UCLA, Harvard, and Columbia. Thanks so much! Below are my stats.

ACT: 35 composite (36E 35M 35R 33S)

SAT II (subject ): 800-Math Level II, 800 US History

I took 7 AP classes before my senior year, and I’ve gotten straight A’s throughout high school, so my unweighted GPA is a 4.0 and my unweighted GPA is a 4.35 (bc my school does an awful job weighting our GPAs lol)

Rank: Tied 2/750

AP/IB: AP Euro (5), AP Bio (4), AP Calc BC (5) w/AB subscore (5), AP US (5), AP Enviro (5), AP Lang (5), AP CSP (5),

Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Stats, AP Physics C, AP Gov, AP Psych (online, not offered at my school), Multivariable Calculus (online, not offered at my school), and Ordinary Differential Equations (at my local community college)

Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): AP Scholar, National Honor Society, National Merit Semi-Finalist

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Cross Country (9-12, captain 11-12) state-qualifier every year; Track (9-12, captain 11-12) state qualifier for past two years and fastest half-miler in my district; Camp Counselor (9-12); Private Tutor and Co-Owner of local tutoring business (11-12); Volunteer Tutor (11-12); Stem Cell Research (10-12) author of a case study that was published in an academic journal; Journalism (11-12, Sports Editor); Volunteer at local hospital (12); Math Club (11-12, secretary)
Teacher Recommendation #1: Math Teacher (head of math department) 10/10
Teacher Recommendation #2: English teacher 7/10
Counselor Rec: 7/10 (we have 4 counselors for our entire grade of 750 students. I would say it’s highly unlikely that it’s anything special)
CommonApp Essay: 8/10

I would say that I’m concerned about extracurriculars, as they are kinda concentrated in grades 11-12. I did other activities 9th and 10th grade, but quit them, so I didn’t feel like they were important enough to put on my application.

2

***mistake on the awards!! I actually copied and pasted this template from someone else and forgot to replace those. My awards are National Merit Commended, AP Scholar, CSF Seal Bearer Candidate, and then this math achievement award for my school that was only given to like 4 people.

3

It would be nice to know what major you are looking into… I’m guessing biology?

Overall:
Stats: Great job, practically flawless
ECs: Having published work is fantastic! Very diverse ECs. If you can write about each of them, I think you are all set!
Awards: Pretty average, hopefully you have more awards?

Chances:
UPenn (ED to CAS): 50/50 chance, it is an Ivy after all. I think you might be deferred, but definitely not rejected
UChicago (EA): 50/50 again, I think you may get in given that UChicago is not know for bio
UVA (OOS, EA): pretty good chance of getting in
Duke: reach
Vanderbilt: reach
UCLA: reach, OOS
Harvard: reach
Columbia: reach

Hopefully you have safeties and matches as well!

4

@GoBears2023 Hi! Thanks so much! I am actually applying to different majors for different schools. For Penn, I’m applying for cognitive science, and for U Chicago, I’m applying for biology. For all of the other schools, I’m applying as a math major. I am actually in-state for UCLA. And yes, definitely applying to more backups and safeties lol! Otherwise, I’d be in for a shock during admissions season…

5

wait can you apply ed to penn and then ea to chicago? because i thought with ed you can only apply to other state schools and not other private schools

6

@davidyekwonkim yep! Penn is Early Decision, which is binding, but still allows you to apply to non-binding early action schools. SCEA schools like Princeton, Harvard, and Yale only allow you to apply to state schools early.

7

“I would say that I’m concerned about extracurriculars, as they are kinda concentrated in grades 11-12. I did other activities 9th and 10th grade, but quit them, so I didn’t feel like they were important enough to put on my application.”

My son was accepted to UChicago last year and although it’s a sample size of one - I believe his listing of various activities he tried (and quit) in 9 and 10 were actually a benefit to his app. UChicago likes people who are intellectually curious, who try many different things and are open to expanding their knowledge in areas where they’re not already comfy or experts. Part of his overall “story” was that he explored a wide variety of things before settling down for a deep dig into the areas he eventually became fascinated with.

Everybody’s overall presentation is slightly different so of course approaches will vary by person. I’m just mentioning this for other people reading the thread to consider but don’t worry too much about it since yours is done and it looks good.

One other key item for UChicago are the essays. They’re weird and unique for a reason and from what I’ve seen, the college places a high amount of value on how your responses to their interesting questions show you’ll fit. From the kids I’ve known who’ve been admitted to Penn vs the ones admitted to UChicago, the type of kid and essay tone have been very different. If you’re rejected at Penn, that might be an indicator you’re a better fit at UChicago. If so, you might want to consider switching your UChicago app to ED2, which will raise your chances.

Good luck wherever you land.

8

@GoBears2013 You had UPenn and UChicago as 50/50 chance and others schools (UCLA, UVA, Vandy, Duke, etc) as a reach. I generally think of reach as less than 50% chance. Does that mean bridarrow has less chance of getting into UVA and UCLA than UPenn and UChicago? I am curious since my child has somewhat similar stats and interested in UChicago, UPenn and UCLA.

9

Hi @bds61821 ,

I would say he has a better chance getting into UChicago and Upenn only because he applied early. If OP was to apply regular to all of these schools, I would say he would have an easier time at UVA and UCLA. Hope this helps!

10

My daughter had similar stats & extracurriculars. Applied ea to UVA, Chicago, RD to Penn (could not afford to make binding commitment without knowing financial package.) Accepted at UVA, Chicago, rejected at Penn. There was an ED candidate from her high school with subtly lesser stats that was accepted at Penn. Suspect you will be accepted to Penn as Ed candidate. Daughter loves Chicago btw, running XC/track too which she could not have done at Penn. It all works out. Good luck!