<p>I'm looking at applying to Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College, Johns Hopkins University, University of Notre Dame, University of Michigan, Vanderbilt University, and Michigan State University.</p>
<p>Academics
Rising Senior at a well known public high school in Michigan (class of '09)
Un-weighted GPA: 3.85 Weighted GPA: 4.42
ACT Composite: 33 SAT Subject Tests: Biology-780, Math II-770, and U.S. History-680
Advanced Placement Scores: U.S. History-5, Biology-5, and Psychology-5
National Honors Society Member
(I am also taking four AP's senior year along with another honors Spanish class--our switch to the trimester system has reduced the amount of AP's I'm able to take)</p>
<p>Activities:
Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)
Varsity Diving Captain for 08-09 season, diver since freshman year<br>
Varsity Water Polo Player (grades 9-11) earned varsity letter in 10th and 11th grade.
Vice President of Band (150 students in Band)
Impromptu and Extemporaneous Speaker on Forensics Team 11 & 12
Math Tutor throughout Junior year
Did volunteering throughout the summer at a local hospital (a total of about 75 hours in the orthopaedic unit)</p>
<p>Awards:
Biology Olympiad Scholar: Got to Round 2 (of 3) of National Biology Olympiad<br>
Michigan Mathematics Prize Competition: Got to Round 2 (of 3)</p>
<p>I'm interested in a career in the biological sciences and/or medicine. What do you think my chances are of getting in to the aforementioned colleges? Is there somewhere you think I should add or remove from my list of colleges? Your insight is appreciated.</p>
<p>Sorry, I'm not a rising senior. I am a senior. I took some of this info from a resume that I typed up over the summer.</p>
<p>Harvard: Reach
University of Pennsylvania: Reach
Dartmouth College: Reach
(obviously these are all reaches for even the best of candidates. But you are definitely in contention at any of these universities with quality recommendations and essays)
Johns Hopkins University: Match-slight reach
University of Notre Dame: Match-Slight Reach
University of Michigan: Match
Vanderbilt University: (Don't know anything about this school), most likely match
Michigan State University: Definite safety (would get into the honors college as well). If you are interested in here look into the lyman briggs residential college for sure (for natural science/pre-med students, more challenging and smaller classes/more of a liberal arts community feel etc). If you have any questions about here I definitely help :)</p>
<p>Perhaps I would suggest to find another safety/match school that could possibly give you a competitive scholarship offer. Otherwise I think you have most bases covered. You could also choose to narrow it down a little and avoid applying to more than 2 ivies, but it's all about personal preference</p>
<p>honestly, you've got as much a chance as your average honest abe....pretty good</p>
<p>thanks for the insight!</p>
<p>I'd peg all the Ivies at 45-55 stacked against you, but you should get in everywhere else. You definitely have the grades, and your ECs are okay (Eagle Scout looks great), but Ivies are Ivies so they're tough for anyone.</p>
<p>I agree with that assessment... and not that it will change much but my EC list is not particularly long because I didn't write down every single detail and event--I listed my major involvements. I've given tours of our school and written for our newspaper but I didn't spend much time on those. It's great to see another intelligent individual support Barack Obama. Best of luck with Columbia!</p>
<p>I'd echo what half-japanese said... maybe 40ish% at the ivies though.
Do you want to dive in college and/or play water polo? Harvard, Notre Dame, JHU and Michigan all have extremely good diving programs so if you are an excellent diver, it certainly could not hurt, especially at harvard, where you probably have the worst odds (not that your odds are BAD at any school, just comparatively)</p>
<p>I definitely want to continue with sports in college, but I'm not good enough at diving or water polo to continue at the varsity level. I wish I were skilled enough because it can be huge as an admissions factor. Two girls from my grade are going to Yale--one for volleyball and one for golf. I also have another friend who has a good chance of going to Princeton for wrestling. I'm interested in doing crew at college, however I don't know a lot the selectivity of it--i.e. whether I could walk-on to JV and eventually make it to varsity.</p>
<p>Your extracurricular activities and leadership positions definitely make you a strong candidate. </p>
<p>I'm no college counselor, but here is my assessment:
[ul][<em>]Harvard University = far reach (for anyone that hasn't developed a cure for cancer)<br>
[</em>]University of Pennsylvania = reach
[<em>]Dartmouth College = reach
[</em>]Johns Hopkins University = possible
[<em>]University of Notre Dame = possible
[</em>]University of Michigan = likely
[<em>]Vanderbilt University = likely
[</em>]Michigan State University = safety[/ul]</p>
<p>Good luck. :)</p>
<p>Also, what do you think my chances are at Case Western Reserve University's combined BA/MD program with their school of medicine?</p>
<p>you'd have a really good chance at johns hopkins, notre dame, michigan for sure, vanderbilt, since you're more of the bio major type, and im not that well aware of michigan state. did you take the SATs? your grades are impressive, along with your ap and subject scores. ivies look at the rigor of curriculum as well so your ap courseload might fall a bit short but chances there are pretty good also if you can manage to ace the essays. you have a lot of diversity b/w ECs and sports...with good academics so chances are good in all.</p>
<p>Thanks for the insight! I'm already in to MSU (in Lyman Briggs the residential college of science). Yeah, I really wish I could have taken more AP's. I'll only end up with seven, and I even doubled up on science last year to squeeze in AP Bio. My school has a really stupid policy with AP classes.</p>
<p>Did you ever get into any of the schools you wanted to get into I wondered? Your grades were really good!</p>
<p>Case Western Reserve has a great program and I believe that you have the credentials to be accepted into the BA/MD program; definately to get in, in general. The only thing to worry abt. @ Case is that they interchange with MIT for the top spot for giving the most workload, but nonetheless, it's location is prime for pre-med and med students with the Cleveland Clinic (one of the top for cancer and neurology care) around the corner, Rainbow Children's Hospital (one of the top 5 in the nation for pediatrics) across the street, and University Hospital on campus.</p>