<p>Hello,
I am a 16 year old first generation Cuban American from a mid to low income family. I am now approaching my Senior year of high school and have done very well. I have gotten all A’s in high school (except for a B in a second semester Freshmen English course). I have taken 2 AP’s so far (got a 4 on both Chemistry and World History), and I am taking 3 AP classes my Senior year. I got a 31 on my ACT (28-Math, 34-Reading, 31-English, 29-Science). In terms of Extracurriculars, I am a member of the National Honor Society. I also have played 2 varsity sports for every year of high school except for my Freshman year. I would like to know if I have a good shot at getting into University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, and Northwestern?</p>
<p>I’d say they’re all possible, but none of them certain.</p>
<p>And that’s not really a reflection on you. It’s a consequence of how many talented students apply to those universities. They all reject more than 15,000 well qualified applicants every year because they just don’t have any more room in the freshman class.</p>
<p>You should apply if you’re interested. They won’t think you had no business seeking admission. They won’t tack your application up on the bulletin board and highlight all the most comical parts, or anything like that. But while your academic qualifications put you in the running, they don’t really give you a leg up on the competition. Select teachers who will write you strong recommendations, and work hard to write clear essays that make you seem like the sort of interesting person these universities will want to have in their freshman class.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Thank you, that was very informative and helpful. I also failed to mention that I have worked a summer job every year since I was 13. I usually rake in around two to three thousand dollars every summer. Does work experience help my college application stand out from the pack a little bit?</p>
<p>Definitely put a lot of work into your essay and your recommendations. You have a strong app but definitely take a look at some lesser known institutions, just because you don’t have that many AP’s. The summer job thing is gonna look great, just try to maybe sprinkle in that you help support your family by working, it couldn’t hurt! And the sports are great 
Good luck! </p>
<p>Also, could you please chance me too? </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1367937-if-youre-fancy-lets-get-chance-y.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1367937-if-youre-fancy-lets-get-chance-y.html</a></p>
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<p>More like, it keeps you with the pack, I am afraid. You’ve done something productive with your summers. That’s good. But everybody who gets into these universities, and many more applicants who don’t, will have done something productive with their summers.</p>
<p>Some of them will have traveled, or done fancy and expensive summer programs, or have worked on lab research at universities or government labs. And that’s all fine, but none of it is any better than what you’ve done. In all those cases, what matters is what you make of it. Making a few thousand dollars over the summer is really inconsequential. (In terms of college admissions, I mean. I’m sure it made an important difference to you materially, and I don’t mean to disparage the work itself, either.) But how did all these summers of working shape you? That’s what matters for your college applications. </p>
<p>Did you take on increasing responsibility summer after summer? Did the hours you spent working for a relatively low wage teach you something about the dignity of generally uncelebrated work? Or teach you respect or compassion for the people whose lives consist of decades of doing that work, at that wage, maybe a couple of jobs at a time, in order to make ends meet? Or give you insight into the way businesses or economies work? Use the work experience as a springboard for discussing how the work has shaped you into the person you’re becoming. That is where the college-admissions value of the work lies.</p>
<p>On an unrelated matter, I do hope that while you’re targeting these extraordinary universities, you’re also developing a college list that includes some matches and safeties. As a young Hispanic student with very good academic credentials, you could have a lot of options nine months from now. And those options could be quite varied. They could include admission to some fancy-shmancy universities such as the ones you’ve named, but they could also include remarkably generous offers of need-based and merit-based aid at some highly respectable, if less famous, colleges and universities. Is there good college advising where you go to school? If there is, ask the advisors there to help you develop a list that includes not only some realistic reach schools, such as the ones you’ve named, but also some colleges and universities that would put merit money on the table in order to buy your love. And if there isn’t good advising where you go to school, you can get a lot of good advice on College Confidential. The Financial Aid forum has a lot of adult posters, both parents and financial aid professionals, who have a lot of experience with both need-based and merit-based aid (<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/</a>). Remember, fancy college is nice, but free college has a lot going for it, too! And since you’re Cuban-American, you could also probably get advice that pertains particularly to you in the Hispanic forum (<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/hispanic-students/[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/hispanic-students/</a>).</p>
<p>Wow, that was very very helpful. And trust me, those aren’t the only schools that I am looking it, they are just the most selective ones. There are plenty of “safety” schools that I am applying to.</p>