What are my chances....Really?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>So I think I have been kind of blinded, so if someone can give me a wake up call maybe, and give me tips on where to go from here?</p>

<p>Stats:
Sex: Male
Race: Black
School: Magnet School in Chicago
GPA Unweighted: 3.0 Weighted: 4.3 (Top 20% of Class)
ACT: (27) Math: 26 English: 27 Reading: 28 Science: 25 Writing: 8</p>

<p>Siblings Attended: Yale, Howard, Georgia State</p>

<p>Ended 11th grade year with 5.1 GPA Weighted (upward trend)</p>

<p>Other Circumstances:
I wrote about this in my additional information, but my mom passed away my sophomore year which greatly affected my grades.</p>

<p>AP Scores:
AP Human Geo 9th grade (2)
AP World 10th grade (3)
AP U.S History 11th grade (4)
AP Lang 11th grade (4)
AP Micro 11th grade (3)
All honors classes, 1 AP 9th and 10th grade, 3 AP 11th grade, 4 AP 12th grade.</p>

<p>Current AP Classes: Bio, Gov, Lit, Psych</p>

<p>EC's:</p>

<p>Captain of the Policy Debate Team (ranked #5 in Chicago Urban League)
Illinois State Board of Education Student Advisory Council member (12th Grade)
Chicago Public Schools Student Advisory Council member (11th and 12th grade)
Steppenwolf Theater Young Adult Council member (10th, 11th, and 12th Grade)
Youth Narrating our World Op-Ed Project (11th, 12th Grade)
Generational All Steering Committee Member with Ford Foundation New York (12th grade)</p>

<p>Noteworthy maybe??:</p>

<p>Spent past three summers at Northwestern University for Debate on a full-ride scholarship. </p>

<p>Published articles in Chicago Sun-Times, Huntington Post, The Mash.
Articles were featured on NPR and WGN radio/TV
Had Huff Post article plagiarized by Senator Greg. Ball (received national attention)</p>

<p>I wrote my Personal Statement about my experiences in Washington D.C, where my Aunt (guardian) was Michelle Obama's Make-Up artist and how that influenced my passion for history, and politics in high school. </p>

<p>Schools:
Accepted: DePaul University Honors Program </p>

<p>Deferred: U Mich, Grinnell College, GW, (I had interviews with Grinnell and GW, they told me specifically they liked me but they had to see my 1st semester grades of 12th grade) </p>

<p>Top Choices: (Interviewed with most) </p>

<p>Yale :p
Northwestern
Emory
Wake Forest
U of I
Cornell
UCLA
U Florida
U Miami (FL)
American (Honors Program)
NYU
Conn College</p>

2

<p>A 3.0 u/w GPA (unless it’s a typo) could be a major impediment, especially for the Ivies, Northwestern, and even Emory, Wake and NYU. </p>

3

<p>Honestly, all are reaches except for U of I, American and U Miami.</p>

4

<p>Yale - no chance
Northwestern - no chance
Emory - high reach
Wake Forest - high reach
U of I - low reach/mid reach
Cornell - no chance
UCLA - high reach
U Florida - mid reach
U Miami (FL) - high match/low reach
American (Honors Program) - low reach/high reach for honors program
NYU - no chance
Conn College - high match/low reach</p>

<p>27 ACT is below all averages and puts you in a hole, then the 3.0 GPA just sinks you. Add a few safeties and matches and you will be fine.</p>

5

<p>Your ECs are impressive, and you have taken many APs, but your GPA and ACT are weak for most of the schools you mentioned. I think you have a good shot at U of I and U Miami. I’ve never heard of Conn, so I can’t tell you about that one.</p>

<p>If you did well in school this semester, Grinnell and GW could be quite plausible. Good luck.</p>

6

<p>None of your scores stand out I think they will see you as a talented EC candidate, but score-wise not so talented. They might think that your academic abilities are not up to par with what they expect. </p>

7

<p>I think that your ECs are great but they’re the only reason you might have a chance with some of these. Make sure your essays are BRILLIANT.
Yale - high reach (some chance b/c sibling)
Northwestern - reach
Emory - mid reach
Wake Forest - mid reach
U of I - low reach
Cornell - high reach
UCLA - mid reach
U Florida - match/low reach
U Miami (FL) - high match/low reach
American (Honors Program) - low reach
NYU - low reach
Conn College - high match/low reach
Good luck! Chance back? :slight_smile: <a href=“Chance me for Vassar I'll chance back :) - Vassar College - College Confidential Forums”>Chance me for Vassar I'll chance back :) - Vassar College - College Confidential Forums;

8

<p>If two non ivy schools are telling you that grades are an issue, then you have your answer: grades will be an issue at ivies and other highly selective schools, along with test scores. I love the idea of going for honors with good scholarships at schools like DePaul. Do you want to stay East Coast/ Midwest? Some ideas- Trinity (CT), Purdue, Indiana, Boston U, Loyola Chicago, UNass, Babson, Michigan State, Fordham, Creighton, Seton Hall, Elon, Denison, Bucknell, Drexel, I could go on. You have s bright future ahead, it may just be at different but still exceptional schools. </p>

9

<p>Definitely mostly reaches, but as you point out extenuating circumstances. A parent dying junior year must have been really rough. You do have URM going for you - and sibling at Yale. You also seem to have a good connection via summer debate w/ Northwestern. ACT is definitely on the low side. Did you take SAT 2s at all? Cornell depends on part which college you applied to. Some easier than others to get in. UMiami, American and Connecticut College should be a match - given your ECs. If first semester grades are excellent, GW and Grinnell could come through, too. You might want to add a couple of ‘safeties’ to the list unless you’d be happy w/ DePaul Honors Program in which case you’ve got that covered. Truly, you sound focused and driven - EC like Illinois State Ed Advisory Board are impressive. I’d say go for it - just have a few safeties in your pocket. Good luck - and report back.</p>

10

<p>Your initiative and attitude sound amazing. Your test scores and grades don’t seem to match up with your accomplishments, I wonder if you are not a good test taker and might need help with that? I would encourage you to apply to some smaller private schools such as Saint Louis Univeristy, Butler…schools where your leadership abilities would allow you to thrive, and where you would get a lot of personal attention. You seem to have targeted extremely competitive schools where many of the students will easily have much higher grades and test scores. You, however have documented leadership, and will want to be in a good academic situation in order for this to continue. I am so sorry for the loss of your mom, I’m sure it made it very difficult for you. Keep the faith, you will find your perfect match and thrive. </p>

11

<p>My guesses - ofcourse I could be wrong :smiley:
Yale - High High Reach
Northwestern - High Reach
Emory - High Reach
Wake Forest - Mid Reach
U of I - idk
Cornell - High High Reach
UCLA - High Reach
U Florida - Low Reach
U Miami (FL) - Low Reach
American (Honors Program) - Mid Reach
Conn College - idk</p>

<p>Chance me back please — <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1725110-chance-me-for-hogwarts-please-i-need-to-know.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1725110-chance-me-for-hogwarts-please-i-need-to-know.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

12

<p>Northwestern-High reach
Emory-High Reach
Wake Forest-Reach
U of I-Match
Cornell-High Reach
UCLA-High Reach
U Florida-Match
U Miami (FL)-Match
American (Honors Program)-Reach
NYU-Mid Reach
Conn College-?
Yale-Uh sorry but, high, high, high reach. </p>