What Do You Think of My Chances are at these Universities?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi guys! I told myself that I wouldn’t do this, but I convinced myself otherwise. I was wondering if people could give me their input. Thanks! By the way, I am using the results template to post everything for now just because it makes things easier.

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2220 Superscore (720 CR, 780 Math, 720 Writing, 8 Essay) (3 Sittings); 2180 Single SAT (720 CR, 780 Math, 680 Writing, 8 Essay)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 800 Math II, 740 World History, 720 Spanish (I am not a native speaker)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Not exactly sure, I would estimate 3.83/4 or a 4.6/5 (This is very, very good at my school)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A (my school does not rank but I would estimate that I am somewhere between top 5-10%, at worst comfortably in the top 15%)
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP U.S. History (5) (plus all Senior AP Exams as well as self-studying AP Microeconomics and AP Macroeconomics)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Spanish Language, AP English Language and Composition, AP Calculus AB, AP European History, Honors Theory of Music, Honors Ethics in the Modern World
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 1st Place (State Champ) in FBLA Management Decision Making (National Finalist (Top 15 in a conference of 11,000 people)), 3rd Place in FBLA Global Business (State Level as well); I predict that I will be a National Merit Commended Scholar (probably not semi-finalist or finalist though)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Mock Trial (9, 10, 11, 12) (Captain), FBLA (10, 11, 12) (our school’s chapter was founded in 10th grade) (Business Activities Manager and Vice President), Deeper Discussion Club (11, 12) (Co-founded), Pianist (12 years; 6 years of Jazz Piano), Volunteer at Homeless Shelter (11, 12)
Job/Work Experience: N/A (unfortunately)
Volunteer/Community service: See above (I would estimate total volunteer hours to be 100+)
Summer Activities: Volunteering, National Conference for FBLA, College Courses, Traveling/Touring, Camps (All of your typical shit; nothing special)
Essays (rating 1-10, details): CommonApp Essay I started in April :o (thank God I didn’t procrastinate) Think it’s coming along very well, still need to put on a few finishing touches but so far 8.5/10, will probably end up being 9.5/10
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): See Below

Teacher Rec #1: AP U.S. History Teacher 9/10 - Had a very solid relationship with a teacher who was generally hated by other students, which is why I think he will write me a solid rec (also he asked me what I wanted him to include in it :slight_smile: )
Teacher Rec #2: Honors Spanish Teacher 8/10 - Nothing amazing, but I did have her for two years and I was one of the brightest students in her class
Counselor Rec: 9.5-10/10 - I have a fantastic relationship with my guidance counselor, who has helped me with a lot of academic obstacles; for a rather large school that I go to, he knows more about me than I bet he knows about many of the other students, and I intend to talk to him about the counselor rec when I get back to school
Additional Rec: Mock Trial Lawyer Coach (4 years) 9-10/10 - I love my Mock Trial Coach, and he is very chill and he’ll pretty much write anything I ask him to (I don’t mean that in a pretentious way fyi), and I have done a lot to enhance the quality of the team (e.g. recruited the core of the team, was a solid leader for a team that was in a long rebuild and in need of leadership)
Interview: N/A yet, so I’ll just estimate how I think all of my interviews will be 8.5-9/10 - Solid, well-rehearsed yet sounds natural

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Not Sure yet, but probably not (I don’t know if I will qualify)
Intended Major: Philosophy (in some way, shape, or form, and either Classical Studies/Ancient History and/or Law and Society) (pre-law track as well)
State (if domestic applicant): Massachusetts
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Larger Public (approximately 450 kids in my grade) (I go to a very competitive school; I would say slightly less competitive than a magnet school, but still very competitive)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: I’d estimate between $175,000 - 250,000, but I honestly have no idea (I would call myself upper middle class)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Primary Legacy at UPenn (my dad went there; I know this is just a specific university, but it’s my first choice, so I would love any input from any former or current UPenn students (who should know how much legacy matters at a school like that)), Unique Interest in Philosophy that is displayed through passion in College courses and Extracurriculars (yes, this does matter)

Reflection

Strengths: Course Load (especially in relation to interests), Test Scores are not anything to be disappointed over (minus the three sittings), Most of my Extracurriculars (particularly leadership roles), Hook at UPenn (yes, it’s big), Essays
Weaknesses: Lack of an athletic extracurricular in high school (I do have a Black Belt in tae-kwon-do, though, from before high school), Volunteering/Jobs/Work Experience/Summer Activities (by far, the worst part of my application; have very little to show for work experience and summer activities are very unimportant), Ethnicity (for those who deny that URM is not one of the biggest advantages in admission, you are kidding yourselves and should read up on how much ethnicity does matter to colleges (not that being white is a disadvantage but doesn’t help really is what I’m saying)

General Comments: Here are the schools I am applying to (each will be some sort of philosophy major on a pre-law track):

Top 3:

ED University of Pennsylvania College of Arts and Sciences (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Major and Double Minor in Ancient History and Legal Studies and History) (For those who can chance me particularly on UPenn, please remember the legacy and let me know how much that impacts the rest of my application, thanks)

EA University of Chicago (Double Major Philosophy and Allied Fields and Law, Letters, and Society)

RD Columbia University (Columbia College) (Economics - Philosophy Major)

Others:

RD Boston University (Kilichand Honors College)

RD Northwestern University (Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences)

RD Tufts Unviersity (College of Arts and Sciences)

RD New York University (College of Arts and Sciences)

RD Northeastern University (College of Arts and Sciences) - Safety

RD University of Massachusetts Amherst (Commonwealth Honors College) - Safety for me on here because of in-state tuition

RD Boston College (College of Arts and Sciences)

RD Washington University in St. Louis (College of Arts and Sciences)

I would appreciate any general advice/inputs that you guys have, as well as any specific advice you have for individual schools (especially UPenn, UChicago, and Columbia), and please be honest.

Thanks so much.

2

A lot of applicants who considered Northeastern a safety were rejected or offered the NUIn option. Their adcoms are good at detecting applicants like you.

3

Agreed with @TomSrOfBoston. Of the schools you’re applying to RD, the only ones I see you for sure being accepted to are BU, UMass Amherst, and probably NYU. BC I think is highly likely (although certainly not guaranteed), and WashU/Tufts/Northwestern/Columbia are reaches for everyone in the RD pool.

UChicago and Penn are going to be tough. I think you have a decent chance at Penn given your legacy situation, but I think it might be strange to the colleges that you want to study philosophy given that your strengths appear to lean more towards math.

Your ECs overall are decent, and founding a club in an area of interest will certainly help, but they’re nothing particularly unique/noteworthy otherwise.

Now for a random rant that has nothing to do with your post: I don’t get why students rate themselves so highly on counselor/teacher recommendations and interviews. I personally don’t believe that these count for anywhere near the amount people here think they do, and it seems like a lot of students don’t realize that if everyone on CC believes their recommendations are 9/10 or just absolutely glowing, that means the adcoms are used to reading letters like that and they become less meaningful. Maybe I just don’t have the right view of them, but I’ve also thought that recs are supposed to reflect the overall theme of the student’s application and essays. They’re meant to reinforce certain aspects and to illuminate the “human” side of ECs/GPA/classwork.

Anyway, good luck applying to those schools. Don’t bank on any of the reaches though – just about anyone can be rejected for no apparent reason.

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@TomSrofBoston Interesting to hear about Northeastern; I wouldn’t be that upset if I didn’t get in there though; thanks for the advice

@micmatt513 Thanks for the advice; as for your comment about recs, you’re probably right overall; I do believe that they are overrated, and I might have overrated my own; but I’m very curious to why you see that my interests lean towards math (because I honestly hate math)

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First of all, you are definitely going to get into some of these colleges. I definitely think you have a strong application and your SAT and GPA show that. What the colleges do is look at your objective aspects first and I think every college would probably keep looking more in depth about you. I have to be honest, I really think that Colombia is a very hard school to get into. I’m not trying to act like a pessimist, I’m trying to be realistic. The same applies to UChicago, Northwestern, BC, UPenn, and Washington University. There’s just so many applicants that they can only accept a small portion of them. If I were you, I wouldn’t bother with Ivy League schools, they’re just too selective; I would go there as a grad school. As for the other schools (NYU, Northeastern, BU, etc.), you have a very good chance of getting in. And finally, don’t do early decision with UPenn, if you get accepted or rejected, you can’t apply to any other college besides that. There’s a chance you may be rejected since it has a very low acceptance rate, so just don’t do ED with UPenn. You’ll regret it. But as always, good luck with your college journey. :wink:

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@rohank Thanks for the advice, but you actually can apply to other schools if you get rejected ED actually ;); I know Columbia is difficult, which is why it is simply a reach school for me just to see if I can

7

Bump.

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Bump again. Hey guys. Please chance me! I could really use the advice. Thanks so much.

9

Northeastern’s definitely not a safety, but a comfortable match. You’re a competitive applicant though, I think you have a solid shot at UPenn ED and UChicago EA assuming compelling essays. Probably a good shot at the others too, but schools like Columbia Northwestern and WashU are a crapshoot at some point. BU, UMass, NYU should be fine. Tufts could go either way. Good luck, and be proud of your accomplishments!
Please chance me back: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18676261#Comment_18676261

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@ptkid16 Thank you for responding! It seems like people are very consistent that Northeastern is not a safety school. Perhaps I was viewing it from a lens that solely relied on my school’s admission history to Northeastern. I should definitely reconsider calling it a safety school. And of course I will chance you back.

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Very competitive applicant. I see a high chance for NYU and Boston University. The others I’m not so sure about especially UPenn, Columbia, and Chicago. I do think you’re ranking your college essays, recommendations, and even your predictions too high. You’re definitely guaranteed to get into at least 2 colleges (again this list has some very high selective colleges) but I’m curious what do you think are you safety and reach colleges from your list? Academically I think you’re great, but it will definitely be your essays that will make a difference between accepted, waitlisted, and rejected for you because of this list.

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@Chopinspiano Thank you very much for responding! You’re the second person to tell me that I am high ranking my essays and recs too high. I too think that my essays will make a huge difference when it comes down to the wire, but I’m confident that they can pull through especially since I have been working on them for nearly 3 and a half months.

13

So you’re definitely competitive for the schools on your list. Obviously Columbia is a crapshoot, as it is for practically everyone. Your SAT/GPA isn’t bad at all, but for Columbia, there will be many applicants with higher scores/GPA than you and with more outstanding EC’s - so it’s definitely a shot in the dark there.
Also, I’ve heard that UPenn really values legacy (I’m not totally sure though, maybe someone else can confirm), so if you really like UPenn definitely apply ED. (this is what I would do if I were in your shoes btw).

Otherwise, I would say:
Columbia - High reach
UChicago, WashU, Northwestern - Reach
UPenn - Low reach (if what I thought about legacy is true) if you apply ED
I would say you’re match for your other schools, except UMass Amherst (safety) and also Tufts because I don’t know much about the school.

Definitely keep working on your essays and make sure you’re getting them read by a person who will give you their honest opinion and feedback. Also, try to explain somewhere how your EC’s are related to your interest in pursuing Philosophy in college. Good luck!

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I would agree with all the posts above. I also strongly recommend adding 1 or 2 schools that are true safeties to your list.

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I live in the Chicago land area so I’m going to tell you about what I know about U Chicago and NW. Basically the kids that go to U Chicago are a very specific type of student. The best way I could describe it, is ‘quirky’. I don’t know you personally so I can’t say very much about that but if you make your quirkiness shine through in your essays (and it will be very obvious if you have that quality because of the essay prompts at U Chicago). At northwestern there isn’t really a quality like that they are looking for but being a philosophy major at a medical driven school like Norwestern with a lot is Asians, will for sure give you an upper hand. Specifically on your credentials, your academics and ECs are obviously good but there is one problem. At Ivy leagues and schools like U Chicago, they are looking for that one thing that really makes you stand out. In some cases, it might be that you are a world class figure skater, or that you developed some sort of technology to help your school, or you got your name published on a research paper. I know it’s hard to hear but admissions counselor a at those school expect you to have everything you have and they want you to do more than what is given to you in you’re community. All Ivy League students have a special quality that truly makes them different and special (maybe I’m just missing your quality). A lot of it comes down to luck because of such low acceptance rates though. I don’t know much about U Penn but with your credentials and legacy I would say you have a great shot there (although I just ranted about a special quality). Anyways, good luck to you!

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@lumiere16 Thank you for responding! I think you’ve actually been the closest to what I’ve felt about my own list for this entire time, which is encouraging. I would say that the philosophy passion will definitely shine because my commonapp essay is about why I became interested in philosophy (it’s more interesting than it sounds) and also the Deeper Discussion Club that I co-founded is a philosophical discussion club and I’ve taken 6 College courses on philosophy, so I definitely feel like I will be getting that across. And Tufts is a pretty difficult school to get into in case you were curious.

@virsha24 Thank you for responding! Yes, over the past few months as I have been crafting my list I have always considered adding a guaranteed safety school, but I’ve come to the realization that I honestly wouldn’t be happy going to a school below the level of a UMass Amherst, and I’m fairly confident that I can at least get into that if nothing else. Nonetheless, I thank you for the advice.

@Pugs1798 Thank you for responding! I definitely understand what you are saying and agree with you, especially about UChicago. I believe that I have a fighting chance at least to show off a quirky side with somewhat unique interests. As for the thing about Northwestern, I never knew that they were a medically dominated school, so that is refreshing to know that that could be a minor hook or so. As for that Ivy League special quality, though I am not a world class ice skater (though I love ice hockey), and though I am not a hands on technology developer, and though I do not have a research paper published, I still believe that I can power through it with interests. I was the only junior in my school’s history to be allowed to complete an Independent Study (for which I wrote a small paper) in Philosophy (because the class is typically reserved for seniors). Do you think that might be worth mentioning?

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It’s good that you have the recs and are starting the essay early (better than a lot of people who procrastinate) but I feel that compared to the competition you will have for ivy schools, the SATs might be sliightly lacking. You should go for the UPenn ED, considering you seem very interested in it. I also heard somewhere that UPenn counts legacy more during the ED than RD if someone can confirm? If so it would be a waste of a chance to try ED somewhere else and get rejected, then have less of a chance for UPenn RD. As for U Chicago, to my understanding your essays (supps) have to show your nerdy? geeky side, so if you can do that, and you seem pretty confident in your essays, you definitely have a chance. Although a lot of the schools you’re applying for will give you tough competition and others are purely luck after a certain extent. For example I knew someone who got accepted to Johns Hopkins and Columbia but didn’t get into WashU. of St. Louis. Careful with what schools you consider your safeties-- sometimes they know you consider their school a safety (grades too high, etc) and probably won’t decide to go there, so there is a possibility of getting rejected from schools like Northeastern. I really wish you luck with your college apps!

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@endmeplease Thank you for responding! Yes, it is true that UPenn ED does count legacy more during ED than during RD. In fact, on their website, they actually say (and this is a quote): “Highest consideration will be given to those who are children or grandchildren of alumni.” UChicago is indeed a quirky school, and I hope to get that across in the essays. And so far, everyone seems consistent in telling me that my safety schools really aren’t safeties. I guess I just used my school’s admission history to those schools as law. My school’s admission history displays a clear GPA line and SAT line (we use Naviance), and remarkably after you pass a certain point, no one has been rejected. :o And there is a lot of data to back it up. Thank you for your input though.

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Like some of the others have stated on this thread, I do think that it would be a good idea to apply for UPenn ED, especially with the legacy (although I am not certain about whether they count it more during ED). It’s great that you started the college apps so early, since it’ll really help your application if you let your true personality shine with these. However–this may be obvious–always remember to get others to check your essays, since it’s possible that while you may think that they are great, to an objective observer they could have a completely different reaction (but not too many people or else the advice gets diluted). I think that academic-wise you’re a pretty strong applicant, but keep in mind that so many people have similar test scores/grades that you’ll have to stand out in some other way (such as through the essays :D). Lot of the other aspects of your chances have already been covered pretty thoroughly, but hope this helped!

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@Dew123 Thanks for responding! Now would be a good time to mention that they count legacy most during ED (they mention it on their website), and yes, I plan on showing at least one teacher my commonapp essay. I never expected my test grades or school grades to really stand out by any means, so I hope I can do what you said and make everything work through my essays and ec’s.