<ol>
<li>have an 1840 SAT (hoping to get it to at least 2000)</li>
<li>play 3 sports, 2 are varsity, and I am a team captain for one of them</li>
<li>chosen to present a project of mine in front of the Board of Education</li>
<li>provide free school and SAT tutoring to those who need it in my school</li>
<li>involved in a club</li>
<li>3.8 GPA unweighted</li>
<li>Volunteer in a soup kitchen every week</li>
<li>single parent home</li>
<li>low income</li>
<li>first generation college student</li>
<li>top 10% in my class</li>
<li>and I’m black (just throwing that in there)
what are my chances of getting into a school like Brown???</li>
</ol>
<p>Top 10%, black, first generation, 3.8 gpa, sports, captain are all things you have going for you. </p>
<p>The SAT is very low. Write some great essays and hope for the best.</p>
<p>Thank you, but from 1-10 what do you think my chances would be if I wrote an amazing essay?</p>
<p>Read Loren Ipsum’s thread under the early decision posts.</p>
<p>Figure out what you mean by “schools like Brown”. It has a definite culture. There are people who think, “hey, their SAT scores are the lowest of the Ivys” and apply for that reason. Most of those are not a great fit, and aren’t successful. Figure out what appeals to you, and then demonstrate how you would benefit from the environment, and how it would benefit from having you there. That is the key to admission almost everywhere.</p>