Yale/NU/WUSTL/Other chances!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi everybody, I have a pretty good idea of my chances but I just wanted to get some more input/advice for improving my applications as a high school junior.</p>

<p>Basic-
White, middle class (little financial aid if any), no hooks
Top public high school, very competitive, does not rank, sends several students to Ivies and other very competitive schools yearly</p>

<p>Stats-
SAT: 1560/2240 800- Reading 760- Math 680- Writing (Will retake in October to increase writing score)
SAT 2s: 790 Bio (M), 750 Math II. Will take US History and Chemistry, plan for at least 750 on each.
AP Exams: Bio- 5 Euro- 5. Will take US History, BC Calculus, Chemistry, Lang, and Spanish this year and plan to get 5s on all, 4 at the worst.
GPA: 4.0 UW/ 5.1 Weighted (School has a weird system, out of 5.3)
School does not rank but I am probably top 5%.</p>

<p>I take 6 more AP classes senior year.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
PIANO: 12 years, Jazz pianist, performed at several local cafes and parties, composer- 10+ pieces. Probably will do an arts supplement.
FILMMAKER: 6 years. Experimental, short film, comedy. Youtube channel, 30,000 video views. Winner of local film festivals. SOCAPA arts film program, Maccabi Arts Fest. Also have produced advertisements for local events.
WRITER: Published poet (online and in literature), one of two sophomore in a local writing contest
TRACK: 4 years Cross Country and Track and Field Junior Varsity, some Junior Varsity Awards (placing at league meets)
CLUBS: Film and Comedy Club (9-10), Environmental Club (Leadership senior year, 9-12), Student Council Homeroom Representative (9-12), Astronomy Club (10), Philosophy Club (11)
SERVICE: Self directed refreshment sales project to raise money for REACT, building libraries for schools in Costa Rica, sustainable farm work in Costa Rica, food drives to local shelters, tutoring... About 100 hours total.
National Honors Society
Will be at least Commended for National Merit, probably AP Scholar (not sure how this works)</p>

<p>Anything else?: Costa Rica summer experience for 3 weeks, immersion and community service. This summer I intern at a biology lab at UPenn and will work on another short film. Undecided major. I take Portuguese lessons as an independent study.</p>

<p>My recommendations and essay should be strong, but I don't know how they will turn out. My essays will in some way focus on my many authentic interests (I love history, science, filmmaking, and music), or my interest in Brazilian or Japanese culture. </p>

<p>Chance me for...
Yale
Northwestern
Washington University in St. Louis
Middlebury
Northeastern
Skidmore</p>

<p>Advice is welcome!</p>

2

<p>Oh, my essays may also be about my interests in great literature and film.</p>

3

<p>Great EC and GPA. Sold SAT for most schools. You are probably a low reach for Yale, high match/match for Northwestern, and pretty much match for the rest.</p>

4

<p>I agree with billcsho you have great ECs and GPA.
Yale: reach
Other universities are match/low match, good luck :)</p>

5

<p>i think you have a good shot at northwestern and washu, yale might be out of reach</p>

6

<p>Your extracurriculars are amazing, and I think as long as you can make your essay meaningful, you have a chance at every one of those schools. The only one I would say might be a reach is Yale, but I have a friend whose stats were only slightly higher than yours, whose ecs were nowhere as near as impressive as yours, and who easily got into Yale because of her essays.</p>

7

<p>No one is a low reach for Yale. But you have great odds nonetheless.</p>

8

<p>Hey, thanks for replying to my forum :slight_smile:
I’d say
Yale-reach
Northwestern-high match
Washington University in St. Louis-low match
Middlebury-low match
Northeastern-low match
Skidmore-low match.</p>

<p>I think you should think about applying to more colleges between yale/northwestern. Yale is crazy amazing, and though you are exceptional, no one can be sure for Yale. I feel that if you’re not accepted it’d be a waste!</p>

9

<p>Yale, NU, and WUSTL are all unpredictable. It all depends on what each school is looking for that particular year. I think you sound pretty competitive for the other 3.</p>

<p>My son was accepted to WUSTL- it is an amazing school. You will see on these forums that demonstrated interest is an important factor for this school. WUSTL does not get the same recognition as other top schools as it is located in St. Louis and as it is an NCAA division III school. However, graduate schools are well aware of the quality. Yale and Northwestern are also awesome schools. It really depends on what you want to study, and campus fit. I find your experience with film to be quite unique- have you considered an essay on this topic?</p>

10

<p>Psychodad,
For WUSTL I’ve requested the brochure online but I doubt I’ll get a chance to visit the school as I live far away. I definitely will consider an essay about filmmaking, I’ll be writing them this summer.
Ceyago,
Do you mean other highly competitive schools or more safety schools? </p>

<p>Thanks everyone!!!</p>

11

<p>I can’t help but think this is a ■■■■■- the ECs are all good but too varied. It’s like someone being a CEO of a bank yet publishing young adult novels.</p>

12

<p>agreatperhaps,
I assure you, I am not a ■■■■■. But this may be a problem. Is there any way I can assure colleges that these are all things I truly have interests in? Does anyone else see my ECs as too varied?</p>

13

<p>Anyone else?</p>

14

<p>You have really good grades and ecas. I think you are a match for all univrsities except for yale which i think would be a slight low reach for yu. Good job though</p>

15

<p>@Silogram, other highly competitive schools. I’d say schools with similar reputations but higher acceptance rates. (By the way, I’m also doing something at UPenn over the summer :D)</p>

16

<p>@ceyago Yeah, I will also consider Brown, Columbia, and Johns Hopkins. And nice, maybe I’ll see you there without realizing it!</p>

<p>Any safety school suggestions anyone? Good 25-50% acceptance rate city schools, or ones with honors programs?</p>

17

<p>if youre interested in film with your stats, Id definitely check out NYU</p>

18

<p>@silogram maybe UMich, UChicago?</p>

19

<p>Thanks for the advice everyone. I’ll check out NYU and Michigan, I visited UChicago and didn’t particularly like it though.</p>

20

<p>UWM also has a good film production program that claims to be within top 20 in the world.</p>