What are my chances? Help!!!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
1

<p>Future Ivy Leaguer Hopeful </p>

<hr>

<p>Hey guys, I know that it's late, but I cannot wait. I am "dying" to get into an Ivy League college, specifically Brown, Harvard, UPenn, or Yale. My mom went to Brown, which can help. I have been to two summer camps at Brown (awesome experience), and I fell in love with the place. I even want to play basketball to increase admission chances. I am only a sophomore and have not taken the SAT yet (will take in fall), so don't chew me out on it!Also, I have about 20 inventions that I will "sell" this summer/ work with company in nearby city.</p>

<p>Here are my classes:</p>

<p>Freshman Year (4.0 unweighted GPA)- school did not offer advanced classes:
Geometry
English 9- Poem Published in National Publication
Spanish II
Biology
Ancient History
Band (Clarinet for 6 years)-2nd Chair (Lower Register Specialist)
Studio Art- gold key award
Altar Boy(Church Service)
Basketball Captain+ MVP</p>

<p>Sophomore Year(4.0 unweighted GPA):
Honors Algebra II
Honors English 10
AP Euro. History
Debate- Best record in school history
Chemistry- 2 science olympiad medals
Physics
Spanish III
Class President
President of Concession stand Operations
ABCCM Volunteer (150+ hours)
Part-time Job(Chick-Fil-A)
Altar Boy (Church service)
Basketball MVP+ Captain
Clarinet Independent Study</p>

<p>Schedule for 11th grade:
AP Stats
AP Chemistry
AP English 10- Language & Composition
AP U.S. History
Honors Spanish III
Honors Precalculus
Debate Team- Captain
Hopefully Honor Council, Class Pres., or Honor Council
Possible newspaper work
Part-time job
ABCCM Volunteer
Independent Clarinet Study
Altar Boy Leader (Church Volunteer)</p>

<p>Likely Senior Year:</p>

<p>AP Physics
AP Calc.
AP Environmental Science
AP Spanish
AP Government
AP Englsih 12- Writing
Hopeful Student Body Pres.
Basketball Captain (2 teams)
Possible Soccer captain
Debate team Captain
Altar Boy Leader (church volunteer)
Possible Year Book Editor
Chick-Fil-A Job
ABCCM Volunteer (Local Medical Ministry)</p>

<p>Expected SAT Score: 2200-2300</p>

<p>B-Ball Stats:
14 ppg
13 rpg
3.3 bpg
2.5 spg
4 apg
55+ FG%
5' 11"-could dunk since 8th grade when I was 5' 7"
play all positions</p>

2

<p>Okay…you posted this on seven other forums. That says something about you.
I have this feeling that this is some kind of closet ■■■■■, but oh well.</p>

<p>Your stats are good, and you seem well-rounded.
But there is this sinking feeling that you may get rejected at like all Ivies except like two.
I do not know why. I have this feeling that you don’t seem like the type who can stick to one thing and see it through, or you do too much for your own good.</p>

<p>There is just something wrong with this picture.</p>

<p>And yes, I noticed that he posted this everywhere.
And dude, get a grip, IVY status is not everything. There are a boat load of colleges like MIT and CALTECH that isn’t IVY but up there.</p>

3

<p>Bump…some help here please? </p>

<p>Passions: basketball, inventions, med. volunteering, and L-D debate.
-Working to bring inventions to market this summer</p>

<p>Class Rank: #1 out of 39</p>

4

<p>39 kids in your grade level?.. What kind of school do you go to?..</p>

<p>You look a pretty strong candidate to me. I’m not sure exactly how good your Extra-Curriculars are, but they look pretty good, although not exceptional. </p>

<p>My schedule looks a lot like yours, so I hope you get in…</p>

5

<p>Thanks Saugus for your support! I am only a sophomore, so my list of ECs is not fully completed. I go to a small, private school with a rigorous curriculum in a small town in the South. I could establish my own club that serves my passion, but my school will not let me. Every new idea I have, my dean steals it and tries to carry out the plan herself…and she epicly fails at it! LOL</p>

6

<p>^
Although it doesn’t really matter as an EC, just out of personal interest, what level rim can you dunk on? 9 feet or 10 feet? What’s your vertical?</p>

7

<p>I don’t know my vertical, but I dunk on 10’. I have nearly broken 9’ rims before (not good idea to run full speed and tomahawk on a small basket LOL). I first realized my jumping ability in the middle of seventh grade, when I jumped way up on my 6’6" 250+ pound friend going for a rebound. When I work on my lower body, I feel like I can fly!!!What chance do you think I have at Ivy basketball (I’m curious)?</p>

8

<p>You would probably have to play Point Guard because of your height. I’ll assume your standing reach is 7’7, although it is most likely shorter. That would mean you have a 29’ vertical just to barely get the rim, add more inches for the amount that you go above the rim. That is really impressive… All-Star Joe Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks only has a '19 inch vertical at 6’7. </p>

<p>Athleticism doesn’t determine everything, though. James White is more athletic than Michael Jordan and in the NBA D-League right now. I really can’t give you an accurate chance. But the talent is there.</p>

9

<p>Thanks Saugus, and I did not expect to play anything but point guard. I am actually fine with that because I am a good passer and penetrate the paint nicely. I have worked on my FT%, so I am solid there and now I am trying to have a consistent mid-range game (will work on three-pointers later on) to open the lanes even more for me. I appreciate your analysis Saugus and your kind comments! Thanks you!</p>

10

<p>bump…bump</p>

11

<p>You know, I was going to say a 92% acceptance probability until I realized that I hadn’t factored the fact that you were only 2nd chair in band. As a result, I have recalculated your chances with my awesome-o-chance-o-meter-machine-o-thingy and determined your result to be 0.01%.</p>

<p>However, do not despair! Your hopes of getting into an Ivy League can be seen through if you do the following:</p>

<ol>
<li>Study very hard and get 2500 on the SAT and 4.1 unweighted GPA.</li>
<li>Start a company with your 20 inventions and accumulate $2,000,000 or more in profits within 3 months.<br></li>
<li>Get recruited by the NBA.</li>
<li>Create several clones of yourself so that you will be able to participate in 5 EC’s(with leadership)/day and still get 2 hours of sleep every night.</li>
<li>Win the Nobel Prize before you turn 17.<br></li>
<li>Demonstrate your ability to lick your elbows in a Youtube video for the admissions officers. This is very important!</li>
</ol>

<p>Seriously though, you sound WAY too desperate about getting into an Ivy League.</p>

12

<p>I am not “desperate,” just determined in succeeding, that’s all. I just try to particpitate in everything I can, and it is fun. In band, we went on awesome trips for competitions, going to Brown was unbelievable, I love Science Olympiad, debate is great/bad at same time (it’s complicated), I’m working because I want to (plus both my parents worked in high school-they would like me to follow suit), I have interesting ideas in leadership positions, I like my Church, ABCCM is worth it, helping orphans is almost necessary, newspaper is fun, and I love sports.</p>

<p>But seriously, happilywallowing, your comment was pretty funny and it was NOT offensive…well done my friend, and keep it coming!! :)</p>

13

<p>bump…bump</p>

14

<p>1) You are currently a sophomore…how can you be desperate about getting into college? You might want to consider a reorganization of priorities…</p>

<p>2) Please, don’t apply to college with the intention of getting into an ivy. Apply to a college that you wish to go to.</p>

<p>3) No one can tell you if you are going to get into Princeton; there are almost no “locks”. You can have a perfect GPA and perfect SATs and still be rejected. It is not about academic perfection, but rather academic promise and vitality.</p>

<p>Seriously, chill…its only sophomore year for you. I probably couldn’t name more than 5-6 schools during my sophomore year. Keep this in mind: colleges are looking for smart, diverse people, not number driven machines…</p>

15

<p>Thanks for the “chill” comments, but I am just looking ahead a few years (I thought early planning was good, no :slight_smile: !). I like Brown, Harvard, UPenn, Hopkins, Wake, etc. because I want a good bioengineering program (pretty sure that’s what I want). I know how many “perfect” kids get rejected, I just want to know if I am on the right track. Thanks!</p>

16

<p>Big Dreamer,</p>

<p>I know that you are just trying to get ahead. I was the same way; in fact, I had some of my top colleges in mind as a freshman, and several more as a sophomore. However, I have to agree with the other posters that you seem to have your priorities mixed up. College admission is important, and it’s great to plan ahead, but what you are doing it not really planning in my mind, it’s obsessing over scores and status. I can see why others thought that you care more about ivy status than a particular school/program because of some of your comments. If you really care about admission at these particular schools, stop trying to please them so much because it’s not fooling anybody. They aren’t looking for one type of student with one type of scores; they are looking for unique students. And honestly, you don’t seem too unique. I’m glad that you enjoy your activities, but they don’t really tell me anything about you. For instance, I had no idea that you wanted to study bioengineering until your last post, although maybe if you talked more about that in your admissions process it would have helped. My point is that your activities seem way to common and scattered (too many areas of focus, none of which really make you stand out). Stop trying to figure out what these schools want; no one here can give you any really specific advice as to how to be accepted. The only thing that we can say is this: just be yourself and do your best. You should be doing these activities and taking these classes for your own personal fulfillment, not to gain entrance into a prestigious school.</p>

<p>I hope this helps.</p>

17

<p>your ethnicity is also a factor. Are you an URM?</p>

18

<p>Hey insomniac159, I appreciate your kind comments! My original post was hastily made and very badly organized (made at like 2:30 AM when I couldn’t sleep). </p>

<p>I am enjoying my activities and taking classes that I actually enjoy (hard for me to find interesting classes in my small school, though). I am not trying to completely build my high school career around the strereotypical Ivy League kid. I was just wondering if I appeared to be on the right track. </p>

<p>BTW, my “unique” quality (or I feel that this is unique) is inventing new products for various markets; I look to play this strongly in the admissions process. Again, thank you for the good advice and pointing out the mistakes in my original post! </p>

<p>Also, I am white (not URM), but I am 100% Greek and the son of an immigrant, if this helps! Thanks :)</p>

19

<p>^ Good luck to both of us in two years! (I’m a sophomore as well.) It’s great that you have that inventor bit going for you. Keep at it!</p>

20

<p>hey guys,I’m a U.G student in Asia.I’m keen on applying for an MBA degree to any decent college in the U.S and I’m not sure on what I need to do …some help please…</p>