ChaoticOrder

Aspirations: MIT, Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Carnegie Mellon, Rice, Boston Un, University of Chicago.
I want to major in mathematics with a minor in philosophy.

Feeling a bit uncertain about chances and would like to see some points of
view other than biased family members.
17 years old
Male
Hispanic/Native American
GPA: UW-3.6, W-3.75
That GPA was lowered because sophomore year I had some hardships(family related) but last year, Junior year, I had a 4.36 GPA Weighted and a 4.0 GPA unweighted (95s and higher in each class)
Rigor: hardest classes
Classes for next year: AP Calculus AB, AP chemistry, AP literature, economics, religion4 (required), govt (required), art(required), and Philosophy at local university. Will also do self study AP calculus BC, AP macroeconomics, and AP psychology.

EC's:
NHS-11,12
Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica-11,12
Student representative - communications secretary-11,12
MUN- Co-founder and VP-12
Chess Team- Co-founder and VP- 10,11,12
Religious group (sodality)- student leader 10,11,12

Tests: (all projections based on practice exams)
ACT: 33-35
SAT2's: Math2c-800, Physics-800, Literature- 740

Work: Worked at shoe store for 1 year and will work senior year at a bookstore
Volunteer hours: so far 70 hours, but I will be joining a volunteer program at a battered women's shelter this year

Summer activities besides working- Research Internship at Southwest Research Institute, researching solar winds and its effects on the Earth's magnetosphere.
Mentored by math professor at local university

Honors and Awards: Top grade in math honors class junior year,
honorary mention in National Spanish Exam,
Spanish class honor student (top grade), Principal's(4.0 and higher) list every semester except in sophomore year when my grades plummeted.
Essay: On the hardships I faced-again family related- and how I pulled myself out with the help of philosophy books on death and life's purpose, as well as cultivating a love for learning.

Thanks ahead of time and by the way I do have proof of being Native American (cherokee).

animefreakss4

Hmmmm....
Harvard, MIT, Yale, Princeton- High reach (gpa is low, but idk your ethnicity might help a lot; not to be taken as an insult)
Rice- low reach/medium reach
BU- low reach
Carnegie Mellon- low reach/medium reach

As I said earlier, your ethnicity could help you out a lot, its the exact opposite for me, damn im asian lol
Definitely apply to some safeties, and be sure to write clear, classic, well developed essays. I also recommend taking the SAT I because a lot of the colleges you're applying to actually prefer that over ACT, even though both are accepted.

ChaoticOrder

Thanks for the feedback, I already have an essay planned as is mentioned and I intend on writing a well-written, lucid paper that will give the admissions officers a "through-the-looking glass" experience of me.
As for the GPA, I think i explained what happened, all my other semesters have been in the 4.2-4.4 range and my gpa is expected to jump to 3.9-3.85 unweighted by the time I graduate.

itsasmallworld

If your projections are realistic, I'd say good chance (>40% at HYPM) and in at the rest. Def. explain the whole GPA situation, but if it jumps up to 3.85 you seem good.

Hispanics and Native Americans are two highly sought-after minority groups - as you are both, that will help you.

ChaoticOrder

Thanks for taking the time to read my quasi-resume' and giving feedback! My projections are realistic, I plan on working very hard this last year to reach those above numbers. =)

ab2013

Hi ChaoticOrder! I'll chance you ... but can you chance me too? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/...ppreciate.html

First off, I'd like to say that your URM status will help greatly in admissions. Normally,a 3.6 UW GPA is not very good, but the fact that you're making such a drastic improvement over the years and the fact that you've rebounded so well from your family-related hardships should impress admission officers alot. Make sure you have your guidance counselor emphasize your resilience, and mention how you made such a comeback for junior year. It shows that you can conquer hardships, no matter how hard they are. I can see that you've also challenged yourself well with a smattering of AP courses. Your ECs are pretty good, and they demonstrate leadership. It's also good to see the volunteer work and actual work put in. Your honors, however, are nothing beyond ordinary -- they're not really state/national, with the exception of the Nat'l Spanish Exam. You can't really project ACT scores, but if you do score a 33-35 that's good news.

Chances:
HYPSM: Reach (upward grade trend + URM)
Carnegie Mellon: Slight reach
Rice: Slight reach
Boston U: May be a match
Univ of Chicago: Slight reach

Good luck, and remember to chance me as well!

casey2009

BU should be a SAFETY for you. It is very easy to get into.

ChaoticOrder

Well that's what I intended BU to be, a safety. bump

zuglinbushababwa

hey man HYM are definitely a little bit of a reach for every applicant. i think your GPA drops your chances, but your URM brings them back up. Overall, you should have a 35% or so at each of those 3, and hopefully get into at least one of them. I'd say for the rest, you should be in.
G/L
Can you chance me to, please? Chances

joelyam2

I think that you're stats are good/right on track for the standardized test scores but like most others said your GPA is a little low. But the improvement that you had pleases many admissions officers as told to me by my guidance counselor(I improved a lot my junior year too). But I think that your projected test scores with your ethnicity will give you a very good chance of getting in almost anywhere. I would even go to say that HYP=50%, but you know how cooky some of those schools get with their admissions haha.

Rh.

MIT, Yale, Harvard, Princeton-Super reach

Carnegie Mellon slight reach
, Rice Low reach
, Boston Un, Match
University of Chicago. low reach

lif3go3s0n

I think there's a lot of potential for accomplishments in your senior year because of the classes you're taking. But at the same time, I feel like you're shoving way too much into your senior year. I think MIT, Harvard, Princeton, etc. are somewhat a far reach, but that also depends highly on how well your essays are written. I think BU would be a good match for sure; UChicago...maybe. I would say 40% on UChicago.

I would just say, be careful with the things you're putting in last minute into your senior year, because that is a LOT of AP's. However, you seem like you're extremely talented, and you may be able to balance your time well. Good luck!

Sprinter246

Your stats look good, but it's pretty much a crapshoot to get in to the ivy league. Your cultural background may help you some.

Please chance me for the Ivy League, Stanford, and Duke