Worried in Waiting - Cornell, Dartmouth, UMich, UNC-Chapel Hill, UVA, Bucknell

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey, everybody! I posted on here a while ago asking my chances to some schools, but my application has changed considerably since then. I would be very grateful if you guys left some feedback! :slight_smile:

Objective:
Old ACT (breakdown): 30C (34E/32R/28M/24S) <— Required by Cornell & UMich
New ACT (breakdown): 31C (35E/33R/28M/29S)

SAT II (score): French (790), Literature (650) <— Required by Cornell

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.68
Weighted GPA: 4.01
AP (place score in parenthesis): French Language (5), Spanish Language (5), English Language (4), two other 3’s not sent

Senior Year Course Load: AP English Literature, AP Statistics, French VI: Topics in French Cinéma (Dropped 2nd semester due to extenuating circumstances explained by counselor, she swears she doesn’t believe it will make a difference), Spanish Seminar: Business and Global Issues, Chinese IV, Independent Study: Teaching Foreign Language, Graphic Design (S1), Intro. to Psych (S1)

Awards: AP Scholar with Distinction, Silver Medal for Poetry (Scholastic Art & Writing Awards), school honor scholarship, honor roll every semester, 4 state-wide French awards in most advanced contests (2 1st place, 1 2nd, 1 4th)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Asian Culture Club (President, 10-12), French Club (Co-President, 10-12), School Literary and Art Magazine (Administrative Assistant, 10-12), Film Club (Executive Producer, 12), Spanish Club (Tutor, 11-12), Peer Tutoring Club (Foreign Lang./History Tutor, 11-12), Daycare Tutoring (9-10), Golf Team (10,11), Robotics Club (Head Organizer/Coach, 10), Indiana University summer business program, hemophilia fundraising (over $15,000), hemophilia summer leadership camp, guitarist (8-12), pianist (4-12)

Job/Work Experience: Jimmy John’s (In-Store Employee 10/15-3/17, Shift Manager 3/17 to Present) Received 2 raises for work ethic, now manager, train new employees, close shifts, etc.
Volunteer/Community service: See above.
Summer Activities: See above.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): All 10/10, no need to explain. If there’s one part of my app I’m sure about, it’s this part.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Signed FERPA but I can guess. French Teacher/Head of Foreign Lang. Department: 10/10, he’s been my teacher for 5 years and I’m the best student he’s ever had in his career. APUSH Teacher/Head of School: 8-9/10, he really saw me improve as a student throughout the course and is aware that I am motivated, but I’m not sure of much else. Counselor: 8-9/10, she really likes me, and claims that she explained me fairly well.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: French, PoSci
State (if domestic applicant): IN
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $50k-$80k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Hemophiliac?

Other Schools:
Purdue (Accepted Rolling Admission, accepted to Honors College), Vanderbilt (Rejected ED), Middlebury (Rejected RD)

2

Hi!

I’d say that Cornell and Dartmouth are low reaches.

When it comes to UMich, Chapel Hill, UVA, and Bucknell, I’d say you’re hovering on their averages, so it could go either way for all 4 of them.

Good luck!

3

Oh, and congratulations on your acceptance to Purdue! Great place to be.

4

I saw low chance everywhere except bucknell, gpa and sat too low

5

act^ my bad

6

Thanks for the comments thus far!

7

I agree, Bucknell is the most likely acceptance, especially since you’re not applying for engineering (which from what I’ve read, has a lower acceptance rate compared to other majors at Bucknell).

8

I also forgot to mention a few things.

I’ve had a large upward trend. My freshman year I had around a 3.65UW and 1st semester this year I had 3.93UW, 4.5W.

My “unique” thing is that I speak four languages, with spikes in ECs, awards, etc. to boot. Goes hand in hand with my major.

9

Did you demonstrate interest in Bucknell? They look at that. Does your school have a good track record at Bucknell? That can be telling as well. I agree with the others that Bucknell is probably the only possibility on your list. They do appreciate kids who take language all 4 years, so that is a plus for you. What type of math and science do you have? They will look at that. Do you have any calculus?

10

Have you considered how much you can afford annually? If you have applied for financial aid, then you must realize that most of the OOS public universities you’ve applied to will not have much to offer you and the BIG competitive scholarships are out of reach. If these privates are looking for something that only you can provide for them (languages), then they may give you a good offer, but will it be enough for your family’s budget? How does Purdue look to your family in terms of cost?

11

@wisteria100 Thanks for your response. Somewhat, I did receive an invitation to apply for their Presidential Fellowship, which I completed. I’m not sure if colleges agree with me, but I believe a jack-of-all-trades is a master of nothing, so I specialized in high school. I took Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2 w/ Trig., Pre-Calculus, and AP Stats. in high school. As for science, I took Biology, Physics, two psychology classes with a scientific focus, and AP Comp. Sci. My schedule was packed with languages and other humanities already, and math and science are the FARTHEST things from what I want to do. So basically, humanities rockstar, STEM just above national average. (See ACT scores too)

@snorkelmom Thanks for your post! I have considered this, and it will not be an issue for me. While my family alone cannot afford most of the places I’ve been to, my grandparents do have the money and will help pay. Purdue offered me practically a full ride. I really hope they need language kids!!

12

Did you get UVA?

13

You are very lucky that your grandparents are willing to pay ~$200-260K for your undergraduate education! Something more to consider… if you have applied for financial aid, the money that your grandparents give you will be factored into each year’s FAFSA when you file. Good luck to you and keep us posted on your plans!

14

@atl989 Yes I did, rejected.

@snorkelmom I am very lucky. I’m not sure if it will because my parents just get individual checks from my grandparents for my private school tuition right now. Thank you for your well wishes and help!

15

It’s very possible that the extra money that your parents are giving your parents for private school tuition will impact their $50-80K income that they are reporting on their FAFSA. And if they are gifting “individual checks” for your college education, it will impact your FAFSA going forward. There is not easy way around it, I’m afraid.