What are my chances? Some insight would be extremely helpful!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi everyone! I'm currently a senior in high school and I've begun filling out all of my applications for college (eek!). A few weeks ago, I was discussing the college application process with my mom and we talked about the ups and downs. She told me that some days I would feel relatively confident and some days I would feel as if I wouldn't get accepted anywhere. Well, I had my first college freak out yesterday. I would really like to get a few different opinions on my situation. With such a large and talented applicant pool this year, I know it's pretty much a crapshoot, but any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much. </p>

<p><em>Please, whatever you do, be completely honest. It won't hurt my feelings. I just want to be as informed as possible.</em></p>

<p>Schools I'm Applying To:</p>

<p>Boston College (Legacy)
University of Chicago (Might have a legacy..have to check)
Georgetown
Yale (Legacy but not immediate family)
Dartmouth (Legacy)
University of Pennsylvania
Villanova
Northeastern
University of Denver</p>

<p>My Stats: </p>

<p>Profile: I am a white female from the south east. I attend a very well respected private high school with an above-average curriculum difficulty wise. I've played girls lacrosse for four years, danced for almost 14 years, am an avid reader and a regular runner. I also worked two writing internships in my high school career. The summer after my sophomore year, I worked for an art gallery as a freelance writer of sorts. I wrote biographies on artists for exhibitions, the opening page of their website, and the staff biographies. This summer/fall I'm working as an editorial intern for an online publication. I publish 1-3 articles a week and I'm getting really valuable work experience in the industry. I participate in my school's chapter of Habitat for Humanity, volunteer at a Foster Care Donation Center, and have done 60+ service hours and was voted as an Orientation leader this year.</p>

<p>Cumulative GPA for Freshman-Junior year = 3.7 (I'm right on the edge of a 3.8 so with good grades this semester I should be able to reach it.)</p>

<p>ACT Score: 31 with additional writing and a writing score of 10 out of 12. (This was my first try on 4 hours of sleep and no coffee. I'm taking it two more times soon so I'm expecting to improve at least a little.)</p>

<p>Junior Year Classes:
(AP scores in parentheses; first semester letter grade followed by second semester) </p>

<p>AP English Language and Composition A+/A+ (5)
AP United States History A/B+ (5)
Creative Writing A+
Ecclesiology A+
French 3 A/B+
International Business A+
Sacraments A+
Algebra 2 Advanced B+/A
Chemistry Adv B+/A
Intermediate Dance A+/A+</p>

<p>(My grades since freshman year have shown an upward trend apart from my spring semester Junior year. I was diagnosed with an illness (and my medicine kept making me sick) so long story short, I missed more school than I would have liked that semester and fell a bit behind. My guidance counselor suggested mentioning that in her recommendation for me.)</p>

<p>Senior Year Classes:</p>

<p>AP Psychology
AP English Literature and Composition
AP Macroeconomics
AP Environmental Science
AP United States Government
Precalculus Advanced
Intro to Web Site Design
Intermediate Dance
Apologetics
World Religions</p>

<p>I'm working really hard this year and I'm doing really well in all of my classes so far. </p>

<p>I've been told I'm a great writer with a unique voice, so I think I'll be able to write a really good essay (<em>fingers crossed</em>). I certainly won't submit anything until I'm happy with it (which might take a while...I'm pretty critical of my work).</p>

<p>Anyways, that's pretty much it. Any insight/educated guesses would be much appreciated!! Thanks so much.</p>

<p>-Seniorbabyy</p>

2

<p>Boston College (Legacy) MAYBE
University of Chicago (Might have a legacy…have to check) NO
Georgetown NO
Yale (Legacy but not immediate family) DON’T BOTHER
Dartmouth (Legacy) NO
University of Pennsylvania NO
Villanova YES
Northeastern YES
University of Denver YES</p>

<p>You have way too many reaches, a few safes and not enough matches.</p>

<p>A 31 is not even in the ballpark for Chicago, Dartmouth, Yale, Penn or Georgetown.
Nearly half your list are reaches, Denver is your only safety and Villanova and Northeastern are your only matches.</p>

<p>(given your legacy status, BC is a low-reach/high-match for you)</p>

3

<p>@soze: Don’t tell people to ‘not bother’ with applying anywhere, especially when your only basis for rejection is her ACT score.</p>

<p>However, I do agree that you might have too many reaches with not enough matches. I admit I’m not very good with matching people with colleges though, so I’ll leave it at that.</p>

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<p>Texasian0: Show me <em>one</em> single unhooked applicant to Yale who got in with an ACT of 31 and I’ll be happy to retract my remark. When you’re talking about a school that rejects 94% of its applicants, sometimes “don’t bother” is unfortunatly the right answer.</p>

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<p>@soze I appreciate the feedback, but please don’t tell me not to bother applying anywhere. I know I don’t have a great shot at Yale but there’s still a chance (no matter how minuscule it is) and it’s a risk I’m willing to take. Just so you know, a recently graduated senior from my high school got into Yale unhooked with an ACT of 31 and worse grades than mine. (And by the way, UChicago has an average ACT score of 31-34, so what criteria are you basing that no on? Same with Georgetown, their range is 29-33.) Thanks.</p>

<p>@Texasian0 Thanks for your comment. I know I have a lot of reaches but I’ve always been persistent when it comes to my dreams. There are many people I know who are extremely intelligent with incredible grades and good standardized tests scores who aren’t looking at any colleges out of the south, especially not any Ivies. I figured I might as well try. The worst that can happen is that I’ll get rejected. Life will go on. I am looking to add another safety though, so if you have any suggestions please share! Thanks.</p>

<p>To all: As for my ACT score, I obviously know that’s not a good enough score for half of these schools. The last (and only) time I took the ACT it was on four hours of sleep. I now have a tutor to improve my math score (my english scores were in the 34 range) and have learned more material in school. According to my practice tests (which, according to my tutor, are harder than the actual ACT) I will definitely raise my ACT score by at least 2 or three points, ending with a 33 or 34. I have two more attempts before I submit scores to colleges.</p>

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<p>First of all, your chances:
BC: high match
UChicago: high reach
Georgetown: low reach
Yale: high reach
Dartmouth (Legacy): mid reach
UPenn: high reach
Villanova: high match
Northeastern: low match
University of Denver: safety </p>

<p>Secondly: You go girl!! I love your self-confidence and determination; it’s awesome to see normal, driven, unhooked people who aren’t flipping out because they have a slightly low ACT and aren’t a URM; life goes on, and guess what, white people get into college too! If you raise your GPA to 3.8 and get your ACT score up to your target range, I wouldn’t be surprised of you got accepted to any of those schools. Obviously Yale and UChicago may be a bit of a stretch, but seriously, no school is out of reach for you. </p>

<p>And soze: Every time I read one of your posts, it’s extremely negative. Yes, it’s important to be realistic and honest with people–as sugar-coating the truth can be just as damaging as lying–but I don’t understand why you have to be SO blunt. Friendliness goes quite a long way in life (as does being factually correct, which, as demonstrated by the OP’s fact-checking skills, is apparently not a quality you pursue). I hope you start being a little kinder on CC, as we’re all just here to help each other, right? Let’s stop all this nonsense and bitterness and jealousy and move on, shall we? :)</p>

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<p>Sorry, I’m actually being quite friendly and if you read my posts I feel I usually try to put a positive spin on things.</p>

<p>And as far as being factually correct. I’m really sticking to my guns on this one. She claims she knows someone with a 31 and no hooks who got into Yale. I’m going to state that I’m quite sure that person was hooked (and perhaps didn’t want to admit it, which often happens).</p>

<p>Anyway, sorry if I’m coming accross as negative, but let me be clear. This is a very strong applicant who will get into many very, very good schools, but I just don’t think Yale will be one of them.</p>

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<p>@soze I appreciate the time you took replying to my thread. There’s a chance the guy who got into Yale didn’t want to admit he had a hook but he’s a pretty close friend of mine so I think he would of told me, but you never know. And thank you for the kind words. Personally, I don’t think I’ll get into Yale either but that won’t stop me from submitting an application. Everything is so subjective now, I might as well.</p>