Will I have a chance of getting into Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, UCLA, or UCSD?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi everyone,

Before I ask my real question I will talk a little bit about myself so that you will know my extracurriculars so that you would get an accurate depiction of who I am. I am a sophomore currently and I am CEO of a nonprofit organization that does things internationally, Varsity for Debate, Varsity for a computer competition team, and Junior Varsity for Track and Field. I am also secretary, president, and treasurer for three different clubs on campus. I volunteer at a hospital and have been doing so for around 1~2 years now. I’ve placed 22nd in State Qualifications Open Tournament for Debate which doesn’t seem that great but there were I think close to a thousand people who competed. I did a youth symphony during freshman year then quit. I have taken the AMC 10 I was close to qualifying for AIME but I’m still trying. I haven’t taken the SAT yet but recently I achieved the score or 212 on my PSAT. Do my extracurriculars sound okay? However, I know that colleges look majorly on grades. Which is the part I am majorly concerned about.

Last year, freshman year, I received straight A’s and I also took an AP Course (AP Calculus AB). This year, for some crazy reason because my friends were taking four APs, I decided to be a dumb head and take four APs like them. You see, I have a big competitive streak. In first trimester(my school goes by trimester) I received 3 Bs along with 1 A and 1 pass (i took one course pass fail because if was this Bridge course that started before my actual AP class) Now this trimester, I have straight B’s. Actually, Im pretty sure 2 of them are As my teachers haven’t updated my grades yet but I’m almost certain they will be. My dream schools are MIT and Stanford. The rest are schools people around my such as family members want me to attend. Will I be able to get in those schools? Are there any suggestions? Please help me out I’m freaking out inside and I have been so stressed about grades. My teachers are not very… communicating with their students. So I’m on my own in school with practically no one to help me. So if you would please help me that would be very very very appreciated. Thank you for your time and thank you in advance to those who leave replies!

2

Probably you won’t be able to get into those 2 schools, first because most people don’t, they have only around 5 pct admit rate, see? All you can do is work hard and continue to push yourself as it will pay off. Sophomore year is not the year to pick schools, it is the year to educate yourself about what else is out there aside from the obvious. What qualities do you like in a college aside from the name and bragging rights. What your life will be like at different colleges to help you do your best. Even the most MIT and Stanford worthy need backups that they will be happy to attend. Explore the wonderful and unique colleges out there. Get a Fiske Guide to browse. What help could anyone possibly give you? Assurances? Not likely, that would be false with a 5 pct admit rate. All you can do is learn from your mistakes, learn how to work more efficiently to balance the courseload, deepen your EC involvements, and Jr year grades are the most important. Debate is an excellent extracurricular.

3

As you continue in your career as a student, keep in mind that communication is a two-way street.

4

Hi BrownParent, thank you for the great advice. I’ve actually toured both campuses and my dad is close friends with a professor from Stanford. I’ve also been given the opportunity of taking a course at Stanford as well. Because I’ve come to experience those schools, learn their culture as well as see how school life is, I’ve been thinking that those two schools were my dream schools, ones that I would love to attend. I don’t feel like attending a great college is just about bragging rights it’s that those two are the top two schools I want to go to but there is the acceptance rate that I am concerned about. In order to be part of the schools I’ve been wanting to go I have to get good grades and GPA but sophomore year has really been a bummer so far. I would love to hear about how to increase my chances of getting in and being with the Stanford community or MIT community.

5

Looking at your stats, you seem very “well-rounded” as an applicant, being in track, computers, math, youth orchestra, etc. Your “CEO at nonprofit” really strikes me as unique, and so I would suggest pursuing 1-2 things seriously instead of falling into the norm, of being “x officer in y clubs, also participates in z sports” type of applicant. Some of them are really just passionate about lots of things, but most of them fall into the category of “club grubbers” who participate just for the sake of padding college app. Your score for PSAT is fine for a 10th grader, maybe try aiming for a 220-240 in junior year and get in NMSQT.

Also, just as a side tidbit, don’t take the AMC 10; it’s taking only 2.5% of students to AIME , and AMC 12 takes 5% of students to AIME. I did AMC 12 in 10th grade and got a 105 (OK score, but it qualified me for AIME), but you’ll have a better chance in AMC 12 as you would in AMC 10. It’s too late for you, maybe it’ll help someone else out… But make sure to get in AIME in junior year if you really plan on making math one of your strong points.

Also, I would like to suggest a different opinion regarding your EC vs. grades weighting: everyone applying to Harvard, Stanford, MIT, UCBerkeley, UCLA, and UCSD probably has really good grades. ECs are what makes or breaks your application (along with the all-important essay) in this field of high-GPA applicants. Your chances have not been ruined just because of one trimester of straight B’s; however, this should be a red flag, as if you keep this up, you will really lose any shot at your goals. Just explain that you took too many courses for you to handle, and perhaps try online courses or, if worst comes to worst, hire a tutor to help you out with those classes. MIT’s Open Course is really good for physics and math and all that related stuff.

10th grade is still early yet; make sure you prepare for junior year SATs, and seeing you’re looking at high-end schools, you probably need to get them 2250+ and if you’re taking ACT route, maybe a 33+. I would really really suggest expanding on your EC about CEO of a nonprofit, since that could make or break your application, as it would separate you from the masses of club grubbers into your own “unique isle” that adcoms can summarize you in one phrase (perhaps as “the kid who runs his own nonprofit” instead of “just the average 10-club president yadayada…”)

You definitely have a chance at getting into the top schools, depending on how your grades turn out and how you play your EC cards. As a general rule of thumb, very very few things short term will actually break your application (exception including going to jail for God-knows-what reason) as college admissions will want to look at you as a dynamic person across your 3 years of high school.

6

It’s hard to say as a sophomore but I think you’d definitely need to get straight A’s for the rest of your high school career if you really want a chance.

7

Well, you could build a nuclear reactor in your backyard, but even that kid didn’t get into MIT
http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways

8

These colleges you’re applying to are hardcore GPA orientated, the number of students applying there with a 4.0 GPA are countless. Your chances are not foiled because of one bad try, but that does makes it more difficult. I’d say you keep up with your studies and achieve high grades to show an upward trend and go as close to a perfect GPA.

In the extracurricular domain you look great, those can impress anyone, and the CEO part is amazing. Those school can be high matches/low reaches for you if you can have some good essays with a good GPA.
Best of luck.

Chance back? :slight_smile:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1744008-chance-me-ill-do-it-back.html#latest