Chance a Senior [TN resident, 93UW, top 10%, full pay, PPE]

Applying to College
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Demographics:
White male, Top 10 private school in state, Duke Legacy, full pay

Intended Major(s): PPE if they have it. If not, philosophy, econ, or government. Applying to the business schools for my targets/safeties.

ACT/SAT/SAT II:
35 ACT (33M, 34S, 36R, 36E)

UW/W GPA and Rank:
W 4.89 UW 93.85, school doesn’t rank but top 10%
Coursework: 9 APs by senior year + 4 High Honors (AP Equivalent)
5s: APUSH, AP Euro
4s: AP Gov, AP Lang
3: AP Bio
Senior Year Course load: AP Calc BC, AP Stat, AP Physics C: Mech, AP French, High Honors English, Honors Religion (required), College Prep Art (required)

Awards:
• National Merit Commended Student
• Cum Laude Society Inductee (top 10%)
• President’s Volunteer Service Award, Gold
• College Book Award
• Certificate of High Distinction, commended, at John Locke Institute Summer Forum

Extracurriculars:

  1. President of School’s Service Organization (9,10,11,12) - Led 68 service projects; partnered with 26 organizations; expanded org. into my middle school; allocated $6k in grants; 470+ service hours.

  2. Development Office Intern at local Nonprofit (12) - Developed a new fundraiser for 500 people; expanded service routes; organized 5 years of tax reports; archived 4 years of media.

  3. Programs and Event Intern at different local Nonprofit (11) - Boosted social media reach; planned meals at local hospital, wrote 100+ donor letters; facilitated HQ move-in; interpreted lease and tax documents.

  4. Co-Editor-in-Chief of Yearbook (9,10,11,12)

  5. Mock Trial Witness (11,12) - Won Best Witness at District Competition

  6. Founder & President of Ethics Bowl (12)

  7. John Locke Institute Summer Attendee (12)

  8. Honor Council Representative (11)

  9. Varsity Wrestling (9,10) - 2x Regional qualifier, 3rd at local tournament, 2x Varsity Letter; cleaned mats pre-practice; club wrestler at local club (FR/GR styles)

  10. Host/Food Runner/ Busboy (12)

Schools:
ED: Duke
EA: UNC, UGA, SMU, Richmond, UVA, Michigan, State Flagship (guaranteed admission)
RD: Columbia, Yale, Cornell, Dartmouth, UPenn, Georgetown, Harvard.

Really Really Really want to get into Duke or Georgetown, so please let me know what yall think.

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It’s possible. Not probable based on #s but possible. Apply and see.

You’ll have some admits from this list.

You’ve done what you can, setting yourself up for success.

You’ll have some great opportunities - Duke, Gtown or otherwise.

Good luck.

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So if you like PPE, there are a variety of colleges you could consider that are less reachy. For smaller colleges, Denison, Rhodes, and Juniata for example. Medium-sized private, Rochester and Drexel. Larger publics, Maryland, Ohio State, and SUNY Buffalo.

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You stand as good of a chance at Duke as is possible so it’ll come down to luck. You’ve done everything you could wrt rigor, grades, scores, ECs, plus you have the hook of being a legacy. Selectivity means your odds aren’t great (if odds are 1:10 ED, yours may be as high as 1:4 and certainly 1:5) but that’s no guarantee.
You will for sure get into a couple of your EA colleges so :crossed_fingers: but if PPE is a priority I second @NiceUnparticularMan in recommending you apply to Denison and URochester, which would be excellent for PPE and less reachy than some on your list while offering more per-student resources than your safeties.

One caveat, if you’re really into football or spectator sports, these 2^ wouldn’t be a good fit.

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Congratulations on doing so well in high school. Of your reaches, I think your best chance is at Duke because of your legacy status. Of the others, I think you have a good chance at SMU, Richmond and GA (and, of course, your state flagship). The others are all unlikely for an unhooked student or, in the case of UNC and UVA, for OOS applicants.

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You may benefit from considering colleges with an available major in public policy. This interdisciplinary program relies on the fields of political science, economics and philosophy for its foundation. This site includes some prominent examples of schools offering a major in this field:

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