Another Top-Heavy Chance Me

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Hi! I’m a rising senior, and I’d like to see my chances at schools I’m applying to.

White Massachusetts Male, middle class, not first generation college but likely first generation to get a bachelor’s degree

Elite/Reach:
MIT (first choice)
Harvard
UPenn

Academic Match-Safety:
Georgia Tech
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Illinois Tech

Financial Safety:
UMass Lowell

GPA: 3.99/4.0 UW, 4.60/5.0 W (Rank 1 of 270)*
SAT: 1560 (taking again in August)
SAT Subject Tests: 800 Bio M, 800 Math II, 750 Physics, 710 Chem, 690 Math I

Extracurriculars:
Member (and as of senior year, co-captain) of the Math Team, which competes in monthly competitions in the Massachusetts Mathematics League (unfortunately, we won’t be winning anything, as the team is open admission and doesn’t practice)
Student representative to the school committee, attending biweekly school committee meetings to report on school events, while meeting with fellow representatives before the meeting to coordinate our reports
Founder and co-instructor for “Summer STEAM Superstars”, a summer enrichment program for local middle schoolers which promotes their engagement with STEM, particularly encouraging girls to enter the field (the STEM name was forced on us by faculty, the program has nothing to do with art)
JV Track and Field, on and off (far too complicated to explain, but I will be running again senior year, and my absence is neither due to me quitting nor disciplinary issues)
Job at McDonald’s
Member of the school’s Academic Advisory Council: anyone can join, but it does what a student council is supposed to do, since our actual student council mainly fundraises for the student council: however, after the founder graduated at the end of my sophomore year, it met maybe once or twice junior year: the onus will likely fall on me to revive it

I will be applying for mechanical engineering at UPenn and UMass Lowell, and for aerospace engineering at Georgia Tech, Illinois Tech, RPI, and WPI. I am currently undecided on a major for Harvard, and MIT does not ask for your major upon application. I will likely major in aerospace engineering if I get into MIT (although you never know what will happen freshman year), and I have a feeling that I will do something engineering or science-related if I go to Harvard.

I have a felling my weak ECs will do me in…

2

Oh, forgot to specify what the asterisk meant, and missed a few other points too.

My school does weighted GPA on a 5 point scale: 4 points for an A in a College Prep Class, 4.5 points for an A in an Honors Class, and a 5 for an A in an AP class. However, obviously you can’t take all AP classes, and the school actually doesn’t let you take any non-elective AP classes until junior year. So for practical purposes, having a GPA above 4.75 is impossible, and I don’t intend to undergo the insanity necessary to get it that high when I’m already first in the class. Thus, I will likely graduate with a GPA near 4.67 if I continue to get essentially all A’s.

My sole A- so far has been in AP Chemistry, in which I got a 92: my parents were livid at my teacher (thankfully to themselves), but I had plenty of chances to get that up to 93, so I have no one to blame but myself.

AP Scores so far:

Sophomore Year:
AP Comp Sci: 3 (my teacher stunk, I virtually self-taught for the exam)

Junior Year:
AP Physics 1: 5
AP Chem: 5
AP Lang: 5
APUSH: 5

3

Why in the world would you retake the SAT with a 1560? Do not do that.

4

UGH

UGH

UGH

I forgot more material. Hopefully my application isn’t this sloppy…

My school gives awards at the end of each year for the top achiever in each grade for each subject. Here are awards I’ve won:

9th Grade:
-Excellence in Biology
-Excellence in Geometry
-Excellence in English Language Arts

10th Grade:
-Excellence in Algebra II

11th Grade:
-Excellence in Mathematics (Precalculus)
-Excellence in Social Studies (APUSH)
-Rensselaer Medal Award

If I forget anything else, please punch me in the face.

5

To suzy100:

I didn’t prepare for that SAT. I ordered a prep book, and I think I can get 1600 this time. If I do worse and can’t superscore to my advantage, well, they don’t need to know that, do they? :stuck_out_tongue:

6

Taking the SAT gain is a waste of time and money. Your ECs, while not exactly weak, are pretty one dimensional.

7

Your stats are fantastic. If you think you can get a 1600, then go for it, but it will only improve your application by a little compared to submitting with a 1560. Your ECs are a little lacking, so my suggestion is to spend a lot of time and effort on your essays. You need those to be insightful, creative, and genuine. Have multiple people read your Common Application essay and even your supplementals.

8

I wouldn’t retake the SAT at the risk that you might do worse. Some schools do not score choice.

9

@Burrito12 I agree. Even if OP does better the second time, if colleges see that he retook a 1560 they might think something is wrong with him

10

Have you run the net price calculator on each college’s web site?

Georgia Tech is a reach unless you and your parents can afford the out-of-state price, since you will be aiming for the large merit scholarships rather than admission.

11

Here’s what I know about college prices:

MIT, Harvard, and UPenn all give just need-based aid. Unfortunately, this makes getting in only step one of two, because I am in an odd situation where my parents make enough that we look like we should be able to get by without much help, but we really need a fair bit of aid to go to an expensive school. (In other words, we’re not poor in the slightest, but we’re broke.) I’m hoping that when they say “we meet 100% of need”, they mean it.

I’m applying to Georgia and Illinois Tech despite the distance specifically for the gigantic scholarship opportunities. Georgia has the Stamps Scholarship (full ride), and Illinois has both the Duchossois (full ride) and Camras (full tuition) Scholarships. They’re not quite as good as the elite schools (Georgia is closer than Illinois), but they’re really good, and if I can go there for free or tuition free (as low as the odds are) it’s worth a shot. I could possibly pay for Georgia Tech without the Stamps if I got some outside scholarships, but Illinois tech is beyond our reach without their scholarships.

RPI and WPI are closer, and while they’re expensive and don’t give full ride scholarships, they give big ones. I already have the Rensselaer Medal, and since I’m first in the class I should get a scholarship of similar magnitude from WPI. I will seek outside scholarships to pay for school, and they’ll mainly be for these schools (although I’ll also use them if I go to an elite school).

UMass Lowell is my real financial safety. It’s cheap enough in-state that my parents and I can afford it without scholarships, and at any rate I meet the qualifications for their Chancellor’s Scholarship, which is also a full ride.

So, worst case scenario is that I end up going to a fairly good school which is cheap and at which I have a good chance of going for free.