What are my chances of getting into Ivy Leagues like Yale, Harvard, etc.?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I am an upcoming senior in high school, and it’s kind of setting in that I’m going to be applying to colleges very soon. I want to apply to competitive schools, but if there’s no chance of me getting in then I don’t want to waste the $75. Any comment on this topic would help so much!

My GPA is 4.29 and I am ranked 2 out of 170, but I am confident that after the previous semester and with my senior year that I will be rank 1. I have taken all honors classes and the most difficult electives available to me. For sciences, I have taken biology, chemistry, anatomy, and physics, and I plan on taking Chem 2 this year. In math I have taken algebra 1, geometry, algebra 2 with trig, and precalculus, and I plan on taking AP calculus this year. I have taken all the standard honors level courses for English and history, so nothing special there. For electives that were not required, I have taken Spanish 1&2, first aid and cpr training, IT fundamentals, IT support and services, computer science principles, AP computer science, and AP psychology.

I scored a 3 on both of my AP exams, which I know is not good. Psychology was an online class in which I barely had a teacher and the computer science course was almost just as bad but we just had a teacher who did nothing.

I have never taken the SAT or SAT subject tests. I have a composite score of 34 on the ACT; 34 on English, 32 math, 35 reading, 33 science. I have taken the writing portion once on a text on which the composite score was 30 and the writing was 6 out of 12. I plan on taking the ACT with writing again at the soonest date and two SAT subject tests in sciences.

Extracurriculars:
Computer Science club president/founder
Physics club president
Interact member(volunteer group)
Pine city ambassador(selective teen community action group)
Varsity volleyball captain, former junior varsity captain
Tennis team, best doubles award
Golf team, girls medalist in multiple tournaments
Yearbook editor (highest position in yearbook club)
student government association
National honor society
Precalculus tutor
Middle school robotics club volunteer
Praise band lead singer/guitarist at my local church

Awards other than those listed above:
Highest class average award in geometry, physics, and anatomy
3rd place in state Microsoft excel certification exams

I won a county wide program called Distinguished Young Women. It is a national program. I won the county qualifier for the state competition in January. I won in scholastics, talent, interview, and self expression. I don’t know if this will set me apart at all, but, as I understand, it is a big deal to colleges at a level comparable to the university of Alabama.

I am very comfortable with the essay topics on the common application so I don’t feel that that will be a problem. I am also very close with all the teachers and staff at my school so letters of recommendation will not be an issue either.

I live in a very small, rural town in south Alabama, so I am already at a disadvantage. I haven’t had access to a lot of the resources and programs that other students do, but I am doing my best with what I have.

Any feedback would be appreciated. From what I’ve read on the internet, I don’t have a great shot at getting in but I haven’t found a story the same as mine so I figured I would write one of these myself. Also, I apologize for any grammatical mistakes I may have made. I typed this once and it all deleted and it is very late at night. Any comment would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

2

Fun fact, being from a small rural part of Alabama helps you, as there are so few kids from that kinda place, that college admissions officers will see you as diverse and likely to provide a different perspective than most people.

Honestly, I think you could go to Harvard. You are a highly qualified diverse applicant, and you seem, even from just reading your writing, to be a very honest and authentic person. You also show a clear STEM spike, which, as a woman, is actually really great, and that will help you too.

Yes, have the safeties, they are important. But otherwise, I say go for Stanford, Harvard, Caltech, ect.

You are too hard on yourself. I think the only thing you are lacking is self-confidence (I guess you could market that as humble, so that’s one way to look at it).

Go Big or Go Home!

3

“… but I am doing my best with what I have.”

That plus diversity is largely what top schools are looking for.

You should think very hard about what you want in a university. Don’t just apply based on rankings. Make sure that you have realistic safety schools that you apply to and check the NPC (price calculator) for schools and find out what you can afford. It sounds like you are doing well and if you have a good reason to apply to highly selective schools then it is probably worth trying.

4

I definitely agree with the above posters, and so long as you really think you would enjoy those schools, then it seems your profile is competitive enough that you should apply! Obviously no one’s guaranteed entry to such selective schools, but from the information provided, you seem to have as good a chance as anyone. You have strong academics, diverse extracurriculars, leadership experience, and the small-town background really does make you a more unusual applicant in a way that benefits you. Show off your passion and present yourself confidently; you’re clearly already a very accomplished and intelligent individual, so find what you want and go for it!

5

Thank you all so much. I’m going to be looking in to visiting these places in the near future and talking to some people to make sure this is what I really want.