am i aiming too high?

ab2013
Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:24:55 +0000

Hi sak09!

In no way are you aiming too high. Like what supereagle10 said, you may surprised at what schools you get into. There is no such thing as “impossible” in college admission unless you failed out of all your classes or got suspended because you were caught taking drugs or looking up porn (things that CCers would never do). There is no such thing as a “minimum” test score to get into an Ivy — it’s the overall picture that counts. Your essay is becoming more important than ever. Count on it. Show them who you are. Tell them about yourself as you are. Release your inner monkey. People who tell you that you’re not good enough are the ones who are more likely to get rejected from the top schools, because they’re trying too hard to weed out normal average Joes like you and me. We live in a democracy, so we can apply to wherever we want (right?).

That said, you have a pretty good GPA at a 3.8 (heck that’s what I have and I’m trying for Stanford & MIT). You have challenged yourself with Honors/AP courses in your schedule. A total of 3 APs is below average for the top schools … but if that’s all you could do in school, so be it. You’re fine. Just have your counselor explain your situation. Your SAT of 1940 is slightly weak, mainly because of your CR score. I highly recommend Princeton Review to help you prep for your retake later this year. Based on your scores, you also demonstrate a strong writing ability. That will carry you far. I also recommend retaking the SAT II Bio, if you feel that the 630 does not represent you well and if you feel that you can do much better. Your ECs are very solid, and I think that you should also talk about your research at URI.

Overall, you’re a pretty good student who has obviously worked hard in HS.

Chances:
Brown ED: Reach (it is for everyone!!)
Tufts: High match
BU: Match
Berkeley OOS: Reach
Northeastern: Not too familiar with admissions here
UMass and URI: Safety match

Good luck!
-ab2013