<p>I'm in a tough scenario. My Weighted GPA is around 89 which is without a doubt not ivy league standard but not the worse (slacked in freshman year). (I'm adding one year to my clubs for my senior year, since i'm an incoming senior). I'm the President of the Model UN (been in it for 3 years), President & Founder of French Club (2 Years), and the hopeful editor for school newspaper (2 years). I did a college career program in grade 10. I have been on the baseball team in 11th and 12th grade. I can speak spanish as it was my second and near native language. I can also speak some Italian and taking a college course in fall 2010 in addition to the semester I took of Italian (teacher left early). I'm learning French as well through the club and eventually through a course. I'm taking private Arabic classes since summer 2009 until the present. I plan to be conversationally fluent in Italian, French, and Arabic (perhaps by end of summer 2010), by the end of high school. I also worked for the 2009 Michael Bloomberg for Mayor campaign in New York City, where I was the first volunteer to be able to translate Spanish for the neighborhood office and was a valuable part of the office (despite me being only 16 at the time). I have to take my ACT and taking 2 prep courses, and aiming for a 30 at the min. Im aiming for realistic scores of 700 on sat 2 bio and 780 + sat us history and i already got 4 on Ap bio and Ap Us (issuing a re-score on US). My 2 teacher recommendations will be superb. I also went to a military seminar at the Naval Academy for a week (boot camp style). I can also and say i helped out in a nursing home for 2 years during middle school, showing i contributed to the community started when i was young. I also worked at a hardware store as well. I also tutored spanish for younger students who needed help. The reason why I have any hope is that my family has two contacts, one person who works in yale of some importance but not directly in admissions office. Another person is a relatively recent yale alumni and was on the yale football team who potentially has some connection. I'm also a minority (hispanic). Honest answers always, but with the utmost resepect. Thanks</p>
<p>700 in bio is rather pitiful for Top Ivy’s (HYPS I presume). You generally need 800 in math and 770+ in another subject or two (so try to add in math 2).
Your ECs are not likely to get you to Top Ivy’s (although there are still many good schools for you) although fluency in multiple languages does help. If you get a 30 on the ACT, that’s still a longshot from the norm of the applicant pool. Try around 34+.</p>
<p>Overall: You just aren’t Ivy material. Your GPA/Standardized test/ECs are all subpar (despite your URM status) and there’s nothing that stands out about you. Is there any particular reason you wanted to go to an Ivy other than the name/prestige? There’s many great alternatives based on what you want to study. What do you plan to major in?</p>
<p>Also, you might want to break down your “chance me” threads into bullets because walls of text are a little intimidating and may discourage people from chancing you.</p>
<p>With all due respect, I believe you are slightly oblivious to what stands out about me, even though you previously mentioned it. I just think for someone at the age of 17, to be able to speak conversational Arabic, French, Spanish, and Italian is something you just do not see everyday. Sure these may seem like just a group of languages to you, but studying and learning thousands of words, phrases, and even a new alphabet is something that not many people know how much work and effort is put into. It is a passion that not many in America have. To be able to survive in a category 4 U.S. State Department rated language at the age 17 I just believe is something not many other young adults would try to do. I can communicate to over 1 billion people. You are right about my bio SAT 2 so i will perhaps switch it for spanish (second language remember). I more would like to go to Yale or Upenn, as I fell in love with Yale’s 3 million book library and their warm welcoming. Upenn also has a great political science department to what I have heard, and is located in a great city. I plan on doing a double major, with one in Arabic, and I do not know about my second one yet. Also I heard that they compared minorities to other minorities as well, which I would think would help my low chances. And yes, I’ll use bullet form for future posts and to re do this one thanks. Thank you for the sincere and honest post.</p>
<p>Please reformat the information (paragraphs are not good for these threads, and your paragraphs are, especially, far too large). See the other chance threads for an indication.</p>
<p>If you had superb test scores, rank, and superb GPA, with those decent-bordering-on-good ECs (learning languages is impressive, but most of what I see is you paying for lessons. Colleges weight things like your volunteering more heavily than I-learned-this-or-did-this-mission-trip-because-of-money. Your campaign volunteering is decent, but if you had really good ECs, it would be in the middle of your application, not its highlight. Your ECs say to me “I am a mediocre kid who is able, through his own work or his parents’, to afford language lessons. I kinda like languages, I guess.” No real passion or achievement.), you’d have a decent (I.e., more than average, not 40% or anything crazy-high like that.)
If you had superb test scores, rank, and ECs with that GPA, you’d have a decent chance.
If you had a superb GPA, rank, and ECs with those test scores, you’d have a decent chance.</p>
<p>As it is, your chances are slim.</p>
<p>And the connection thing? I know a girl who is going to our second-ranked state college (which is still top 50), who was a 4th or 5th generation UPenn legacy and whose grandfather gives $20k annually to the school. She applied to UPenn ED. Her grandfather let them know that he would stop giving that money if she was rejected. She was rejected. (Although she may have been a deferred reject, to be polite.) So don’t count on your connections.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>^I really like this story. I can’t stand people who think money can make up for everything, including laziness (not implying the girl in this particular story is lazy).</p>