I'm new to this site and have seen many chance threads so I figured I'd make one as well. Princeton has always been one of my top choices and now that I'll be a senior, it's finally time to apply. Any chances or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
I attend a large public school in Arkansas and will be graduating next year, very few attend HYPSM (maybe one every couple of years)
Interested in: Biology or Chemistry, Pre-Medical
Rank: 1 out of 467
SAT Score: 2310 (800 Math, 790 Critical Reading, 720 Writing) ...This was my first time, should I retake?
SAT II: 790 Math Level II, 800 Chemistry, 790 Biology, 720 Spanish
ACT Score: 35
AP's: 5 on AP World History, waiting on AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Psychology and AP United States History (expecting 5 on all of them, except possibly a 4 on US History), will take AP Physics B, AP Comparative Politics, AP Language and Composition next year.
Race: Half Black, Half White
EC's:
Class President (10th and 11th grade)
Peer Leadership (10th to present) - Founder
Model UN (9th to present) - President
Young Democrats of America (9th to present) - Vice President
Pre-Medical Society (10th to present) - Treasurer
Science Club (10th to present) - Secretary
Math Team (9th to Present)
JV Tennis (9th)
Varsity Tennis (10th to present)
School Newspaper (9th to present) - Pretty involved, no leadership positions here though
Jobs/Internships:
I work throughout the school year about 20 hours a week at a local grocery store since 9th grade
Summer after Freshmen Year: Worked at local grocery store 30-35 hours a week
Summer after Sophomore Year: Paid internship at local hospital, shadowed a cardiologist
This summer: Internship at hospital-shadowing the head of cardiology at local hospital
Volunteering:
I work with Habitat for Humanity and help re-build homes for those in need - About 20 hours/month
Volunteering at local church
Location: Texas-------> Emory 2013; DALLAS MAVS NBA CHAMPS 2011!!!!!
Posts: 1,752
dude why would you even ask, valedictorain + your stats + urm status = In everywhere.....harvard, and princeton like valdedictorians and salutorains, and your tests scores are above 2300....
You're either a troll or a sadist. Take your pick. I'm surprised you didn't add something like, "And, by the way, I have a summer job with the UN negotiating a peace treaty between Israel and Syria. Is that a good EC? And, I just remembered. Bill Clinton is my father. Do you think that will help my applications?"
Old College Try - I am not a troll, nor am I a sadist...What I have listed are my completely legitimate accomplishments that I have made throughout my high school career and I take offense to your completely false, unsubstantiated accusations. I have worked hard throughout my life and I am not going to stand by while an ignorant prick tries to undermine my accomplishments.
You're basically in anywhere you want! Just make sure there are no problems with your essays, and start thinking about where you really want to go, because you'll have lots and lots of choices, I'm guessing...
I also think you'll get in anywhere you want to go and the schools you listed have the best financial aid of any school in case that is a consideration. Don't be too hard on Old College Try. I don't know why but there are a lot of trolls posing as black candidates who want to go to Harvard on this forum.
Yes, you've earned the position you are in based on your credentials.
HarvardHopeful92: In addition to being smart, you've mastered the victim mentality. Congratulations.
Read my post like it was a question on the SAT. Maybe this time you'll understand it.
I wasn't questioning your accomplishments. My point was that it is completely ridiculous for an URM with your stats to write a "chance me" post. My comment about you being a sadist as directed at the fact that you're posting on a board where the vast majority of the posters have, at best, a 2 to 8 percent chance of getting into schools like Harvard and Princeton. For a kid whose chances are much, much higher, it's pretty sadistic of you to ask "Gee, guys, do you think I have a chance at Princeton?" You're most likely in wherever you apply, and you already know that's true. My message was intended as a compliment that I now take back.
Last edited by Old College Try; 06-25-2009 at 06:41 PM.
One thing working against HarvardHopeful92 is that he is going to a big public high school that rarely sends graduates to HYPSM but I think he has overcome that.
"One thing working against HarvardHopeful92 is that he is going to a big public high school that rarely sends graduates to HYPSM but I think he has overcome that."
Is coming form a big public high school that rarely sends grads to HYPSM really a bad thing? Doesn't it show that he's worked much harder than his peers to achieve his goals? I'm in the same situation as him, and that's how I feel. Honestly, if you go to a small, private school that sends a lot of graduates to HYPSM, isn't it kind of "expected" that students from there will enter ivy league schools? How would you really "stand out" amongst peers if all of your peers go to top schools too? Just my opinion, but I understand how it could be taken that going to a strong high school would be an advantage to applicants as well.
OK, in my post what I was trying to point out was a reason why HarvardHopeful92 may have posted his original question when his credentials are clearly so impeccable. It was not my intention to bash public high schools.
"Is coming form a big public high school that rarely sends grads to HYPSM really a bad thing?"
Of course it's not bad to go to a public high school, that is where my kids go. There is a lot of public schools. Most of the applicants in an applicant pool for any college are coming from a public high schools.
"Doesn't it show that he's worked much harder than his peers to achieve his goals?"
Yes, he worked harder than his fellow students to achieve his goals. I said all along that he worked really hard and that I thought he deserved go to a school like HYPSM.
"Honestly, if you go to a small, private school that sends a lot of graduates to HYPSM, isn't it kind of "expected" that students from there will enter ivy league schools?"
The students who go to small private schools don't get into the Ivys because it is expected, they get into the Ivys because they earned good grades at really hard schools.
The competition for applicants this year was fierce. The really good colleges are turning away hundreds of qualified applicants. It isn't enough to be qualified, you had to stand out. Coming from a public high school does not make you stand out.
<<OK, in my post what I was trying to point out was a reason why HarvardHopeful92 may have posted his original question when his credentials are clearly so impeccable. It was not my intention to bash public high schools.>>
Oh I know you weren't! Sorry if it came accross as me being upset! I was just wondering if maybe it could be a benefit for a student during admissions rather than something that had to be overcome.
"The students who go to small private schools don't get into the Ivys because it is expected, they get into the Ivys because they earned good grades at really hard schools."
Oh, I know. I didn't mean that it was expected of them to go to ivies; I meant that wouldn't people just naturally expect that students who attend more rigorous private schools to succeed at higher level institutions? I didn't mean it in a peer/family pressure thing, or anything. I just meant that as far as trends go, a very high percentage of kids from private schools end up at ivies or other top schools.
"The competition for applicants this year was fierce. The really good colleges are turning away hundreds of qualified applicants. It isn't enough to be qualified, you had to stand out. Coming from a public high school does not make you stand out."
I understand that it's not enough to make you stand out. It just seems to me that it could help an applicant demonstrate that he or she works harder than their peers. Those students still obviously need other attributes that help them stand out in the greater pool of applicants, though.
